'68 318 to carbed Magnum 5.2: Check my checklist

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Stealth Magnum!

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Whoever came up with those looms was a genius. Also modified each line to a better length and crimped 90 degree Accel connectors to them. Not really keen on how loose the fit is at the dizzy though.

-Kurt
 
A to-do checklist of things remaining to get this thing started:

  • Exhaust manifold collectors (just ordered a pair of Walker 41726 2.5" ball flange type 6" pipes - hope these damn things work).
  • Some more random exhaust pipes to get them where they belong
  • Sanden CP7H13/U7312 compressor
  • Possible rerouting of fuel line due to compressor
  • Possible rerouting of oil dipstick due to compressor
  • Starter lower bolt (somehow, can't find the one from the donor van)
  • Still short the two bolts that fit onto the lowest engine mounting ears and bolt into the transmission
  • Get more Hemi Orange paint for thermostat outlet
  • List more crap on eBay to pay for all of this $h!t

And stuff that would be nice to have sooner than later:

  • 4-barrel style kickdown linkage section (carb-to-bellcrank only, possibly bellcrank too), pretty much prevents operation due to line pressure
  • 18" fan
  • P2998326 fan shroud
  • Decent Chrysler 1970+ alternator w/dual pulleys (helps if you're not killing the battery)
  • 4-barrel air cleaner

-Kurt
 
Honestly, sometimes these little problems can be downright sadistic.

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Case in point, the throttle adapter bracket finally came in for this thing. I went through the effort of locating a proper factory throttle/kickdown stud to ensure the throttle cable would sit parallel with its mounting bracket, as the current Holley studs place the throttle cable outboard of the bracket next to the kickdown.

HAH!

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Go figure, turns out this thing is perfectly engineered for the Holley stud. :banghead:

Plus, the throttle return springs from the 2 barrel application are WAY too stiff. I'm going to try some generics, but I hope I can find a factory-looking two-spring setup that isn't this stiff.

-Kurt
 
Put it on the other side, looks like you have the cable twisted in the rear bracket.
 
You might even have to give the bracket a tweak towards the valve cover.
Also I have used that same stud and had to drill the cable out to fit.
 
Put it on the other side, looks like you have the cable twisted in the rear bracket.

Cleaner to do it with the Holley 20-36. Plus, it'll line up without farking with the throttle bracket (right now, the throttle lever lines up perfectly to the hex nut on the factory Mopar piece, thus, it wouldn't sit properly on either side otherwise).

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Technically, there are some problems with the design of that stud too, but I'm not about ready to have something machined. Yet.

Then again, I can just throw an AVS in place of the Summit carb and be done with all of this.

-Kurt
 
Moved the return spring mount to the intake bolt instead of the A/C boss:

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Solved the spring tension issue, but tempted to bend the arm 180 and remount it so it is parallel with the throttle bracket, though that would negate the safety tab. Might leave it as-is.

-Kurt
 
Thanks! Ditto with your 4-door GTX.

It's a shame we're a ways away - it'd be rather amusing to see both cars side-by-side on the highway :)

-Kurt

That's for sure! Especially since I threw steelies and dog dishes on it the other weekend (my other tires were shot, lol), looks a little more like a police car!
 

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That's for sure! Especially since I threw steelies and dog dishes on it the other weekend (my other tires were shot, lol), looks a little more like a police car!

Looking sharp!

What width 14" rims are those? Been going back and forth with myself whether I want to go up to LBP with my '69 Valiant and use the stock 14x5.5" rims off the Satellite, whether I should keep trying to find the elusive 14x5.5" SBP's, or buy a set of lightly used SBP 15x7" rims (aftermarket).

-Kurt
 
L9oks great Kurt. I'm a bit surprised you are going with the Sanden after all that work to keep it stock-ish looking!

Well, given that I'm down here in South Florida, I rather like the idea of reliable R134a. That, and I swore off converted compressors after foolishly beating my head against countless Delco A6s in a pair of '70s Lincolns I had (prior to the Chinese aluminum drop-in units). Granted, the A6 is the worst offender (and one of the many things that puts me off GM), but still.

The RV2 that came from the car was a 1980's unit with questionable history, so using it wasn't necessarily the best idea either. Believe me, I'd jump on a modern drop-in RV2 replacement, but it's not as if such a thing exists.

I will say this though: The Sanden is getting it's label ripped off and the housing painted black. Heck, if I can find a reproduction Mopar label for an RV2, I'll stick it right on the housing.

-Kurt

P.S.: Be careful doing the rear seal on your Valiant's engine. Easy to tear it between the crank and the block. Not difficult though, given some finesse. You might find a rope seal back there; can't recall what my '68 block had.
 
