'69 Valiant 2DR Project

[zac_F71]

I was going to say - if the grille is aluminum - it looks spray painted - get some oven cleaner and put a couple coats on it, bet it will come out looking almost new.. or at least you wouldn't have a spray bombed grille, and could be polished I'm sure as well..

 

[DNasty777]

I was going to say - if the grille is aluminum - it looks spray painted - get some oven cleaner and put a couple coats on it, bet it will come out looking almost new.. or at least you wouldn't have a spray bombed grille, and could be polished I'm sure as well..

It's definitely spray painted. I'll get around to cleaning it up eventually but for now I'm focusing on the engine build.

 

[zac_F71]

It's definitely spray painted. I'll get around to cleaning it up eventually but for now I'm focusing on the engine build.

For sure,, just a friendly FYI - don't snad blast it.. as that's what you have to do to powder coat it.. oven clean it, scrub it with a firm brush, and wash it off, leave 1 hour in between coats and I bet it will all come off clean..

I do the same with plastic scale model bodies and worked great!

 

[DNasty777]

For sure,, just a friendly FYI - don't snad blast it.. as that's what you have to do to powder coat it.. oven clean it, scrub it with a firm brush, and wash it off, leave 1 hour in between coats and I bet it will all come off clean..

I do the same with plastic scale model bodies and worked great!

Thanks for the tip!

 

[dodge71demon]

For sure,, just a friendly FYI - don't snad blast it.. as that's what you have to do to powder coat it.. oven clean it, scrub it with a firm brush, and wash it off, leave 1 hour in between coats and I bet it will all come off clean..

I do the same with plastic scale model bodies and worked great!

Correct no sand I blasted mine with glass and worked great of course at work we have a glass blaster big enough to put a door or fender in that we use for cleaning molds yes there is some finish work to be done but that would be needed no matter what

 

[zac_F71]

I would not use abrasives on a grille no matter what but unless like you coated it.. oven cleaner does more than enough to strip anything off a metal or plastic grille though..

 

[limegreen70]

Updates?

 

[DNasty777]

Updates?

Kinda! Thanks for the reminder bump.

I got the grille signals wired properly, so that's a plus.

About the block I sent to the machine shop... well, it got toasted on the boring machine. Supposedly the way it is fixtured to the machine is through the main caps and I guess when he torqued it down it split the front main in the threaded portion of the block. I didn't snag any pictures of it as I was pretty upset. The good news is that I got another block and had it machined. That newer block is sitting in my parents garage and I haven't really even looked at it yet.

I think pretty soon I'll start digging into the newer block, figuring out what I have and need, and start pre-assembly to make sure everything is correct. Just need to find some time.

Scored a fresh RPM Air Gap and an oil pump off a member here for a good price, I forget the name right now though. Got some other small odds 'n ends as well.

I'll add some pics of the new block when I get out of work.

 

[DNasty777]

Ok so I went over to my parents to finally take a look at this newer block and I feel like a complete DUNCE!

After some searching and comparing, it looks to me like I have a magnum block. Not sure if this is good or bad yet. I was planning on going with a solid roller setup so I think this may be a good thing? I'm not sure, maybe someone will chime in.

This thing needs cleaned up!

 

[DNasty777]

I was in way over my head with the stroker build so I contacted a friend and he hooked me up with a local engine builder. The builder is going to build it with me so that I still learn and have a hand in it. The short block should be coming together sometime in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I've been doing some other stuff. Started cleaning up an 8 3/4 housing I had lying around. I also picked this up in Cleveland while visiting my GF. Both are 68-70 B-body units.

 

[Sedanman]

Ok so I went over to my parents to finally take a look at this newer block and I feel like a complete DUNCE!

After some searching and comparing, it looks to me like I have a magnum block. Not sure if this is good or bad yet. I was planning on going with a solid roller setup so I think this may be a good thing? I'm not sure, maybe someone will chime in.

This thing needs cleaned up!

That isn't an LA motor for sure. Is there any date codes? It is a roller cam motor though

 

[DNasty777]

That isn't an LA motor for sure. Is there any date codes? It is a roller cam motor though

Yeah it's a magnum block for sure, that's okay with me, makes it easier to do hydraulic rollers. I forgot exactly what year it's from.

 

[DNasty777]

Got the bumper fitted up yesterday.

 

[limegreen70]

Are you going to clean up that grille? I think it would look nicer without the Paint.

 

[DNasty777]

Are you going to clean up that grille? I think it would look nicer without the Paint.

I think that'll be my next little downtime project.

 

[dodge71demon]

consider having your grille and headlight bezels glass blasted on as low of pressure as possible to remove the adonization then start working out dents glass blast again and have it chrome powder coated looks pretty that way and easy to maintain

 

[DNasty777]

Swapped out the stock /6 torsion bars for PST 1.03" bars. Still gotta button it up tomorrow.

 

[DNasty777]

Messed around in the garage today. I took apart the 8 3/4 I got a few months ago to go through it. I'm happy I did. It seems it mostly empty for a long time. There's rust on the ring gear and open ring gear carrier. Not too worried about that as I have a sure-grip carrier and I didn't want 2.71 anyway. I'm more worried about the rust on the end of one axle, can I just sand it off? Also I think these axles came with green bearings as I didn't see any way to adjust the preload. Anyway here are some pics. Hopefully next week I can get to the auto parts store and make some new lines. I'm also going to get a seal kit and bearings.

I made an oopsie taking the ring gear off. Perhaps next time I should actually read the directions.

 

[Sedanman]

They look like factory bearings to me. The green bearings are sealed units. As far as rust, I would scrape off the heavy stuff and sand or wire wheel the rest. I would cover up those bearings first if you plan to reuse them.

 

[Howard1784]

Are you in Greece ny?

 

[DNasty777]

@Sedanman - Thanks for the tip. I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping the tapered ones so I'll be sure to bag them up.

@Howard1784 - I live in Penfield but I do work in Greece.

 

[Howard1784]

@Sedanman - Thanks for the tip. I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping the tapered ones so I'll be sure to bag them up.

@Howard1784 - I live in Penfield but I do work in Greece.

My family is in Rochester ny which is where I'm originally from. Cool.

 

[DNasty777]

Everyone loves updates!

Last week I decided I'd finally put in the manual steering box I got from @limegreen70, so I took out the pump and , the column. Well once I got the column out I decided it'd be a good time to take it apart, blast it, and replace the lower bearing. And then I thought " well it's already out I may as well get rid of the selector shaft and go floor shift". So I picked up a B&M Pro Ratcher. Just gotta put it all back together now lol.

I think I'm going to do a quick disconnect Sparco steering wheel too.

On to the pics.

 

[DNasty777]

Just put in an order at rockauto for a new pitman, idler, and inner tie-rods. Figured I may as well replace those while the steering box is out.

 

[DNasty777]

Back from the dead. It’s been a long time since I’ve worked on the car. I bought a house a couple years ago, so house projects took precedence in my life.

Block and rotating assembly have been sitting at the engine builders for almost 3 years. I’ve acquired more parts, namely a nice 727 and new valve body.

This past week I decided it’s time to push this project back to the forefront. Pulled the engine and trans. Think I’m going to blow apart the whole front end and do it right this time.

Hopefully I’ll have more updates for everyone as I get to work on this project again.