The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster

[rmchrgr]

One more quick update. I made a bracket for the air oil separator to be able to use a pcv on the dyno. I am curious to see if it will cost horsepower but I'm thinking it won't or will be very minimal.

I don't think there will be enough room to keep this here when the engine goes in the car.

I've mentioned it before but the black anodized block thing here on the valve cover is a fixed-orifice 'pcv valve' that's not really even a traditional valve. There's no spring or check ball, just an orifice drilled for a Holley carb air bleed. We'll see how it works.

More to come.

 

[abdywgn]

Thanks for sharing! I had a block that a lower timing cover bolt broke off. Center punched the bolt and started drilling...and ventilated the lower cylinder wall of #2 I think it was. Well, bad for me and good for someone else. I sold it cheap, they sleeved it and had a nice 340 block. Nice work with the jig!

 

[mopowers]

Hey man, I appreciate the share. That kind of **** happens to all of us. Good for you for realizing the mistake, owning up to it, and repairing everything. Good luck on the dyno day! Keep us posted.

 

[rmchrgr]

Thanks guys. Once you accept your mistake it's either clean it up or...clean it up. I'm really glad I didn't have to take apart the bottom end though, I was dreading that.

Fortunately it all went back together pretty easily. Basically this little mishap cost me a month of time, 5 quarts of oil, a tube of Permatex Ultra Black and an oil pan gasket.

No dyno session scheduled as of yet, going to call tomorrow and see what's available.

 

[rmchrgr]

For those following along at home, the dyno shop I'm using is tied up for the next two weeks. Hoping to get a slot the 2nd week of October. Definitely feel better about things now. Whatever happens from here (hopefully) won't be because of some dumb thing I did that had nothing to do with building an engine properly.

I am contemplating putting the engine in the chassis to get started on the last bits of wiring and possibly the exhaust. Kind of a PITA to do all that and take it all back apart though.

More to come.

 

[abdywgn]

but you'll be that much farther ahead when it is time for the final installation

 

[MMissile]

Wait till everything is the way you want it...on the dyno. Find something else to do.

 

[rmchrgr]

For anyone following my build thread here that may have missed my post about putting the 416" on the dyno you can read about that at the link below;

416" on the dyno

Obviously, I'm really happy with the results. I never dreamed there would be numbers like that attached to something I built. It's a nice feeling to finally be on the winning end rather than having to come up with excuses why it didn't perform.

Despite the overall success, I do have to address what appears to be an oil leak from the rear of the pan somewhere. I don't think it's the rear main but rather the end seal. Those don't normally leak though so either way it's a bit concerning. I'm going to get a cheap smoke machine and try to pinpoint what's going on. I really do not want to re-do the oil pan again.

I will mention that for the last few runs on the dyno the PCV system was not hooked up because the dyno shop carb did not have a provision for it. It's possible the lack of crankcase ventilation was pushing the oil past the seal. There is a breather on the other valve cover but it may not be enough.

From the let's-spend-more-money-before-we-ever-drive-this-thing dept., I will probably need to get my torque converter changed for it to be optimal. 10 years ago I had it built by Dynamic when the engine was making 500hp. It's a 9 1/2" that is supposed to stall at 4,500 rpm. The peak numbers are much higher now as are the rpms the peaks occur at. I called them yesterday and they said they would work with me on changing it if it actually needs it.

Thanks for reading. More to come.

 

[rmchrgr]

Reached a pretty big milestone here folks - the engine is in the car. Finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
First though, there's a couple things to detail on how we got here.

As all my three faithful readers are aware, back in October the 2nd iteration of my 416" small block engine was dynoed and made surprisingly good power. However, as I mentioned in the previous post, there were some small oil leaks. The excitement of making over 600hp was dampened because it appeared the leak was coming from the rear main seal. Grrr...

