I'm a proud owner of a 1973 'Cuda which I bought from a member of another site that I belonged to at the time. It originally had a 318 in it but when I purchased it, it had a 360. I drove it for about a year but the motor had major overheating issues and it really couldn't get out of it's own way to be truthful, lol. So I decided to have a 440 built and to "redo" as much of the car as I can. I started this project back in 2008 and knew it was going to take me a while to complete so I haven't been rushing my progress at all. Motor is a 1973 440 with an eagle stroker kit in it, bringing it to a 499. The build took a couple of years (mostly me saving money to send to the shop) and was completed in June of 2010. I then found a 727 that needed serious help but sent it to the same guy that built my motor and he built it up nice to fit the motor.
I would say 6-7 years passed where I only got to work on it a few days out of the year. I have 3 kids and they are all very active in sports and such so time for working on the 'Cuda wasn't on my side. During that time though, I did manage to pull off a pretty decent trade (in my books anyways). At the time, I owned a 155g saltwater fish tank and was looking to sell/trade it. So I put it up for trade on Craig's List hoping I would get a mig welder or something along those lines but I got an email from a guy who asked me if I needed any body work done (to any of my cars) and that he'd be willing to trade for it. I thought it was a scam at first but after numerous emails and us meeting in person, I knew I found a sweet deal. So the deal was I had to prepare the body as much as I could, stripping it down and sanding the majority of the problem areas and then send it to him. He would finish all the body work, fixing what he could, on his weekends off and then paint everything for me. I didn't even have to buy the paint, which is called Dupont Hot Rod Black and looks like a flat-black color. It took him about a year but I would go up almost every weekend to check on it and any progress that was made. In the end, the paint isn't "show" ready but to me, it looks good enough....especially for trading a saltwater fish tank!
At any rate, I'm finally getting some time to work on it again and it feels good. During that 8 years, even though I didn't work on it much, I did manage to buy almost everything I needed, so now everything is in boxes just waiting to be installed! I'll post some before and after pictures once I get them off PhotoBucket. Anyways, I still have quite a bit to do to get it running so I'll be sure to keep this thread updated and I post a lot of questions so I'm hoping members can help me out. :)
Here's what I'd like it to look like when all is said and done!
This will be fun to watch!!! :banana: :popcorn: Good luck and let us know if you need any help. :bradsthumb:
Ok, found some of my old pix so I'll post them up and try to put them in the order in which they were done....no promises though, :haha:
Looking forward to watching this one come together. Be sure to post plenty of pics and videos!
More pix...not the roof pic....that's the only part of the paint job that I don't care for, but I think the guy that did it was tired of working on the car and just wanted to get it done. I'm hoping I can spray it and smooth it out a little bit.
More pix
Looking good !
More pix
More pix....the last pic is the fiberglass hood that I still need to purchase.
Here's my new gas tank...was gonna put it in last weekend but I wanted to know what the 4 stubs are for on the back of the tank?? They connect to 4 hoses up on the body but I can't tell what it's connected to. Any ideas??
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190507/65eb598696b1ef005dc6e0f7644ad237.jpg)
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Here's my new radiator too! Well, new to me. My neighbor and good friend owns 2 mopars and he got a new radiator about a month ago and he wanted me to have his old one! It includes the dual electric fans and the wiring harness! Feel blessed to be on the receiving end of this one!
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190507/a66e84e1b9d6befaddb15c6cd3165db6.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190507/4f8ab253b5322c5c0963d94d2ba463c7.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190507/00f85551590bb3d5e6d0b6e0b41e7efd.jpg)
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Based on your rendering, guessing you have followed Aaron becks kuda build? I'm subjective, you're basically building the sister of my challenger. Mine is hot rod black, full hotchkis/qa1 suspension, 512 stroker etc
Quote from: dave73chally on May 07, 2019, 05:31:06 PM
Based on your rendering, guessing you have followed Aaron becks kuda build? I'm subjective, you're basically building the sister of my challenger. Mine is hot rod black, full hotchkis/qa1 suspension, 512 stroker etc
Yes!!!! He is the one from the old site that would do all these mock ups of Cudas and Challengers. Him and I worked for a little bit on what look I was going for and he sent me 20+ renderings of my car. The guy is a master at art and mechanics!
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Looks like a really fun build, enjoy! :bradsthumb:
Welcome.
That rendering is almost exactly what I am shooting for with my 73. I snagged a copy for my screen saver. Your car is looking good.
Whose rear spring mounts are those?
Quote from: rdf on May 07, 2019, 03:40:00 PM
Here's my new gas tank...was gonna put it in last weekend but I wanted to know what the 4 stubs are for on the back of the tank?? They connect to 4 hoses up on the body but I can't tell what it's connected to. Any ideas??
In a stock set-up those four hoses hook up to a gas tank vent system. Your car might still have the vent canister mounted up in the rear sho :alan2cents:ck crossmember !
Quote from: anlauto on May 08, 2019, 07:16:36 AM
In a stock set-up those four hoses hook up to a gas tank vent system. Your car might still have the vent canister mounted up in the rear sho :alan2cents:ck crossmember !
Yes, there is still a canister up attached to the body so I'm assuming that's what it must be. Is it functional? Can I (and should I) replace the canister contents? I've never had to deal with this before, which is why I'm a little stumped. :thinking:
Quote from: Burdar on May 08, 2019, 08:41:16 AM
That is called a vapor separator. It's what vents the gas tank. The tank needs to be vented. Don't throw it away. There is a valve inside that lets the fuel vapors travel to the charcoal canister in the engine compartment. If the charcoal canister is removed, the tank will still vent but the vapors will be open to the air.
Soak your vapor separator in EvapoRust to clean out the inside. The valve(check ball) inside only allows air to pass through it in the middle of its travel. It will block air flow when the check ball is against its seats. You can block all but two of the nipples, then suck/blow through it. You should hear/feel the check ball moving.
Wow, thank you for the info and the pictures....makes it much easier to piece together. When I bought the car, it had a SB, 360 in it but it didn't have the charcoal canister in the engine compartment. I don't plan on putting one in either so my next question would be, is it ok to connect the gas tank to the vapor separator with the 4 tubes and not have a vent tube that's supposed to go to the engine bay? I would think so but just want to be sure.
Earlier years didn't use a charcoal canister. They just vented the tank to the atmosphere. The difference between those cars and your setup is that the vent line(s) in the earlier years ran up high into the trunk.(much higher than the fuel tank) This is so you wouldn't have any raw fuel dumping out of the lines on hot days...when the fuel expanded.
Since the vapor separator is pretty low, I would run a vent line up as high as you can get it. I'd also put a few loops in the line. If you have a full tank of gas and the temps get high, fuel can expand into the vapor separator. With the vent line running up high, you lessen the chance of raw fuel getting up that high and spilling out.
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted but I haven't had the chance to work on the car much at all. Had a busy summer with the family and taking lots of vacations :)
I started drawing out where I want my electrical plate under the dash and was able to pick up a nice piece of aluminum which I just have to get cut to the correct size. Once I get that done, I can mount it under the dash, to the firewall, and then start putting all the electrical items on it.
Progress has been so slow and frustrating that I'm to the point where I'm seeking a shop or someone that I can pay to help put it back together. I've got a list of all the things that need to be done, all the parts I have, and parts/things that I still need to get. Most of the parts I still need are smaller items (transmission kickdown assembly, etc.) but I'm gonna try to find them before the work finishes. Right now I'd be happy to get someone or some place to get it running and then I can go from there. I live in Orlando, FL so if anyone knows of a reputable shop or mechanic that would be willing to take on such work, please let me know. Just to be clear, I don't need the interior, doors, trunk, or hood to be put on by them as this (and some other smaller items) is something I can do and will also save me some money as well.
Quote from: gzig5 on May 08, 2019, 07:10:40 AM
Welcome.
That rendering is almost exactly what I am shooting for with my 73. I snagged a copy for my screen saver. Your car is looking good.
Whose rear spring mounts are those?
More spring mount details! How far did you move them in? What size rear wheel you make/got? Looks awesome so far!
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Quote from: ClarkWGrizwald on October 22, 2019, 11:07:14 AM
Quote from: gzig5 on May 08, 2019, 07:10:40 AM
Welcome.
That rendering is almost exactly what I am shooting for with my 73. I snagged a copy for my screen saver. Your car is looking good.
Whose rear spring mounts are those?
More spring mount details! How far did you move them in? What size rear wheel you make/got? Looks awesome so far!
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I'll get you this info when I have some free time at home. I can tell you the springs are from summit racing and were around $140ish, as far as the brackets, I'll look back at my receipts to see where I got them and take some measurements as well.
The rear wheels were custom made by Stockton Wheel out in CA. I paid $650 for both but they have a 6.5" backspacing so they fit right under the quarter panel once the springs are relocated. :bigthumb:
Quote from: ClarkWGrizwald on October 22, 2019, 11:07:14 AM
Quote from: gzig5 on May 08, 2019, 07:10:40 AM
Welcome.
That rendering is almost exactly what I am shooting for with my 73. I snagged a copy for my screen saver. Your car is looking good.
Whose rear spring mounts are those?
More spring mount details! How far did you move them in? What size rear wheel you make/got? Looks awesome so far!
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So I looked through all my records but couldn't find anything regarding the spring mounts...then it dawned on me; I have a friend who made them for me back when I had him make the frame rail connectors for me as well. In some of my previous pictures, you can see he made a bar that sticks up under the bumper and he welded that to the frame and then made the spring brackets and welded them to that bar.
