And so it begins,,,,,, 5-speed Duster swap!
I’m sad to report, that after about 50 miles of running the new 340, something catastrophic happened. I lost all oil pressure and a very noisy rattle from the engine. I have no idea what happened, I’ll have to wait until I get a chance to tear it down. Ever since first start up, there’s been a vibration, I originally thought it was driveline related, something with the transmission, etc. But I’m now certain it’s engine related. Anyway, I really want to drive this thing before the snow flies. I had a 360 that I pulled from a 85 Ramcharger many years ago. It looked super clean, so I saved it. So, the plan is to put the 360 in the Duster. And as suspected, upon inspection it appears the 360 had been recently rebuilt before I pulled it from the Ramcharger. It’s got .030 over Sealed Power P405 pistons, the bearings look brand new, and nice cross hatch on the cylinders. I bought a Summit 272/454 cam, I had a new set of 30 year old Sealed Power lifters laying around, and a set of J heads I ported years ago, bronze guides, 2.02/1.60 stainless valves and chambers milled to 63cc. I’m really hoping I can get the cam broke in safely and be able to drive this thing, at least until I get a chance to figure out the 340 and have the block welded!
I’m sad to report, that after about 50 miles of running the new 340, something catastrophic happened. I lost all oil pressure and a very noisy rattle from the engine. I have no idea what happened, I’ll have to wait until I get a chance to tear it down. Ever since first start up, there’s been a vibration, I originally thought it was driveline related, something with the transmission, etc. But I’m now certain it’s engine related. Anyway, I really want to drive this thing before the snow flies. I had a 360 that I pulled from a 85 Ramcharger many years ago. It looked super clean, so I saved it. So, the plan is to put the 360 in the Duster. And as suspected, upon inspection it appears the 360 had been recently rebuilt before I pulled it from the Ramcharger. It’s got .030 over Sealed Power P405 pistons, the bearings look brand new, and nice cross hatch on the cylinders. I bought a Summit 272/454 cam, I had a new set of 30 year old Sealed Power lifters laying around, and a set of J heads I ported years ago, bronze guides, 2.02/1.60 stainless valves and chambers milled to 63cc. I’m really hoping I can get the cam broke in safely and be able to drive this thing, at least until I get a chance to figure out the 340 and have the block welded!