Let’s hear a 340 story

So no pictures but with a buddy “Duster Joe” god rest his soul. He was very tall and thin and called everybody “cuz.” Looked like a real life Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Awesome dude. I am glad I knew. So anyhow We bought this 73’ 340 Duster with a physco pain scheme near the old Colchester, CT dragway. This was about 1990ish. He took the Dana 60 for his Demon and I took the 4 speed for my then Demon. Being it was a 73’ 340 neither of us wanted the 340. It ran but burned oil. And was a cast crank and we both had steel crank 340’s. Never would I imagine a cast crank 340 would ever be worth anything.

anyhow my other buddy Joe Duddie who was a very slick Italian with the ladies said to me also named Joe- I was “Sylvee” anyhow Duster Joe and I gave it to him to rebuild his 74’ Factory 360 4 speed Duster.
One night steet racing he gets called out and blows up the 360. We limp it home and he and I at 3am start rebuilding the 73’ 340 with used parts, used rings and quick porting of the 1.88 heads with a Chinese’s dremmel. After his mother wakes up and makes us a plate of ziti and sauce. He was very old school Italian. Anyhow with used gaskets we assemble the motor, break it in and drop it in just barely in time for street racing on Clarence B in Groton that night. Before we leave he crushes up moth balls (had to be from the blue box not the red box- lol!) Add this powder to a gallon of race fuel and dumps it in the tank full of 94 Sunoco from the pump. So when there, He calls the dude back out and they race. He hits the 150 shot of nitrous and the engine literally explodes as he passes the guy for the win. To this day we called the engine the “Wasp motor.” Because during disassembly he was stung by a wasp that had a nest inside the engine. (Valve cover when Duster Joe and I bought it was just sitting on the head on drivers side.) Joe Duddie and I still laugh today over that weekend remembering Duster Joe and still have no idea over what killed that engine- crap parts, nitrous or mothballs. - okay my 340 story is done. Lol!