See the attached picture for my rims. I believe they are 15x10 with a 6.5" backspacing.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191022/8a23625b5a6eb5acd4b84c2f21de28a3.jpg)
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Well that setup is great and ill probably copy that. I'd like to see the springs move in 2 inches. I have 10.5" wide wheels and im going to try to squeeze 345 rear tires in there. My back spacing is 6.62" im hoping it'll fit. Yours gives me more hope! I can weld up whatever I need to make it work. Comes down to actual space inside the actual wheel well i think. If not I'll just get 305 or 315s.
Thanks for the pics!
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Quote from: dodj on October 24, 2019, 04:18:45 AM
@ClarkWGrizwald (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/clarkwgrizwald_4816)
I have 10.5" wide wheels with 6 5/8 bs. 1.5" offset spring hangers. The 315's fit with a bit of space left over.
Based on my car, I would say a 345 could fit. May have to roll the lip a bit.
@rdf (https://forum.e-bodies.org/mlist/rdf_4158)
Body and paint for a fish tank! You did alright there even if it's not a show winning paint job. :clapping:
Thank you for the real world info! I tried to do my calculations based off other people's data but wasn't sure how it would end up. Do you have and inch between the tire and the leaf spring? I figure the 345 is
1.2" wider than a 315 so .6 " tigher towards the leaf. So you would need to be sitting with 1" inside space currently for a 1.5 relocation bracket to work for me. I calculated you probably have about .5" so I'd likely need a 2" relocation to make this work. It's gonna be tight! (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191024/83946969e9610c7398edf38f20498a97.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191024/dbe29ff6bc9fa623e7ee9e71cdb7d769.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191024/4e4c82333a82e4a1e22dfa6dbccf5168.jpg)
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Fun looking project your have!
What diameter wheels do you have? I don't think a 345 will even fit on a 10.5" wheel. If you are going after optimizing handling performance I would try 295 or a 305 on 10.5"
18" wheels. I already own a brand new set of MT et streets that I had for my viper. Since they are on the shelf, figured I'd try them on. I'll buy different tires if I must. The 275s I'm putting on the front 8.5" rims are also a bit big. But I have a new set sitting here so im gonna use em. It's a street driver so should be fine. For a track day I have other wheels and tires I can use off the mustang with some spacers.
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No new progress to report unfortunately :crying: Living in Orlando, FL is a double-edged sword when it comes to "winter" weather and real life activities. On one hand, the weather is absolutely gorgeous out and has been for a few weeks now. This makes it ideal to work on the car without having to feel like I'm wrapped in a wet blanket from humidity like the summer months. On the other hand, nicer weather means kid's have outdoor soccer 5x a week and all the holidays and traveling that go with that as well. No excuses though, I'm still trying to press forward with anything I can do.....I finally found a nice B&M shifter with the base and cable for a great price so I picked that up and I've been making a running list of what still needs to be done to my car and what parts/things I need to order or get done.
I'm going to contact the guy who built my motor and see if he can give me a price to do some of the bigger items on my to-do list. I don't have a ton of cash at the moment but I believe I have enough to get a few things done, mainly the items that are harder for me to do in my garage.
I'm gonna post my list so y'all can see it and give me any advice you think would be helpful. Also, I'm open for anyone who lives local, to pay for some help with these items so let me know if you live in the area and wanna help out :)
I did a lot of digging and researching on local shops and got some quotes to put my car back together, but they're steep! First off, the guy that built my motor said he would love to but he simply doesn't do that kind of work anymore at his shop. He's mainly a motor shop and wouldn't have the space for my car. So I called a few local places...most saying "I need to see it before I can quote you anything", which was to be expected. If it comes down to it, I may rent a U-Haul car trailer and setup appointments with some of the local shops so I can get it done in a day or two. The U-Haul rental isn't cheap so I gotta make best with it when I have it.
I also joined a few Mopar groups on Facebook and got in touch with 2 local people there. The first guy seemed more interested in doing body work to my car but he did say he could put it back together as I wanted.....his price? 8k-10k :angry: The next guy actually came out to my house and looked the car over for a good 45 minutes. He just split ways with a shop called Drop Dead Customs
https://www.dropdeadcustoms.com/ (https://www.dropdeadcustoms.com/) and is looking to venture out on his own. His price? 5k for it all or $75/hr. While his price is a lot more reasonable than the other guy, it's still a big chunk of money for mechanical work. I'm gonna have to talk to him again because I think that price includes putting the doors, trunk, and hood back on, which I told him I don't need that done because I can do that part after.
So I have some options and am still looking into a few more places to see if there are any better options or alternatives. Sorry it's not an exciting update, lol.
