Projects DB/Mopar Roadster Build or... Hodgepodge Dodge

Doin' pretty good.
Working hard.
Still a lot of stuff to catch up on around here that I fell behind on over the last year and a half. Really happy that I keep feeling stronger and stronger so I can do it. I busted my ass for a week finishing up organizing the sheds and getting everything cleaned up in the yard. Now I know where everything is. And now... I'm sitting my ass down for a day or two lol.
But not all my work is just for the farm. I have vested interests, too. I now have one "secret" shed dedicated to only hot rod parts... out of sight and away from possible harm. And I've got the garage organized with only what I need in there, so I have a spot for the Dodge and some good workspace.

Gotta get ready for winter, too. Close up some gaps in the house. Fix the hydraulic leak in the wood splitter. Commence to cuttin' and splittin' a shitload of firewood.

And more stuff for the garage.
Getting a brand new garage door installed in a few days.
Build a bench.
Couple more shelves.
More lights.
More tools and materials.
Etc. etc. etc.

So I've got plenty to do just for the house and the farm and stuff... as always. And then still more to get done so that I'm ready to do some good work on the hot rod this fall and through the winter.

Then we can start roughing in.

 

@Rickybop
Hope you are organised and ready to rumble as soon as the weather warms up............

 

I had to hack up some rather dis-similar pictures to put this together so it's extremely crude but here's a rough photoshop of the body in one piece. Looks like the sedan doors would work on the Chrysler cowl just fine, I'd probably use just the front door bottoms and the bottom of the tail of the sedan body to fill in the rest, I think the doors look less "sedan-ish" if there's a little bit of a rocker panel below the door. Turtle deck could sit right on top of the frame rails. The scales and angles are a little off here but if you squint you get an idea. I think it'll work fine.

 

Hey, look at that!
Thanks, @Squablow

 

I'll be doing my own paper doll cutouts. Messing with the proportions will be interesting. If we can come up with something I'm happy with, then I'll make some sparks and we can do a real mock-up.

Continuing to gather parts.
Used aftermarket 4 barrel intake just for testing.
Looking at getting some Stromberg 97s to replace the Holly 94s.
Gotta test-run the engine. Install some speed parts. Detailing. Then the 6x2.

 

And thanks, @twenty8
Soon. Very soon.

 

[/QUOTE]

 

Thanks for the nudge, Mikey.

Wow... quite the channel job there.
Looks like he might slide his nuts right into the steering column. LOL!

Building an old-fashioned kind of test stand for the 440 from old oak 4x4s and scrap metal.








Working on the air compressor.

Bought a used aftermarket intake for a single four barrel for initial start up and tuning.

Also bought a gaggle of Stromberg 97s. We'll give the Holley 94s and the Strombergs a chance. See how they do. Share my findings with you guys.


Picked up a pair of 1935 Buick headlights. Might use them. Might not.

 

Disassembly for inspection and upgrades. Looks good. Pretty much what I hoped I could expect to find from a motorhome engine with 33,000 miles. Quite clean internally. It's been sitting here for a couple years now. A few bugs got in it and made nests. But once in a while, I'd spray it good with WD-40, and that luckily counteracted any icky stuff.

Just some normal carbon buildup in the combustion chambers. Debris from the bugs. Cylinder walls look good. Some cross hatch remains. Almost no ridge. Cam and lifters look great with a nice light wear pattern. Water pump feels like new. Timing chain is looser than I expected.

- Still have to remove rods and pistons so I can lightly hone the cylinders. Inspect the crank and bearings. I expect minimal wear.

Coming:
- New HP camshaft kit.
- timing chain and gears.
- bearings maybe
- rings maybe
etc.

I came THIS close to getting some aftermarket aluminum heads. More power, less weight. But I decided against it. Cost is always a factor, and I try hard to keep costs down, but that wasn't really the issue. I'll spend the money where it's needed. But I learned that aluminum heads on an iron block require teflon head gaskets because of the different expansion rates during the heat cycles. Stuff starts moving around. I don't know, sounds kind of high strung for me. We didn't have aluminum heads back in the day. Let's keep things a little more traditional, simple, tried and true. I might change out the open chamber heads for a pair of closed chamber heads I've got. That'll bring my compression up about a point from 8:1 to 9:1. Do some simple porting. Good enough, at least for now. Maybe get crazier and fancier later on.

