200R4 update

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Sounds like things are rolling, with the typical headaches. Congrats....
 
Are you using a standard 200-4r dipstick? Do you happen to know the brand/part#?
 
I am not real pleased with TTi. They were a shitload of money and are supposed to fit so well. They certainly wrap around the motor well, but they hit on the pitman arm and inner tie rod where it comes into the center link. They barely touch and I can bend them a bit to clear. It almost hits the torsion bar on the driver's side while on the hoist. I will have to get it on the ground and see if it moves away or hits harder. There is an indentation molded into the inner tube, so I suspect once the suspension is loaded it will move away from the torsion bar into the indented part. The main issue is at the steering shaft. It hits and hits hard enough to knock off the seal retainer when you turn the wheel. I think we will try to rotate the engine up a hair on the driver's side to see if it will clear. Otherwise there will be some heating and bending at that point. The pics aren't real clear, but I tried to light it with a flashlight as well. In the pic it looks like the pipe on the right hits, but it does not. It is the pipe on the left hitting and you can see the castle nut like seal retainer hanging off the side a bit.

View attachment Shaft hitting header.jpg

View attachment Shaft hitting header 1.jpg
 
Those headers are desinged to fit with the engine in the stock location, I have them on many cars, and they fit well, maybe your trans swap has the back of the engine to low? Your doing a ton of work to re-engineer a superior design....
 
replicaracer43 said:
Those headers are desinged to fit with the engine in the stock location, I have them on many cars, and they fit well, maybe your trans swap has the back of the engine to low? Your doing a ton of work to re-engineer a superior design....
Click to expand...

I did not change the mounts. The motor is in the factory location. We did change the rear crossmember to accommodate the Chevrolet transmission, but the motor is using factory mounts and OE frame mounts. They asked me what year block, what heads, what starter, etc ... and they hit the motor, the starter and the steering. And they hit the motor and starter while it was still out of the car. Not real happy with fitment. My old Hooker skid plates fit perfectly, they just hit every dime that was laying on the road and I couldn't access the back spark plugs.
 
Mopar to ya said:
I am not real pleased with TTi. They were a shitload of money and are supposed to fit so well. They certainly wrap around the motor well, but they hit on the pitman arm and inner tie rod where it comes into the center link. They barely touch and I can bend them a bit to clear. It almost hits the torsion bar on the driver's side while on the hoist. I will have to get it on the ground and see if it moves away or hits harder. There is an indentation molded into the inner tube, so I suspect once the suspension is loaded it will move away from the torsion bar into the indented part. The main issue is at the steering shaft. It hits and hits hard enough to knock off the seal retainer when you turn the wheel. I think we will try to rotate the engine up a hair on the driver's side to see if it will clear. Otherwise there will be some heating and bending at that point. The pics aren't real clear, but I tried to light it with a flashlight as well. In the pic it looks like the pipe on the right hits, but it does not. It is the pipe on the left hitting and you can see the castle nut like seal retainer hanging off the side a bit.

View attachment 310647

View attachment 310648
Click to expand...

Would it be too much to replace the factory steering joint with a quality piece from Borgenson or comparable. They are smaller and will give you steering a better feel then the crappy Chrysler unit. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BRG-526464

Just a thought...
 
Michaeluser said:
Would it be too much to replace the factory steering joint with a quality piece from Borgenson or comparable. They are smaller and will give you steering a better feel then the crappy Chrysler unit. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BRG-526464

Just a thought...
Click to expand...

If only it was the joint, I would spend $50 in a heartbeat. It's not the joint, though. The whole steering shaft is too close. I think I can move the motor a bit, but that will raise the left collector that barely clears the crossmember. Little problems. Not insurmountable.
 
Michaeluser said:
Would it be too much to replace the factory steering joint with a quality piece from Borgenson or comparable. They are smaller and will give you steering a better feel then the crappy Chrysler unit. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BRG-526464

Just a thought...
Click to expand...

Okay, it is a joint. It looks like a little cv style joint. The style you show is so different I didn't understand it until I looked closer last night. I may just order that and it will solve a lot of issues. Thanks!
 
Last night we drilled the hole and installed the shifter cable. The transmission is so high in the tunnel we drilled a hole at an angle through the upper crossmember to clear the transmission. We quickly realized we had to lower the transmission to get it run properly. It is now in and connected and it shifts properly. We ran the wires for the neutral safety switch and back up lights. Life is getting good.

We also decided to slap in the new back halves of the Calvert Racing mono leafs. The front end was kind of high still even with the motor in. With the new 2" higher leafs it brought it just a tad higher than the front. A nice high stance. I don't think I will have to adjust the torsion bars at all. I am very happy with the height.

We talked about all the things we have left to do. There is not much left. It might be running this weekend with any luck.
 
We are trying to button up the under car stuff so we can finish the underhood and start this baby up on Saturday. I wanted to drive six blocks on open headers to The Wonderful Muffler Man and get their usual top notch exhaust work done. Tom wanted to use what we had and do our own exhaust. I ordered the headers with 2 1/2" collectors and they sent 3". They hit the crossmember so we cut them shorter and welded a 2 1/2" reducer to them. It turned out well, except our cutting blade wore down so far it wouldn't cut through the pipe anymore, so we didn't quite finish the passenger side. We did measure for the driveshaft, and I had it made with 1350 yokes. They just called and it is done. I am leaving right after this post to pick it up. Finish the exhaust tonight, button up the underhood tomorrow and hopefully fire it up. Then finish the line locks and install the neutral safety and reverse light switches. And then done! Here are some exhausting pics.

