1972 Dart Swinger slant six to 340 upgrade
- Thread starter Jason1972
- Start date
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74dusterman
74dusterman
Could you post more pics of the aluminum in the crossover port in the heads? I have never heard of this. I am building a 340 and would like to do it to my heads also. Cool build, the car looks good.
Jason1972
Active Member
Let me see what I can do. We just installed the valves so it will be hard to get a good shot but it is a good way to add 10-13 horsepower by making all cylinders run evenly.
Jason1972
Active Member
Took the original pan and welded 1/8'' diamond plate to it to avoid scrapes and dings in the future. Took apart the new Edelbrock mechanical fuel pump and fine tuned the surfaces where the seals are to avoid seepage over time. reworked the oil pump and oil filter adapter with a die grinder by rounding sharp edges and opening up oil ports slightly to increase oil flow.
Jason1972
Active Member
Got the oil pan all wire wheeled and cleaned up. first coat of primer on
Jason1972
Active Member
Found some nice used bucket seats for $40 dollars. Pulled out the old very torn bench seat. Installed new seats with ease. Required minimal welding. Got them all cleaned up. Bought a new aluminum 3 row radiator for the new 340. Started making modifications on the mounts for the 8 3/4 rear end so that we can relocate the rear leaf springs inwards to allow wider tires. Pulled the AC and radiator out of the car. getting ready to pull the slant six out this weekend hopefully.
SNKEBIT
Spending $$ on Mopars
My favorite year of Dart. They look badass with the duel hood scoops on them. Had one way back when with a 383 I put in it. Lotsa fun!!! :burnout: :glasses7:
Jason1972
Active Member
Got a lot done today. Didn't quite get the slant six and transmission out like we hoped. Also with the thicker head gaskets and shorter valve spring height, we realized our pushrods were not long enough which is what we feared. Primed the lifters and lubed them up with Zinc camshaft assembly lube. Started working on drilling and tapping the intake manifold to run water lines through it as the heat cross over was blocked earlier to increase even flow with the exhaust valves.
Dartn440
Well-Known Member
Getting there. Fond of the 72 myself. Spent a lot of time hunting parts. I like the 340 stick just haven't found one yet.
autopar3000
Well-Known Member
Love that heat riser trick.
Surprised to see you're going to use those cork intake gaskets.
Are you going to keep the AC setup with the 340?
Surprised to see you're going to use those cork intake gaskets.
Are you going to keep the AC setup with the 340?
Jason1972
Active Member
We may or may not keep the cork. If we do we have a few tricks to make sure they seal properly. I was debating keeping the AC but decided not to. I'd rather have the few extra horsepower and keep the windows down.
autopar3000
Well-Known Member
Even up here in the great white north there are many summer days when it's just too hot to drive my dart. Or I have to go somewhere and I don't want to show up with a sweat-soaked shirt. So, for me, I would be keeping the AC. At least you'll be able to fund a bit of your build by selling the AC system.
Jason1972
Active Member
I hear ya there. There are some days where even with the windows down my shirt starts stickin to me while driving that big metal oven! I probably should get an AC put back in it at some point. Or just move somewhere cooler haha We will see.
Valiant69er
Well-Known Member
Nice build. Can't wait to see what that 340 does power wise. We're putting a 340 in our Valiant. It's nice to see the different setups people have for these motors. We will be keeping the AC on ours. WAAAAY too hot in Texas.
Our 69 Valiant build - http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=116288
Our 69 Valiant build - http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=116288
Jason1972
Active Member
I cannot wait to see what it does either!! I may just die of anticipation!
All I want in life is to be sideways in an old A body with smoke coming off the back tires...
Do you have a thread for your Valiant? I'd love to see it.
Jason1972
Active Member
Pulled off the radiator support bar, fenders, etc. getting it down to ground zero so we can work our way back up. Hoped to pull the slant six out today but had no luck. Hopefully soon. New pushrods have been ordered.
Jason1972
Active Member
Here are some more photos of the melted down piston in the crossover port. We took a iron plate and bolted it to the side of the head that meshes with the intake manifold and then we lay it on that end and pour the molten aluminum into the exhaust port up to the chamber so that it matches the other exhaust ports. You want to make sure when you do this that you do one continuous pour because the aluminum cools very quickly and if you stop and start you can end up with two layers of aluminum which are much weaker. If you pour too much you can always take a die grinder to it. After you have poured the aluminum you can take the die grinder to fine tune the aluminum to match. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the exhaust crossover valve before I filled it but here are some photos of a regular exhaust port and the one after we filled it will aluminum. They will flow much more consistently and its a good trick to pick up some horsepower at higher RPMs.
Jason1972
Active Member
I have a lot of work ahead of me. About to become best friends with my ginder, wire wheel attachment on my drill, plasma torch and wire feed welder.
The oil pan is painted and ready to go.
The oil pan is painted and ready to go.
If you don't mind my asking, how did you block off the port so you didn't fill the whole thing with aluminum? Did you use some sort of putty, clay or plaster?
edit: Oh, never mind. Now I get it. You poured from the exhaust side. Sorry.
Jason1972
Active Member
Exactly. You just watch as you pour and stop when you need to. If you over pour a little you just take a die grinder and grind it down to match the other exhaust ports.
Jason1972
Active Member
Finally Pulled the 225 CI Slant six out of the car. got to work with cleaning the engine bay and getting it ready for new paint. I will have to cut some rust out in some areas but most of it will come off with the wire wheel.
Jason1972
Active Member
Removed the gas tank and cut out the rusty spare tire drum in the trunk. Will be adding new support, sheet metal and installing a 20 Gallon fuel cell so we can make enough room for the leaf springs to be relocated to the inner side of the frame. This will allow us to fit some fatter wheels back there.
Jason1972
Active Member
Finished welding sheet metal to trunk in order to make room for fuel cell below. Patched some rusted through spots while I was at it. This won't be a show car just something that looks halfway decent but drives and handles like a dream. Removed the old 7 1/4 rear differential to make room for the 8 3/4. Getting the frame cleaned and have started the process of fabricating brackets to move leaf springs to the inside of the frame allowing more wheel clearance.
Jason1972
Active Member
Fabricating new brackets to relocate leaf springs inwards to allow more wheel clearance. Lot more fabricating to go. Cleaned the underhood. Welded a few bolt holes closed that won't be used any longer. Painted. Ready to drop the 340 in.
Jason1972
Active Member
Finally finished the relocation of the rear leaf springs. Very lengthy and tedious process but now I have much more wheel clearance and the frame is much stronger. I Added about two feet of 4''x2'' 1/8" thick angle iron to the frame in the very back on both the driver and passenger side. You can see where someone hooked onto the frame years ago apparently trying to tow something and it did not work out in their favor but the angle iron welded to the frame will fix that. Fabricated a cross beam to mount the shackles on and to add strength in the rear end. I also bolted this cross beam to the trunk for more support. Finished the front mounts and now I am ready to fabricate the frame for the fuel cell.
Homestretch baby..
Homestretch baby..
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