I wasn't 100% sure of where the leak was coming from so before taking it apart I bought a smoke machine to pinpoint and confirm the source. Turned out to be the right move as the tool worked as advertised - definitely the rear main and a small spot in the the front pan seal. I recommend getting one of these things to check for leaks of any kind. It's pretty cool to be able to buy one for $60. The ones we had at the dealership where I used to work and in most professional shops are thousands of dollars.

The pan came off pretty easily as the RTV from the first install wasn't even fully cured. I think the seal leaked because it was 10 years old. It was only run on the dyno but it sat for many years before being pressed into service again. There was nothing visibly wrong with it but I replaced it anyway. This time I staggered the ends 3/8" where last time it was a bit less than 1/8". I also put gray sealer between the cap and block which wasn't done last time. No RTV on the seal ends.

Then I did something dumb (what else is new) - I put the pan on but forgot to put the paper gaskets down. Doh! I didn't even realize it until the next day when I saw them sitting on the bench. I couldn't believe it. So off came the pan again. The end seals didn't fare too well this time so I had to order another set of pan gaskets. (set #3) This time I went with the Milodon 'crushproof' gasket set and employed some slightly different applications of RTV. After the install I performed the smoke test again and saw no leaks. Phew! It does seem good now, I just have a better feeling about it.

After the oil pan debacle the next task was to change the distributor from the Mopar tach drive unit that was used on the dyno to the Holley Hypserspark for when it's in the car running off the EFI. I had to time the motor again and hopefully I did that correctly. On these distributors (hall effect trigger) it makes no difference where #1 is but I wanted it where it usually is on the driver's side facing the #1 cylinder which involved a bit of finagling the gear. Once the EFI is running it's easy to adjust the timing as needed.

After that, the spark plug wires were reconfigured to match the male terminals. It took a lot of time to get the wires where I liked them. There's always firing order crossovers which never seem quite right to me but that's the way it is. The wires are now a bit shorter than they were previously which is a good thing. I'm happy with the way they came out. I was able to avoid using loom organizers that attach to the valve covers - one less thing to go wrong and less clutter.

After some hemming and hawing about what else needed to be done before the engine could go in, I came to the conclusion that it just had to go in and I would deal with any details afterwards. Yesterday it just kind of happened - I didn't really even plan on doing it but once I started I wasn't going to stop.

To be honest, getting the engine in the car was a bit of a hassle. To get the headers in, the steering linkage has to come apart - irritating but not a huge deal. I had moving blankets and towels draped over the sides to protect stuff but still managed to scratch the **** out of one of the tubes on the driver's side. I tried finessing it 17 ways to Sunday but just couldn't get it home. The air-oil separator had to come off the back of the head because it was getting wedged against things protruding off the firewall. I figured that would have to be relocated from on the back of the cylinder head anyway since there isn't a lot of room in that immediate area when in the car.

After about 30 minutes of aggravation, it occurred to me that the engine mount isolators should be flipped. I'm not sure doing that accomplished anything except raising the bottom bolt to the higher position in the slot. Most of the difficulty was caused by driver's side header being sort of wedged in a couple spots making it impossible to force the engine into the bellhousing. Conversely, the passenger side header went in relatively easily. After a couple rounds of getting it closer and closer and then suddenly freeing up the driver's side header, eventually it fell into place and the bell bolts threaded in by hand.

Again though, despite the moving blanket, the #3 tube got pretty roughed up on the corner of the steering box. The K frame powder coating also got destroyed but it's under the isolator now so out of sight out of mind. The big win is that the header bolts are at least threaded. I'll put it back up in the air and get the lower bell bolt and starter in and reconnect the steering linkage.

With the Super Victor intake and 1" spacer, the engine is way taller than my old combination which fit under the flat hood so I'm definitely going to need to cut a hole in the hood and add a scoop. I am wanting a 4" tall 6 pack scoop but it seems like the only place that offered them was AAR. After emailing them about availability, they told me it's no longer available. I don't like the 5" tall ones and the 3" ones seem a bit too short. Hopefully I can find something that works.