Thanks buddy! If you have that much out-board, I could run a small spacer to move the wheel out a tad to center it. I was hoping to have gotten to the car by now this winter. Haven't yet. Between work, a home remodeling project and kids sports....the cuda still sits. I gotta install the 340/727 , the 3.55 posi rear, rear springs and relocation kit , the new black interior and i wanted to wrap the body in vinyl. I have a lot to do still! Nothing too hard, just time consuming.
And as you know, you do a project like put in a motor and you think "since im in here.....maybe I should put a Fi-tech fuel injection carb on..." Or msd ignition conversion....or better power steering sector etc etc. Just gets out of control taking longer and longer. Part of the fun journey.
Thanks for the help on the measurements!
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Been busy with work and a few vacations so I didn't have much time to work on the car....but, I managed to move it from my single car garage to my double car garage to be ready for some work tomorrow!
Made some progress today...got the distributor and brake booster in and managed to figure out most of the wiring. More work planned for the weekend 😁
Noticed this port when I was putting the water pump together...any ideas what it's for? The pump is from 440 Source and I checked their site but it doesn't say what it's for.
You install a nipple there for mounting the heater hose.
Quote from: RUNCHARGER on July 10, 2020, 06:50:27 PM
You install a nipple there for mounting the heater hose.
Gotcha...but no heater box means just put a plug in, correct?
Yes, pipe thread.
Not a ton of time to work on it today but was able to mock up the placement for the motor plate, alternator, power steering pump, and power distribution block. I made the cut in the motor plate a long time ago, for the alternator, but after putting it together today, we noticed it still needs a bit more cutting.
Tomorrow's plan is to cut all the necessary bolt holes/adjustments in the motor plate and see if we can get the power steering pump on just to see how it fits.
One issue that I didn't really think of when using a motor plate is it throws off the alignment of the pulley's just a tad so we're gonna have to figure out that as well.
Need a harmonic balancer ad pulley as well, any suggestions?
Looks like the alternator pulley isn't going to line up with the rest of the pulleys so my question is, do they make a smaller, compact alternator or do we just have to order a different pulley with the right amount of offset?
Last day of working on it until next weekend. Made some breakthroughs though...motor plate isn't gonna work...at least I can't think of a way to get it to work. I believe it would work for manual steering or rack & pinion steering but the back of the pump has too many things sticking out that need to move when adjusting the belt. The first two pix show how much of the plate we had to cut to get it to bolt up and that wasn't counting for the adjustment part. You can see the pic with the red outline that is how much more we would've had to have cut to make it work, slightly. At that point, there's not much left on the plate and I don't think it would hold up very well.
So we're on to motor mounts now but the good news is everything seemed to bolt up nicely now. I've got a list of stuff to order so I'm hoping it'll be here by the weekend.
It's been like Xmas for me this past week and a half....got a bunch of parts in and I'm ready to get working on the beast again this weekend. :veryexcited:
Got some easier stuff done today. We put the water pump pulley on, the crank pulley on, got all the plugs for the water pump and sealed those up, starter is wired up and installed, radiator is wired and installed (just need to run the power for the fans), kickdown bracket secured to the carb along with the throttle cable as well (thanks to everyone who recommended Lokar...super easy to install and adjust), and bolted the carb to the intake.
We tried to reverse the fuel lines on the carb so that the hose would come from the back (nice and clean) and not all the way up front, but when swapped, the tube hits a bolt mount on the intake, preventing it from fitting correctly. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get around this? We thought of either slightly bending the tube so it avoids the intake or grinding off about 1/16" to get it to fit. I don't know how easily those tubes bend and I really don't want to pay for another one if I break it.
Horse apiece. I would bend the tubes, but I wouldn't have it bolted to the carb. I'd drill a tube size hole through the middle of two stacked pieces of wood or plastic to form a holder/die for the tube in the vise. Clamp it, then grab the tube and bend it up 1/4" or so to clear the boss on the inake. repeat on other tube so they are in line. You may be able to use the carb with the tubes mounted as the holder, but be careful about damaging the bowl. If it is steel tube it will take a bit of effort to bend that short arm.
There are probably a few other ways to accomplish it too.
Adding a carb spacer should get the pipe out of the way. Edelbrock makes a 5/16" insulating one in versions for single or dual plane or if you have the hood clearance a 1" wood/phenolic would help top end HP in most cases.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-9265?seid=srese1&gclid=CjwKCAjwsO_4BRBBEiwAyagRTTHgVDAKVbJoNkeWRNrlVIm6i6IBNObz-xDEuEfcZtZEf8PnW1FvHxoCyX0QAvD_BwE
Quote from: gzig5 on July 25, 2020, 08:10:06 AM
Horse apiece. I would bend the tubes, but I wouldn't have it bolted to the carb. I'd drill a tube size hole through the middle of two stacked pieces of wood or plastic to form a holder/die for the tube in the vise. Clamp it, then grab the tube and bend it up 1/4" or so to clear the boss on the inake. repeat on other tube so they are in line. You may be able to use the carb with the tubes mounted as the holder, but be careful about damaging the bowl. If it is steel tube it will take a bit of effort to bend that short arm.
