Got a free motor, don't recognize the manifold on it.

I totally agree, I might be coming into a cheap Valiant myself.. A guy my friend's brother('s uncle's nephew's cousin's former roommate) works with had a death in the family and doesn't know what to do with it.. I have no idea on year, condition, or price, but these are usually gimmees. A buddy of mine just bought a rusty but running '85 Dodge W-150 for $100. Two calipers, a brake line, a free bedliner, a patched floor, title and registration later he's only out $365. Says he's gonna stop making it nicer at $500. Hell, most of the thirty plus cars I've owned were all "classic" mopars, and were less than $600. Cheap Shitty Classics are my absolute favorite things next to sex, and imperial stout. I like shitty old cars more than I like most people. Can't get enough.. I'd have fifty or more, time space and money permitting.
 
stuff it in the volvo!!!!!! id be all for that...wait dont you have a 63 valiant?..stuff it in there!!!!
 
Totally agree on the minimal investment thing. Cheap beaters were my stock in trade for decades, and other than the "glitzy" induction setup on the wagon that's going to be just another in the long line of (relatively) inexpensive, neat old thrashers I've had. Other than the longram arrangement, I've literally got less than $600 total into that 440 and it's essentially done except an oil pan, pickup and camshaft. Damned right I'm dingle-ball honing it and putting the stock pistons back in their bores! Why waste money boring a block with no ring ridge?
 
"Dingle Ball Honing" Ha!

Yup, got a '63 Valiant.. I really like the slant though, it tries to be plucky, but it's totally winded by the effort. If the car weren't a pushbutton (another trigger of mine) I might consider the swap. Since the slant is so choked out by the factory, anything you do to it is a massive improvement.. Mine's bone stock except for the recurved dizzy and electronic ignition conversion. I like underdogs, I wanna hotrod it.

As for the Volvo, I know the Ford 302 fits in a 240, but barely.. The LA is within an inch of width of the automotive case of herpes that is the Chevy small block, SBCs fit into 240s, but both the LA and the 302 are longer when it comes to the water pump, but I'm not sure which of the two has the bigger snout. I've scoured google for ten minutes trying to find a 340 in a volvo with no luck, and now realize I should try looking for a 273, 318, or 360 as well. What I should do, is finally part out my '74 scrapwagon for the other two, and try and stuff an LA in it to see if I need to cut on it, beat the firewall back etc.. I'll get right on that when i get free time from my big boy job, and my side work in my two bay "garage".. Man, I need more time and money.
 
Indeed, hopefully with a little more class than angle iron holding it up, unless that's a mockup, or a friend of yours.. However, with what appear to be Georgia plates on the NA Miata in the background, I might be safe.. Also, That looks like a 170, they take better to that sort of thing if I'm not mistaken
 
As far as I know it's a mockup, but even if it isn't that's a GT4082 on a 225. It's not far from the concept of putting a stock Grand National turbocharger on a push mower. That's a bunch of weight and force so if that's a final arrangement I can forgive it.

Even better, it's in a '66 Dart 270 4-door sedan. :dance:
 
Passenger: "I dunno, it doesn't seem all that faaaaAAAAA HOLEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" :D
 
On the subject of manifolds, I'll go ahead and assume the weiand spreadbore stealth 8022 is the same as an edelbrock performer? There's a Summit licensed version on EBay now for cheap. I'm bidding on it, thanks in advance for not emptying my wallet.. I'm surrounded by stock small blocks over here, and cheap is good
 
I think you'll find the Weiand very similar to what you've got with the LD4B; probably a little better. It's a vast improvement over a 2176 Performer.
 
Good news, is it better than the 2176 across the range? Or better at low end grunt? My main complaint with all small blocks is a lack of low and mid range torque.. Of course I've usually had heavier cars with airplane gears, but I wannit to have a little more grunt and keep highway manners and mileage as these are my distance/trip vehicles also.. High RPMs I can wait for until I build the 340 and drop it in a toy. Like everybody, I want a car that makes bags of power from 0-6000 rpm, enough torque to pull stumps, 30 mpgs, street manners, and my wife to suggest a threesome with the hot chick behind the parts counter.
 
TheIronSausage said:
Like everybody, I want a car that makes bags of power from 0-6000 rpm, enough torque to pull stumps, 30 mpgs, street manners, and my wife to suggest a threesome with the hot chick behind the parts counter.
Click to expand...
Then I suggest you follow my lead and build a MPFI twin-turbo small block with distributorless ignition and an overdrive 4-speed. :D

The 2176 is probably the low-end grunt leader--below 2,000RPM anyhow. If that's your current goal, I'd suggest not buying anything and just using the LD4B. If you want something that works well for economy and torque, to be honest, it's hard to beat the 2V setup from a 360 on just about any smallblock. That's why they used it on 3/4-ton truck engines. Any four-barrel arrangement is really only doing you favors above ~3,000RPM anyhow.
 
