Recent content by 340_dart_power

A continuing work of art, Sir; beautiful to see and appreciate.

Beautiful work, Sir; very nice and thanks for sharing.

RGR that; I am just so glad to have it back and running properly.

Well, apparently the missing plug was the problem. The 340 is back in and running strongly. Here's a video from Wednesday of this week:

Good copy, All. I'll chat with the shop next week about the additional concerns and advise. Thanks for the input, as always. I'd really like to get the Dodge back and on the road again.

UPDATE: Received a call from the shop yesterday and the real issue has been identified as a missing freeze plug. Apparently this had been removed by the first engine shop I had hired to do the rebuild and was never replaced. It's not one which comes in a rebuild kit of plugs, and shouldn't...

(Shakes his aching head...)

Good discussion, thanks for the input as always. I'll ask the shop about the mains being drilled completely.

So, it appears we have diagnosed and identified the problem. The camshaft bearings which were used were too narrow for the application in my 340. They are 1/4 inch smaller/narrower than the ones which should have gone into the build. Instead of riding on the layer of oil, the camshaft as it spun...

Gentlemen, thank you all for your input. I am the first to admit that I do not have the technical expertise that I'd like to have, and in this area I appreciate any and all relevant input. FYI, I've taken your comments to my garage guys in printed format and have asked them to review your...

Latest rebuild resulted in the same damage to the camshaft bearings after being run for awhile, so the block and heads are back at the machine shop. The current suspicion is that the Edelbrock Performance heads may be to blame in some fashion. No end in sight at this point....

That I do not know. I believe the shop which rebuilt it originally just didn't have the Mopar engine knowledge base they thought they had. Typically they are rebuilding Chevrolet/GM/Ford engines, and my guess is that they just missed some of the differences involved in rebuilding the 340. The...

The camshaft bearings were destroyed. The camshaft dug down into them instead of riding along on top of them. It also turned out that the old shop did an overbore of .033 instead of .030, which wasn't a really good combination to have with the .030 pistons. It now has an overbore of .040 with...

It was a stock pickup. The oil pressure gauge consistently showed great pressure throughout the driving time before the knock showed up and ruined the party. It gave me no indication there was a problem brewing.

LOL, no worries, Gents; I do appreciate the discussion, not taking the heat at all. On a side note, here's some photos of the new lower radiator support from XV Motorsports, in place on the Dart: