Father, Son, and Grand Father project. 1963 Valiant

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mopowers said:
Great progress. What product did you use on the wheels? Did you polish by hand?
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Yes. It was all done by hand using mothers polish, and a truck stop product called "magic mix". (Sold at most truck stops).

I've used magic mix for over 20 years, and the results are always great.

That boy did a lot of polishing that day. All by hand. Lol.
 
Man, that's awesome it's coming together as good as it is. I'm without doubt Jason will never want to sand on a car ever again if he doesn't have to. You said the powerplant going in will be a stock 318 right?
 
txstang84 said:
Man, that's awesome it's coming together as good as it is. I'm without doubt Jason will never want to sand on a car ever again if he doesn't have to. You said the powerplant going in will be a stock 318 right?
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The way I look at this whole project is, if he never touches another car again, he knows how to do it. And he's going to know the work that goes into a restoration. Plus he will learn basic stuff like maintenance oil changes etc.

Yes, the engine is a 1983 318 out of the ram charger. It's going to get a Holly intake and a Holly 394 barrel carburetor. We will be running the factory early a body 273 exhaust manifolds.

The transmission is a 727 that was in the car when we got it. It just didn't fit very well. So we clearance the pinch weld off of the tranny Tonnele and massage the tunnel a little bit and it fits perfect now.

Here's an engine test fit pic.

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The rear axle is an 8.8 out of a Ford explore. We cut it down about 2 inches on one side and use two of the short side axle shafts. It's a 373 track lock with disks.
 
Do you think he'll ever want to add ponies to it and wind up changing to an LS like you did? Kinda hard to argue the economy of a junkyard 5.3 with an overdrive transmission that makes 400hp without even breaking a sweat...or is that getting into a little too much fab with the floors and or suspension?
 
txstang84 said:
Do you think he'll ever want to add ponies to it and wind up changing to an LS like you did? Kinda hard to argue the economy of a junkyard 5.3 with an overdrive transmission that makes 400hp without even breaking a sweat...or is that getting into a little too much fab with the floors and or suspension?
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I'm pretty sure he's going to want more horsepower. Lol. He's been going to the race track with me since he was an infant. We're already planing the next engine. Lol.

We're planing on doing a magnum block 360, stock rebuild, with some mild clean up work on the heads and a medium sized roller cam. Should be good for 400 hp and the installation of some us car tool subframe connectors. Lol

But, in a car this solid and this clean, and this original I don't see an LS swap.

They really haven't found a definitive oil pan or header option yet with our tight engine bays. But, ultimately, that will be up to him.

We considered putting a low deck 383/400 in the car because we had access to one pretty cheap. But, it's a tight fit, and not easy to work on.

My biggest reason for swapping my car was because it's a strut front end with engine plates. Engine swaps are easy and I found the LS swap interesting. I was on a tight budget when I did it and I wanted to street drive my car more.
 
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I said the heck with it. Cut the inner fender wells out. Now I have lots of room. I'm a little bit ahead of you guys in the project. Yes this was my race car too. Haven't raced in a decade. So my son ( the deisel truck kid ) has been learning a lot. Thank god the sanding is over. Especially for black paint.
 
Makes sense--and when budget weighs heavy on the build, well...like you said, dollars and sense. I'd kinda like to get another B engine, but I have a bit of a mad scientist idea for my Scamp. As with yours, budget will play a role, but I have a pretty good friend that can get great deals on a particular non-mopar type of engine that just happens to have multiple overhead cams, and I'd like to see that **** happen. But realistically, I have other much more important things to do with the car with sheetmetal replacement, chassis stiffening, rear axle upgrade, suspension, brakes, glass, etc., etc., ad nauseum, and right now, the 5.2 Magnum does run, albeit tired, but does run.

You know how they say a bird in hand is worth two in the bush; all my desires may just come down to rebuilding that 5.2 with new pistons, better heads, and one of those new FI Tech or Holley Sniper systems. It already has the RPM airgap intake and a set of hedman shorty headers (they work fine, but if I had it to do over, I'd go with dougs or tti). I'd really dig being able to row through the gears too, but converting from auto to the 5 speed I want would quickly add anywhere from $3500-5000...on top of my rebuild.

