My 71 Duster work in progress

I separated the engine from all the unnecessary parts.

The trans has been rebuilt as per the oversized tailshaft gasket. The TC looks like a reman too, it's kind of gray in color with a yellow number stamped on the engine side. I haven't pulled it out or looked at it closely. The fluid was red, smelled about like it should, but there seems to be a lot of crap in the pan, none of it shiny that i noticed. Finally, a 904 trans is a tiny little thing. The pan seemed barely an inch deep.

The engine is stripped down to the intake and things that prevent other things from falling inside the block (VCs, OP sender, etc). There was one VC gasket tab left, and it has blue paint on it. (y) I only paid attention to one side's valves - where I had good vis, the other side was in shadow - the #7 valve looked to have light rust on it from those dumb headers, #3 had oil vis on it - maybe a valve seal, #1 & 5 looked about normal. None of the plugs were fouled, I would've put them right back in if I was just checking them. It was full of oil but the filter had very little in it. When I pulled the PS pump, that opened up a coolant drain. I caught it and it's not rusty.

Gina says to power-wash it and bolt it in.

Tonight I'll take a shop vac to it and figure out where to put the 440 until I'm done with the engine stand it's on.
 
b-body-bob said:
The fluid was red, smelled about like it should, but there seems to be a lot of crap in the pan, none of it shiny that i noticed.
Click to expand...
"TorqueFlite mud" is a real thing. I've seen it in more than one transmission that worked well and continued to do so for many miles.

b-body-bob said:
Finally, a 904 trans is a tiny little thing. The pan seemed barely an inch deep.
Click to expand...
It's the same depth as a factory 727 pan. That's because it's also the same valve body. Is the pan on your 727(s) deeper? Not factory, probably swapped to an A518 pan if it's steel. The OD pans came in various depths, but I've not seen a factory steel 727 pan that was deeper than what you describe. If you do have a deeper pan on a different transmission, make sure the appropriate spacer is installed between the filter and valve body.

b-body-bob said:
Gina says to power-wash it, mill the heads .020", install a hotter cam, and bolt it in.
Click to expand...
Women... they never say what they really mean. :LOL:

Seriously, I'd take the time to lap the valves a little and replace the seals, positive lock on the intake and umbrella on the exhaust. If those air-injection ports are open to the exhaust-port floor, install set screws in the holes with red threadlocker. Get a pair of the Mr. Gasket thin head gaskets (.027".028").

Unless it's a '71-'72 engine, the compression is below 8:1 despite advertised numbers. The piston's .110" down the hole and has an ~8cc dish. That's why I threw in the part about head milling--taking off .020" literally brings it up to 8.1:1 in conjunction with the thin gaskets. If you do have the heads milled, make sure they also take .040" off the intake face of the head so any ol' manifold will fit. Others have cut LA heads further, but .020" is a safe number. Deck surface thickness isn't a given and you've only got 10 head bolts. Another .010" only gets you to 8.25:1 anyhow--splitting hairs. If you decide to go further, the spec for the intake face is .0095" milled off it for every .0048" off the deck surface.

I would definitely change the cam in it, using something recommended by a manufacturer to raise the dynamic compression. I think that and the head milling and you'd be surprised at how enjoyable the car would be with fairly little investment.
 
I'm still holding off doing anything until it's apart. Like you said I might be able to put together a good engine on a budget. But I remain skeptical. The seller told me again that it was a low mileage car when they got it, but the cluster was long gone.
Dr.Jass said:
I would definitely change the cam in it, using something recommended by a manufacturer to raise the dynamic compression.
Click to expand...
Hughes Whiplash: https://www.hughesengines.com/TechArticles/10whiplashcams.php



The exhaust looked a little blue there, didn't it?
 
That cam sounds like it would gut your dynamic compression rather than raise it. As I mentioned, I'd call a manufacturer and get a recommendation. Hughes isn't a manufacturer, and based on the multiple mistakes made on my friend's 440, I wouldn't (and don't) trust their tech advice.
 
I'll probably pay up for a roller anyway.

FWIW the machine shop just said to bring it on up and they'll know what's what in a week or two. No big delay expected. I'll get it torn down this weekend.
 
There's no value in a hydraulic roller beyond not having to break in the camshaft. Is that worth $250-$300 extra? They don't make any more power than a hydraulic flat tappet because the design doesn't allow the cam lobe to be any more aggressive. Solid rollers are a different can of worms--the lifter galleys have to be blocked because of the wide-open wheel that can ride up the side of an extremely-aggressive lobe profile. "Decreased friction!" you exclaim. As a multiple-record-setting engine builder once told me, "You'll never find it on a dyno."

The current Chrysler V8? It chews up lifters; always has. It's notorious. GM Gen III and LS engines? Lifter eaters too. There are a lot less moving parts to a hydraulic flat tappet; even less to a solid. Your money is better spent elsewhere.
 
Dr.Jass said:
There's no value in a hydraulic roller beyond not worrying about the cam/lifters eating itself. Is that worth $250-$300 extra?
Click to expand...
Fixed it for you.

I got it on a stand and started taking it apart last night. I should be able to get most of my money back by recycling that 2 bbl intake. Holy cow that thing is heavy.

