Street Cruser

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Hello
listed below is info on the valves that I used
Intake SEV2564-E (E?) 1.780 SB 289 rail type
Exhaust SEV2563 1.450 SB 289 rail type
I will look into the valve spring info.
 
John, why did you use the rail valves? Llarger valve tip? Something else? Trying to learn.
 
csheehy said:
John, why did you use the rail valves? Llarger valve tip? Something else? Trying to learn.
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I honestly have no idea what the 'rail type' means. Maybe someone that knows Ford lingo can translate that for us.
They look like regular engine valves, no unusual features with the exception of a really nice under head swirl polish.

here a link to the part number posting that mentions the 'rail type'
these valves have the performance under head polish.
SI Ford V8 Portflow Series Stainless Steel Valves (rpmrons.com)

SI also lists the 289 valves as I 2564 and E 2563, but those are in the regular replacement section and likely do not the the additional under head work.

The beehive springs that I used are Comp 26995, the inner ID at the spring base is a nice match to the OD of the pedestal at the base of the valve guide on a slant. I was high on spring pressure though and I had to have the spring seats trimmed. If I do this again I will look for a little shorter spring. Whoever you get the valve springs from will be able to match up a retainer and keepers to the Ford valve stem diameter.

COMP Cams Beehive Valve Spring: Top 1.065" O.D., .650" I.D.; Bottom 1.415" O.D., 1.000" I.D., [email protected] - Single
 
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John, you can click HERE to see a Ford rail rocker arm. Imagine if our engines had pedestal-mounted rockers and they had guardrails on either side of the valve-side rocker pad cradling the valve-tip. Rail Rockers. It's an efficient setup. I had a '66 Mustang (289, 4-spd) with them years ago - and today, I'm going to use the same 289 valves in my Mopar - Kinda crazy... The tip-lengths on the rail-valves are .365 vs .240 for the non-rail ones. A little extra cushion, otherwise, no difference.

I went with Elgin's I-1670 & E-1669. I'll back-cut the Intake but install the Exh as-is. We'll finalize the spring & retainer selection once everything is measured but hoping for 280# from a beehive or canonical spring or #300 without (recommended by OCG).

Thanks for all the extra details (as always!), much appreciated @my68barracuda
 
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And you are a great source of information,
What do you mean by ‘tip length .365 vs .0240’ and ‘not using valve guides’
 
First - I had to change some of what I wrote (edited)- my fingers were typing while my mind was still ingesting caffeine! And I hadn't had much.

The tip length was incorrect, I meant to say .365 and .240 and for the uppermost part of the tip.

As for guides, I misguided you on this one (coffee again). The pushrod guides (to the best of my recollection) are not used when the rail rockers are employed on this engine. Why? Just a hunch, but perhaps because that would be overkill - at least from Ford's perspective (as the manufacturer). Either rail or guide will help keep the pedestal rocker on the straight. I recall my 289 having rail rockers, and no pushrod guides.
 
And by tip length, is that describing the length of the valve stem from the upper rim of the keeper groove to the end of the valve?
 
I'm sharing THIS with my builder. I'm thinking I just found a proper set of beehive valve-springs @ 284# for the OG #346 - which calls for 300#. The drop in spring pressure is consistent with what is expected from a change from static-rate to the variable-rate that the beehive offers. Conicals would be a tad better, but I can't seem to find those. Next up - finding tool-steel retainers & compatible locks :)

Not expecting a seat-of-the-pants feel for this single-change, but do know that the cumulative effect of reduced inertia-power-loss will add up in freeing up some HP&Tq.
 
The conicals usually have a higher rate than the BHs, probably too much for your application. Large range of BHs now to choose from.
 
Starting the process of getting license plates and insurance on the 68 Barracuda. Went into my files to dig out the title. I bought it in 2009 and the last time it was street driven was 1979.
The car had the original owners manual in the original plastic pouch in the glove compartment. That listed the buyer, selling date, salesman and dealer.
Notice the disclaimer on the warranty, to keep it in effect all receipts must be presented to the selling dealership on the anniversary of the sales date.

