bschubarg
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- Jun 13, 2005
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A car fire required me to remove the engine to replace burnt components. Complete wire harness, new ignition system, wipers to name a few. The faint of heart would of just junked the car, but of German descent, I am to stubborn and I saw an excuse to perform my alternative approach to rebuilt "Moby" as I lovingly call her for obvious reasons.
Say hi to Moby. A 1987 Chrysler Fifth Ave. 5.2 LA with a 2.21 7.25 Rear and a lockup auto.
But this thread isn't about the car but the culmination of improvements; some are popular, some are unorthodox.
Below is a pic of the worse spark plug after 500+ miles after the rebuild.
Spark plugs are a good tell tale sign of the health of an engine. Judging from the color I am thinking everything is working fine as far as oil control, timing and A/F ration.
I took an inexpensive approach to the rebuild.
I flex honed the standard bores and re-used the stock pistons but upgraded to Chrome moly rings. Kind of unorthodox…
I ported my 302 heads and substantially reworked the valve shrouding via combustion chamber and notching the bores. Completely orthodox...
Installed 1.88 intake and 1.6 exhaust... but I installed the 1.6 exhaust valves in the machined 1.5 exhaust seats giving a 70 degree angle and filling the combustion chamber a bit to compensate for the material I had remove in the chamber... Heresy....
The rest of the build is you typical engine recipe that many others have performed.
Air Gap RPM Intake, 1 5/8 long tubes, Comp Cams 20-212-2 with .454 on both sides and 218 duration on both sides. Advance 4 degrees via three way chain.
I implemented some of the Hot Rod Secrets by drilling a 1/64" hole to oil the Timing Chain. Removed a 1/2" from the intake plenum divider. Utilized an electric fuel pump and electric cooling fan. Check out the Engine Masters episode about the HP savings using a electric fan...
So the question remains....How does she run....?
The answer is complicated. This car is a DD and 95% highway. With a 2.21 rear and lockup TQ I am rewarded with 19.2 MPG. Passing cars on the freeway is an adventure. Downshifting from 3-2 rivals many modern cars and passing slower traffic(70 MPH) on North Carolina highways is exhilarating.
So it looks like a win.... right....?
Well... not exactly. Impossible to spin the tires from a stand still and 0-60 is on par with a 1976 AMC Gremlin.
So YES, Moby is doing everything I hoped to gain. Good gas mileage and great highway manners while the running temps barely break 180 degrees.
And NO, I took a wrong approach with cam selection. Current cam has 60* of overlap and a V/P of less than 100.
However, I learned a lot from the good folks here at FABO and my next build currently in progress will take advantage of the advice I received from you fine members.
Namely:
toolmanmike
rumblefish360
AJ/FormS
RustyRat
krazykuda
yellow rose
moper
nm9stheham
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