The whole assembly could pull out, so we tack welded everything, pulled it out and welded it.
View attachment Exhaust being welded.jpg
View attachment Exhaust being welded 1.jpg
View attachment Exhaust being welded 2.jpg

This is what it looks like. No bender available. We used what we had.
View attachment Exhaust from headers back.jpg
View attachment Exhaust left side at collector.jpg
View attachment Exhaust left side at muffler.jpg
View attachment Exhaust left side mid car.jpg

And the tip set back farther as I like it, and much higher than they were with the old motor and exhaust. Only the left side is done.
View attachment Exhaust tip.jpg
 
All undercar is now done. All the exhaust is in and nice and high. The driveshsaft is made and installed, and the subframe connectors are bolted and welded in. Today is just the engine stuff and hopefully turn the key. I figure a couple hours to put in the radiator, power steering, alternator, pulleys, distributor and ignition. I still have to wire the neutral safety and reverse lights to the shifter, install the line locks and install a new turn signal switch. I can't wait to hear it run!
Here's the pics of exhaust, driveshaft and subframe connectors.
View attachment Driveshaft and exhaust.jpg

View attachment exhaust back to front.jpg

View attachment exhaust, subframe and driveshaft.jpg

View attachment rear of driveshaft.jpg
 
Can I ask why you reduced your exhaust down to 2.5" from 3"? I thought you were running a SBM Stroker if I recall correctly.
 
I don't need 3" with my horsepower. I would have better top end, but lower torque. This motor is about torque. Plus, the 3" wouldn't clear my crossmember unless I bought oval exhaust. It's kind of the same reason I used 1 3/4 - 1 5/8 step headers instead of the 1 7/8. I didn't want to give up the torque.
 
Mopar to ya said:
I don't need 3" with my horsepower. I would have better top end, but lower torque. This motor is about torque. Plus, the 3" wouldn't clear my crossmember unless I bought oval exhaust. It's kind of the same reason I used 1 3/4 - 1 5/8 step headers instead of the 1 7/8. I didn't want to give up the torque.
Click to expand...

Ok that explains it.
 
It was a long freakin' day. What little we had to do dragged out all day and night. Everything on this car had to be made or modified. The detente cable was fine, but the bracket Art Carr sent to mount it, though it looked right and we modified it to hold the accelerator cable, too, wouldn't let the cable lock in place. We ended up running a zip tie under the tabs to lift them and lock it in place. We had to make an extension for the accelerator cable as well. The alternator and power steering brackets needed modification. After a long day, we finally made the final tranny cooler lines, dropped in the radiator, filled it with Valvoline ZR1 synthetic oil, coolant and Amsoil Synthetic transmission fluid and were almost ready. Last thing was to install the distributor, so we set it at TDC and dropped it in. All the worries were for nothing because it started right up. It runs beautifully and sounds mean. And holy **** is this thing fast! I will come up with a burnout video soon. We developed oil leaks at the front of the intake and at the oil sender adapter, and I have to fix those first before more driving. The transmission worked well and shifted good. It is scary fast and definitely has a sweet spot for power. It like around 2000 rpm and sets you back in your seat like you wouldn't believe. The tires will need to be replaced this week, no question. They will be bald very soon! For some reason the sound dropped out of the video, but it works on my phone.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZfhO1mxiaM&list=UUEJB1R2S73jigrbcTvzq4pg&index=1&feature=plpp_video"]Alive and well - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpBpvPAjBCY&list=UUEJB1R2S73jigrbcTvzq4pg&index=2&feature=plpp_video"]It's alive! 408 Stroker. - YouTube[/ame]
 
Here are some final pics of the motor. I want to paint the tube in the upper radiator hose black or go to a parts store and match up a full hose. The ran wires inside looms under the intake runners to clean things up. All the heater hoses used 90 degree bends so we could tuck them between the intake and valve covers and keep a clean look. I still have a little wire loom clean up to do near the battery, but that's about it. The carb is too high for the hood with the spacer on. It fits perfectly in the cutout for the scoop. I am going to devise a ram air set up for it this summer. Here is what she looks like, and holy ****, is it fast! The last pic is washed and looking good with it's new stance from the rear leafs. I love how it sits.

View attachment Completed motor.jpg
View attachment Completed motor 1.jpg
View attachment Completed motor 2.jpg
View attachment Completed motor 3.jpg

Looking good!
View attachment Looking good.jpg
 
I want to paint the tube in the upper radiator hose black or go to a parts store and match up a full hose.
Click to expand...


try a upper hose for a 73 318 charger with a/c.

so hows that trans work? how nice is the OD rpm?
 
I didn't get it on the highway yet. I don't know how it happened, because I use good silicone at the edges, but the front passenger side of the intake is leaking quite a bit, but only when driven hard ... which is all the time. Worse, the dual oil pressure sender adapter is raining down the back of the motor. I don't have it out yet, because access will be easier with the intake off, but I wonder if it's cracked? I'm not even sure where to get one. It threads into the block, the OPS threads in the top and the oil pressure hose to the gauge threads in the side with a compression fitting. I can't fix the leaks until tomorrow night, so if things go well, I'll get it on the highway Tuesday night.
 
Okay, I took it on the highway. My vibration at 60 mph and higher is gone. I always thought it was the rear end, but after the fan broke I wondered if it was the fan out of balance. Now with a new fan it is smooth as silk. At 55 mph it runs at 2200 rpm and at 72 mph it was just below 3000 rpm. Before, with the 904 tranny, it was 3200 at 55 and 4000 at 70. I am much happier. I came off the highway, rolled around the corner and got to 30 mph in second and hit it. The tires broke loose and started to fishtail just a bit. Holy **** this thing is fast!
 
I bet with 3.55 Gears it would actually hook alot better and the power would be more useable. Cruising down the freeway at 2500 RPM in OD going 75MPH.
 
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