65 Barracuda Gasser + 1956 325 Dodge Hemi Build
- Thread starter chip77
- Start date
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SpikeWills69
Live Free or Die
Thanks for all the photos, man what a cool build. I had forgotten how wide those heads are! My Dad and I back in the day put a D500 325 Hemi in the family 58 Plymouth station wagon. I also had a 66 Cuda, my first A-body, so your build is really close to my heart. Fantastic fab job on those headers, they really look professionally done.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
The fab work is completed!! Headers done, frame rails boxed, motor mounts done. It is looking good!!
The passenger side header fab is completely ground and smoothed. The Drivers side done too. These headers look sweet! The frame mods are smoothed out and primed. And the motor mounts are looking good too.
Don't really know how I should have the headers finished.....hi temp (baked on) paint or ceramic coating. They will be black when done.
Up next is we'll drag the car to where the engine will be built and installed. I'll keep you posted on that progress too. Hope you enjoy the pics......
The passenger side header fab is completely ground and smoothed. The Drivers side done too. These headers look sweet! The frame mods are smoothed out and primed. And the motor mounts are looking good too.
Don't really know how I should have the headers finished.....hi temp (baked on) paint or ceramic coating. They will be black when done.
Up next is we'll drag the car to where the engine will be built and installed. I'll keep you posted on that progress too. Hope you enjoy the pics......
Dart_Doctor
Asa style
man you have a bad *** car going on here
thanks for the kind remarks and encouragment. As we all know these types of projects take on a personality of their own, I can't wait to see what the next phase brings. We'll start spritzin' up the engine compartment and get the headers ceramic coated all while the engine is being assembled. I'll keep posting pics as we make headway........spring isn't that far away!!
We have cleaned the block after being thrown around during the motor mount fab and header fab.
Some pics of the painted block. And all the freeze plugs are in.
A couple of pictures show the "full oil flow" plug that was found where the oil by-pass valve should have been. According to the experts my block is one of those rare birds that was a full flow from the factory. Of course we didn't know it until we (finally) got it knocked out. Put in the new full flow valve from Hot Heads so all is well.
Now the block is all prepped and clean, the rods are mounted to the pistons (no pics yet) and the short block assembly is about to begin. My bro' in law is an awesome engine builder, but this will be his first old hemi assembly and mine too.
I can't wait to get into his engine building room......I'll take some spy photos of a small block mopar he just finished with a ton of special stuff on it.
Some pics of the painted block. And all the freeze plugs are in.
A couple of pictures show the "full oil flow" plug that was found where the oil by-pass valve should have been. According to the experts my block is one of those rare birds that was a full flow from the factory. Of course we didn't know it until we (finally) got it knocked out. Put in the new full flow valve from Hot Heads so all is well.
Now the block is all prepped and clean, the rods are mounted to the pistons (no pics yet) and the short block assembly is about to begin. My bro' in law is an awesome engine builder, but this will be his first old hemi assembly and mine too.
I can't wait to get into his engine building room......I'll take some spy photos of a small block mopar he just finished with a ton of special stuff on it.
scottylack
Well-Known Member
love this!
aengineguy
Well-Known Member
Really Cool Stuff Chip.......!
Been lurking on this build and thought it was about time to jump in :cheers:
and say what a
cool build you have going on :colors::colors:
wow, if headers can be made like these seems like I should be able to get a set of low deck 170/ headers made :glasses7:
you are doing some great work here and
diggin this little Hemi straight axle early A Build :colors: outstanding :cheers:
Keep up the great engineering and fabrication work :cheers:
and say what a
cool build you have going on :colors::colors:
wow, if headers can be made like these seems like I should be able to get a set of low deck 170/ headers made :glasses7:
you are doing some great work here and
diggin this little Hemi straight axle early A Build :colors: outstanding :cheers:
Keep up the great engineering and fabrication work :cheers:
Thanks guys for all your comments. The winters are long and cold in Michigan and this kind of project keeps the juices flowing.
Yeah, the headers were quite the knucklebustin' fun! I'm very happy with the way they turned out tho. Should have them coated soon. It is good to know that the completed engine should
rayer: drop in when built, but I'm not holding my breath on how easy that all will be.
When I look around this site and see all the neat builds and rides it keeps me focused. I can't wait for the cruisin' season to begin again.
We've got the AutoRama comin up at Cobo hall and that, as always, will be inspiring.
Thanks again.......
Yeah, the headers were quite the knucklebustin' fun! I'm very happy with the way they turned out tho. Should have them coated soon. It is good to know that the completed engine should
rayer: drop in when built, but I'm not holding my breath on how easy that all will be.When I look around this site and see all the neat builds and rides it keeps me focused. I can't wait for the cruisin' season to begin again.
We've got the AutoRama comin up at Cobo hall and that, as always, will be inspiring.
Thanks again.......
SpikeWills69
Live Free or Die
Looookin Gooood!!
We have some new pics to share and the engine is starting to go together. My brother -in-law is a fine engine builder (and trans and fab, etc.) but this is his first old hemi build too.
I also took some pics of a special small block he just finished that will be going in a tube chassis 68 Dart. The small block is pretty trick and looks great! Enjoy!!
I also took some pics of a special small block he just finished that will be going in a tube chassis 68 Dart. The small block is pretty trick and looks great! Enjoy!!
you gotta start somewhere and this build is no exception. Fitting the crank, bearings and loading the pistons with rings......after checking end gaps. It's all good!! Plus I'm throwing in a pic of my engine builders 65 dart small block with the wheels up!! Car runs 9:60's and '70's.
Rob Eppler
My Dart Charger...home made!
come on man...what about pix from the man cave...
