70 Dart -- Project exhaust overhaul..

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Intense-Dakota

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Ok, so I was under my 1970 Dodge Dart about a week ago and notice the front oil pan seal was leaking a little bit, so I decided to just order up the following: (This is with a 318 and A904-LA)

Oil Pan gasket set
Heddman Headers
Jegs X-Pipe
2x Flowmaster series...

I figured while the engine was out I would just give it a little overhaul. So I figured I would keep a little thread going to keep track of the progress over the week and to hopefully throw in some usefull info on the way...

Day 1) Things to know when pulling the engine: Pull the radiator before anything, it makes it pretty easy to pull the engine, and is really a must. If using headers, disconnect the headers from the engine and the lower flange as the passenger side header needs to come out with the engine. You will need to disconnect the steering linkage between the two front tires as most will go through the headers. It also help to pull the starter out once the engine is about half way out (if you have a full size starter).

So, since the engine was just a pain to pull, I have also decided to replace the stock converter with a 2200-2500 stall converter and replace the starter with a mini starter. And if I had the money I would replace the power steering w/ manual.

Now the questions:

Which converter would be a good one (unfortunatly this is unexpected in the wallet, so cheap will be best, also is there anything else I need to know while in the trans?

When originaly purchased I thought the car had a 727 but now I find out it is a 904. I have never worked with the 904's at all and was wondering what your thoughts on it were compared to the 727.. Currently my 904 has a shift kit, TCI cooler and Oil Pan and is controled by a B&M Ratchet Pro.

Ok, that ends day 1... Oh yeh... Make sure you have ALOT of kitty litter laying around. You WILL need it.
 
Ok, after a bit of reading I have a few questions.... First off here are the specs on the engine/trans

318, Offenhauser single plane intake, Holley 600, Very mild cam, Headers and 302 heads... (Heads I believe are stock) A904-LA trans.. 8 3/4 w/ 3.23 gears.. ( going to 3.55 or 3.92 in the near future) No plan to change much on the engine untill I replace it with a 340..


So, I was thinking about the Hughes 2000-2400 stall becuase as of Right now it is mainly for street driving and maybe a quick race here and there. The main reason I am wanting to swap the converter is becuase of the nicer idle and also the benifits of the slightly higher stall when racing.

My question is this, I was reading a little and came acrossed mensions of the TC slipping and causing the trans to over heat. If this something I should be worried about with my current setup? also, if I decide to wait on this right now and just through the current setup back in when I drop the engine in, can I easily swap it out at a later time without having to pull the engine? ( This way it gives me more time to read up and investigate.
 
Sounds like you got your work cut out for you. Since you are taking the converter out, you might want to replace your front and rear seal on the tranny, also a tranny cooler might be a wise investment. Good luck.
 
OK, well after many sleepless nights and countless hours, we finally got her all back together. The exhuast sounds mean as hell (I will get you some audio clips). The new headers went in great no real problems at all and they clear the power steering without and fuss. I did install the mini starter though. I still have a little tweaking to do on the exhaust routing becuase it hangs a little low for my liking right now, but all-in-all pretty nice. I do have a very small oil and tranny leak I have to find but its only a few drops over 4 days.. I think the tranny may just be from the trans-cooler line and the oil may just be spillage.
 
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