I'm still sure the valve covers have never been off the engine, but that's not always a good thing.

, , ,

The intake has been sucking oil for most of forever. The one or two holes that were sucking have nice white intake valves though.

I expect to get a "clean up" surcharge for the mess it's going to make in the hot tank. :)

I should at least have the heads and oil pan off today.
 
I've got a 9.2 to 1 comp ratio teener with 28k miles that still has factory vc gaskets,...............and it's staying right where it is.:giggle:
 
This motor had never been apart but it was getting near the point where it was going to self-disassemble. Most of that was probably due to its short life as a demo car with those stupid headers installed.

There was no damage that I noticed. All the bearings were worn about the same. The top of the rod bearing was getting into the copper on all 8, the lower was fine. Not much wear on the mains and no major wear on the thrust. I noticed a couple of bearings that looked like they were flaking (for lack of a better description) in both the rods and the mains. No big damage in the bores.

I won't be surprised if the block needs to to +.030 and the crank needs cut though. Of course the rods need reconditioned.

I'm hopeful I can get away without buying a stroker kit. That'll save me about $1500 over a straight rebuild kit with pistons. From what I've been reading, you'd have to be a doofus to not get 400 hp out of a 360 with E-heads and the right cam but of course I am one so all bets are off.

, , ,

Also, I've read some good things about those heads, so depending on cost to rework them they may stay.
 
Last edited:
One tip out of this - when you haul used oil off to recycle, don't throw away your jugs because you'll need them again. I've got oil and ATF in the drain pans and nothing to put it in.
 
Dr.Jass said:
There's no value in a hydraulic roller beyond not having to break in the camshaft. Is that worth $250-$300 extra?
Click to expand...

It'll cost $300 more for the parts and probably that again for machine work. Apparently you have to bush the lifter bores and it seems there was something else that was needed to make them work. I thought I'd read they would drop in but no. They expose the oil hole or something like that.

Block, crank, heads, pistons & rods are all at the machine shop now. The owner told me to give him until week after next to say what all it needs done to it. Worst case I think it needs a .030 bore but maybe not, and the crank polished maybe cut. He mentioned it costs about $700 to fix bad valve guides, so those could turn into a set of E-heads pretty quick.

Gotta start figuring out parts while I'm waiting on sizes. Speed Pro or K-B pistons I guess, Clevite bearings, and a gasket kit. I don't want to even thing seriously about a cam until I know the compression ratio.
 
check with the machinist on the "stock" and stock-ish parts, more often than not they have a HEFTY discount and can get you the parts for less than you can...depends on how nice the shop is
 
Yes I figure the machinist almost has to order the pistons because they have to fit the bore. Letting him source them removes any doubt. I'm definitely hoping he can get a good price on a rebuild kit too. I'm willing to buy anything he offers for the build so long as it doesn't run up my costs.

I am also thinking about ways to run it in without installing it first. I'll have the duster k-frame out at some point before it goes in anyway. If I've got room I can just bolt it down to that and fire it up. I'd have to raise the k-frame up some so it's above the floor for clearance, and that starts me thinking that it might need to be bolted down so there's less opportunity for anything to go wrong.

It might be just as easy to put it in from the bottom, and run it in before bolting in anything except the k-frame. I have to get a cheap beat up exhaust on it too, else I'd run it in for a half hour, and in 45 minutes or less, I'd have a cop at the door.
 
I almost forgot about this.

I was stripping the engine down, and had just removed the oil pan and was sort of absent-mindedly ragging off the pan rail with the engine upside down. There was a nut on the pan rail and I have no idea where it came from other than the bottom of the pan. There was another one laying in a piston that fell out when I held it right side up.

They look like rod nuts, but I'm not missing any, and the rods are bolted long before the oil pan goes on so it's not like they could've been dropped during assembly. I kind of did an inventory of nuts and bolts when I bagged them up, and everything was there. I've got no idea where they came from. They hadn't hurt anything, but somehow they got into the bottom of the pan.
 
The one thing I wish I had done was pull the trigger on new heads. Specifically a set of Aussie EQs that were still available, the new ones are all chineseium and went in on a healthy cam. I'll be addressing at least the cam shortly, the motor is coming out of the Ram and going into the Dakota.
 
b-body-bob said:
I almost forgot about this.

I was stripping the engine down, and had just removed the oil pan and was sort of absent-mindedly ragging off the pan rail with the engine upside down. There was a nut on the pan rail and I have no idea where it came from other than the bottom of the pan. There was another one laying in a piston that fell out when I held it right side up.

They look like rod nuts, but I'm not missing any, and the rods are bolted long before the oil pan goes on so it's not like they could've been dropped during assembly. I kind of did an inventory of nuts and bolts when I bagged them up, and everything was there. I've got no idea where they came from. They hadn't hurt anything, but somehow they got into the bottom of the pan.
Click to expand...
One of them is pinched on both sides of the nut

1679415162550.png
 
I have bags of misc hardware that either came loose with the car or were picked up just laying around as I did the strip down & parts clean up I hope as I put thing together I will find most of there homes, haven't opened up the engine yet hope there's none in there!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

SiteLock

SiteLock
Back
Top