66 Dart GT HT Whatsitgonnabe?

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Hello!

I really hope everyone is doing ok. Things are really strange right now. We all need to help each other get thru this.
 
My engine project is actually moving.

Turns out the 4.25" stroke crank for the 512" stroker wasn't straight so it'll be a 500" after all.

I spoke to the guy the other day and he offered to "put the thing together for me so it gets done right from the start".

That meant that he'll front me a machined block and I'll only need to give him a raw block in return.

Sounds a little too good to be true but I think he's nervous I'll screw it up. When I asked about the cost, he said "money or not isn't so important".

Weird, I know.

I did come across a 400 "230" block and the guy is asking $1000 for it. I'm not sure what to do. I probably won't be using it for myself (my builder says it will still need work over 650 HP and then the thicker web won't make much difference) so the question is whether I should buy it to make some money over here. It's a little much to risk for a possible profit. I did get an estimate that I could sell it here for $1500.
 
Hope you and your family are doing well through these difficult times. Our trip to visit with Ulf is postponed till next year
 
I also did something else. I bough
65 Dartman said:
Hope you and your family are doing well through these difficult times. Our trip to visit with Ulf is postponed till next year
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I'm sorry to hear that.

Yes, we are all well. I really hope the same goes for you and Judy.

My dad is 77 and has a history of asthma, pneumonia and other stuff that puts him at severe risk levels. He's an entrepreneur and travels a lot but now he's being smart and keeping himself isolated. That is very reassuring for me. I would be very worried if he was still out and about as usual.
 
A guy on Facebook offered laser cut lower control arm reinforcement plates for free a while back. I took him up on the offer so now I can brace my LCA:s.

It turns out he works at a sheet metal shop and when I asked him about bending up patch pieces for my front frame rails, he said he'd make them if I pay shipping.

Great deal, so I just sent him the drawings the other day. Once they get here I can patch up the frame and start getting the car ready for the 500" stroker!
 
360DartGT66 said:
My dad is 77 and has a history of asthma, pneumonia and other stuff that puts him at severe risk levels. He's an entrepreneur and travels a lot but now he's being smart and keeping himself isolated. That is very reassuring for me. I would be very worried if he was still out and about as usual.
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for him that would be the best course of action for the foreseeable future. Hopefully there are not many cases where you (and him) live. We have 20 or so cases out of 40,000 residents in our county; i am sure they would be self quarantining themselves
 
65 Dartman said:
for him that would be the best course of action for the foreseeable future. Hopefully there are not many cases where you (and him) live. We have 20 or so cases out of 40,000 residents in our county; i am sure they would be self quarantining themselves
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He lives alone in a house by a lake in a forest. Perfect for isolation. His nearest supermarket has one hour in the morning when they're open for at-risk people only and then they've disinfected the carts and stuff.

No, he's really taking care of himself. I'm really proud of him. He's really stubborn but I think he's gotten enough broadsides in the last few years that he's realized he's actually mortal.
 
Updates are few and far between these days but progress is being made!

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As you can see, I’ve fitted and welded in the repair patches one my front frame rails. I need to grind them smooth and make sure there aren’t any holes. This was actually done a while back.

my son and his mopeds have claimed a lot of my garage time last year. He’s needed help with repairs and troubleshooting on carb and electrical system. We’ve also made an exhaust and ported the cylinder for a moped I have out in the summer house. Much fun but time consuming.

A few days ago he repaired a rusted up exhaust for another moped all by himself. I’m so proud!

Anyway, my 500” stroker is underway. The rotating assembly is balanced and the block is machined. I went to visit my builder (Michael Behm in case anyone knows of him). It’s a seven hour drive but I combined it with giving my dad a ride home (four hours).

I didn’t manage to take any pics but the brand new Stage IV heads with 2.18/1.8 valves sure look nice.

Right now I’m busy deciding what stuff to buy and ship home. I’ve got my hands on 3-4 BB 727:s and two 400:s, another 440, possibly two, as well as a brand new TCI-built 727.

my main concern is to get all of it here at a reasonable cost. The problem is I would probably save quite a bit if I could re-pack it to save space.
 
