'71 Dart 6.4L swap progress being made!

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So I don’t have all the details but I’ll share what I know.

The engine was a standard 6.4 / 392 crate motor, the shop did a pocket job on the heads and smoothed it out (which was the major difference with the new head casting… more material on the intake side.)

The cam was replaced with a specific grind that they use for this application, it required new valve springs.

The injectors were replaced with Hellcat units because it was starving for fuel at the top end (this particular engine flowed better than previous, and currently holds the record for this specific recipe.)

The engine management is a Holley Terminator X Max with a custom tune.

It’s a “standard configuration” for the shop. If you talk to KTRE and order up a 600HP 392 Hemi, this is what you get!
 
GoldSwinger71 said:
So I don’t have all the details but I’ll share what I know.

The engine was a standard 6.4 / 392 crate motor, the shop did a pocket job on the heads and smoothed it out (which was the major difference with the new head casting… more material on the intake side.)

The cam was replaced with a specific grind that they use for this application, it required new valve springs.

The injectors were replaced with Hellcat units because it was starving for fuel at the top end (this particular engine flowed better than previous, and currently holds the record for this specific recipe.)

The engine management is a Holley Terminator X Max with a custom tune.

It’s a “standard configuration” for the shop. If you talk to KTRE and order up a 600HP 392 Hemi, this is what you get!
Click to expand...
Fair enough..... Thanks for the info!
 
Another week of fun - talked to the guys at the shop - sounds like next week is the week!

Good news that came out - another local shop is doing an A-body Gen 3 swap and is offering some free assistance to my guy in exchange for knowledge of how to fit it. The other shop is actually a body shop, so if we need to do any firewall manipulation, it'll be good to go.

My pile-o-parts will be going with to the service bay, but I'm removing some of my wish-list labor items at the moment. Got news that the engine alone was $24k, so when you add up the transmission and new rear-end... I'll be writing a decent check to keep things at "zero."

Oh well, it just means I'll have to do more wrenching on the car to get the finishing details done. Once it leaves this shop it should be running / driving. The same guy who did the tuning and wiring for the harness on the engine will be doing the rewire on the car body / interior, so that's a HUGE relief!

Time to switch back to Ramen and water... because if my wife finds out where the budget is going I'll be couch surfing.
 
The fully dressed engine with the Holley mid mount and accessory covers. Looks AMAZING!

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Another update, the car has finally made it over to the shop that’s doing the engine and transmission install.

It’s a side project for the owner so I’ll be doing nights and weekends as possible to assist with the wrenching.

He saw my pile of parts and all the details and was impressed. The only pieces that are not in the car (in box form) were the radiator / transmission cooler and fuel lines.

I’ll check in with him next week after my vacation to see what the schedule is going to be, and get a good feel for how soon I can expect the progress to be made.

One more step closer!
 
Tagging in on this one. Looks solid so far! How do you plan on keeping any sort of traction on the street? I imagine this will spin the tires well through the gears.

Mike
 
Traction? What’s that?

Initially I’m going to put as large tire as will fit and get on the road. Next step is tubbing the car as it will likely need it.

I just want to get things drivable and enjoy a season or two before I start chopping things up.

It’ll be a handful that’s a fact.
 
Chatted with the shop today - we've got the fuel system sorted out (short of ordering some lines and fittings), and I'll be over there next weekend to assist with some engine wrangling. We are going to take off the intake of the 6.4 and do a test fit into the engine bay to determine what sort of firewall massaging is required.

I also should be receiving a nice package tomorrow with Caltracs for the car... I figured I will need every last bit of magic I can for traction.

I'll update with pictures in the next week or so to document the progress, but it's nice to get those kind of calls!
 
Wow! It looks lovely in the engine bay!

It was tight but we were able to slide it in with the motor mounts on the most forward portion of the k-member slots. The PolyLocs were a no go because of the design. I hope that a Gen3 specific modification is released in the future because I don’t know how long these rubber mounts will last.

We’ll likely do a little massaging of the firewall just to free up some space but it should not require any cutting. Speaking of cutting, the tube on the steering shaft needed to be trimmed back as other members stated. I’ve been building off of everyone else’s experience so far.

I’m not sure if the QA1 k-member is further forward, or if it’s the slots for the motor mounts, but this was a big win.

The next terrifying thing will be installing the transmission and trying to fit the headers. Wish me luck.

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Wow, that accessory drive setup looks clean! I might have to check it out if I ever go down this road.

Nice!
 
No pictures from the latest shop visit, but a few interesting things -

The QA1 K-member is approximately 3/4" further forward for the engine mounts. It's requiring some adjustments for the transmission crossmember to allow for the proper alignment. With everything "where it should be", it'll require some...massaging... of the firewall to give the clearance needed just below the wiper motor. But that all being said - there's very little that needs to be done beyond bolt-ons at this time. The wiring guy needs to get cracking sooner rather than later!
 
The shop said that everything's lining up where they need it to for the most part - the TTI headers which "should" fit with the TTI mounts on the driver's side aren't... so it'll require some machining to clearance for the headers. That's kosher per TTI, so it'll be the plan of action. However... the passenger side is in without major hassle. It should be close to having an exhaust soon!
 
Well after some repeated attempts and cursing, the headers now fit on the motor in the engine bay! The TTI "Borgeson Compatible" headers with TTI engine mounts required quite a bit of modification of the engine mount on the driver's side to fit. Next step is to get the steering box reinstalled. The wiring guy is about 2-3 weeks out, but he IS on the schedule now. The plumbing should be done by the time wiring is completed. I'm pretty much giving up for this season, but things are looking quite good to be completed for the first cruise of 2023!
 
