ramp rebuild

What you've got is a steel-crank, standard (LY) rod engine. Best thing you could've hoped to get in '74, really. The pad stamping would have an "E" on it were the engine equipped with a cast crank. Don't worry about the "special" head gaskets; most of the available ones have the openings for the larger coolant passages (which you might not even have).

Both HD (a.k.a. Six Pack) rods and the cast crank require external balancing. Mixing the two, to my knowledge, never happened, as it would've required even more offset balance on the converter and dampener. I've never heard of either such parts. The LY rods are the strongest factory rods for the RB engine; the "Six Pack" rods are simply heavier--they're not any stronger than the base rods in the years they were produced. It's been proven time and again. If you find a set of HD rods, sell them on eBay to someone that doesn't know any better. They're literally worthless for either performance or durability, and additional reciprocating weight is never a positive.

The actual compression ratio of that engine is between 7.6:1-7.8:1. 8:1 would be nearly miraculous, despite whatever the published specs are. Mill a ton off the heads (.060"-.080") to help correct this, and leave them alone other than that. Get a cam designed to maximize cylinder pressure at low/mid RPM, where the engine will be working. Long duration is absolutely your enemy here. Want a suggestion? Call a reputable camshaft company ("reputable" immediately precludes Hughes) and tell them what you're doing. Prepare to be underwhelmed by the specs. An Edelbrock Performer non-RPM would be good here, as would a stock factory intake. Anything with larger ports than those will be counterproductive on a truck engine, but if you've got a good dual-plane already you may as well use it.

You need a neutral-balance flywheel, obviously, that corresponds to your chosen bellhousing. Spend the money on a good clutch.
 
is the 318 fly in it now neutral balance?i keep getting mixxed info on that one

i have a big ole truck 3finger and clutch new in box on the shelf...hey...i wonder if that brand new fly on the shelf is N balance too

7:6..oy..so maybe i should dig out the 2 boxes of new slugs and see if magic can happen....ive got 2 rb rebuild kits here too..how much would a monster shave bump me?..i have atleast 6 sets of other heads...if something is better to swap on
 
I've never seen, nor heard tell of, an externally-balanced 318. What's in there now is neutral balance, and what's on your shelf probably is as well. It's easy enough to tell: There will either be a large cast-in counterweight and/or significant machining (usually drilling) to the back side of the flywheel to unbalance it. Unless it's a 340 cast-crank flywheel, which usually only has one small hole right out near the ring gear, it's usually blatantly obvious.

You can certainly upgrade the pistons if you plan to go through it, but if it runs well why bother? You could also go with an early closed-chamber head like a 516 or 915 to bump compression. There's no good way of determining how much compression you'll gain with head milling unless you measure the chambers' volume first. The open-chamber heads vary wildly in volume, and it's not a casting-number problem as much as a production tolerance problem. You might have so-called 88cc cylinder heads with 92cc chambers. The nice thing about the B/RB head is the 17 head bolts. They're not as prone to warpage as small-block heads after serious milling. Couple that with the fact that this thing should never need to see 5,000RPM and you could probably get away with as much as .100" off the heads once you know the cc measurement--and making sure you don't overheat it. :naughty:
 
I was always told that as a "rule of thumb" was that each 0.010 will increase compression by "about" .10. So, if you have a 7.6 to 1, 0.040 cut will give you 8.0 to 1 :huh:
 
belive me im not looking for dead nuts numbers..just realistic guesses lol....i do know i have a set of clean 915's and i thought i had the 516 as well..ill have to dig

basicly...i just dont want it to be a gutless dog inside a heavy monster....so id like to cheeply compensate as much as humanly possible..and if i have the parts...why not, just want to make sure i dont do anything stupid along the way...
 
68R/T said:
I was always told that as a "rule of thumb" was that each 0.010 will increase compression by "about" .10. So, if you have a 7.6 to 1, 0.040 cut will give you 8.0 to 1 :huh:
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Well, each cc requires .0042" of milling. I'm not sure how that directly correlates to compression points on the B/RB engine. The thing to remember is, you need to know your actual compression ratio in the first place--which nobody does with a factory engine. As I said, it could have 92cc chambers. It could also have 85cc chambers. Published compression numbers mean absolutely nothing, other than being the high end of a range in which they could fall. Advertised 10.2:1? Might be 10.2:1, but it's probably more like 9.9:1. Most combustion chambers erred on the high side of the stated volume. The less they milled, the longer the tool and tooling lasted. The only engine that was kept very close to design specs was the 426 Hemi. It was also assembled at M&I (hence the black wrinkle valve covers), rather than at the standard assembly facility. M&I did the assembly work because they worked to closer tolerances than the production plants.

Stated compression on the '73-up 360 is in the middle 8s, but is actually in the 7s when you do the math. It's the same case with the 440s, although by the end I believe they were advertised in some cases as low as 7.8:1 even though nothing changed internally.

Without CCing the heads, you do not know your compression. Period.
 
