Old wrench guys.. just a quick 340 question.

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jimharvard

JimHarvard
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Do any of you "old timers" know what head came on the 68 340 with a four speed? Was it the X head? I know the manual equipped 68 340 came with a pretty wild cam. If you young "whipper snappers" know the answer ... please tell me...

jim coster, pittsburgh
"jimharvard" here at FABO
 
Some say canada only some say it doesn't have to be. They are the same as an X for performance.
 
Jim, is that question for 'old guys' with wrenches,..or guys with 'old wrenches' ? HE HE, Ho Ho, Ha Ha, ...didn't they make a song like that? There comming to take me away Ha Ha......
 
Too funny!

Yes, they're coming to take you away. I see the nice young men in their clean white coats now .............
 
great stuff you guys... and CudaChick1968.. you have one of the nicest avatars i've seen... don't mean to get too personal there....

in my book... an "old wrench" is a guy who still has a "feelers gauge" in his tool box so he can set "a set of points..." when he needs to. a "young wipper-snapper" is a guy who truely believes that cars were always controlled by computers...


and thanks for the x heads answer.... i've decided to take that nice '68
340 block that i just acquired and build it to stock ... x heads and all... i just bought a set of real 340 valve covers off of ebay ... complete with the 68 only plug wire holders attached. that's what's going to go into the 68 fish. i think my 68 and 69 s's are going to stay stock and i'm going to look for another 68 to put a "new" old big block in .... and then i'm going to just beat the hell out of the car until the number of points on my license makes me quit for a while.

see ya all at the back row at the big boy...
jim coster, pittsburgh
 
Jim, is that question for 'old guys' with wrenches,..or guys with 'old wrenches' ? HE HE, Ho Ho, Ha Ha, ...didn't they make a song like that? There comming to take me away Ha Ha......

I misread the subject line the first time and saw ... "Old Wench Guys" and it intially creeped me out because I have a related story that happened to me that made me have nightmares for quite awhile. :puke:

Re: that song. I think it was performed by Dr. Demento: "They're coming to take me away - He He Ho Ho Ha Ha - to the funny farm where life is grand ..." That was such a funny song when it came out.
 
hey GTX... all i can say is... are you THAT happy to see me ... or is that just a pistol grip shifter in your hand....

jc... the burg
 
Actually, it's an inland shifter but as they say ... "It's all good!"

BTW: I am glad to hear your current plans for the 340.

Now, I must go and create an avatar that must compete with Leanne's. ;-)

UPDATE: What am I thinking? I all ready concede.
 
Glad to hear you're building up that 340. If you want your sweet old valve covers with the plug wire hold downs prettied up, please give me a call. FABO members get special discounts you know ... even if they don't flatter me ;)

And that's not an avatar by the way. It's just me, the old-timer wench in the garage, complete with feeler guages, timing light, and the know-how to use 'em. (If it's computer controlled, it better have a keyboard, a mouse, and a nice soft chair in front of it.)

GTX, I wrote you back about your cross ram in a private message too. Please give me a call if you have any questions about it or want to go over specifics.

Thanks for the kind words guys!!!
 
hey cudachick1968 .... i had a moment of shortness of breath when i read that your avatar was not an avatar .. but was really YOU.... i'm so glad to see such "easy on the eyes" motorheads like jesse on spike tv's extreme 4x4, danaca patrick at indy and now you at FABO. i showed your pic to my 68 and 69 fastbacks today and they want to know if you do house call tune ups. the 68 is hacking and coughing and says he needs new plugs and the 69... well he's complaining of clutch problems. funny thing is ... i had both of them out for a ride around the housing plan last week and both seemed fine. i think they're just making this stuff up hoping you'll show up in a big mac tools truck. i'm thinking you might want to shop around for a real heavy denim mechanic's jump suit for a new pic.

but i do love the idea that you've got feeler's gauges and timing lights in your garage ... even if you have posted a bow tie valve cover pic on our hallowed FABO ground.

thanks for the suggestion on my 340 valve covers... i may take you up on some powder coat mopar red.

jim c.... steeler town, usa
 
ah a beautiful woman with a nice pair of valve covers...

I'm in love.

Do you paint or powder coat? And can you do the crinkle black finish on the 273 commando covers?
 
