It was. Really fascinating story and car and apparently an automotive unicorn because of how it was optioned. He sprung for just about every option.
my 1994 silverado
- Thread starter Moparmat2000
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
Yep I read the story on it. His son owns it now.
Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
I love my positraction, I really do. I special ordered Betsy with it way back in 1994. I think it was an extra $200 on the option sheet, and $50 for the optional 3.55 gear ratio. Both have proven worth their cost many many times over the years.
I had done a bunch of sandblast work for a friend who runs a local wrecking yard. He is building a replica of a NASCAR spec 69 Ford Torino Talladega, with the drop nose and fastback. The deal behind it even though he is mopar to the core, is his dad owned and ran one in the ARCA racing series in the early 70s. His dad had the front sheetmetal clip and he was able to get the nascar spec rims that was on it from his dads friend. Anyways the last things he had me sandblast were a pair of nascar spec finned and vented 11x3 brake drums. Good Lord these things were heavy!!!
Anyways I brought em back friday afternoon all cleaned up and ready for some high temp cast gray paint. I have almost everything I need to build a 318 for my kids car except the short block. Basically a good block and crank. I asked him what he had in a "free eighteen" or in a substantially reduced price 318 short block that's a good core. He replied, let's head to the motor and trans building and look.
He had 3 318s. One with a spun rod bearing, and both a 1970 short block and 1977 short block. He wanted to keep the 70 block as it's got thicker walls and would take an overbore to 4.010" to make a 340 out of it. I said that's fine, I'm good with the 77 block. It's going to be bored .030 anyways. If I decide I need it bigger I can add a 4" stroke crank and stroker pistons and make a 390 out of it.
I asked the price. He said you needed a "free eighteen". Take your pick, you have one a bunch of work for me over the years and I know it's for your sons car, so its free!! Being it's getting late, just come back on saturday to pick it up. So saturday I went back to get it. You just cant beat a free core rebuilder V8 short block in the size you need. This is going to be the engine we will build for his car, but for now it will be a mock up block to get the modified OD trans mount where it needs to be, along with rear axle pinion angle, and driveshaft length during mock up.
This is where it goes back to the positraction I ordered Betsy with. After I moved a bunch of transmissions around in the motor and trans building, to make a path to get my newly found "free eighteen" short block out of the building, I had to bring my truck back there to get it. Then the 2 of us would pick up the engine and load it. I brought plywood to roll it around on so I wouldent damage my Armorthane bed liner and damage the truck bed.
This was all deja vu because I had done this twice before same place but with small block chevys I built up. One for my old elcamino, one for a circle track guy I was friends with. So with the weather we had been having I had to drive thru some deep and sloppy assed mud in a lowered truck. Got some minor scratches in the old paint job from mesquite thorns. But that positraction and low first gear in that manual trans she just powered right through just like driving a tractor.
Anyhoo, we loaded it up strapped it down, and i made a stop at the U do it car wash on the way home to clean and ****** out all the thick assed clay mud that was stuck everywhere in the wheel wells and underneath. That **** holds moisture and can rot out a vehicle. Got home and hit it some more underneath, and inside the wheel wells with the garden hose until the water poured out clear with no trace of red mud. I had to get this block yesterday as it was a threat of snow which would have made it worse for a 2WD truck.
On a lighter note, mesquite trees are more like an overgrown weed out here. They pack thorns about 1&1/2" long that will go through tires, the bottoms of work boots etc. Just nasty. The saying out here is mesquite is good for only 2 things. Flat tires and smoked BBQ.
Heres some pix.
I had done a bunch of sandblast work for a friend who runs a local wrecking yard. He is building a replica of a NASCAR spec 69 Ford Torino Talladega, with the drop nose and fastback. The deal behind it even though he is mopar to the core, is his dad owned and ran one in the ARCA racing series in the early 70s. His dad had the front sheetmetal clip and he was able to get the nascar spec rims that was on it from his dads friend. Anyways the last things he had me sandblast were a pair of nascar spec finned and vented 11x3 brake drums. Good Lord these things were heavy!!!
Anyways I brought em back friday afternoon all cleaned up and ready for some high temp cast gray paint. I have almost everything I need to build a 318 for my kids car except the short block. Basically a good block and crank. I asked him what he had in a "free eighteen" or in a substantially reduced price 318 short block that's a good core. He replied, let's head to the motor and trans building and look.