The next steps are basically just to start putting whatever is left back together. The engine bay wiring harnesses (including the lights, charging system and horn) and the cooling system can be configured now. The rest of the exhaust system can go in and the brakes and suspension systems can be finalized. Once those things are done I can order a driveshaft and then finish the interior, get the front and rear glass put back in and eventually fire it up and start dialing it in.

More to come.

 

[mopowers]

Great update! It amazes me that a smoke machine can find leaks like that. I'd think the smoke would have a hard time exiting where the leak is. Glad you caught it though. Rear main leaks suck! Keep it up.

 

[rmchrgr]

Great update! It amazes me that a smoke machine can find leaks like that. I'd think the smoke would have a hard time exiting where the leak is. Glad you caught it though. Rear main leaks suck! Keep it up.

Thanks! That little machine is kind of awesome, totally worth the money.

My oil pan has two drain plugs with one being an oil level sight plug. I took that one out and put the smoke machine tip in there to fill the pan and the leaks appeared pretty quickly. I did have to seal up everything that is open to the crankcase so it's not a 1 minute job. I just used threaded plugs where they would fit and cardboard and tape over the larger openings.

Click the Google Photos link below to see it in action.

Smoke machine leak test

 

[rmchrgr]

Continuing to work on getting the engine and peripheral equipment squared away, have some details to update tonight.

First off, the fuel line was routed from the chassis to the engine. This wasn't a big job, just had to make the correct length hose. The fuel "log" that attaches to the throttle body can install either way. I tried it with the inlet both front and back but decided having it at the front was not going to work. The line would have had to go all the way up the inner fender which I've seen done but my preference was to keep it shorter. There is also a fitting for the EFI fuel pressure sensor that requires a take off line to the sensor. Keeping that line shorter is better for accuracy so the choice was made to pick up the line at the back of the engine.

I used some heat shield liner at the bottom where it's closer to the header. It would have been fine either way but I had the stuff on the shelf and better safe than sorry. Came out good. One Adel clamp on the inner fender and it's solid.

I had a 120º fitting left over from some other plumbing project that was put to use. What's nice about it is that it angles the hose slightly forward away from the firewall. Note the fitting with the 90º adpater on the bottom for the fuel pressure sensor line. The black tubing is for the MAP sensor which goes directly to the ECU inside the car.

Over the last few weeks I've been contemplating where to mount the EFI sensors (oil and fuel pressure). From what I've read, having them on the engine tends to shorten their service life. Mounting them remotely prevents premature wear and also helps them read more accurately. I got a remote sensor block that has provisions for two transducers that thread into it. The hoses coming from the pressure sources will attach to the two 90º adapters at the bottom of the block.

For now, the best spot for these sensors seems to be right above the master cylinder. It will keep the lines to them relatively short (as opposed to having it on either fender apron) and the wiring will also be shorter.

After the holiday I started in on mocking up the coolant hoses. I ordered almost everything from Auto Plumb. Seems to be decent quality stuff and a tad less expensive than buying these kinds of parts from your parts house of choice. They do not carry any "Mopar" specific things so I did get a water neck from Summit. I think some SBC water necks are the same bolt pattern but since I wasn't 100% sure I got the right one with some other things I ordered.

I went with -16 hose. Guess we'll see if it's sufficient. My radiator is relatively big and my electric fan moves a lot of air so I believe the -16 will be fine. I'm also working on a mounting solution for the electric radiator fan.

These adapters are a bit odd looking on such a long water neck but short of weld on fittings this is the only option if you want -AN type cooling hoses.

There are a couple other things currently in the works. I'm trying to decide how to handle the alternator charge wire. I am contemplating using a Deutsch firewall junction connector. I'm hesitant to use it though because it requires drilling a 1.25" hole in the sheet metal. I may have no choice about it though.

Currently, the charge wire is running through one of the unoccupied heater hose holes. Problem is still I need to run two 10. ga. wires into the engine bay for the radiator fan and water pump and the heater hose hole would be the perfect spot for those. The MAP sensor line goes through the one next to it. I may go through the heater motor block off plate but the way everything is situated behind it leaves me very little room. I don't want to take that all apart either so I have to mull this over a bit more.