There are probably a few other ways to accomplish it too.
Adding a carb spacer should get the pipe out of the way. Edelbrock makes a 5/16" insulating one in versions for single or dual plane or if you have the hood clearance a 1" wood/phenolic would help top end HP in most cases.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-9265?seid=srese1&gclid=CjwKCAjwsO_4BRBBEiwAyagRTTHgVDAKVbJoNkeWRNrlVIm6i6IBNObz-xDEuEfcZtZEf8PnW1FvHxoCyX0QAvD_BwE
I thought about the spacer late last night and tried it out (wife thought I was nuts for getting up out of bed at 11pm to try it, lol) and it does work but I'll have to see what's the smallest size I can get and still do what I want to do. I have a 1" and it sticks out too much.
I ended up grinding the edge off just enough to get the tube to fit. Didn't interfere with the threaded hole and once touched up, it looks pretty good.
Also ran into an issue replacing the motor mounts...took the passenger side off and noticed the mount was welded to the bracket :looney: so initially I was just going to order a new set of brackets but after looking at it, I felt I could grid off the welds and be ok. So that's what I did...I think it came out ok, what do y'all think?
Also ended up calling AutoMeter for my ops unit and they sent me the right one for my gauge so I'll be putting that in tomorrow along with a few other things.
Another solid weekend of work in the books. We were able to get the transmission dip stick installed along with the headers, spark plugs, starter relay (thanks to those that answered my question in another thread), and gas tank. Got some of the brake lines in but ran into fitting issues with the Wilwood proportioning valve. The lines are new from Inline Tube and are bent to be like from the factory but the valve doesn't line up at all. We would've had to cut and flare the lines and I didn't think it was worth it at this point. So we ended up using the old valve but I'm in search of a replacement in case anyone knows where I can get one. Mine looks like the pic below. Also, in the last pic....what is it and do I need it? It came off my old gas tank but I'm not sure it was even used when the car was running.
Got some more parts on order and probably won't be back at it for another week or so but I'm excited to see the car getting closer to being started! I have more questions but can't think of them right now. I'll be sure to post when I can remember them 😂😂
If you aren't going to have the canister, I don't think it really matters. I've seen recommendation to leave it alone, put a short section of tube and a fuel filter, and OMG you are going to die if you don't have a charcoal canister connected.
Mine was actually connected to the feed tube for the manual windshield washer pump when I got the car, so it went from the tank to the engine bay, back along the firewall, into the cabin to the pump bulb, and then back into the engine bay where the tube was laying along the driver side fender. I corrected that and was just driving it with nothing connected to metal vent line. I have obtained a canister and washer bottle, so I probably will put it back to stock. But if I didn't, I'd put a fuel filter on it and get on with life.
Addition of fuel filter on it will be to keep out debris while still venting ot atmosphere. Plumb a line up high bend a 180deg and install filter facing down. Filters other fitting is just left open.
Only got to work on the car once this weekend :thumbdown: but it was probably for the best. Had some setbacks that pissed me off but it is what it is.
Got the vapor separator cleaned up and installed along with the fuel pump, radiator hoses, belts, etc. Also finalized all the brake lines too but ended up getting new calipers and pads because both bleeder screws snapped off. I got a new gel battery with 800ca and 1000cca and this was where things started to go downhill. The terminals were too small (see pic) and looked like shit but I couldn't find any other ones locally and we had planned on cranking the engine so I wanted something for now. As I was installing that, a friend tried to get my MSD wires installed but because I have headers (Headman Headers) the long boots wouldn't fit and were smashed up against the headers. So we moved onto the driveshaft and that didn't turn out well either. It's too long and the yoke doesn't fit into the transmission....ugh. I knew I was probably gonna have to shorten it but I didn't realize I'd need a new yolk too. We then moved onto the transmission cooler. I bought the Derale Performance Hyper-Cool Remote Cooler (PN: 13960) with the intent on fitting it behind my grill...yep, that didn't work. It's only 5 & 1/8" thick but it was still too thick and blocked the grill from sitting properly (by a lot too). With it being a remote cooler (with its own electric fan) I could install it anywhere but I really couldn't find a spot. I thought about the trunk but I was worried about air flow and overall it just didn't look good no matter where I put it.
