No transmission with it, it came with a manual. I was thinking about taking the GV out of my truck, since I never seem to take it on trips any more, so I'd put that behind another 400 to go in the Checker. The 3.31 gears are ok, but for going fast with OD it might like 3.73 or 3.92. Lots available for the Dana 44, and the 30 spline axles in it are hefty enough. Pulled the engine most of the way apart, it looks pretty good inside, like the 147k miles it is supposed to have. A little bit of condensation rust in a couple bores, but it turns easily after cleaning that out, it's not damaged. No ridge. Pulled one piston out, the rod bearing looks real nice. I expect to just put it back together with a few new parts.
I have never done it, but the kid down the street says if you have the wiring, gas pedal and computer all you need to do is supply them fuel and hook up two wires and they run. The electronics is the secret to make the power. He takes the fuel saver mode out of the computer and it gets about 40 more horsepower. Cam and injector change, are next. That with a Chinese turbo and knowledge of the computer you are on the way to as much as 1000 hp. Without any crazy internal changes. As I said that is what he tells me.
That's the optimistic way to look at it...but in my reality, I don't have a computer or harness. I think 500 or so HP with a mild turbo setup works pretty well, without having to do much besides open up the ring gap and put some valve springs in it. Also this one is before they went to the electronic gas pedal, it uses a good old fashioned cable instead.
Jim Welcome to the dark side of being traditional and also curious. LS motor but still 15x8 and 15x10’ Rally Wheels. It’s been a blast. As always subscribed to your threads.
Most stand alone EFI controllers can wake that engine right up. The money you won’t be spending on the engine will buy you a controller and sensors that will turn your cab into super cab with some decent tuning. The time you spend tuning is all up to you. You can tweak the spark and timing as well as the AF ratio at any RPM you desire. Add in the 2 step and tailor shift points as well as rev limits and you will be converted. Done racing put the cruise tune back in and maximize mileage. There are controllers and complete systems for sale all the time because some can’t figure out how it all relates to tune it. You won’t have that problem.
Your car, your labor, but I'd look into a more modern box rather than hanging the GV off the end. Less frame work. Looks like the GV would end up right at the center of the x member.
The Borg Warner transmission is about 5" longer than a short tail 400, and the engine will have to move forward for the heads to clear the firewall...so it's pretty likely the GV will indeed fit. I have to do some more measuring. Good catch, thanks Oh...the other thing is that I have the GV and a couple extra 400s, so they're free.
I figured it was a 'use what ya got' deal. If it can all fit in (and come out for service), great. I'm just following along from afar and it looked like it might be an issue.
This is going to be coo! I’ve often thought What If …. with a Checker, just never saw one for sale, what a road trip monster it’ll make. Dan
It's in good hands. I don't expect Jim to do this https://topclassiccarsforsale.com/other-makes/718282-1982-checker-taxi-dragster.html EDIT: no room for luggage or slicks in the back seat!
yeah, that was one of the first things I thought when I looked under the car. Anyways, back to the funky engine. It's fun reading about these engines, because guys are all over the place with what works and what doesn't. I tend to go for what is the bare minimum. So....with this particular engine, and what I plan to do with it, it looks like I'll need: 320 ball hone, to get rid of the little bit of rust residue, and get the bores smooth again. There's only half a thou wear right near the top, which is very acceptable to me. I checked end gap on rings, it has the required 0.028" gap already, so it should be good for turbo use by putting the old worn rings back in! New gaskets, just because I like to use new gaskets. Although guys get away with re using them, the rubber does deteriorate after 20+ years. A bigger cam. That seems to be the one thing that will make some noticeable power improvement, since everything else has been very well engineered to work as well as it can. The power increase comes from adding duration and lift, so it breathes better at higher rpm. I need to inspect the valve train parts, and might need new rockers and pushrods. Noticed that the tops of several pushrods have wear lines instead of shiny ball, as if they'd not been rotating (the lifters don't rotate in a roller lifter engine). More research required here. New valve springs. There is a pretty common replacement spring that works for most guys doing this. Here is some internal stuff.