I talked to the guy with the Mopar parts today on the phone, but I just missed him as he had to head right back out of town as soon as he got home. I'll try to catch up with him again on Tuesday.
 
the MH chassis "its dissapeared" as my wife put it..the axle is sitting behind the rampy, the chassis i cut all the way down to the trans, its juts a motor trans front suspension lump right now....and with a lil luck the engine will be on the ground and the front suspension out too today....did i ever mention how much i HATE RIVETS...i swear the only "good" way to do them is to just cold chissle them off drill em and then punch em out..sure you can grind off the head or try and just drill em..but nothingg seem to be half as quick as a good big fat chissle

and that in itself is the issue..the trucks springs are 2.5 wide vs the MH 3..so i need the brackets too which is about 30 in the rear on just the MH side

and that brings up a question..the truck has a rear of spring mounted box and its shackle point is in the front where the MH has the front mounted box and rear mounted shackle..i assume i will have to keep the shakles at the correct end based on where the steering box is to eliminate bump steer?

oh and get this all of the brake lines came off easily with a wrench...they didnt strip or need vice grips ..not even the massive vacume lines going to the rear boosters

next stupid question...can 9/16 stuff wheels of the same bolt patern be drilled out to 5/8?..i ask cause it seems wheels in this bolt patern are NOT easily found, i want to love the 17.5 split rim...."some" 16s fit over the calipers i am told, but no one mentions the stud size...tons of fords and chevs ran this exact bolt patern of 8 on 6.5 but with a 9/16 vs my 5/8's....like i said i just want to axe the split rim....16 or 17 is where id like to stay..seems the .5 stuff gets considerable more expensive unless you get above a 19...which isnt out of the question assuming i find a deal on used alcoa's
 
69.5CUDA said:
oh and get this all of the brake lines came off easily with a wrench...they didnt strip or need vice grips ..not even the massive vacume lines going to the rear boosters
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Same thing on the Valiant, which is amazing when one considers the condition of the floor pans and front frame rail. The brake lines are nothing short of gorgeous on that car, no matter where you look... and yes, they're the OE armored lines throughout. :wtf:

Drilling the wheels is an absolute no-no. Not only can you not duplicate the correct seat angle for the lug nuts at home, you're cutting away precious material around the stud that strengthens the wheel. Ever had the center of a wheel break out? I have, and luckily it stayed together long enough to get it to the side of the road. It wasn't fun in a '70 Super Bee; I can only imagine it would be terrifying in a loaded ramp truck. It probably wouldn't hold together nearly as long, either. As far as wheel selection, it's not really a matter of "some" wheels fitting and others not. My recollection of that situation is pretty simple: 16" wheels will clear on a 3,500lb axle but will not clear on a 3,800lb or higher axle, period. I went through the same thing with the Wiener Dodge, and apparently it makes no difference whether it's a 2WD or 4WD (mine was 2WD). I did try a later-model 16" steel wheel and it hit the caliper on my 3,800lb front end.

Not sure why you'd want the cushy motorhome springs on a work truck. Sure, they're wider, but that thing was a rolling cottage. It was engineered to not spill Aunt Agnes' coffee, not carry the weight of a vehicle. You're simply making more work for yourself for minimal or no gain. I'd stick with what's on the ramp truck now. If the springs are in decent shape you could just add a leaf or two if you think it needs a little more beef.
 
the springs on the truck are...not just trashed but totaly worthless..i have had to put multiple blocks on the frame and springs just to un collapse it..both sides up front..but the bigger deal is..it doesnt look like the front axle will even accept the smaller springs with its wide u bolt holes youd just end up with a spring trying to walk

belive me i didnt want to have to swap out the spring mounts, but if i want the brakes i see no other options..atleast on the front anyway...but even the rear drum specs are a much improvement on the MH axle..tho i suspect on it i could just swap out the drums n plates

several times i drove that MH around on the 40 and it rode like a unloaded heavy truck..so im not so sure they are stock or squishy


btw even the spring bolts on this slid right out with no rust on em..no bashing just some light taps
 
Get new truck springs then, and weld a $15 set of perches on the axle. The spring mount nightmare is more work than it's worth. A Bentley also rides like an unloaded truck while bouncing around a 40. :D
 
and how do you recommend welding a new perch to that drop I-beam front axle?....and then drilling out new holes?
 