By this time it was dinner time and, in my opinion, a good time to stop. Cooler, wires, and battery terminals all need to be returned and I need to find replacements. I've got the cooler and terminals but still having issues with wires. I need both sides to be 90° boots and I'm not having any luck finding them. I did purchase a set locally that you have to finish yourself but the instructions were difficult and I didn't have much luck getting the wires into one boot let alone 8 of them.
Gonna figure out the driveshaft thing during the week and do some small stuff this weekend. Does anyone know how many different yokes there are for a 727? I'm not even sure what to order if I have to.
Got all the loose ends squared away and it's cranking now! I just can't get it to stay idling. I've tried adjusting the distributor but nothing is working. If I go too far in one direction then it barely cranks (like a dead battery), if I go too far the other way, then it just cranks away and doesn't even fire.
Here's a short video of what it's doing when it fires:
https://youtu.be/GU70u-5gOtg (https://youtu.be/GU70u-5gOtg)
At this point I'm thinking it's not getting fuel. It's a brand new tank, lines, and electric fuel pump so I'm wondering if the line isn't purged. I put about 8 gallons of gas in it and let the fuel pump on for a bit but doesn't seem to be helping. Anyone else run into issues like this?
I ended up getting a syphon and got fuel from the fuel line...so back to the drawing board for me...tried a few different things but nothing was working. I decided to double check the TDC and rotor position....took the cap off and looks like the rotor was pointing to #2 instead of #1 (see pics below)...so I pulled the distributor out just enough to turn the rotor 180° so it would be facing #1. Tried firing it up but still nothing. At this point I had to call it a day but tomorrow I'm gonna check all the plugs to make sure they're not soaking wet. I also have to take my driveshaft to get shortened.
You DO know that the rotor turns counterclockwise? Check firing order, make sure distributor is on #1 with that cylinder on the compression stroke. (not exhaust) Your original video appeared to be just slightly out of time, not 180 out...
Quote from: JonH on August 23, 2020, 04:42:34 PM
You DO know that the rotor turns counterclockwise? Check firing order, make sure distributor is on #1 with that cylinder on the compression stroke. (not exhaust) Your original video appeared to be just slightly out of time, not 180 out...
Forgive my ignorance on the subject but it's been a long time since I've had to do timing work on any car. I believe it was the compression stroke because I took out the #1 spark plug and put my finger over the hole while my son tapped the ignition and felt the air come out....can that happen on the exhaust stroke as well?
Quote from: rdf on August 23, 2020, 04:54:03 PM
Quote from: JonH on August 23, 2020, 04:42:34 PM
You DO know that the rotor turns counterclockwise? Check firing order, make sure distributor is on #1 with that cylinder on the compression stroke. (not exhaust) Your original video appeared to be just slightly out of time, not 180 out...
Forgive my ignorance on the subject but it's been a long time since I've had to do timing work on any car. I believe it was the compression stroke because I took out the #1 spark plug and put my finger over the hole while my son tapped the ignition and felt the air come out....can that happen on the exhaust stroke as well?
No that happens once per cycle and your plug should be sparking roughly the same time.
Took a break from the ignition issue and got my driveshaft done. I had to drop it off at a local driveshaft/rear end shop and they installed a new yoke, shortened it, balanced it, and put new u-joints in it too. I had some difficulty getting the yoke to go into the transmission but after using some grease and a little nudging, it slid right in. Now my issue is the transmission is in park so I can't freely move my car in and out of my garage. The column shifter is not hooked up (nor do I have the hardware) because I will be moving it to the floor and use a B&M Ratchet Shifter. I've got another post going which I hope someone can answer my questions.
As far as the firing issue, I'll be trailering it down to the guy who built the motor next Wednesday. Vic is a great guy and said he'd help me figure it out and get it running.
Well I took it down to Brevard Cylinder Head to see if guy guy who built my motor could help me out. Went through all the basics first and when we got the fuel, we realized it wasn't getting any. You could hear the pump "click" when the ignition was turned on but the motor never ran...so we chocked it up to a seized fuel pump. I never would have guessed that because the pump is less than 3 weeks old! At any rate, got it back home, bought a Holley pump from a local store and put it in and it fired right up!! :woohoo: :veryexcited: BTW, that's my daughter taking the video and the last time she heard it run was when I took her for a ride in it when she was 6 (she'll be 17 in a few days)...so she put that text on the video :haha:
I still have to break in the cam but for some reason my AutoMeter tach isn't working...the needle is pegged over 10k even without power to it. Oh and the smoke you see at the end of the video? That's just some ATF burning off the headers and block. My son wanted to help with the car one day so I had him pour the transmission fluid into the cone while I held it but his hand slipped and it spilled everywhere.
After that, the task at hand is getting the shifter installed on the floor. I've got a few guys I can call to see if they can give me a good price on doing it. After that it's pretty much buttoning up loose ends (power steering hose, oil and coolant change, interior, etc.)