He had 3 318s. One with a spun rod bearing, and both a 1970 short block and 1977 short block. He wanted to keep the 70 block as it's got thicker walls and would take an overbore to 4.010" to make a 340 out of it. I said that's fine, I'm good with the 77 block. It's going to be bored .030 anyways. If I decide I need it bigger I can add a 4" stroke crank and stroker pistons and make a 390 out of it.
I asked the price. He said you needed a "free eighteen". Take your pick, you have one a bunch of work for me over the years and I know it's for your sons car, so its free!! Being it's getting late, just come back on saturday to pick it up. So saturday I went back to get it. You just cant beat a free core rebuilder V8 short block in the size you need. This is going to be the engine we will build for his car, but for now it will be a mock up block to get the modified OD trans mount where it needs to be, along with rear axle pinion angle, and driveshaft length during mock up.
This is where it goes back to the positraction I ordered Betsy with. After I moved a bunch of transmissions around in the motor and trans building, to make a path to get my newly found "free eighteen" short block out of the building, I had to bring my truck back there to get it. Then the 2 of us would pick up the engine and load it. I brought plywood to roll it around on so I wouldent damage my Armorthane bed liner and damage the truck bed.
This was all deja vu because I had done this twice before same place but with small block chevys I built up. One for my old elcamino, one for a circle track guy I was friends with. So with the weather we had been having I had to drive thru some deep and sloppy assed mud in a lowered truck. Got some minor scratches in the old paint job from mesquite thorns. But that positraction and low first gear in that manual trans she just powered right through just like driving a tractor.
Anyhoo, we loaded it up strapped it down, and i made a stop at the U do it car wash on the way home to clean and ****** out all the thick assed clay mud that was stuck everywhere in the wheel wells and underneath. That **** holds moisture and can rot out a vehicle. Got home and hit it some more underneath, and inside the wheel wells with the garden hose until the water poured out clear with no trace of red mud. I had to get this block yesterday as it was a threat of snow which would have made it worse for a 2WD truck.
On a lighter note, mesquite trees are more like an overgrown weed out here. They pack thorns about 1&1/2" long that will go through tires, the bottoms of work boots etc. Just nasty. The saying out here is mesquite is good for only 2 things. Flat tires and smoked BBQ.
Heres some pix.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Last edited:
Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
The killer 60s 11x3 nascar brake drums. Note the drilled holes in the drums for balancing and venting. Plus it must be snow thing must be trending or maybe Gods way of trying to wash away 2020. this is what I woke up to this morning lol. first time I had to shovel snow in 25 years lol. ***** going to freeze over tonight. Temps going down to the low 20s.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Last edited:
Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
Now for all you engine guys out there heres some cool stuff. People regard the 318 like the chevy 307. These are the Rodney Dangerfield of V8s. People pull 318s to put in 340s and 360s. The shortcomings are pistons that stop .100" in the hole at TDC, open chambered heads, weak assed camshafts. They share the same 3.31 rod ratio and crank throw as a 340, as well as the same large lifter bores for more aggressive cam profiles and larger more generous sized crank and rod bearing sizes. The wrist pin diameters are fairly large at .892". Essentially a 318 is the same as a 340 minus the 4.010" bore diameter, forged bottom end and all the go fast ****.
Heres the great thing though. All that is easily rectified. Keith Black makes a nice zero deck flat top piston now for the lowly "teener" a 68 340 spec cam made by Melling is already on the shelf, and I have a set of 65cc closed chambered 318 swirl port heads out of an 85 fifth ave. A weiand stealth 8022 intake with 318 sized runners, and ports. Along with an edelbrock AVS 600 carb, and a chrysler electronic distributor fired with a GM HEI 4 pin ignition module. I will be keeping the cast crank and adding new Scat I beam forged rods with ARP rod bolts simply because they are waaaay better than cast, have a brushed small end for full floating wrist pins, plus they are cheaper than the cost to redo the original cast rods. The cast crank balanced will be just fine to 400 hp anyways. Plus it's got an automatic behind it. The shock loading going from gear to gear is substantially less.
