The 340 is finally being rebuilt

[340_dart_power]

Well, the 340 has FINALLY been pulled and is on its way to the engine shop tomorrow (Friday, 04/15/2011) for the teardown and rebuild.
My resto shop is cleaning up the engine bay to get it ready for paint, and here are some shots of the progress thus far.

 

[3forty]

What rebuild are you having done to the 340,stock or modified?

 

[340_dart_power]

Modified, with Edelbrock components. Probably heads, intake and carb at this point.

 

[340_dart_power]

More of the engine removal and empty front end.
We dropped off the 340 @ a shop which builds NASCAR engines for a local race team. They're planning on a complete teardown of the 340 early next week, so we'll know if there are any issues which would prevent using the block for a rebuild.

 

[5258]

340 Dart where are you located? I am from Shelbyville you must be close.

Mike

 

[340_dart_power]

340 Dart where are you located? I am from Shelbyville you must be close.

Mike

Mike, I'm in Franklin, TN., not far from you @ all.

 

[4spdragtop]

Very cool, wish I was at the stage you are at. Which one are you in the last pic??

 

[340_dart_power]

Very cool, wish I was at the stage you are at. Which one are you in the last pic??

Neither; those are two of the guys who work @ the resto shop:
Ross' Restorations, Thompson Station, TN.

This is one of me in the Sandbox in 2008.

 

[1970Duster]

Are you going to change the K frame to the 73+ while the engines out?

 

[340_dart_power]

No, going to keep the original K member.
Here are some shots from the paint booth.
The engine bay has been blasted and primered, and it was about to be painted after I took these.

 

[67DartGT340]

Looking good, bet you can't wait to get the Dart on the road again.

 

[340_dart_power]

The engine compartment is now painted and awaiting the rebuilt engine when it's finished, which will be several weeks in all probability.
Heard from the engine shop today and they have the 340 stripped down to the bare block, and everything looks good to start the rebuild next week.

 

[340_dart_power]

Had to check on progress today and model our t-shirt.
I had my resto guy (George) pop-rivet my fender tag onto the Dart with stainless steel rivets.. It had been held on with screws but this way it can't be taken off @ a car show when the hood is raised. May sound paranoid, but it takes the risk of it happening out of the equation.

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

Why does your 340 have an external balance balancer on it?

Or am I just hallucinating the counter weight on it?

What year is this car again, '72 ?

 

[Johnny Dart]

Great work !
Looking forward to watching this thread progress.

 

[PapstXX]

nice work brother

 

[inkjunkie]

Had to check on progress today and model our t-shirt.
I had my resto guy (George) pop-rivet my fender tag onto the Dart with stainless steel rivets.. It had been held on with screws but this way it can't be taken off @ a car show when the hood is raised. May sound paranoid, but it takes the risk of it happening out of the equation.

why not just leave it off??

 

[1wild&crazyguy]

why not just leave it off??

or glue the under side of it, so when/if they go for it with a screwdriver, thats as far as they will get...

 

[340_dart_power]

"Why does your 340 have an external balance balancer on it?

Or am I just hallucinating the counter weight on it?

What year is this car again, '72 ?"

The Dart is a 1971 with a 1972 340 dropped into it in some point in its life. What I suspect happened is that a previous owner blew up the original 318 it was born with and they replaced it with the '72 340 which was in it when I bought the car in 2006.
The engine shop doing the teardown and rebuild did tell me Friday that the engine had been balanced, so perhaps that's why the counter weight is in there. Make sense?

"Great work !
Looking forward to watching this thread progress."

Thanks; I cannot take credit for any of it, but my checkbook is feeling the pain of it.

"why not just leave it off??"

"or glue the under side of it, so when/if they go for it with a screwdriver, thats as far as they will get..."

Well, I like having it on there as part of the originality/DNA of the Dart, so I wanted to make sure it didn't come up missing "accidentally". The glue idea isn't a bad one, but my resto guy suggested the stainless steel pop rivets so we went with that.

