1969 Barracuda 340 Formula S Restoration

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I didn't like the looks of the rubber sandwich layer on the 52 year old harmonic balancer. Found out it can be rebuilt by a company called the "Damper Doctor" DamperDoctor.
REBUILT HARMONIC BALANCERS
Rebuilt harmonic balancers have a refundable core value. All rebuilt harmonic balancers are first disassembled and cleaned. The parts are then inspected for defects, including stripped bolt holes and worn or cracked keyways and hubs. Harmonic balancers are then prepared for assembly. Timing marks are set to the factory specification by using a laser aligning process. After the timing marks are set, the harmonic balancers are then injected with a high-temperature, high-strength silicone rubber that is then platinum cured for a extremely strong hold. The new silicone rubber is capable of withstanding temperature in excess of 450 degrees, and will hold up against pressures as high as 770 psi. Rebuilt harmonic balancers carry a 3 year limited warranty
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Next job was working on the fuel tank. It is a fuel injection tank from Tanks Inc. VERY impressed with the quality. There is extensive baffling inside the tank. hard to get photos, but I've attached a few.
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The Holley fuel pump requires a larger mounting hole. Had to make a strap to go across the opening so I could use a 3-1/4" hole saw. There was a reinforcing flange spot welded under the opening, but fortunately the hole saw cut just outside it.
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Tanks Inc has a Mopar compatible fuel level unit (73 Ohms MT, 10 Ohms full). They send instructions for mounting the unit but they are not correct when it mounts below the top of the tank. Took a lot of measuring and checks before I got it right. Spent several hours just doing this!!!
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Next I geared up to install the Holley fuel pump. I has to be fitted to the tank height by cutting the hose and a bracket to the correct length. However, when I followed the instructions, it was apparent that it would have cut the hose and bracket far too short!!! The pump suction would have been ~2" off the bottom of the tank!!! Currently waiting a reply from Holley Tech Support to find out how far the hydromat suction filter should be off the bottom of the tank - and why their instructions are so far off.
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I had my machinist cut down the plenum divider on this Edelbrock dual plane manifold. Feedback from Holley indicated better Sniper EFI performance with an open divider.
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Next up is checking the cylinder heads. Had to do some port/gasket matching after machining the intake surfaces. Also lapping the valves to be sure seating surfaces are still OK. The engine was completely rebuilt and blue printed a few years ago, so I expected everything to be in good condition, and so far that is the case.
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Checking installed height for new valve springs. Hughes Engines p/n HUG 1102. 130# seat pressure at 1.750"

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Its always a pleasure to look over your shoulder.
May I ask what you used on the wiring tabs, it looks like the original rubber coating?

Thanks, Wolfgang
 
Had to cut a few guides down a bit to ensure at least 0.060" clearance between the bottom of the retainer and the top of the valve stem seals at max lift.

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Started to assemble the heads. had to shim a few valve springs to get correct seat load and installed height.
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I sent my harmonic balancer off to Damper Doctor DamperDoctor to get restored because I did not like the look of the rubber. This is what they say they do: All rebuilt harmonic balancers are first disassembled and cleaned. The parts are then inspected for defects, including stripped bolt holes and worn or cracked keyways and hubs. Harmonic balancers are then prepared for assembly. Timing marks are set to the factory specification by using a laser aligning process. After the timing marks are set, the harmonic balancers are then injected with a high-temperature, high-strength silicone rubber that is then platinum cured for a extremely strong hold. The new silicone rubber is capable of withstanding temperature in excess of 450 degrees, and will hold up against pressures as high as 770 psi.
Note the bolded text.
I had previously match marked my damper so I could watch it to make sure the outer ring was not starting to rotate (first photo) When I got it back, the match marks looked like this!!! (second photo)
This is the reply I got from them : OOPS SEND BACK HE TIMED IT WRONG
Was not impressed to say the least!!! It is a real pain to send parts back and forth across the border, so I'll just cut a new TDC mark when I degree the cam.
Sure makes me wonder about their overall quality control process. Be warned.
Jim
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Now for better news. My car had the wrong alternator on it when I bought it. It was a standard 35 amp instead of the correct 47 amp 2098850 one which was specified for AC cars. I managed to find one at Carlisle a year ago and left it with Jim Ridge (Dixie Restorations) to get restored. It even had a correct assembly date code for my Cuda!!! (11-68) and had the original rear bearing. Jim thought it had never been apart.
Got it back today and it is a work of art!! Looks so good, I almost hate to put it on the engine!!!
Alternator was tested @ 3450 rpm under accessory load to a minimum output of 37 amps. Actual amperage at time of unit completion was 55.8 amp with battery charging.
Jim Does amazing work and is highly recommended.

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4spdragtop said:
Jim, is it possible it had "slipped" prior to you sending it in?
If not, that's a pretty drastic fauxpas!
Click to expand...
It had not slipped. At the last engine overhaul, I checked TDC when degreeing the cam and match marked the damper at that time.

Got a reply today back from the company today:
Jim I’m sorry we screwed up I would obviously pay for all the shipping each way no problem there or I will offer you $50 back at this happened I am not going to use some health issues as a excuse it happened I’m human. My worker is great but only doing for a couple months.
No other company can offer the same rubber that we do we do a huge commercial 66 pound diesel harmonic balance or’s there is no other company to touch it because their rubber cannot take it we have really refined the rubber part.
Sorry let me know how to proceed

Apology was accepted along with the $50 refund.
 
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Now I'm starting to doubt my 76 year old memory cells about checking TDC the last time!!! John at Damper Dr said the angle between the crank key at TDC mark should be 80 deg and it does look close to that. I'm going to temporarily put the crank back in the engine with #1 piston and do a TDC check to be absolutely sure what is going on.
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You’re really doing some awesome work on this, great job! I’m looking forward to more progress
 
black954 said:
You’re really doing some awesome work on this, great job! I’m looking forward to more progress
Click to expand...

Slow progress these days. Cleaning bolts, stripping paint off parts, glass bead blasting and repainting, cleaning parts - all for the engine!!!!
 
Well its all turning out awesome. It’s sooooo much more time consuming restoring a car than it is modifying it. I cant wait to see it done
 
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