Here's some pics of Vic's place...very old-school but I love it!
Congrats on getting your engine started. I know from recent progress on my car that this is a very sweet experience. :twothumbsup:
We're having different issues, but much of the work. Is seems to be about problem solving vs. building. Keep after it.
"DAD" Loved the video bro, very cool. Congratulations :bradsthumb:
Nice to hear it run! :bravo:
So i got talking with the guy that built my motor and he reminded me to break in my cam because it's a flat tappet cam. He recommended keeping the rpms at 2000 for 20 minutes but the only issue is my tach isn't working. The needle is stuck past 10k, even with the key off and battery not hooked up. I'm really not good with electrical things so I'm probably gonna have to find some help on this one, but is there any other way to break the cam in?
Borrow a tach, buy a cheap one for temporary usage
Do you have a digital timing light? Those will show RPM.
Highly recommended for timing and advance setups.
Quote from: YellowThumper on September 08, 2020, 08:32:52 PM
Borrow a tach, buy a cheap one for temporary usage
Do you have a digital timing light? Those will show RPM.
Highly recommended for timing and advance setups.
I have a timing light but it's not digital. I just ordered one though so I'm hoping it'll do the trick. Thanks! :cheers:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BSY9JE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BSY9JE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Very cool that it is running now after a decade !
I have good & bad news , the cam has no direct oiling only splash feed from the crank & run off from the heads so the cam break in has to be done as soon as it starts for the First time .... so running it at all has wiped the cam lube off of the cam so now basically the cam will survive or it won't , it is basically too late now , you can run the engine for 20 mins at 2000 rpm asap as it will hurt nothing at this point but the damage could already be done , sorry to say . \
If it is drivable take it for a run on the highway at 60 MPH for 1/2 hr , that will break the cam in !
Did you read my initial fire up thread in the reference section at all ?
Quote from: Chryco Psycho on September 13, 2020, 11:21:41 AM
Very cool that it is running now after a decade !
I have good & bad news , the cam has no direct oiling only splash feed from the crank & run off from the heads so the cam break in has to be done as soon as it starts for the First time .... so running it at all has wiped the cam lube off of the cam so now basically the cam will survive or it won't , it is basically too late now , you can run the engine for 20 mins at 2000 rpm asap as it will hurt nothing at this point but the damage could already be done , sorry to say . \
If it is drivable take it for a run on the highway at 60 MPH for 1/2 hr , that will break the cam in !
Did you read my initial fire up thread in the reference section at all ?
Thanks for the info Chryco....I was worried about the cam not being broken in but I was so hung up on why it wasn't firing to begin with that when it ran, it slipped my mind. I did get it out this weekend and put the digital timing light on it and kept the motor between 2-3k rpm for about 10 minutes. I had to stop because the electric fans weren't coming on and it was starting to spew collant out of the overflow nub on the radiator (I don't have an overflow can yet). The transmission dipstick also came loose and spit fluid all on the headers so it was quite the smoke show, lol. The dipstick I used was a flexible one and I don't think it was in correctly or it too loose. Either way, I"m going to order a normal one for now to make sure that doesn't happen again.
I won't be able to get it out on the road for a few months because I'm waiting for a local shop to get back with me on a price for installing the floor shifter and a few other things. But going back to the cam, I didn't get a chance to read your thread on initial startup unfortunately. I didn't even know it was there (sometimes the site is so big I don't know where to look for things). I'm sure it would've been beneficial though.....if the cam is bad, how will I be able to tell?
Got to work on the beast a bit this weekend. The guy I have helping me is really nice and knows a lot more than the last guy that helped me. He took notes (in an old-school notebook) on what needs to be done so we can have a check list as we go. Yesterday was mostly spent tucking and hiding wires in the cabin and under the dash since the last guy just left 5ft extra on every wire (not sure why). I do have a could of questions I hope some of y'all might be able to answer.
1.) The car is originally a 360 auto on the column but as you know, I put a 440 in it and would like to move the shifter to the floor. I have no center console and I'm looking at aftermarket sihfters like TCI Outlaw, etc. Can I get away with just removing the column shifter pin and still use the same steering column or will I have to buy a new column that doesn't have a shifter on it? I'm worried that if I just remove the pin, the collar on the column can (and probably will) still move while driving, possibly causing the steering wheel to lock if the column thinks it's in park.
2.) Does anyone know what adapter I need to fit the pressure hose from the power steering pump to the gearbox? I assume one or both sides need to be flanged in order for it to seal right but I don't know the size. I read a few places that said the gearbox is 7/16 but I'm trying not to make 20 trips to Ace Hardware or order multiple different ones online and have to return a bunch.
I may have the fitting you need for the power steering box...let me have a look.