Current possible spot for where to pass the alternator charge wire through the firewall. This is the connector cover plate.

Hopefully I've also figured out where to mount the air/oil separtor cannister. It is a bit clunky but also has to be relatively close to the valve cover and throttle body. It doesn't really matter where it is but as with other plumbing conundrums, the preference is to keep things as short as possible.

There is enough room here to make this work. The two existing holes in the firewall provide a convenient spot to mount an aluminum plate that I can bolt the cannister to.

I suppose all these little sensor gee gaws and the air oil can might seem like unecessry crap but I planned to use them from the start and they do serve purposes. The coolant hoses I just like because they look cool but they do save me the hassle of finding the right hoses with my non stock setup. Presumably they won't leak either and can be reused.

On a side note - I'm a little annoyed at myself for recently ordering two different things both of which ended up being wrong. With the carb spacer, I need taller studs. I had some already but they were not quite tall enough on the driver's side because I have a universal throttle cable bracket that takes up the rest of the threads with no way to get the nut on the stud. Dumb me ordered the exct same studs I already had. Doh!

I also ordered a tool for assembling the braided sensor hoses. Unfortunately I mistakenly ordered one for -6AN size hose rather than the -3 that I actually needed. Now have to deal with two returns to Summit and waiting for the correct stuff to arrive. Not a big deal but preventable. And again, I'm still waiting on two things that had to be drop-shipped directly from their suppliers - a 30" 6-rib belt and the -AN water neck.

Last thing was putting the torque strap in. I repurposed the sway bar mounting bracket for it. This has been on the car for years but it had to be modified to work with the QA1 K frame. Not feeling all that great about it. The threaded parts are closer to their ends now than with the stock K frame. Guess we'll see if it actually works with almost 570 lb. ft of torque on tap.

That's all for tonight. As always, thanks for reading. More to come.

 

[mygasser]

re the rad' hose fittings, i'd say as long as their bore is at least the same as the hole size in the thermostat they won't be a restriction. i think that makes sense, it does to me anyway.
neil.

 

[bjkadron]

Continuing to work on getting the engine and peripheral equipment squared away, have some details to update tonight.

First off, the fuel line was routed from the chassis to the engine. This wasn't a big job, just had to make the correct length hose. The fuel "log" that attaches to the throttle body can install either way. I tried it with the inlet both front and back but decided having it at the front was not going to work. The line would have had to go all the way up the inner fender which I've seen done but my preference was to keep it shorter. There is also a fitting for the EFI fuel pressure sensor that requires a take off line to the sensor. Keeping that line shorter is better for accuracy so the choice was made to pick up the line at the back of the engine.

I used some heat shield liner at the bottom where it's closer to the header. It would have been fine either way but I had the stuff on the shelf and better safe than sorry. Came out good. One Adel clamp on the inner fender and it's solid.
View attachment 1716493464

I had a 120º fitting left over from some other plumbing project that was put to use. What's nice about it is that it angles the hose slightly forward away from the firewall. Note the fitting with the 90º adpater on the bottom for the fuel pressure sensor line. The black tubing is for the MAP sensor which goes directly to the ECU inside the car.
View attachment 1716493465

Over the last few weeks I've been contemplating where to mount the EFI sensors (oil and fuel pressure). From what I've read, having them on the engine tends to shorten their service life. Mounting them remotely prevents premature wear and also helps them read more accurately. I got a remote sensor block that has provisions for two transducers that thread into it. The hoses coming from the pressure sources will attach to the two 90º adapters at the bottom of the block.

For now, the best spot for these sensors seems to be right above the master cylinder. It will keep the lines to them relatively short (as opposed to having it on either fender apron) and the wiring will also be shorter.
View attachment 1716493470

After the holiday I started in on mocking up the coolant hoses. I ordered almost everything from Auto Plumb. Seems to be decent quality stuff and a tad less expensive than buying these kinds of parts from your parts house of choice. They do not carry any "Mopar" specific things so I did get a water neck from Summit. I think some SBC water necks are the same bolt pattern but since I wasn't 100% sure I got the right one with some other things I ordered.