New Update! The shop I'm working with has committed to having all their stuff DONE by the end of this week. Then we transport it over to the electrical guy to do the front to back wiring of the car.

After that the other shop that's doing the exhaust is lined up, and we'll have them do the subframe connectors and torque box welding. Looking like September should be the month that I'll be able to drive the car away!

I've had to do a lot of babysitting and regular check-ins with the appropriate stakeholders, but they've done a pretty good job of keeping me up to date. If any suggestion that I can make to someone who is either doing a project like this, or wants to take it on - be VERY proactive with the shop. I can't believe when folks tell me their project has been in a person's shop for 2-3-4-5 years. If someone isn't making forward progress, take it back and get it somewhere else. If they won't return your calls, GET YOUR BABY OUTTA THERE! Even with the delay on parts and materials, there's always SOMETHING that can be worked on.

Just my $.02... and ... $50,000. So far. :)
 
Current status - my wiring guy is behind by about 3 weeks, so there’s not as much pressure to get the last pieces buttoned up. The CalTracs and AC box / hose routing is about the last few things needed before the car goes back on its wheels for the first time since… March?

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GoldSwinger71 said:
Wow! It looks lovely in the engine bay!

It was tight but we were able to slide it in with the motor mounts on the most forward portion of the k-member slots. The PolyLocs were a no go because of the design. I hope that a Gen3 specific modification is released in the future because I don’t know how long these rubber mounts will last.

We’ll likely do a little massaging of the firewall just to free up some space but it should not require any cutting. Speaking of cutting, the tube on the steering shaft needed to be trimmed back as other members stated. I’ve been building off of everyone else’s experience so far.

I’m not sure if the QA1 k-member is further forward, or if it’s the slots for the motor mounts, but this was a big win.

The next terrifying thing will be installing the transmission and trying to fit the headers. Wish me luck.

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Click to expand...
I wound up trimming the outer and shift tube on my 71 Demon so I had enough valve cover clearance. Had to go with a B&M shifter which I was going to do anyways. The drivers side header needed a bunch of clearance for the torsion bar to go in which also required the lca to be completely loose from everything. I must say, your swap has turned out nice and clean!
 
Progress! Spoke with the shop, we've got the radiator, driveshaft, and A/C hoses + routing resolved. Next week it will be going in to wiring. My wiring guy says approximately 60 hours of labor to do everything front to back.

Once the wiring is done - I'll bring it back home to put the interior back in. I changed up my plan - originally I was going to use the USCT subframe connectors, but I'm switching up to the Hotchkis design to limit the amount of welding needed. I can get the reinforcements done when I get the exhaust mocked up and welded in.

Looks like it WILL be in my garage before the end of 2022.
 
I looked up the Hotchkis connectors and I may do the same thing, ditch the USCT connectors. I don't mind welding but the Hotchkis sure is simple compared to all the welding required with the USCT connectors.
 
95% of the car is complete from the first shop! Just spoke with them - the car went over the wiring specialist last week, work to be starting next week.

The wiring guy wanted the A/C box out of the car (not installed) so he could see how to put it in. I think the hardest part for me is going to be getting the interior back in (stripping that stupid adhesive off of the bottom of the juut they glued to the floor.)

I'll post some pics in a moment from the phone.
 
No updates as of yet. My wiring guy is being a bit flighty, unfortunately. I do however have the other shops lined up to do the exhaust and the frame welding, as well as the alignment.

The dominoes are in place, I just need that first one to go over!!!
 
Electrical punch list is set, a check is written, and now the wait resumes. I have high confidence that everything is being done right and with accuracy, and no amount of faster timeline can make up for that, right?

Just gotta take that deep breath and continue down the path.
 
Traded some texts today with my wiring guy - we're going full steam at finishing up his portion of the project. The DigiTails LED panels came with some really awful documentation (the colors on the diagram didn't match the harness!) When he went to their website to download the PDF instead of the printed copy, he found the error and immediately resolved the issue with the tails not working. I think I'll use the sequential setting on the tails because it looks so cool!

The Classic Auto Air system was apparently quite a bit nicer than the Vintage Air kit (as he's done several installs of those). The only issue was that the bracket to reach the dash didn't align with where the box sits. So it requires a 1.5 inch spacer on a bolt to attach it. I'll probably get a chunk of aluminum made to provide more surface area for the bracket (or a new bracket... it's easily swappable.)

It was nice to see the new harness laid out in the car and roughed in. The battery relocation is going to run down the passenger side through the wiring channel.

The American Autowire upgrade kit for the Dart provides plenty of clearance against the vanity cover (392 HEMI) on the driver's side of the engine - I was pleasantly surprised! The fuel pressure sensor is going to require an additional 90 degree adapter to allow it to tuck under the passenger side engine cover. The rest of the wiring is definitely looking like it'll hide down the middle, and will give the bay a pretty clean apparance.

The car must have had a water leak in its lifetime (gonna have to track THAT down...) because there's rust on the lip of the bottom of the dash. In the interim, I'll have to do some evaporust or rust converter and see if I can match the paint (good luck, right??)

Anyway - wanted to provide an update after several months of inactivity. The project is still on track for spring-ish. After wiring, final plumbing, first fire in the car (I will DEFINITELY have a video of that), and then off to exhaust and frame welding.

I think I'm still on track to debut the car at Mopars in the Park, but I don't want to jinx things.
 
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