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Have insurance and license plates on the 68 Barracuda. For the insurance I went with Haggerty. For the plates Indiana allows vintage cars to display an Indiana plate from the year of the vehicle, so I did that. I have been driving the car close to home until I get confidence it its reliability. I have 36 miles showing on the odometer, I had the odometer set back to zero miles as part of the rehabilitation project. So far nothing has fallen off or leaked out.
I am running a MS3 Pro for fuel and ignition control and a MSD 6A box and a Blaster SS coil, mentioning that as I had an interesting issue with misfires above 3000 RPM early on in the tuning process.
That is now resolved and I will put a post up on that issue to share what was learned and for comments.

here is the post on the ignition issue
MS3 Pro and MSD 6A and mis fires above 3000 RPM | For A Bodies Only Mopar Forum

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After several around the neighborhood drives and additional engine tuning figured it was time to take the 68B on a short excursion.
I had M follow me in her car and we went on a 9.5 mile drive that included a short highway stint where I had the car up to 70 MPH, some boulevard 45 MPH driving and some stop and wait and then stop and wait some more city traffic. We had both reset the cars trip odometers to zero and both cars registered 9.5 miles when we returned. I clicked the AC on for about the last mile of the drive and it was blowing cold air.

Good news - out and back with out incident.
I have quite a bit of shrouding around the front of the car, the air that does get in is ducted through the radiator. On a 85 degree, high humidity Indiana day, the engine temps stayed in the 195 range. I have twin electric fans with one of them running all the time the motor is switched on. Shut the car off , let it set for a few minutes and it restarts with out issue, the temperature gauge is pegged on the restart but it pulls back down to the hot side of normal quickly.

Used the infra red non contact thermometer to get the temperatures of some components after the 9.5 mile drive.
All temperatures are degrees F

8.75 differential and housing 110 to 115
Battery, trunk mounted 85
Coil, fender mounted in engine compartment 149
MSD box fender mounted in engine compartment 144
Fender next to coil and MSD box 125
Alternator 165 near front of motor
Starter 180 at rear of motor
Oil filter top 177
MS3 ECU in passenger compartment 93

I don't see anything alarming. I will let the car cool, check fluids and take it for a longer drive over the weekend.

"long metal cylinder was an air intake" yes, the large diameter section is the filter housing.
 
my68barracuda said:
Have insurance and license plates on the 68 Barracuda. For the insurance I went with Haggerty. For the plates Indiana allows vintage cars to display an Indiana plate from the year of the vehicle, so I did that. I have been driving the car close to home until I get confidence it its reliability. I have 36 miles showing on the odometer, I had the odometer set back to zero miles as part of the rehabilitation project. So far nothing has fallen off or leaked out.
I am running a MS3 Pro for fuel and ignition control and a MSD 6A box and a Blaster SS coil, mentioning that as I had an interesting issue with misfires above 3000 RPM early on in the tuning process.
That is now resolved and I will put a post up on that issue to share what was learned and for comments.

here is the post on the ignition issue
MS3 Pro and MSD 6A and mis fires above 3000 RPM | For A Bodies Only Mopar Forum

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Nice rig, you have done well with the slant guys watching your every move.
The chin spoiler on your car, is that factory issue or aftermarket?
 
An update of the off season - winter projects for the 68 Barracuda.
1) Driving it this past late summer and early fall it was obvious that the fuel level gauge was not accurate. I installed a Meter Match that should resolve that issue. With next summers driving I will be able to confirm that.
2) I have the OE '68 Barracuda front head light and grill assemblies, however although I am a big fan of the second generation Barracuda side profile and rear body lines but I was never really sold on the front end treatment. I really like the 1967 Dodge Coronet head light and grill arrangement and I think that would look fine on a '68 Barracuda, I am about to find out.
I purchased at a reasonable price a set of '67 Coronet head light bezels and with some minor rework was able to adapt those to the '68 Plymouth quad head light mounts that I already had. I have also located a '67 Coronet grill that looks to be in fine shape and the seller worked with me on the pricing so that will come in without a major hurt. That part is still in the shipping process, I should have it late next week. Posted below are photos of where that project is today.
3) A later winter project will be installing a new ring and pinion in the 742 differential. The 355 gears in there currently have a lot of howl to them.
4) I have all the parts to swap the OE steering wheel over to a Mopar Tuff wheel. The OE steering wheel is in about perfect condition, no cracks or worn areas so I want to preserve it. A thicker steering wheel rim will be also better for grip and car control.
5) Will also do some wire re-routing - cleanup under the hood.