Brother Rob!
Brother Rob!
stroker402
1968 dart GTS convertible
Nice job on the headers ! you have a gifted skill .
I'm debating on making a set of headers for my 54 dodge royal 241 hemi ..or find some d-500 315/325 manifolds or the 325 power giant truck manifolds ......
nobody makes them .. sanderson has some huggers , I would probally use for starter pipes , then ad on to them..
anyway nice job!
Stroker, go on ebay and get a set of the exhaust header plates..... I think they are from Hell's Gates Hot rod. It is a good place to start and they are nice and thick. The headers turned out great but they are a lot of work!
Best, Chip
Best, Chip
HemiMark
Well-Known Member
Nice looking build! subscribed!!!!!
I took some more pics of the progress on the Hemi build. There are some of the small metal shards that we found in the oil galley holes from when the machine shop champhered the holes.....word of caution!!! This is your responsibility to find and fix. Don't think that just because you paid big bucks for the machining that it is clean and DONE. Also, since I do a fair amount of shooting I know that a quality gun cleaning kit has most everything you will need to clean and de-burr the entire engine properly. I have included a pic of the kit I use. (available at Cabelas).
Some other stuff showing the rods with their nice shiny new bearings and inside shots of the man cave where it is all taking place. We intend to have the short block all together this week......onward and up ward!!
Some other stuff showing the rods with their nice shiny new bearings and inside shots of the man cave where it is all taking place. We intend to have the short block all together this week......onward and up ward!!
spent the night working on the short block and did accomplish a couple of things. The crank is set and plasti-gaged in.....it spins great. Clearances are all within specs! We had some good intentions of getting all the pistons and rods in too, but you know what they say about good intentions. Anyway after getting on whole side in there was a small hiccup discovered! The piston skirt was hitting the crank counter weight on the # 2 cylinder! We then checked closer and nearly all the loaded pistons were really close to the counter weights. It is almost like we are dealing with a stroker crank.........
It is an easy fix, just remove all the pistons and take some material off the skirt, but just one of those things!
Got some more pics.....here they are.
It is an easy fix, just remove all the pistons and take some material off the skirt, but just one of those things!
Got some more pics.....here they are.
So, as discussed earlier, there was some clearance problems with the piston skirt and crank counterweights. Disassembly and refitting was in order. I took a couple of pictures where (typically) the pistons where hitting and the mods needed to fix. We used a drill press and a 2" drum sander to lightly remove about .060 from the area......It worked! Got the short block all back together last night and have started arranging all the parts to keep going.
All the holes are filled and it spins great!
All the holes are filled and it spins great!
PapstXX
Well-Known Member
nice work bro.
It has been said that when life serves you lemons, make lemonade. We are officially in the lemonade business now.
Three weeks ago my yearly Dr. appointment yielded some unexpected results and after spending a week in the hospital trying to get it all figured out it boils down to this. I have been diagnosed with lymphoma. Seems something is messed up in my bone marrow. hmmmm.......I wonder what size wrench that will take to fix!! We are a family of great faith and believe in prayer. The Lord will see us through this........ 'cause hey, we're right in the middle of a hemi build here!!
Just returned from the engine room with some new pictures and more details.
As you can see we are in the mock-up stage with a few problems to address due to mixing old parts with new parts.....hey it is called Hot Rodding!!
TDC has been accurately found, the modern balance damper fits, but the marks are way off; you know that kind of stuff. The stock water pump has been rebuilt and it is a monster....take a look at that thing!
I made a step key to fit the stock crank to the new bal. damper and it works great.
Haven't put the front of the motor together yet as we are just fitting everything up.
All the pistons are from .023 to .027 (down) in the bores. Another pic shows the valley cover I fabbed to replaced the factory one....looks good!
My brother-in-law Rob has been wonderful through this whole thing and continues to be a source of strength for me...I am blessed.
I am not above asking complete strangers for prayer....so if you are so inclined I and my family would appreciate your kindness.
Enjoy the following pictures, with more to come.
Three weeks ago my yearly Dr. appointment yielded some unexpected results and after spending a week in the hospital trying to get it all figured out it boils down to this. I have been diagnosed with lymphoma. Seems something is messed up in my bone marrow. hmmmm.......I wonder what size wrench that will take to fix!! We are a family of great faith and believe in prayer. The Lord will see us through this........ 'cause hey, we're right in the middle of a hemi build here!!
Just returned from the engine room with some new pictures and more details.
As you can see we are in the mock-up stage with a few problems to address due to mixing old parts with new parts.....hey it is called Hot Rodding!!
TDC has been accurately found, the modern balance damper fits, but the marks are way off; you know that kind of stuff. The stock water pump has been rebuilt and it is a monster....take a look at that thing!
I made a step key to fit the stock crank to the new bal. damper and it works great.
Haven't put the front of the motor together yet as we are just fitting everything up.
All the pistons are from .023 to .027 (down) in the bores. Another pic shows the valley cover I fabbed to replaced the factory one....looks good!
My brother-in-law Rob has been wonderful through this whole thing and continues to be a source of strength for me...I am blessed.
I am not above asking complete strangers for prayer....so if you are so inclined I and my family would appreciate your kindness.
Enjoy the following pictures, with more to come.
Chip, Love the build. Thanks for sharing.
My wife had non Hodgkin lymphoma. She's ten years free now. You can beat it. Prayers for you and your family.
Last thing why are there adapters on the small block heads your bro in law built??
My wife had non Hodgkin lymphoma. She's ten years free now. You can beat it. Prayers for you and your family.
Last thing why are there adapters on the small block heads your bro in law built??
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