Finally starting my 70 swinger BB project

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Vic Storm

Vic Storm

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Location
west plains, MO
After owning the car and the engine for over a year, I am finally getting to get started on the rebuild. The engine is a 400/727 out of a 85 dodge trk but the trk came out with a 318 according to the numbers so I am not sure of what year it the 400 is yet. I will find out, I already have the parts to make it a 451 for fun and with everyone here's help we'll see how it will run @ MMW next year (with a little luck).
The pics are of my engine and the car as it sits on blks until tomorrow.8)

motor out #3.jpg


field car #3-70 dart front driver.jpg
 
WAHOOO!!!!That would be great if you ended up with a 230 casting
 
Is that the majic # I am looking for? Should be on the side of the blk, hell I was in such a hurry today I didn't even look. I will look tomorrow.
 
Yeah the last three digits in the castin #230.They are the strongest block castings made by Chrysler.The webbing between the crank and cam journels is BEEFY.Good for buildin!
 
You can see now lycandart why I bought that trunk lid @ MMW. That one is rough, and Smallblk brought another 71 2dr to the field today that has a perfect hood on it!8):toothy10: I love this stuff, it is great fun getting everything together.

New 70 dart #4.jpg
 
Who can tell me what mopar color that my car is? I know it is faded but it appears to be blue, what where the 70 blue colors? It looks like it had a gator hide top, I thought they discontinued gator by 70?
 
Could be Light Blue poly but is still B3(Ice Blue was the plymouth B3)
 
i say b3. not all 230 block are the beefy ones. anyway for a 451 any 400 block would do the trick.
 
It is a 230 blk and it will be coming apart tomorrow. The steel 440 crank that I got up @MMW is going into the shop for a check up and a magnaflex. Don't have the rods apart yet but I will be working on that too. I will be Looking for a set of pistons soon also, got to find out what shape the block is in. Should be alright, ran good when parked, didn't use any oil.
Does a guy really need an after market distributor if I already have an electronic stock one?
 
if the electronic stock distributor is from an injection motor, then yes, you'll need a new one. Carb'd motor, no.
 
Ice blue, thanks lycandart, I will be getting some paint soon while the market is down.
Way do you say that sharpie? Is an injection motor alot harder on the distributor than a carb motor?
 
ummm, an injected 400??? the timing isnt exactly rock solid in an oem distributor, some of it is the oil pup drive which you can easily take care of. they ar emagnetic pickup and work good. not real easy to curve but still doable. some guy sells a curve plate, i think the fbo ignition guy, avoids welding and filing. if its a lean burn dist, i think you will be locked out with the timing. i use an oem distributor with an msd box.
 
This pic shows the distributor, it's an oem style with electronic pic-up. You are saying Jamesdart that I can hook some kind of aftermarket shock box to it? Does it replace the coil or how does it hook in to the system? Sorry for the dumb question but I have seen them but never used one.

Hey Lycandart, is that ice blue on the car in your avatar?

old alt bracket #2.jpg
 
Not a 230 blk,(63550) I was way off but oh well I am going on. I did get some great news today, I bought a 440 crank @ MMW for 60 gambling it was what he said. As it turned out it is a eagle stock steel crank, that is in excellant condition. The man said give it a little shine and run it so I am very pleased. I have the blk down to one head off and they are 452 heads. Motor has alot of carbon and a little ring groove but no scares or marks so far.

Can the 452's be fixed up some or should I go to a 906 for putting bigger valves in? What about using roller rockers, do I have to use a roller cam?
 
906, 346, 452 basically have the same ports, although the 346 and 452 have a flatter intake runner and more short side radius on the exhaust. In other words, run whatever you want.
 
Thanks 68, thats good news for the pocket book! Do you guys do your own porting and polishing? I have heard you guys talking about gasket matching the ports to the gaskets, is this something that is benificial and is it something a halfa$$ed mechanic can do? Do you do the intakes and the exhaust? I am having the engine balanced too, I believe there are certain touches that help alot. I am wondering of gasket matching is one of them?
 
Must have been dumb questions I guess.

I got the block all apart and it looks really good, very clean. I couldn't find a socket that would fit the 2 bolts below, is there a special socket that you have to get to take this off?

Pan brace rear main.jpg
 
An injection motor's distributor won't work because it's designed to work with the engine's PCM. You need one that just works based on normal timing curves, not one that can be adjusted by a computer.
 
Thanks Sharpie, I am going to look into a ignition box for my distributor. I think it will be fine for now, I can always swap it out if its not enough. Any suggestions on what the best bang for the buck in boxes?

I had 3 different kinds of craftsmen sockets and none of them fit. I am going to go looking for a smaller 12 point tomorrow, or I may just buy a used one and grind it down. Hey 68, did you port and polish your heads?
 
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