let me just state for the record...that the amount of factory stupid you find on a MH frame is astounding










 
ok so doc here is a closer inspection of the front axle and 3inch springs..i dont see no 15$ perch converting this to 2inch...on the rear..sure..course theres neerly double the amount of springs on both front and rear of the MH stuff vs the truck stuff

yes everything looks badly rusty ..its not..it brushes right off


 
you musta posted that while i was postin lol

the front is my primary concern first and foremost.. i mean DISC BRAKES vs spooky drums....imo thats a no brainer even with having to move perches over,,seems to make as much sense as swapping big bolt discs onto an a-body..besides the FRONT springs on the truck have 2 4x4 blocks of wood stacked on each side just to keep the front up enuf so the tires arnt hitting the wheel wells..and best of all a truck that finally has brakes

as for the rear..i could just as easily leave whats in there in there,,,or swap the drums, plates, hats or swap perches..honestly i think i have 4 dually rears of different ratios, years, and brakes..best i can tell you can swap the hat n drum across all of them(do correct me if im wrong there)..hell i have 1 i was told had some sort of LSD unit in it tho i never opened it up to check...from a 74 chassis cab bigblock stick
 
finished reliving the pearches of the extra welded on crap, rivits and old frame...i now have all my mounts loose(pics later when i do a dump)

took the engine/trans for a ride to the local carwash on the dolley...didnt clean up much, later i removed the trans only to find a supprise...factory drilled crank for pilot bearing ..nice smooth bore n all....however turning that beast over by hand was HARD..like bumped up comp hard...so maybe someones been in it...the valve covers have been off and repainted atleast twice in their life...from blue to gold to black..a peak inside the covers and its clean and pretty in there...wishing i had some aluminum covers...id kill for cal's

the headers are thick walled MONSTERS..ive seen factory exhaust pipes that were thinner

now with everything just falling into place ..i cant find any of my big block bells.......found my pan(but not the pump) manifold but not the carb....course i expect to find the carb, pump, fuel pump all in sorted boxes in the rafters of the car shelf..all labled by my wife

"if" the weather clears up like its stated to..ill pull the truck out into the street turn it around and pull it into the driveway and swap the axle....if i find the bell ill also swap in the engine...but getting those discs on and brakes functional is top of the list
 
i feel the need to add some side note info here

so...as cool and as much history as the truck has tho undocumented...i feel the need to change things

now obviously im changeing the face to the "early" quad headlight setup...and while id kill for the egg crate grill ...odds are ill never find one, the truck will retain its 445 cause its just cool but i WILL track down an OD unit preferably a brownie, obviously im changing out the brakes...but i will NOT be running a booster mounted to the firewall....instead i intend to maintain the 2 booster mid frame setup from the RV, i will be modifying the cab for clearance lights but i want something "vintage" big rig..those chrome base type that looked like a bullet on a perch, fender markers will be shaved and filled as per the "early" trucks, in adition to the "early" trucks i will be using the matching cab and doors with fridge style handles, side mirrors will be a vintage set of big boy mirrors in all stainless, interior will remain very OEM and spartan, tho i will be adding the RV heaters for more heat as well as AC, pain black bench, no power anything, tho i would like to go PS if possible but those units seems to be rare as hens teeth..the AC will be a roof mounted unit mounted UNDER the belly of the truck off the frame rails for a clean look

now heres where it gets fun..but keep in mind im trying to keep a factory look with these tweaks

the front bumper will get "stretched" down more like a big rig bumper but will retain its "steps" , the rear non existant bumper will be a factory unit again modified much like the front, the "deck" will remain but will be getting widened slighty, sleeper cab is going bybye, fuel tank will go away for modern "plastic" saddle units probably from a ford van or chevy PU while shaving the cab fuel filler as well, steps will get a clearance light tatsefully mounted, grill will get back lit, the deck will get fully enclosed floor so no more pass thru areas and with the sleeper gone will gain an aditional 3feet of optional space for a total of 19 feet of bed space...wait did i say bed..yes i ment it

now for the rational behind something different...let me state that the idea of a roll back while usefull defeats the reason to have a ramp truck..so NO roll backs, however theres something else that comes to mind..NO ONE open hauls a race car or anything any more for theft reasons ..so...what if one was to enclose it...oh noy it would look like a uhaul...NO....

so this plan came up..take the extra sets of doors and 3 beds and MAKE a 19 foot bed for it that looks OEM just WIDE..as in 7-1/2x19..can you say long wide box!!!..but wiat its still open..yeah so i make a canopy with a 7ft cealing ..while trying to stay vintage looking in shape..i figure is i use ABS plastic for the skin i can shave the cost and weight..the OEM spare tail gate will get seriously widened...now in adition to this ive considered doing a full on ramp lift gate or modified rear canopy hatch and gate into part of the ramp systme..which may or may not happen.....havnt finaliuzed the parts for the ramp section of it...next up will be a moveable bunk behind the cab in the box as well as a removeable toilet..if the truck is an "rv" the insureance is stupid cheep...in the end id have a camper, car hauler/storage, toybox..that e and my wife could load up a car for a show or take the bikes n stuff out rideing and spend the night..i should add..i fully intend to add NO WINDOWS OR DOORS to the box, i want clean lines and no leaks..the back of the cab may or may not get opened up beyond its small window raplcement but no bigger than the factory big window lines..the tail gate WILL function independently of everything else like a tail gate should

all said i dont belive it to be all that farfetched or bad looking in my head..while it does kill the old race car hauler openess it replaces it with something infinitely more useable
 
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