I went with -16 hose. Guess we'll see if it's sufficient. My radiator is relatively big and my electric fan moves a lot of air so I believe the -16 will be fine. I'm also working on a mounting solution for the electric radiator fan.
View attachment 1716493472

These adapters are a bit odd looking on such a long water neck but short of weld on fittings this is the only option if you want -AN type cooling hoses.
View attachment 1716493473

There are a couple other things currently in the works. I'm trying to decide how to handle the alternator charge wire. I am contemplating using a Deutsch firewall junction connector. I'm hesitant to use it though because it requires drilling a 1.25" hole in the sheet metal. I may have no choice about it though.

Currently, the charge wire is running through one of the unoccupied heater hose holes. Problem is still I need to run two 10. ga. wires into the engine bay for the radiator fan and water pump and the heater hose hole would be the perfect spot for those. The MAP sensor line goes through the one next to it. I may go through the heater motor block off plate but the way everything is situated behind it leaves me very little room. I don't want to take that all apart either so I have to mull this over a bit more.

Current possible spot for where to pass the alternator charge wire through the firewall. This is the connector cover plate.
View attachment 1716493474

Hopefully I've also figured out where to mount the air/oil separtor cannister. It is a bit clunky but also has to be relatively close to the valve cover and throttle body. It doesn't really matter where it is but as with other plumbing conundrums, the preference is to keep things as short as possible.

There is enough room here to make this work. The two existing holes in the firewall provide a convenient spot to mount an aluminum plate that I can bolt the cannister to.
View attachment 1716493484

I suppose all these little sensor gee gaws and the air oil can might seem like unecessry crap but I planned to use them from the start and they do serve purposes. The coolant hoses I just like because they look cool but they do save me the hassle of finding the right hoses with my non stock setup. Presumably they won't leak either and can be reused.

On a side note - I'm a little annoyed at myself for recently ordering two different things both of which ended up being wrong. With the carb spacer, I need taller studs. I had some already but they were not quite tall enough on the driver's side because I have a universal throttle cable bracket that takes up the rest of the threads with no way to get the nut on the stud. Dumb me ordered the exct same studs I already had. Doh!

I also ordered a tool for assembling the braided sensor hoses. Unfortunately I mistakenly ordered one for -6AN size hose rather than the -3 that I actually needed. Now have to deal with two returns to Summit and waiting for the correct stuff to arrive. Not a big deal but preventable. And again, I'm still waiting on two things that had to be drop-shipped directly from their suppliers - a 30" 6-rib belt and the -AN water neck.

Last thing was putting the torque strap in. I repurposed the sway bar mounting bracket for it. This has been on the car for years but it had to be modified to work with the QA1 K frame. Not feeling all that great about it. The threaded parts are closer to their ends now than with the stock K frame. Guess we'll see if it actually works with almost 570 lb. ft of torque on tap.
View attachment 1716493475

That's all for tonight. As always, thanks for reading. More to come.

If you are worried about the torque strap, it is really cheap to get a threaded tube. Speedway motors has them in a variety of lengths for very reasonable prices. Just figure out your thread and length.

 

[rmchrgr]

re the rad' hose fittings, i'd say as long as their bore is at least the same as the hole size in the thermostat they won't be a restriction. i think that makes sense, it does to me anyway.
neil.

I did not measure the openings but one would presume they are appropriately sized for the application.

The actual thermostat is generally removed with an electric water pump so there is no impediment to flow there.

 

[rmchrgr]

If you are worried about the torque strap, it is really cheap to get a threaded tube. Speedway motors has them in a variety of lengths for very reasonable prices. Just figure out your thread and length.

Thanks. I’m not overly concerned. Should the need arise I figured it would be easy enough to locate or even make a longer tube.