But, I bet I could find a good running aviator 4.6 DOHC (or possibly a navigator 5.4 DOHC), slap in cams, shave the heads, weld up custom headers (this same friend is pretty good with TIG), fab mounts, sit a T-45 behind it, get a new driveshaft, mate the current exhaust and be running (with factory EFI) for less than what it would cost to rebuild my current engine and transmission.
 
Dave1967 said:
View attachment 1715004904 View attachment 1715004902 I said the heck with it. Cut the inner fender wells out. Now I have lots of room. I'm a little bit ahead of you guys in the project. Yes this was my race car too. Haven't raced in a decade. So my son ( the deisel truck kid ) has been learning a lot. Thank god the sanding is over. Especially for black paint.
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10-4 on the plenty of engine compartment room. Lol. My little peanut motor gets lost in there. Lol

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Here's a picture from about 5-6 years ago when I was redoing the front half for the LS swap.


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Very nice my friend. This was my last project that I finished a year ago. Only three years to do. So now my son and I are doing th 64 valiant and yes learning to be a deisel mechanic. Had to buy bigger tools.
 
looking great...i guess i know who to bug if i need some bodywork done, or some wheels polished

silly question...it looks like you have the three groove crank pulley for A/C but the alternator bracket looks like a non AC version?
 
diymirage said:
looking great...i guess i know who to bug if i need some bodywork done, or some wheels polished

silly question...it looks like you have the three groove crank pulley for A/C but the alternator bracket looks like a non AC version?
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That's……a darn good question. Lol. The engine had been ina few different trucks over the years, so nobody's really sure what pulleys or brackets are from what. But I believe the ramcharger was an a/c truck, but when my uncle swapped it into his d150 he put the non a/c alternator on it.

BUT, on that subject. I'm planing on fabbing up some brackets and spacers to mount an internally regulated denso alternator on jasons car.

That along with the cheap, piece of crap, all inclusive distributor for $50, should clean up the engine compartment wiring a lot.

As you can see by the pics of my car…we're kinda fussy with our wiring. Lol. Out of site. Lol
 
diymirage said:
looking great...i guess i know who to bug if i need some bodywork done, or some wheels polished
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I'd love to polish aluminum with ya brother. Lol. That's what I do to my cars to keep myself from tearing apart something expensive. Lol. I like polishing aluminum.

But if you ever ask me to do body work……I'll kick you in the nuts. Lol
 
We were watching home videos the other night and came along this little blast from the past. Lol.

That's how long he's been around Valiant's. lol. That's me and him going for a ride in the valiant in about 2004ish.


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Not a lot to report today. Dads going back to work tomorrow so we just took it easy and went around the car 3-4 more times filling and checking.

I finished sanding the tops of the doors and jambs and around the under hood area. We're getting closer.

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This is when you know you've been sanding to long. Lol. You sand door jambs while in a zombie like state. Lol

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slowly but surely. Lol.

Thanks for reading. Eric and Jason.
 
Great pic. I have seen that look in my boys by just mentioning the lawn needs to bet cut. Just tell your son painting is easy, but the prep work SUCKS. I bet that valiant never sees rain or winter after all that work he has put in.
 
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Did you tell him about wet sanding. That will make his day. Took it to 1500 grit. Then 3m compound. Lots of work but so pretty when finished. What color have you guys picked.
 
[QUOTE="Dave1967, post: 1971520007, Did you tell him about wet sanding. That will make his day. Took it to 1500 grit. Then 3m compound. Lots of work but so pretty when finished. What color have you guys picked.[/QUOTE]


Shhhhh. We haven't told him what wet sanding entails. Lol.

Jason wants to paint it red. I don't know how I feel about that, but it's his car and his decision. But I told him if he wants to change his mind in two years…he's on his own. Lol
 
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