Jim, that was funny! I'm waiting for The Speed Channel to call me up about my new Saturday morning show, Powdercoating With The CudaChick <eye roll>, but so far it's just customers when the phone rings.
As far as the house calls go, Pittsburgh is quite a haul in the Mac Tools Truck from BFE Tennessee (especially with the price of gas these days), so I think I'll probably just stick with my normal work here in the shop. Apologize to the Fastbacks for me if you would. I'd love to help you out with your valve covers though -- or any other smaller parts for that matter -- if you're inclined to go the powder route.

C130, thank you for the compliment as well. Although I can paint (it's part of the resto hobby), I'm a much more talented powder coater. I love what I do and hope it shows.
If you haven't had a chance to check out my website yet, please do. There are over 800 of the 6,500+ colors available under the "Color Charts" tab, and I can send free swatches if some of them strike your fancy so you can pick exactly what you want. (If by some realllllllllly rare chance your color isn't amongst the 6,500+, custom matching is also available for a rather large fee ($120) paid to my powder supplier; it doesn't go in my pocket -- it's what they charge for the service.)
With all of that in mind, yes, I can do your crinkle / wrinkle finish, as well as irridescents, translucents, metallics, rivers, veins, standard colors, leatherettes that really do look like leather, and several nice chrome-like powders.

Check out my website for more information about my shop. Thanks guys!!!

Leanna ~ The CudaChick

Owner / Operator
Phoenix Specialty Coatings
Professional Powdercoating for the
Auto & Motorcycle Enthusiast
731-613-9192 (10-9 central)
http://phoenixspecialtycoatings.com/
 
You guys are priceless, just don't go scaring Leanna off. Don't pay no never mind to those guys Leanna, we Canadians especially the older ones (like me) are real gentleman, yea right except for Old Vart speaking of heh you out there, or are you going into early hibernation

Terry:burnout:
 
hey leanna...
thanks for the powder coat intel ... how "chrome" are the chrome powder coats? do you think a 68 cuda dash bezel would look ok done with the powder chrome paint ... can you powder coat plastic??? i've found several web sites that are refinishing cuda dashs and they are pretty expensive to have done. if you have any pics of chrome powder paint jobs how bout emailing me a pic at [email protected]. i recently painted the arm rest bezels in the 68 flat black because the chrome was pretty much gone on them. there's probably several items i could have done if the "chrome" looks pretty close to "chrome."

thanks.. jim c ....

ps. the fastbacks are heartbroken about the "no chance" visit of you and the mac tools truck for a tender tune up. funny thing is... the 68 just miraculously quite coughing ... he and the 69 say they are feeling ok now.... go figure...


oh and 416 scamp... 10.91 is an awsome time for the 1/4 for your car. the best i ever got out of my old (original) cuda (in my avatar) was a 12.28 with open hooker fender well headers and slicks... coming out at about 3500-4000 and power shifting at 6. low 12's felt pretty fast... i'll bet getting into the 10's is a blast...

jc
 
Jim, I have several samples in the website Gallery of a couple of the chrome powders (Reflective Chrome and Super Chrome) that are available. In my opinion, the Super Chrome is the closest thing to chrome plating I've been able to find to date.

Unfortunately, your plastic dash bezel won't stand up to the heat necessary to cure any powder. Basically, anything that cannot withstand 450 degrees for a half hour will not be a good candidate for powder coating.

I'm working on some old nasty pot metal gauge bezels now -- from a '59 Impala --and have honestly been fighting with them nearly every step of the way as I repair and get them prepped. I'll let you guys know how they come out. The customer wants them done in the Super Chrome powder too.

You're right about the dash restoration service being expensive but, from what I've seen, those guys do a FANTASTIC job (especially CV Platers up in Canada). Combine their work with those gauge face stickers from White Gauges and your dashboard will look like it just rolled off the showroom floor.

There's a recent thread in the FABO forums entitled "powder coating" with a lot more info and pictures in there. (I don't wanna get a reputation as a thread hijacker!) Of course, any of you can call me for more info as you think of questions and save all the typing. I'm easy to work with.
 
ah a beautiful woman with a nice pair of valve covers...I'm in love.

LOL She's slaying us all. He he he.

Do you have a shot of clear or aluminum? You know what gasoline does to aluminum and I, along with everyone else hate it. I like the look of the intake and other aluminum parts when I open up the box for the first time. Would love to keep it that way.
 
Pittsburgh ROLLED last night!!! Loved the throw back uniforms and 75th theme. Must have been really special for the team to play in front of all those football greats!! Sorry, didn't mean to hijack either.
 
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