From dentaldart:
Couple of questions- What is this engine stand thing you speak of? Should you pull the engine when rebuilding the transmission?
j par is close enough to be a neighbor. A bit of backstory, we have a hugely different approach to things. He will take a new-to-him vehicle down to whatever level to do everything all at once. However, his skill level and experience far exceed mine. He knows what he's doing and I'm the blind pig in search of an acorn, learning and figuring it out as I go. I seriously never thought I'd find a 69 Dart with a 340 in it at a price I could afford. I figured it would be a slant or 318 car. So before I ever found the car I already had a complete 383, A833, 8-3/4 drivetrain to swap in. I have never owned a fast car or muscle car so I don't know what to expect from a 340, 383, or anything else but a slant which I know fairly well :rolleyes:.
Fast forward to the 340 Dart. It ran and sounded healthy and moved, but hadn't seen the street for 25 years. The PO passed away so I have no one to answer questions. I am the proud new owner of someone else's half-finished project with all the surprises that entails. I am stuck taking EVERYTHING apart and see what's going on. I seriously don't know what direction I'm going here. The 340 may be all the engine I could want for my purposes. Maybe I will want a BB. I'm a three-pedal guy, but maybe I'll be OK with an auto. I like bench seats and this is a GT bucket/console car. I just don't know.......so for me, I will get this road worthy and drive it a bit to see what I think. Enter j par stage left, who is if nothing else, quite clear in his thoughts to take it down to the last nut and bolt all at once.
OK, back to today. I have an empty heavy duty engine stand that could easy take a SB or BB. The rebuild the trans thing was a response to me finding some crud in the tranny pan. My action plan for the 727 says clean it (I did) service it (I did) fill it back up and drive it to see what it needs. Or doesn't need. I'm not going to dump money into the 727 if I decide to swap it out for the 833.
And to answer your question, no you don't have to pull the engine to work on the trans, but I'm not going to do either one till I drive this thing some and see what I want to do with it.
From dentaldart:
I will say I somewhat agree with this statement Jpar makes though. For me pulling the engine wasn't in the cards because of my limited space, knowledge, and money... for you having all that space, knowledge and monies I'd say pull it and do it all at once.
Haha, you flatter me. I do more or less have room, but my knowledge is spotty at best (but getting better thank God) and I'm hardly made of money. My work is down a heart-stopping 90% since we started all this COVID crap so I need to not be a financial idiot. The engine runs, the tranny moved it well enough to get it out of the PO's back yard, on and off the tow truck, and up/down the street a time or two before I started taking it apart. I will do what I need to getting it safe to operate, drive it for a while, then finalize my plans.
So where are we today? We are in stall mode with the Dart as the Great White Ghost gets a new heart. The engine is torn down to nothing at the moment. This is one crusty turd for sure. The clock say about 59K and I think that's the first time around. It's the original engine, still standard bore in good shape showing some crosshatching, and the interior is not beat 160K or 260K worth. I think all the crud is from short trips piddling around town never getting it hot enough to burn off any carbon. What started as a 3-day $100 timing chain swap is turning into a full $1000+ refresh.
View attachment 1715787762
View attachment 1715787763
View attachment 1715787764
Mirror, mirror on the wall. What happens when somebody wants a vacuum fitting you will never use, so you pull it off for them and for the next two years the intake is now exposed the elements? Luckily, this is all surface rust and will clean up easily.
View attachment 1715787765
Then since we are swapping from the hydraulic cam to solid, we go to the Volare engine to raid it for adjustable rocker arms and cam (to get reground). Said Volare was "running till it wasn't". Hmmm, upon disassembly, where is the cam bolt washer? Well sir, I'm not sure so LET'S JUST LIFT THE ******* CAM GEAR OFF BY HAND WITH THE BOLT STILL IN PLACE and see what's going on.
Surprise! We can find a piece of the washer, about 20% of it. The rest I expect to find in the oil pan. I'm no rocket scientist, but I suspect the cam gear rattling around loose inside the cover made for some challenging timing issues.
View attachment 1715787766
View attachment 1715787767
View attachment 1715787768
And it's Fun-Fun-Fun till her daddy takes the T-Bird away!
More to come soon on the Great White Ghost. I need to do a bit of grinding on the head, then send that and the block in for a hot tub session - er, make that a hot tank session. I will be busy cleaning up all the seriously nasty parts getting them ready for a reverse trip on the new engine.
From j par:
Because he's not Jpar... He's already informed me that...
Squirrel!!... On to the truck... LOL...
Sir j par. I am reminded of something my sainted mother told me once. She said she wouldn't sell me for a million bucks (I'm feeling pretty good at this point.). Then she said, but I wouldn't give ten cents for another one just like you. (Youch!) If this shoe fits sir please feel free to wear it.
From j par:
One thing you can depend on from me is the truth whether you like it or not..
View attachment 1715787769