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my68barracuda said:
An update of the off season - winter projects for the 68 Barracuda.
1) Driving it this past late summer and early fall it was obvious that the fuel level gauge was not accurate. I installed a Meter Match that should resolve that issue. With next summers driving I will be able to confirm that.
2) I have the OE '68 Barracuda front head light and grill assemblies, however although I am a big fan of the second generation Barracuda side profile and rear body lines but I was never really sold on the front end treatment. I really like the 1967 Dodge Coronet head light and grill arrangement and I think that would look fine on a '68 Barracuda, I am about to find out.
I purchased at a reasonable price a set of '67 Coronet head light bezels and with some minor rework was able to adapt those to the '68 Plymouth quad head light mounts that I already had. I have also located a '67 Coronet grill that looks to be in fine shape and the seller worked with me on the pricing so that will come in without a major hurt. That part is still in the shipping process, I should have it late next week. Posted below are photos of where that project is today.
3) A later winter project will be installing a new ring and pinion in the 742 differential. The 355 gears in there currently have a lot of howl to them.
4) I have all the parts to swap the OE steering wheel over to a Mopar Tuff wheel. The OE steering wheel is in about perfect condition, no cracks or worn areas so I want to preserve it. A thicker steering wheel rim will be also better for grip and car control.
5) Will also do some wire re-routing - cleanup under the hood.

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update on the front end - grill revision

Made new mounts for the B Body head light bezels, used light weight aluminum for the brackets. The '67 Coronet headlight bezels and grill section are secured. I like the look.
I was wanting to do a front end treatment on the 68 Barracuda that was different from stock, but still retained the appearance of something that Chrysler could have done in that era.
I wanted to give the front a unique look but not modify any of the OE 68 Barracuda sheet metal so it would be easy to change it back to stock.
The next part of this project will be re making the radiator ducting and finding a spot for the front turn signals.
The second photo is really close to the final product, I need to decide if the bezels and grill get polished or blacked out or are a combination of the two. There will also be trim added to the grill edges of the nose cone section.
The last photo is the 68 Barracuda masquerading as a late 60's Dodge B body


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I like it. I hear ZZ Top pounding out Sharp Dressed Man. Go for it! :thumbsup:
 
abdywgn said:
I like the look also! How much do the bumper brackets weigh?
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The aluminum front bumper brackets are really light. They match up to the factory frame bolt holes about perfect.
They do fine with a light weight fiberglass bumper, my bumper is from Glasstec, but there is no way the aluminum brackets would support a stock steel bumper. The vendor that I bought the aluminum brackets from makes them for many models. I bought them at the Indy Cylinder Head show here locally. If you are interested I could dig the contact info out.
 
:thumbsup:Dig the hybrid nose, & I'm sure You'll dig the 4-headlamp system at night! Nice work, (psssst!!..I'm a blackout fan, just sayin'!), keep it comin'!
 
Yes, if you could find contact info that would be great. Thanks for supporting a company local to me, Glasstek.
 
abdywgn said:
Yes, if you could find contact info that would be great. Thanks for supporting a company local to me, Glasstek.
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the guy posts here at FABO
here is link
Aluminum bumper brackets, a new offering | For A Bodies Only Mopar Forum

and there are other posts here at FABO where folks have made their own, from aluminum and from fiberglass.
But the brackets in the link are a real no hassel solution. That link goes back a few years, his welding has gotten better, the welds on mine look great, the price has gone up some too.
 
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