273 commando Build

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stroker402 said:
I think this is a more recent gasket from mopar. larger number and date> 1968?
Thanks !
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Nope...'67 273...I bought the car from the original owner and the heads were never off. The '68 Mopar parts book shows a "29....." number for 273 head gaskets.
 
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Jumping in....on my 273 Commando's and a recent purchased low mile 1966 273 with a casting # 28xxxxxx....it does show up in a book as correct for a 66-69? block . Now both my hi-po's were apart but of a stock bore hence the low mile 273 2 barrel motor purchace.
I wanted to go with the later cop 318 heads - 83/86 #4323345 which are 1.88/1.60 and flow at 75cc...sure some notches....sorry can't add anything to the gasket issue....
The 2/3/65 block is the original to my S car and was cleaned up for a stock rebuild some 30 years ago.
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plugs. The 28xxx block came out of a 1966 Valiant wagon...
 
update :
Got a bunch on things done on the commando. As you can see by the pics just the heads , rocker gear and intake are left to install before it goes in the cuda , hope to have it running soon. can't wait . OH yeah , picked up a LD4B intake too.

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Looking good. I put a windage tray on mine too. Couldn't hurt.
 
Looks good as well....nice to see the tray on it.....will run one on mine....took the original block to my 65 S Cuda to another motor shop...hope to blast it clean and still be on the stock bore...the lifter valley is a big concern....my second standard hi-po block has a small crack between the freeze plugs but had a refresh build before the 66 S Cuda it was it was wrecked hard
 
Update >>>>>>>>>>>> I gasket matched the ports on head and intake , installed the heads , lifters and valve train . Intake is left . and then run some new blood thru her veins. LOL.

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cleaned and painted the valve covers . NICE !!!!!!!!!!!! They came out beautiful !

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do degree in your Isky cam
it is almost impossible to squeeze the lobe centers together on today's available blanks and keep the ICL where it is advertised
but then since you bought a .842 chevy size master maybe it will fit
 
while I have the engine out I'm rebuilding the z-bar parts . I don't have a clue how to get the z-bar seal onto the ball for the frame rail side of z-bar. the ball appears to be pressed onto the bracket . I Could not budge the ball to turn it off. the opening is pretty small on the rubber seal and don't how to get it over the ball without sliceing it so I can slide it over the ballshaft. What am I missing there?

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I called brewers performance where I purchase the z-bar kit and they told me those rubber end seals will slide over the ballstuds. This is going to be interesting . Tight fit for sure .
 
65Val said:
Maybe try warming them up in some hot water? may stretch then.....
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too Late split one of the seals .
There is NO Way in H*** these 1/4" hole seals are going to fit over a 1/2" Ball. No Way ! They told me to use these special pliers that spread open for c clips , well that just split the seal . the seals are just not made to open that far. JUNK they sell nowadays ! Nobody can make things the right way anymore. I still used the dust seal though.
IMO they could have used a more pliable rubber that could have stretched farther before tearing. Brewer's garbage .
 
stroker402 said:
too Late split one of the seals .
There is NO Way in H*** these 1/4" hole seals are going to fit over a 1/2" Ball. No Way ! They told me to use these special pliers that spread open for c clips , well that just split the seal . the seals are just not made to open that far. JUNK they sell nowadays ! Nobody can make things the right way anymore. I still used the dust seal though.
IMO they could have used a more pliable rubber that could have stretched farther before tearing. Brewer's garbage .
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I dropped them in boiling water for a couple of minutes and was able to get them to work over the ball. gotta work fast and be carful, Hot!
 
The 273 commando is up and running . it fired right up , no issues , sounds awesome ! I'll post a video soon.
 
been working on these videos now for about an hour . I"ll try it again another time. so Frustrated.
 
another couple hours trying to load these videos . I give up. I'm not getting anywhere posting them on you tube or photo bucket. I have better things to do like cleaning up my garage and the barracuda after this ordeal.
here is a pic at least for you guys .

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I have approx 60 miles on the commando now and it has more torque and hp than last engine . Haven't taken it over 4500 rpms yet , but it really feels strong . Revs real fast , has a totally different sound than last engine also. Compression "Does" make a difference !
 
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