77 cordoba 360/904 swap into 72 duster 225/904 car?

[72smallairparticler]

Have a line on a full 77 cordoba full drivetrain with 43k miles. Wondering if theres any downside to this year 360 and 904 combo. I know its considered a b-body. But the price is right. Im sure I can swap to some better heads but curious if the swap would require a new driveshaft length?

 

[junkyardhero]

i'm fairly certain that /6 904 and V8 904 are the same length so you should be fine with the DS length.

the other bits are gonna be a bit of a game to round up.

 

[318willrun]

Pretty straight forward swap. You can't use the spool mounts on the 360, so you'll need the adaptor biscuit motor mounts. Of course, V8 exhaust and radiator. Fire it up a lay rubber....

 

[junkyardhero]

if you can grab the throttle cable and all the kickdown stuff from the 'doba

basically, take everything you can. even if you don't think you'll need it; better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. you maybe use some of the bits as trade fodder, too.

it's all the dumb **** that absolutely drags a project to a screeching halt and you wind up wanting to punch yourself in the groin until you pass out because you could've grabbed [blank] but now you gotta pay for $36 + $14 to ship it and wait a week and a half.

 

[Killer6]

Have a line on a full 77 cordoba full drivetrain with 43k miles. Wondering if theres any downside to this year 360 and 904 combo. I know its considered a b-body. But the price is right. Im sure I can swap to some better heads but curious if the swap would require a new driveshaft length?

The trans would officially be an A999, but is right on the cusp of the advent of the Lock-up converter, it shouldn't be...... a great trans otherwise. Refresh Us, what mileage is on & is it the original, Slanty drivetrain??

 

[JDMopar]

If you're going to leave it pretty much stock, just find a drivers side A body exhaust manifold. The one from the 'Doba won't work. Passenger side will work fine. If the 360 has an air pump on it, you will need to run an Allen head set screw into the little holes under each exhaust port, or you will have an exhaust leak from hell. Get a set of the adapter motor mounts to put the 360 on your /6 k frame. If the radiator in the donor is good, make it work in the Duster. If you have PS in the Duster, save the lines from the pump to the box from the 'Doba and they should go right back on. As mentioned above, save all the transmission linkage stuff from the 'Doba. Save the driveshaft too....for when you knock the 7 1/4 out of the Duster with the 360...lol. That's all I got for right now, but I'm sure the flashbacks from junking out a few Cordobas will continue for a bit now That I got it on my mind!

 

[lemondana]

Ditto on the trans being a 999, lockups started in 1978. The Cordoba throttle bracket and kickdown linkage is the 1 pc rod system, it will not work in an A Body. Also the kickdown lever on the trans has to be changed to the short style. Short lever-3 pc bellcrank system A Body and B Body 1966-1970, long lever-1 pc rod system-71 up B Body, C Body most and E body. If you leave that long lever on the trans the ratio won't be right.

 

[72smallairparticler]

Good call on the throttle cable kickdown stuff- I hate getting snagged up on a project.

The trans would officially be an A999, but is right on the cusp of the advent of the Lock-up converter, it shouldn't be...... a great trans otherwise. Refresh Us, what mileage is on & is it the original, Slanty drivetrain??

Slant is showing 87k odo but could be 187k from the gunk buildup Ive seen in the valvetrain. Its pretty gutless. It is the original motor. Has factory a/c
The 904 also original, and the rear 7 1/4 has big bolt pattern axles on it from doctor diff. Outside of that its very base model stuff.

I was thinking id pull the radiator out also and the a/c parts to try to swap everything in. Worth a shot. Good call on the driveline lol. My next project wohld definitely be a new rear with some strength. Im sure the cordoba has an 8 1/4 which would be an upgrade but I don't want to Hassle with shortening that to fit the Duster.

Also my duster is manual brakes and manual steering I dont think id need the power steering pump. for $1000 all in, i just figured its worth the swap at this point and I can figure out the rest as I go.

 

[72smallairparticler]

If you're going to leave it pretty much stock, just find a drivers side A body exhaust manifold. The one from the 'Doba won't work. Passenger side will work fine. If the 360 has an air pump on it, you will need to run an Allen head set screw into the little holes under each exhaust port, or you will have an exhaust leak from hell. Get a set of the adapter motor mounts to put the 360 on your /6 k frame. If the radiator in the donor is good, make it work in the Duster. If you have PS in the Duster, save the lines from the pump to the box from the 'Doba and they should go right back on. As mentioned above, save all the transmission linkage stuff from the 'Doba. Save the driveshaft too....for when you knock the 7 1/4 out of the Duster with the 360...lol. That's all I got for right now, but I'm sure the flashbacks from junking out a few Cordobas will continue for a bit now That I got it on my mind!

Planning on a set of headers in place of the manifolds. Thanks for the tip on the air pump!

 

[Killer6]

Planning on a set of headers in place of the manifolds. Thanks for the tip on the air pump!

Well, I saw plenty of engines in the '80's&'90's of that vintage with the sludge You speak of, with that actual mileage or less...
I hope You find takers for the take-offs, I just grabbed the '67 Slanty stuff from Member wawarnick, a lot of them are too far out for Me to grab...that would kinda include You..lol!!

 

[MopaR&D]

Planning on a set of headers in place of the manifolds. Thanks for the tip on the air pump!

If the header flanges cover the holes you can just shove some pieces of 1/8" steel welding rod with high-temp silicone in them. I did that for the 360 in my D200 because I replaced the heads with rebuilt late-70s ones I got from a member here and I was lazy lol, it's been holding up for a couple years now though with no signs of leaking. Tapping and plugging is better though for sure.

I'd also put a TF-2 shift kit in the 904/999 for some insurance that it'll hold up to any power upgrades down the road and to make it a little more fun to drive.