Cheap build thoughts / input

[ec_co]

Sometimes you just have to make do and I need to get this somewhat sorted and installed in a couple months. I've been restoring my dad's Barracuda for over 11 years, finally getting paint finished and I'll be starting to put it back together very shortly, but as life happens, I now have to put the motor back together as cheap as possible. Thankfully I've been accumulating parts over the years, so maybe I can make something happen with your input and advice.
Project Slantfish in Your Restoration project (ROSEVILLE MOPARTS)

1970 Barracuda, 225 slant, 3spd manual (but I have everything for a 4spd OD upgrade except the 3.55 ratio upgrade for the 8.75 I have set aside). Sat since '87, I put ATF/acetone in it last year, last week it finally broke free and I can spin it with a little effort. 115k miles on it, dad says no issues with it when parked other than oil leaks - oil pump and rear main.


Block - cleaned up well, the upper 1/4" on the cylinders has some kinda thin buildup, but not seeing any pitting. Do I just leave it alone or try to run a hand hone in them?

Head - dirty and crusty. 1 manifold stud was long ago broken off at least a 1/4" deep in the far back. When I removed the water neck there was a long bent wire jammed into the upper passage?!?! Coat hanger for some blockage that got stuck? Factory?? See photo. What is the cost to have a head done these days? I don't have the tools to do valves/guides/lapping and getting that broken stud put, so maybe best to send it out?

Timing chain - that play doesn't look normal to me at all. Replace it? I have a good Australian JP dbl roller I could install, but should I?

Cam - original looks ok? I have a new Dutra RV10 RDP cam. I'm guessing better to keep the OG cam for now until I can build the better engine in the future? (2bbl or 4bbl power setup)

Lifters - have not removed. I have a new *old* set from the '80s. Keep the old in there?

Push rods - cleaned up OK, but should they be reused? (They're out of order now for sure)

Rear main - I have a new one piece on the way that Dan recommended.

Oil pump - original to the car. I have the updated gasket. It turns just fine, smooth with no hitches so I assume I can keep using it, but what is the tolerance between the impeller and backing plate supposed to be? I tried finding a reference, but nada. Other thoughts?

Harmonic balancer - do these go bad?

Distributor - old one looks..... questionable. I have a new electronic one. I assume it's fine to use?

Intake manifold - iron original cracked. I have this '80s aluminum 1bbl - some differences for sure...... not exactly sure what I'll do here.

Exhaust manifold - cracked. Need to order a new one.

Carb is crusty . Holley 1920, needs a full rebuild or replacement. I have no skills here.

How do the internals look? Thoughts and opinions??

 

[ec_co]

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[ec_co]

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[RustyRatRod]

This may give you some ideas.

Project Cheap & Nasty Updated With Back Story

The beginning of project Cheap & Nasty. I need to update this with some back story. @Stephen Hotz was nice enough to bring this to me when he came by the other day to visit and pick up the 400, while on his way to see many folks, including @Dartfreak75 Kevin to pick up his 73 Barracuda. I...

www.forabodiesonly.com

 

[halfafish]

Wow. That was quite the data-dump, but here goes. The first point is, you can do this for low bucks, but you can't do it for no bucks. So you'll have to decide what your budget will support.

Block - cleaned up well, the upper 1/4" on the cylinders has some kinda thin buildup, but not seeing any pitting. Do I just leave it alone or try to run a hand hone in them?

If the block has 115K on it and was frozen, that may have to factor into getting it going again. Rule of thumb, if you can hook the buildup at the top of the cylinder with a fingernail, it needs to be addressed. There is a gizmo (someone else will weigh in with what that is) that will remove/scrape off that buildup. If the cylinders are not overly worn or out of taper you MIGHT get away with new rings and a hone job. You will need to measure this carefully for yourself or have a machine shop do it. I vote for the machine shop. While there I'd have them hot tank the block and check the crank and rods. For sure I'd do new bearings for both of those. If you're lucky you might get away with a polish job and no machining.

Head - dirty and crusty. 1 manifold stud was long ago broken off at least a 1/4" deep in the far back.

I would get the head hot-tanked, along with the block. You can have the broken stud removed using EDM - I had one in an intake manifold, it was like $25 or so to get it cleaned out.

When I removed the water neck there was a long bent wire jammed into the upper passage?!?! Coat hanger for some blockage that got stuck? Factory?? See photo.

This is a very common thing and amounts to nothing. Ignore it and move on to other issues.

What is the cost to have a head done these days? I don't have the tools to do valves/guides/lapping and getting that broken stud put, so maybe best to send it out?

Machining costs vary a lot, you'll have to call around for a ballpark estimate. Yes, best to send out the head even for a stock valve job update. If your piggy bank is even somewhat healthy oversized valves are a nice upgrade.

Timing chain - that play doesn't look normal to me at all. Replace it? I have a good Australian JP dbl roller I could install, but should I?

That timing chain is toast. Absolutely get rid of it and use the Rollmaster instead.

Cam - original looks ok? I have a new Dutra RV10 RDP cam. I'm guessing better to keep the OG cam for now until I can build the better engine in the future? (2bbl or 4bbl power setup)

I would do the cam now - it's a nice upgrade but nothing that will needs tons of expensive supporting cast.

Lifters - have not removed. I have a new *old* set from the '80s. Keep the old in there?

You are money ahead to either use the old "new" lifters or send your old ones to Oregon Cam Grinding to get them resurfaced.

Push rods - cleaned up OK, but should they be reused? (They're out of order now for sure)

The pushrods can be reused. Clean them up and run them. Out of order is not a concern.

Rear main - I have a new one piece on the way that Dan recommended.

Good plan.

