Advice needed: Budget rebuild

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J

Joatha

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I have a 69 Barracuda that I recently acquired and the motor is a little tired (318). I have some J heads laying around (2 sets) as well as a 4bbl performer Eddy or even a 4bbl 340 stocker manifold and a Holley carb (can't remember what cfm it is). Plus, I have some headers of unknown make and origin that COULD be used (but not necessarily) - although I am not even sure if they fit that car.

I would love to use all these parts to do a budget build for that car. My concern is that the J heads will lower the compression ratio a good bit. Should I get them milled? I also wonder if they would work better if bought a cast stoker kit - this car won't make enough HP to work about getting forged.

And, which would be better for the intake? The Eddy Performer or the cast iron 340 intake? I think I need about a 600 cfm carb for this type setup so I will check on that Holley (I want to say its a 650).

What say you?
 
Basics first.

If your on a tight budget, steer clear of the stroker. You'll be buying rods, pistons, and will be notching the block. Lot's of dollars but well worth it in the end. There are plenty of examples out there and the guys here are a wealth of information if you go that route.

As far as intake selection, if you are using the smaller 318 heads (Which I would sugest but I'll get to that later) us the eddy performer. I haven't had a look at the port size on the stock 340 manifold. I'm sure someone here can help.

For carb selection, 600 or 650 cfm is more than adequate.

For heads, check out the tech archieve. Adam has done a bang-up job compiling data there and there is a section called "330 horse 318". Memorize it. The data is proven. This will explain why you want to keep the 318 heads (Install the bigger 1.88/1.60 valves though). Port velocity is important on this build.

Good luck and send some pictures man!! I love Cudas!!
 
What I would do... sell both sets of J heads and the stock 340 intake on eBay. Use the money from them, plus what it would cost to rebuid a set of heads, and buy some Eddy closed chamber heads. Then get a Federal Mogul rebuild kit, about $290 from Summit. Add a Comp XE262 cam/lifter kit and the Performer intake. If you have a points distributor, consider getting an electronic one and an ignition box. If the headers don't fit, the stock manifolds would be okay until you can save up for something better. On the carb, depending on how old it is and the condition it is in, you may be better off replacing it. That should make a nice combo.
 
Check out this link....

http://www.gojackets.com/cars/

You can tell by the name of the pic which are the 69 pics. The 69 pics are what the guy I bought it from gave me. But, outside of gathering parts (69 front end parts in particular since it has a 67 front end on it) and work on the brakes, nothing has changed. I did put a new carb on the motor and it now runs, but the number 2 cylinder is not hitting at all. The old carb was about as big a mess as I've seen (I opened it up and half of it literally fell apart on my workbench ). I haven't pulled the valve covers on it yet to check it out that miss but will do so once I get the brakes fixed.

I was thinking about pulling the motor, getting only the engine bay painted (Curious Yellow perhaps?) and dropping the rebuilt motor back in, then driving it for a bit as I work on the rest of it.
 
You dont need exotic parts... You have a good base with the engine you have. My plan would be this..Rebuild the engine properly, with a couple of mods..First, use KB pistons, no need for forged heavy slugs..Bore, hone, and deck the block, resize the rods with good bolts (i use ARPs), trun the crank if needed, and internally balance it. For heads, I'd sell the Js you have, but put the $$ into a set of "302" castings..those are 86-91 truck 318 swirl port heads..Great for street motors. Have the heads redone with 1.88/1.60 vavles, and a performance valve job..As a bonus, the exh seats are hardened for unleaded use, and the chambers are closed for good detonation resistance (good quench). with good parts, cam, timing set, valve springs to match the cam, teflon seals, the works, you can be done for $2500..You will need to have the intake ports enlarged to match the 340 intake, but you can use that..This build will run on pump gas, and will embarass many a larger engine in an A body chassis. a conservative 300 hp is easy, and even better, lots of usable torque.
 
I really appreciate the help. I especially appreciate the link for the 330HP 318. I think that is right up my alley. My plan is to use what I have and get the J heads milled down (I think they will need it to be used anyhow), the cast iron 4bbl and then I'll look at the carb I have and see if it can be used. If not, I'll get something else.

I considered the 302 head route, but I think I am just as well off using the J heads and milling them.

Now....when do I end up doing this...hmmmm......
 
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