Hello folks!

Now wer're close. My three pallets of junk are in Gothenburg harbor. AND my stroker engine will be "ready" next week!

I've decided to let my builder do just a little more than I first wanted. I realized getting the valve train wrong could be very expensive so he'll be measuring out and ordering the pushrods. For that, he'll need to know what rockers I'll be using so he'll supply those as well.

In the end, I'll have pretty much a short block plus heads and valve train, oil pump and intake.

Now it remains to be seen what I'll do with the three BB 727:s, the 2 383:s, the OD A883 and the two 440 blocks I've got. Flip or rebuild?
 
Fellow moparites!

My presence here has been ... lacking. But do not despair! Things are happening! I just don't have the time, shall we say, to write about it here.

My engine is done! Finally! I'll be picking it up this weekend. This is what we're talking about:
- 500" stroker (400 block)
- H-beam rods, ARP studs, forged pistons (not sure about brand)
- Stage IV iron heads, slightly massaged, 2.19"/1.8" valves
- 248*/248*@0.050, 0.560" lift w/1.6 roller tip rockers
- Weiand TeamG single plane intake
- Holley 850 dp carb

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My builder took the two 440 blocks I had as part payment for $1,000. Not bad.

I took apart my two 383:s partially. One of them is pretty rusted, I've only managed to get five pistons out so far. The crank looks ok though and I think the five bores I've seen so far will clean up. at 0.040 at least. We'll see about the rest once I get the slugs out.

The other 383 probably ran when parked, it is really nice. Still oily and the plugs looked ok. It probably has a spun bearing though, because the crank only turns around part of the way.

The A833OD I got from Morris' Mopars needs new bearings front and rear. I'll probably get a synch ring kit as well. Other than that, it looks pretty good.

One of the three 727:s I got was completely filled up with dirt. I don't know if insects made a nest in there or if it was standing outside and it simply blew in thru the speedo gear hole. The entire thing is junk, tho. All rusted up. Even the case is junk from corrosion in the accumulator bores. Too bad. i may be able to salvage the tail housing but I haven't been able to get the rusty parking pawl out.

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The other two can be salvaged, I think. We'll see what happens.
 
My import adventures made me eager to do more of it. So I've decided to buy some 400 blocks and some more 727:s. I found hit guy wha has 17 (!) 400 blocks and 15 (!) 727:s. The all look nice and the guy is a serious Mopar drag racer so the stuff is legit.

I'll be buying six blocks and four transmissions. Ha also had a 489 case 8 3/4 center section I'll be getting. A good upgrade for my 741 case in case I get some traction one day. It has 4.55 gears in it but I'll probably be changing those out for 3.55 or something in that range. I'll probably use the Auburn LSD from my current setup and sell my 741 case if I can find anyone who's interested.
 
Good to hear you’re making such great progress Anders! That 500 stroker will make your Dart really scoot.
 
Oh, boy. This sure has been a while ...

My 500" has been completed and parked in my garage for a while now. It has an MSD distributor, 8mm silicon plug wires, Autolite plugs, brand new accessories from 440Source and a Holley hi-volume fuel pump (used).

Here it is before I got the correct bolts to mount the water pump:

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To get it into the car, I've modified a K-member with home made spool mounts:

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I hope they'll survive the torque and that the engine ended up reasonably straight in the car ...
 
So what else has been going on?

Well, I thought I was going to build my own 727 to go with the BB but I ended up sending a core to my engine builder and he did it for me. I realised there are too many things that need to be right that I know nothing of.

I have imported in total 9 727 cores and 6 400 blocks over the last year or so along with the two 383:s, one A833OD and two 440 blocks I've already mentioned. A couple of the 727:s were junk and two of the 400 blocks turned out to be junk as well.
Not very profitable but I managed to sell what could be slavaged and I've just completed renovation of the OD trans.