Excellent. Thanks for answering my "what color stripes make my Honda Vtec yo?" questions.. I've got the late '67 318 that came out of my early '68 Satellite.. I tore it down to check it after 112,xxx miles and a swift crash into a ditch to check its condition.. no ring ridge, bores had factory honing marks, bearings were excellent, cam wasn't worn. I bought it with a eddy 2176 on it and a 1406 carb on it.. 18 year old me thought it was the best a stock small block got. Fast forward years later, the renaissance of the internet, and thirty or more cars that I hadn't tried to make faster. I still thought that was the bees knees in terms of bolt on BS. Remember, I still banged around in barely running Mopars while I worked on vintage sports cars that would be shamed by a Honda Accord in a straight line. At any rate, that motor is special to me as it was my first. I've got the original manifold and BBD, and it all sits in my basement waiting for a proper resurrection. I'd like to spruce it up a little and install it in something I can't lose a bowling ball through the floor boards of. I also have other LAs I want to make better. Now that people tell me I'm an adult, I've found that while I'm no longer a professional, my hobby is paying for itself and making a profit. Suddenly I can overserve myself some whiskey, make slightly irresponsible bids on eBay and still pay the mortgage.. (No kids yet)

To my mind, fate of the dinosaur based fuels aside, I should grab up as many vintage cars and parts as possible. Shit. Who hasn't griped about Barret-Jackson or Mecum driving up the cost of our hobby, and for (hopefully) most of us, our daily drivers? When I was 18, parts that fit my Satellite and also a Roadrunner were too expensive. Now that I'm gainfully employed, those parts are even more out of my reach. Thankfully vintage small blocks and their speed parts are still slightly under the radar. Invest while you can. Mopars are going up because they weren't as loved originally, like a split window '63 vette. Jass, hold on to the signet.

Brown liquor = run on sentences and short stories with only a shred of context. Beware!
 
Last edited:
TheIronSausage said:
I've got the late '67 318 that came out of my early '68 Satellite..
Click to expand...

68 & 69 318's were the highest stock compression ratios 318's ever.

68 & 69 were 9.2 to 1, 1970 dropped to 8.8 and dropped more in later years.

I've got a bone stock teener in a 68 coronet that I put 2 AVS's on, and Doc & Stretch can attest to how strong it pulls for a teener. Not much for quick rpm's with 2:76 gears but still gets 21 mpg with 8 barrels. :dance:
 
Mine was a sweet little motor when it was going. All I did was stomp on that thing, I thought I was a race car driver. The local county mounties gave me a bunch of driving awards to prove it. All it needs right now is valve seals. And to get winched back out of my basement
 
the 68/9 318s seem to have carried some into the 1970 trucks btw..as much as i do like them...toss a stock 340 cam in it and enjoy!..the 318 that was in my 67 fish when i got it too had the higher comp slugs...which makes me wonder if there was a mid year shift....ALL of my small block rigs started out as 318's...loved every one of em.but all of them were either swapped for 360s or commando 273's

as for the torque you seek..im going to bet youve never had a 360..you basicly described one
 
Nope, no 360. Most everything I've had was base trim, no frills, small motor. With the exception of my two New Yorkers and the 63 Riviera, but I sold it before I had it driving.
 
You're coming to the realization a lot of us reached years ago. I know what I've got in the Signet, but I also know what I've got in the Challenger, Imperial, and wagon. I have very limited room and every dollar spent on storage is a dollar lost. I have no desire to build that car anymore. 10 years ago it might've been different. "Cars and parts, parts and cars..." as my best friend is wont to say. You can't save 'em all. At least I can make sure the car goes to someone that does want to save it.
 
Maybe I'm less mature than that.. In the past five years, I've slowly started to realize that I can afford little things here and there. Saving cars is easy, I've been doing that for years. With few exceptions, those vehicles have found new homes. No no, this is new. I've never had the means to actually "build" something before. I've only been able to save it from the crusher. Nor have I had something with promise.. Two 440s sure, but they were running.. This lump has clean slate potential. It'll take a couple of years to amass parts, but I waste no time in assembly. Also, I'm not putting my family out. My expenditures come out of the money I make in my garage. I've always been able to keep junk running. It's exciting to get a chance to start from scratch and do it my way for a change.

Also, I have a hunch I'm younger than you gents.. I was born the day before Reagan was shot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

SiteLock

SiteLock
Back
Top