Thus far we have had the engine bay soda blasted, primered, B5 Bright Metallic Blue topcoat applied, and that was covered with a single coat of clear. We still have to paint the front valance/under section which mounts below the bumper, and I'm tempted to re-paint the grill while it's out of the car. I think I can do that in my garage and save paying my resto guy to do it.

I have a disc brake setup coming to replace all four drums, and I have to order new 15 inch wheels and tires to accommodate the disc brakes. This means I will have five (four plus the spare) 14 inch original Rallye wheels and 215/70R14 BF Goodrich T/A Radial tires with about 3,000 miles on them to sell. Let me know if anyone (preferrably nearby in Middle Tennessee) has a need for these, and we can work a deal.

I'll also have a Holley 650 carb which went on the Dart in 2006 which I'm replacing with an Edelbrock if again, anyone has the need/desire to buy.

Thanks for the interest in this; it's been something I've wanted to do since I bought the Dart, and since it turned forty years old this month, it seemed like a good Birthday Gift to give the old girl.

 

[memike]

First thing on my list here is to thank you for keeping us safe here at home:hello2:
Congratulations on having a great engine builder in town :thumrigh::thumrigh:
And looks like you have an outstanding body shop/ restoration shop on your side as well :toothy3::glasses2:
Looks like it's moving forward and in good fashion 340_dart_power :thumrigh:

 

[SpeedracerX]

very nice work! The Dart looks great.. cant wait to see the motor back down in

 

[340_dart_power]

Thanks for the compliments, guys.
Mike, I appreciate the thanks; some days you feel as though you're shoveling sand against an incoming tide, so to speak, and it's nice to hear somebody say it.
I was over there in 2008 for about 3 & 1/2 months, which was very short considering how long our Service Men & Women are deployed. My hat goes off to them every day for volunteering to protect our Country, and they are the ones deserving our gratitude.
BTW, I can't wait to finish this project and fire up the 340 for the first time. I'll try to remember to video it and post it here.
Semper Dodge.

 

[340_dart_power]

Checked in with the engine shop and took these photos of the 340 in pieces.
The cylinders showed very little wear, and interestingly enough some previous owner had put a set of 360 heads on the engine. I'm replacing most of the components, so the engine shop will be cleaning these up for me so I can either sell them to someone here on FABO who needs them or list them on eBay. The Edelbrock intake and Holley carb are also up for grabs as well.

 

[340_dart_power]

The Right Stuff Detailing Disc Brake Conversion Kit arrived via UPS late yesterday. Rotors look pretty cool, and this will be a huge upgrade from the 10 inch drums which are off the front and about to come off the rear.

 

[340_dart_power]

Yesterday's end of the day business was to swing by the local sandblasting & powdercoating business, Superior Sandblasting and Powdercoating, Nashville, TN., and pick up the front end parts, including the K member.
Everything looks great, and has two (2) coats of black powdercoat on each of the pieces. The shop has some seriously huge ovens, large enough to put several car bodies into to bake the powdercoat. I was talking to Brett, the Owner/Operator, and he was telling me how the shop recently did the gates to Country Music singer Alan Jackson's new home in the Laurelbrooke Subdivision of Franklin, TN.
Apparently the K member was the most difficult part to be done, because of the construction and design of it, and 40 years of grease and dirt accummulating inside all the nooks and crannies inside. Brett sandblasted it several times to make sure it was clean prior to applying the powdercoating.
Today's mission is to get all of the brake system parts and the front end parts down to Ross' Restorations (http://www.rossrestorationsinc.com/) in Thompsons Station for George Ross and his crew to start reassembling the front end and get the brakes mounted.
Spoke to the engine shop yesterday and the build begins next week. They've been busy lately and were delayed starting the 340, but hopefully next week that'll begin. The new radiator is on its way via FedEx from Champion Radiator, and the steering box is at Firm Feel for a rebuild out in Vancouver, Washington. Lots of coordination of parts and activity going on, but in the end it should be worth it.
Another issue is what tires and wheels to put on the Dart. I'm looking at 15 inch wheels and tires, and will definitely be using Goodrich T/As again.