I believe I have all the parts to convert the steering column from a column shift to a floor shift, if you are interested.
That shifter looks pretty cool!
Jason
Quote from: Cudajason on November 03, 2020, 01:15:26 PM
I may have the fitting you need for the power steering box...let me have a look.
I believe I have all the parts to convert the steering column from a column shift to a floor shift, if you are interested.
That shifter looks pretty cool!
Jason
That'd be awesome if you have the fitting! Just let me know or send me a PM. I may be interested in the other parts as well.
Quote from: Cudajason on November 03, 2020, 01:15:26 PM
I may have the fitting you need for the power steering box...let me have a look.
I believe I have all the parts to convert the steering column from a column shift to a floor shift, if you are interested.
That shifter looks pretty cool!
Jason
Any luck?
Quote from: rdf on November 11, 2020, 10:08:43 AM
Quote from: Cudajason on November 03, 2020, 01:15:26 PM
I may have the fitting you need for the power steering box...let me have a look.
I believe I have all the parts to convert the steering column from a column shift to a floor shift, if you are interested.
That shifter looks pretty cool!
Jason
Any luck?
Oh man I am so sorry, I thought I posted response but clearly did not. Unfortunately I do not have the fitting.
I do you the parts for the steering column if you are interested in those.
Jason
Long overdue update but at least progress is being made. Found another local guy to help me out and he ended up opening his own place called Bare Metal Rat, so I put the 'Cuda on a trailer and got it up to his shop so he could have all his tools and resources. 90% of the interior is in, doors are hung, and shifter is installed. I have a new fiberglass hood coming next week which he's going to paint to match the car, along with touching up all the nicks and scratches. I might need a new grill as well but he's trying his best to repair the one I have. I went up last Friday and had a look at it and it's pretty cracked and looks real fragile....we'll see though. He plans to start the motor soon and get any electrical/engine items fixed so we can bring it to the dyno and get it dialed in right. Oh and the exhaust is 3" and gonna cut it short and have them come out in front of the rear wheel. The guy in the pic is the one doing all the work.
More pix to come as the deadline is May 17th (daughter's graduation) so I'm hoping he's making good progress.
More pix
More progress this weekend. Got the grill sealed up, sturdy, and installed along with the lights and front valance (fog lights). Also cut the exhaust and tack welded a few spots to see how it will look under the car.
So far so good! Hood comes in next week and then it's time to crank this thing up and getting running smoothly.
So a few weeks ago I caught Covid and then my son and daughter caught it as well, so I was down and out for a few weeks just trying to feel better. I'm much better now thankfully and was able to go pickup my new AAR hood from Stinger Fiberglass...then transport it to the shop and drop it off. He's gonna put the pins in and then spray everything so it all matches. I'm excited to see the outcome!!
Good to hear your on the mend! Your kids too! My brother inlaw down in SC has it too, he was in hospital for a week or so, home now, he figures he'll be on oxygen for a month or so. His wife and kids also got it but had very mild symptoms only down for a couple of days. Mild flu like symptoms
Hood looks great! :bradsthumb:
Quote from: Brads70 on April 05, 2021, 01:41:15 PM
Good to hear your on the mend! Your kids too! My brother inlaw down in SC has it too, he was in hospital for a week or so, home now, he figures he'll be on oxygen for a month or so. His wife and kids also got it but had very mild symptoms only down for a couple of days. Mild flu like symptoms
Hood looks great! :bradsthumb:
Thanks, yeah I didn't get hit as hard as your brother-in-law but was spiking fevers every 4 hours on top of chills, sweats, fatigue, and migraine-type headaches. Ironically, I got my first vaccine just 3 days prior, so I initially thought it was the side effects, but after still feeling awful on that 3rd day, I went to the ER and got tested. I hope your BIL makes a full recovery!
Motor finally broken in and running strong.....exhaust has been shortened and welded up and sounds pretty good to me! Hood pins have also been installed and my man even made the bug catcher fit under the hood! Hopefully we can do a test drive later this week/weekend and then it's just a matter of buttoning things up and fixing any gremlins that may appear. :banana:
It's a long, overdue update but I'm happy to say the guy who I had working on it delivered it just before Christmas! I'm very excited and have been driving it on short routes just to make sure everything is sound. There's been a few hiccups but nothing major. I'll try to post some videos once I get them uploaded to YouTube...for now, here's some pix and sorry if I already posted them at one time. :cheers:
More pix...
Heck ya bro, thanks for sharing.
Sounds awesome man! And great idea using the lift to install the door :clapping:
Quote from: rdf on February 22, 2022, 11:40:30 AM
More pix...
Car looks great. Reminds me of what mine looked like before I blew it apart for repair. Gets the juices flowing.
What size rear tire do you have in that second pic? Spring relocated?