They're actually the 15's off of my dart, they're 15x6 front, 15x7 rears from an 80's diplomat. The centers look different and the offset is a little wrong, but they have good tires on them and I wanted to drive it a little before the snow flies. I have 15x8s with 275 60's and need some matching 15x6 or 7s for the front so I can paint them blue to match the car. Then it will be finished...:)
 
They're actually the 15's off of my dart, they're 15x6 front, 15x7 rears from an 80's diplomat. The centers look different and the offset is a little wrong, but they have good tires on them and I wanted to drive it a little before the snow flies. I have 15x8s with 275 60's and need some matching 15x6 or 7s for the front so I can paint them blue to match the car. Then it will be finished...:)

Interesting. Are they conventional centers or slotted like the Dippy police wheels on my Satellite? Can't really tell that well in the low-res picture.

Blue rims? I was envisioning just that on the car before you ever said it. Perfect combo!

-Kurt
 
Not much tonight, other than I discovered that the van rim I pulled in the junkyard - which I mistakenly thought was a 16" after I pulled it - turned out to be a minty, 1980's 15x7" rim. Perfect rim for the spare, as I'll need 15" rims minimum to clear the Viper calipers up front.

Rim is at far right:

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Thing is, I know, swear, and insist that this thing had a huge 16" tire on it when I got it - and somewhere here, I have video of me removing that thing in the yard. I also removed that tire with a manual tire remover, and I'll say one thing right now: It wasn't loose enough to be a 16" tire on a 15" rim. No way, Jose.

Yet, the rim is marked 15x7" Made In Canada, and the hoop is the exact same size as my Dippy police-spec rims, and it's an inch smaller than the 16" rims on the family's recycle bin on wheels (read = a Kia).

Someone must have magic-ed this thing into a 15" rim when I wasn't looking. I'm not complaining.

-Kurt
 
Interesting. Are they conventional centers or slotted like the Dippy police wheels on my Satellite? Can't really tell that well in the low-res picture.

Blue rims? I was envisioning just that on the car before you ever said it. Perfect combo!

-Kurt

The ones in my car are like your van wheel in the trunk, they have "humps" on the centers where they meet the rim.
 

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The centers on my 15x8s are like the older wheel centers, I'm probably being picky, but if I'm painting wheels I want them to match!
 

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The centers on my 15x8s are like the older wheel centers, I'm probably being picky, but if I'm painting wheels I want them to match!

Flat bolt circle wheels - didn't know they existed as wide as 8". What did they come off of?

-Kurt
 
Flat bolt circle wheels - didn't know they existed as wide as 8". What did they come off of?

-Kurt

They're rehooped, bought at a swap meet. They do exist in the wild though, just kind of rare, came from late 70's ram chargers and power wagons.
 
Arrrrrrrrgh.

The Holley 20-37 doesn't even come close. Shaft diameter is notably bigger than the throttle cable holes:

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That, and it's a VERY loose fit - the threaded end has no business in a hole this size.

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I saw more than one source advertising this piece for "GM," and I'm about ready to believe this shaft has NOTHING to do with Mopar applications at all.

I put the previous Mopar shaft on it for the moment. It works as is, but I don't like it. We'll see.

They're rehooped, bought at a swap meet. They do exist in the wild though, just kind of rare, came from late 70's ram chargers and power wagons.

Rehooped? Neat little trick there.

I've hardly seen 10 Ramchargers in town, much less in the scrapyard. I should have taken every single one of the 15x7" rims off that van when I could have done so.

-Kurt
 
Rehooped? Neat little trick there.

I've hardly seen 10 Ramchargers in town, much less in the scrapyard. I should have taken every single one of the 15x7" rims off that van when I could have done so.

-Kurt
I've seen about as many Ramchargers in the JY here as Eagle Wagons or D50s. D series Rams grow on trees there though.
 
I've been intending to post a proper update with a video teaser, but got tripped up this weekend by a failed 3TB Seagate hard drive. Haven't lost any of the video, but I've maxed out a spare drive and have no drive pairs (one backup) over 500GB to allocate for the project video footage I've assembled over the last year. Wish I could afford a few drives to assemble a decent RAID array, and even a JBOD that would handle all my video files isn't THAT cheap when you're practically flinging money at the car.

In the meantime, you'll all have to be content with a few engine photos from Sunday. Front of the intake is a MESS from the thermostat outlet leaking (t-stat wasn't centered at first install, cue a big geyser of water during the pressure test), and was compounded by the bypass nipple leaking (ditched the Teflon, gave it a good fat coating of sticky gasket shellac and shoved it back in there - I don't care how much of a pain it'll be if I ever have to get it out again, so long as it doesn't leak).

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-Kurt
 
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