 

It's been a while. Too fkn long.
I'm enjoying this.
In my element.
Dirty hands, the smell of oil...
Cool old parts...
The promise of something cool that I've created myself...

 

I don't think the aluminium heads weight saving will be a big issue in a light roadster (Yes, I know I spelled it with the extra "I"). A 440 cubic inch engine with a high torque cam and all the extra tricks to match will be more power than you will be able to make stick. Man, am I happy to see you on your way. Can't wait 'til you start on the frame/body.

 

If the heads you have are in good condition (are they motorhome heads, or regular production heads?) and don't need a lot of work, I'd stick with the iron heads, but if they need stuff done, the aluminum heads might be a less expensive direction to go. At least that is what I've heard.

Aluminum heads will help keep the under hood temps down in the summer.

 

That's right... I don't really need 500+HP with the aluminum heads.
475HP will be fine.
LOL

It's also absolutely true that you can come out ahead by just cutting to the chase and buying aftermarket heads instead of refurbishing the old ones.
But I might have access to equipment to do the refurbishing myself.
I expect to find that the original heads are in very good condition. I may decide to use them and not worry about bumping up the compression. Good flow does more than high compression. The cam change is going to make way more different than a point of compression.

 

BTW, underhood temperatures shouldn't be a problem cuz there ain't gonna be no hood.

 

I've heard there might be some weird motorhome heads out there, Gene... but not on all motorhomes. Something to do with the way they connect with the water pump. But these are the same as on passenger vehicles. Nothing weird about 'em.

 

Back when I was playing with Mopar big blocks, most motor homes had normal heads, but towards the end of big block era, motor homes got special heads with added cooling around the exhaust ports. Strange looking and heavier.

 

Do not remember & can not find year of your engine. Reason I ask, do heads have hardened valve seats for “modern” unleaded gas? If not, believe you can get by with gas additives & low mileage.

 

Hey, Ricky;
Given my druthers, I'd opt for the closed-chamber heads, w/tight squish, like ~ .040-> maybe .060". Helps w/combustion events, & is artificial (free)octane.

BTW, you do know that by going w/a dodge mill(other than a hemi), by default everyone will instinctively know what make it is, thanks to vandenplas reeducating everyone... . You know "what the hell is that?" "IDK." "Must be a dodge". <shrug> . .

Marcus...

 

Good quench with a closed chamber head and hardened seats or not. Definitely two important considerations when I'm deciding which heads to use.
Thanks, guys.

Yeah, nobody's gonna know what it is. So they'll figure it's a Dodge. And they'll be right.
Mostly.

 

Well now Brother Flea ya been piddlin pretty dang good there - looking good
Take care of yer worthless arse
Later

 

Hey Ricky, idk if youve seen my roadster build but it may give you some ideas(not surr if theyll be good or bad haha) https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/triple-crest-roadster-build.1251314/page-11

I was very daunted as well and definitely welded some stuff together that had to come back apart. Made some parts that had to get tossed. If i can do it man, you can do it!

 

@AmishMike
This engine is from a 1978 Dodge motorhome. So yes, the stock heads would have hardened valve seats. And that's a good thing.

@bubba55
Thanks, Mike.
Signed, Useless.

 

Oliver, thank you for the vote of confidence. And thanks for the link. I had NOT seen your thread. It certainly IS inspiring to see you doing basically what I hope to do... piece together a roadster from a bunch of disparate parts. And not break the bank. And try real hard to make it not stupid. Actually make it awesome. Something to be proud of.

And just enjoy every step of the process along the way.

 

I still only have about 1000 bucks into it, tires will put a hurtin on that figure but its definitely doable on the cheap! All the measuring in the world wont tell you as much as 50 clamps holding it all together and standing back and seeing how it feels

 

I like it!
I just found this thread.
BIG BLOCK MOPAR.

 

Note to self: Buy clamps.

 

Thanks, @chessterd5

Forged crank & rods.

 

Have fun storming the castle!