65 273 commando/charger

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65cuda360

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Anyone have a pic of a stock 65 273 engine bay showing valve covers & correct pvc/ breather setup on a commando car?
Thanks
 
punch up on google 1965 barracuda,dart,valiant cammando or 66 formula s ,dart valiant
 
The pcv is the same, Commando or not. The hat is also the same, but it was chromed on Commando/Charger 273 and Hemi.
 
273commando64orig_zpscc90e773.jpg
 
Scotty67 said:
Were the exhaust manifolds painted the block color like this one at the factory?
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Yes, they were! When the engine was assembled the exhaust manifolds were mounted before the paint was applayed. That was the best way so save time on the line. Even if the paint burnt away, who cared! As long as it looked good from the beginning.
 
I'm painting and assembling my motor today. I always get oil on the block when i put pistons in. Usually paint most stuff first.
 
Once it's assembled I'll repaint. Don't those holes in the block look kinda big for a 273? Just don't tell anyone it's a 360...
 
That dual plane high rise manifold might be a giveaway, lafs. It's cool though, I've done a number of mock 273 Commando cars over the years myself (yeah, all Plymouths). The trick is keeping that original air cleaner under the hood. I would mod the bottom air cleaner plate with a deeper drop, often with a larger diameter piece for a later carb and if I couldn't get enough clearance put it together with a slightly shorter filter.

I have a huge collection of photos going back 40 years but they're all prints in albums. I suppose I ought to turn some into ones and zeros for modern sharing.

Maybe it's the color reproduction across the wires but one thing I see here and have critiqued for years is that these early hi-po small blocks left the factory very red. I haven't seen one that seemed to be the right color in a long time.
 
Someone will have to really know their stuff like you do to spot it being a fake. I have a commando air cleaner. Only problem is I'm most likely going to run a thermoquad. I haven't addressed the air cleaner base issue yet. The paint came from orileys, it's not as red as what we sold in my family's parts store in the 70's. I think it will fake out most people. I've been wanting to build this car for 30 years!
 
65cuda360 said:
Someone will have to really know their stuff like you do to spot it being a fake. I have a commando air cleaner. Only problem is I'm most likely going to run a thermoquad. I haven't addressed the air cleaner base issue yet. The paint came from orileys, it's not as red as what we sold in my family's parts store in the 70's. I think it will fake out most people. I've been wanting to build this car for 30 years!
Click to expand...

You can probably find a cheap aftermarket air cleaner that has a base that fits the thermo carb- may have to do some trimming- but I used one before-
 
Again 65Cuda360 that's very cool and in no way am I criticizing anything. You're right that very few folks comprehend a hi-po 273 never mind the signs of a 90 cube upgrade.

I pulled out a photo album and found some pretty good underhood pics of a 65 Signet Commando I dropped a 360 into in 93. I went so far as to run big bore single exhaust using a flowmaster Y-Pipe into a NOS stainless tipped resonator. What you might get a kick out of is the Commando air cleaner on the Thermoquad. I'm a big T-quad fan to this day and still have a strip-kit collection.

I'm going to see if I can't get some of these old pics digitized, if nothing else I bet some of the early A-body fans here might get a kick out of them. When I was playing I was pretty alone other than a couple of fellow fanatics.
 
I'd love to se some old pics of this type car/ motor. I'll take all the commando air cleaners you have lying around off your hands as a favor.....lol. The cuda still has the stock exhaust on it now, but I have a set of spitfires to put on it. I might just run a big single pipe exhaust. That's not common.....might be cool.
 
Wow you just reminded me of a Commando experience here in CO. One of my good friends from the time who still has a 66 Dart Convt Charger 273 had a 65 Formula S that was special ordered by an Air Force Academy grad (Class of 65) whose first assignment to Panama was changed to Vietnam. His (Air Force) blue Cuda with factory A/C was sold on delivery and stayed in CO. That first registered owner got a noise citation from Boulder police for his stock exhaust, I remember seeing the ticket in the mid 90's. The 65 273 4/bbl had no muffler at all except for the straight thru resonator at the very tip and was very loud, practically an 8 cylinder Harley. In 66 Mopar added the central unbaffled muffler which was enough to quiet them down. If you've never heard a genuine original 65 you've missed something, kind of like the 69 Chevy chambered exhaust systems. Anyway, a freeflowing single exhaust, particularly as output from a high compression engine is a unique sound and I encourage you to play with that.
 
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