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I think I'll be trading it for a proper 4-speed. A guy who wants to make that trade was here last night. I wasn't sure (still not) whether to go with a manual or auto trans so when I came across a Lakewood bell housing I got it a while back. All I need is some pedals :)

I also came across a 273/904 combo I couldn't resist recently. It turned ou to be a 273/A500 combo.:eek: I got the A500 apart yesterday and it needs at least one of the planetaries, new bushings and a set of clutches. The package was a little over $500 so I figure I can get my money back on the trans to make the 273 free.

More on the 273 in a separate thread.

Over the summer I also found a pair of Recaro seats really cheap. I think I paid $200. I prefer seats with neck protection.

Anyway, that's pretty much caught up.
 
moparmat2000 said:
Anders, sounds like you have been busy. Those spool mounts should work great. It's what hot rodding is all about.
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Hey Matt!

I'm planning on running headers thru the gaps in the K-frame in front of the mounts so I cut the brackets that held the stock motor mounts out and kept the mounts as close to the block as I could.

I bought a steering rack-and-pinion from a Mustang II and was exploring was to get that in there but it turned out it was made to be mounted in front of the spindles so that was $50 out the window ...

There's a guy who's selling a header kit fairly close to me and I tried to buy it for a few weeks. He kept being unavailable and making excuses for missing agreed meet-ups so I finally gave up. Not sure what he's all about.
 
I dont know if you have been keeping up with the 69 barracuda build thread I have going. If not, theres a lot for you to catch up on.
 
Did some sand blasting. Makes a little difference ...
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Then I cleaned up a pair of rockers, springs, retainers and keepers and used my home-made valve spring compressor (for 383, barely fit) to install a pair of valves.

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I wanted to see what kind of clearance I'd get for larger retainer/spring.

Not much ... About 0.067" (roughly 1.7 mm) radially so a total of roughly 0.13"

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The stock retainers are 1.31" and the stock spring 1.39". I should be able to fit Comp springs 1.43" OD.

1.39" + 2 x 0.13" = 1.52"
 
I’ve ordered a bunch of parts now. Most of what I need for the build except a cam and valve springs.

I got an A500 with the 273 I’m building. All three of the planetary sets have some play in them. If anyone has sets laying around, please let me know.
The cages are all steel and they are 4-planet ones.
 
So I sent a request to Hughes for a camshaft recommendation. With the specs I gave them, they recommended their smallest mechanical cam, the STL3438AS-8.

It's a solid flat tappet 243/238 @ 050, 546/558 lift, 108 degree LSA.

I filled out their questionnaire like this:

What type of cam do you want? Flat Tappet or Roller, Hydraulic or Mechanical Solid Flat tappet
Engine size (cubic inch displacement) 278 cui
Weight of vehicle, with driver (if a driver is used) ~2400 lbs
What category does your use fit? 1 thu 8 See below. Category 5 street/strip
Altitude where vehicle will be run. 0-300 ft
Desired ET or MPH under 12, maybe 11.5
Present camshaft (duration @ .050", Lobe separation angle, lift etc...) none
Final gear ratio I have a 489 case with set of 4.56 and a welded diff and a 741 case with 3.23:s and an Auburn diff. Can get any other available ratio.
Stall speed of torque converter 2700-2800
Tire height and width 25" high 9" (235) wide street tires on 14" steel rims
Fuel type 95-98 octane pump gasoline (E10, I'm in Sweden)
Cylinder Cranking Pressure not built yet
Iron or aluminum heads Iron
Compression Ratio Aiming for 10.5:1 but could go higher - or lower - if necessary.
Intake manifold Single plane, Victor or M1
Header type and size Full length 1 3/4"
Carburetor size 750
Rocker arm type and ratio Stock 1966 273, adjustable
Will power adders be used? (N.O.S., turbo, supercharger etc...) NO
Do you intend on using a tuner on factory 5.2/5.9 F.I. engines NO
Cylinder head airflow numbers (Fill out chart below) Sorry, don't have that

I'm a little surprised they recommended their smallest solid cam but I suppose the small cubes would make a bigger cam lose to much low-range torque.
 
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