The 65cc heads, a .040" headgasket and the flat top pistons at zero deck get the compression up to a still pump gas friendly 9.7-1 CR. It's funny that these 65cc closed chamber heads are on late model teeners, and mopar hot rodders junkyard searching will pass these right up, however with pistons normally changing direction on these engines stock at .100" below the deck along with a .040" thick head gasket they were only about 8.2-1 CR stock and ran on dino piss 87 octane gas. And made maybe 170 hp. Most pass right by them and never realize the potential.
This one should make about 300-325 on the dyno, and spin to 6k with ease. An angry little *****. Along with the low first gear of the OD trans and 3.73 rear end gearing and 3,000 lb weight this thing should a lot of fun at stoplights.
For those who love strokers , and who doesnt, a 4" stroke forged crank is now available for this engine. Combined with a .030" overbore making it a 390 incher. This along with the right selection of parts makes it one really angry *****.
Heres the great thing though. All that is easily rectified. Keith Black makes a nice zero deck flat top piston now for the lowly "teener" a 68 340 spec cam made by Melling is already on the shelf, and I have a set of 65cc closed chambered 318 swirl port heads out of an 85 fifth ave. A weiand stealth 8022 intake with 318 sized runners, and ports. Along with an edelbrock AVS 600 carb, and a chrysler electronic distributor fired with a GM HEI 4 pin ignition module. I will be keeping the cast crank and adding new Scat I beam forged rods with ARP rod bolts simply because they are waaaay better than cast, have a brushed small end for full floating wrist pins, plus they are cheaper than the cost to redo the original cast rods. The cast crank balanced will be just fine to 400 hp anyways. Plus it's got an automatic behind it. The shock loading going from gear to gear is substantially less.
The 65cc heads, a .040" headgasket and the flat top pistons at zero deck get the compression up to a still pump gas friendly 9.7-1 CR. It's funny that these 65cc closed chamber heads are on late model teeners, and mopar hot rodders junkyard searching will pass these right up, however with pistons normally changing direction on these engines stock at .100" below the deck along with a .040" thick head gasket they were only about 8.2-1 CR stock and ran on dino piss 87 octane gas. And made maybe 170 hp. Most pass right by them and never realize the potential.
This one should make about 300-325 on the dyno, and spin to 6k with ease. An angry little *****. Along with the low first gear of the OD trans and 3.73 rear end gearing and 3,000 lb weight this thing should a lot of fun at stoplights.
For those who love strokers , and who doesnt, a 4" stroke forged crank is now available for this engine. Combined with a .030" overbore making it a 390 incher. This along with the right selection of parts makes it one really angry *****.
Last edited:
HotWheelsBurban
Gotta have 4 doors..... Rawhide, TOTY 2023!
Good information about the 318! I had one in a 77 Volare I inherited. With the notorious 2bbl. Carter carb. Was gonna swap to AFB and earlier factory intake, but never got around to it. Then was going to swap front K frame etc. into my old GMC pickup, to get V8, disc brakes, modern front suspension, but again never got to it. The car ended up like all of the 70s mopar F bodies, death by rust. Still might do it if I could find a good donor vehicle and my shop building was clean.
I love seeing your fabricating skills put to use on your various projects. Looking forward to seeing the Cuda finished!
I love seeing your fabricating skills put to use on your various projects. Looking forward to seeing the Cuda finished!
Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
The old carter ball and ball carb. That things been around since the 1950s. Last cars to use it were the 1989 chrysler fifth ave, dodge diplomat, plymouth fury. 1989 was the last year for traditional RWD cars at chrysler too.
Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
HotWheelsBurban , The front end you liked on the Volare goes all the way to 1989 on the fifth ave, diplomat, and fury RWD V8 cars. Might help your search.
HotWheelsBurban
Gotta have 4 doors..... Rawhide, TOTY 2023!
I knew they used it a few more years, but not that long. Thanks for the information! I'll have to do a bunch of measuring before it goes much further anyway, and every time I want to go to the wrecking yard, it's raining or just been raining, so it's muddy. I know this front end was used in 50s F100s a bunch, but not seen one in anything else.
That car was actually pretty good except for the stupid carburetor.
Moparmat2000
I'm Awesome
Glad I could help. You can prob get rotors drilled to a chevy pattern. Or just keep them a 5 bolt 4.50" circle. If you lived closer I'd go halvsies on a fifth ave with you. Those things are a treasure trove of parts.