Oil pump - original to the car. I have the updated gasket. It turns just fine, smooth with no hitches so I assume I can keep using it, but what is the tolerance between the impeller and backing plate supposed to be? I tried finding a reference, but nada. Other thoughts?

Normally oil pumps don't go out of spec. Get yourself a downloaded Factory Service Manual from mymopar.com, it has specs on how to check your pump. If you want a very nice printed manual get one from Faxon. Either way you need a FSM.

Harmonic balancer - do these go bad?

They can slip between the hub and outer ring, but it's easy to check later when reassembling. It's probably OK though.

Distributor - old one looks..... questionable. I have a new electronic one. I assume it's fine to use?

Rebuilding a distributor is pretty easy. If you want a guide I can send you a link to one. I would go electronic with the HEI conversion for sure, keep the old one for a spare.

Intake manifold - iron original cracked. I have this '80s aluminum 1bbl - some differences for sure...... not exactly sure what I'll do here.

Exhaust manifold - cracked. Need to order a new one.

If you need an intake or exhaust manifold I have factory originals you can have free for the price of shipping. Be ready for a shock, those run about 50 lbs for the pair.

Carb is crusty . Holley 1920, needs a full rebuild or replacement. I have no skills here.

I would dump the Holley and find a Carter BBS. It will be money well spent. If that's not in the budget you can rebuild a 1920 for about $25.

How do the internals look? Thoughts and opinions??

Your innards are crusty for sure but no worse than the last two slants I rebuilt. Cleaning and upgrading will make you a happy camper.

Good luck with the project, it sounds like fun!

 

[nutz]

ridge reamer
hardened valve seats ...even with my discount i paid $900 to do my head (he did springs too)

 

[Dave999]

clean it
hone it
new bearings
new rings
lap in the valves
run it

1) look for pistons cracked at the lands or pin boss
2) main caps that do not wedge into the register


that's all i used to do in my youth..... (i got quite a long way without a micrometer calipers bore gauge etc, ignorance is bliss)

when you see the state of some reasonably running engines, open them up and see that they probably needed a rebuild 50K ago you get a view that well... in some cases that will do

i have swapped main caps i have swapped rod caps, i have used odd pistons i have cleaned up cranks with wet-n- dry paper with diesel or WD40 as lube and run unknown cam with lifters in random order.... all used..... Not right but not as wrong as it could have been.

apply common sense, if you doing something that the generally acknowledged wisdom says is wrong, do it as well and as right as you can, and 99% of the time it runs and drags you where you want to go at reasonable speed with a minimum of issues.

i snapped a crank shaft and had a burnt valve in my years of "Chicken Shed" engines.... think i got towed once.....
all work done on the hard standing outside my flat, and sidewalk of my london residential street, much to the annoyance of my neighbours....

---------------------
if you don't mind foul language/swearing and an interesting attitude to life bourbon ouzo and cigarettes at every opportunity

look up the australian Chris Mirabito on Youtube and watch his "slapper" build
google "Mirabito slapper build"

he builds an upright six from all the parts he should have thrown away, and eventually after a couple of episodes sticks it in his pickup (ute) and takes it to the dyno.... in between the swearing he shows you how to make the best of the not very good....
he normally builds expensive engines with pretty good performance but illustrates what you can do for little cost, a pile of used stuff and your time... think he has done it twice see slapper build and slapper II

just don't play it when the wife/kids/priest/minister/rabbi is around B word C word F word thrown about liberally because he doesn't even know he's doing it....Get over that and he talks some sense... not Vizzard, Not Tony....its efffing Chris... all a bit too real..in general he has his fans and his haters, nobody in between. even if you learn nothing its quite entertaining, his enthusiasm for a mopar engine is infectious. his on street testing of the results is borderline stupid...
and his sign off is Mopar or no Car
whats not to like....

Dave

 

[volaredon]

Id have that oil pump cover milled flat again, get the gaskets and o rings and run that oil pump.
I have $800 in the head on my /6, about $400 EA parts and labor but lots of milling, OS valves and hardened seats on the exhaust side at my insistence, machine shop wasn't gonna. This was about 3-4 years ago

Id mill the head and block to make sure everything is dead flat and even, id mil at least 0.030 between them, 0.030 off of each wouldn't hurt a thing, the first 0.030 will only make up for the thickness of new head gasket vs original as these days I doubt you'll find an original steel shim version. All aftermarket ones are thicker than the original.
I'd use any and all of the parts you already have on hand. What's that saying? Build once, cry once. Why do people never have the time to do it right but always manage to find the resources to do twice? Do it once and be done with it. Things like manifolds can be swapped in the car later when money allows but I wouldn't use known cracked parts

 

[Darter6]

that's all i used to do in my youth.

Oh the days of the high school rebuilds ! Did many and still do.As stated check for cracks,hone and if all good, rings, bearings.Clean everything up, assemble.
I'm all for using what you have and what your budget allows.
Slants are like a Timex Watch (If anyone remembers what a watch is) They run for ever.

 

[nutz]

Unless you let my mom drive one
"I thought when the oil light you add 2 quarts"
Mom when the oil light is on its too late for 2 quarts

 

[Oldmanmopar]

take the short block and head to a machine shop. Buy a new cam , lifters and timing chain.

 

[volaredon]

I thought he already had those? And was wondering whether to use or save them

 

[michiganpat]

if the pistons are OK and you can get away with a hone job and new rings, while you're at it as others have said, I'd mill the head and block to be flat, and have them take enough off to get it in the neighborhood of 8.5-9:1 with the now available thicker head gaskets if you plan on using that cam....milling that much (guessing close to .1" total? might require buying new (shorter) pushrods. I'd also look for a 2bbl manifold and a carter BBS. for a little more intake flow...