You seem to have it well in hand. They seem to respond very well to just a few targeted tweaks and the ability to tune to capitalize on the results. The rod bearing look like the weakest link in what you posted. Maybe polish the journals and go .001 over on new ones. But you have a better view being right there to see. The drag taxi is close to what I envisioned, but a little too much drag and not enough cab. Did they alter the wheel base on it. They definitely did some cutting on the front fenders. And I’m not sure why they moved the driver seat back that far.
Looks like a typical "race car", with little thought to practicality. Not what I'm after. The opened up the top of the front wheel wells, probably so it would steer after installing the wrong front suspension stuff.
There is a lot to be admired and appreciated, about the current, subtle appearance of squirrels checker. The not buffed out paint, the very cool black wall tires and the very cool stock wheel covers (AKA hubcaps). In other words, the ultimate Arizona "sleeper" If that Vortec truck engine does find a new home under that hood, I for one give that idea a very positive thumbs up! I like where this build is progressing to! The bottom picture of the hood badge, was from my Dad's 65 Checker.
The one that I found in the junkyard, probably thirty or forty years - no, more like fifty years ago had a sbc with generic no name stamped valve covers. The engine was black. The car had just arrived, although I had seen it running around town frequently, being owned by a local restaurant owner with the reputation of tipping a few. The car was rolled, which led to its demise. I looked over the engine quite closely, immediately recognizing a sbc, and thinking it might be a swap candidate for the tired 283 in my 55 BelAir. I made a fatal mistake when the yard owner asked why I was interested in an engine from a Checker and, being the dumb kid I was, I told him it was a 283 Chevy engine. His eyes got big and he went out and looked. He came back with a big shxx eating grin and dollar signs in his eyes. The price suddenly jumped to more than I was willing to spend, being the broke college student I was.
You say generic, I say unique, you’re right it would be a lot of work but cool none the less. Your car is awesome as is so what ever you do will just make it better. Could be the ultimate sleeper! Dan
They don't let you use old cars, unfortunately. I got the new cruise control in the mail, and installed it. Went for a test drive, it works! but since it's a warm day today, I found another problem...on the way towards Bisbee, up the long mild grade past the river, it was doing fine, then I noticed the temp gage was going up. It had been at 170, I noticed it when it was 195, and it kept going towards 225. I stopped, and it was spewing and steaming, but it only has a 7 psi cap. It does have antifreeze now. After a little while I headed back down the hill towards home, but it got hot again. I let it sit for a while, let the steam out, then drained out some coolant into a jug, and pulled off the upper hose. The thermostat was wide open, so that's not the problem. There's a bunch of stuff partly plugging up the tops of the radiator tubes that I can see, so my guess is that it's just plugged up. The flushing I did probably made it worse, I didn't do the "stocking" trick on this one to filter it out. But the radiator is original and needs to be replaced anyways, so when I finally made it home after another stop and taking the slower roads, I did some measuring and figured out that a 59-68 Belair radiator will be a close enough fit. The top hose fitting is on the wrong side, but I can flip the thermostat housing 180 and it'll fit. Then it'll also be in the right place for the new engine. Just a little over $100 for a new Chinese aluminum radiator. It might get here in a week, ships from California. But the cruise control works, which is a good thing. I also filled it up with gas all the way, so I know that the gauge goes past F when it's full, and I can drive 35 miles and it's still a bit over F.
Doesn’t Dakota have an odometer almost the size of your Speedo. You thinking of replacing the gauges making the speedo digital with the basic fuel level and water temp and oil pressure, then add a tach, boost, trans temp, and possibly fuel pressure to give almost everything you would need? It would make a fantastic cruiser and give you advance warning for almost any situation that could pop up.
I'm not using Dakota Digital gauges. I just got a Rostra cruise control that was sold by them. Their cruise control units are not related to their digital gauges. The Terminator X comes with a 3.5" display, and you can get other larger ones. I'd like to use the small display for stuff that the 5 factory gauges don't have...things like boost, afr, fuel pressure etc., like you suggest. I plan to install an old fashioned tach, also. I like old gauges, and will use them if I can.
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