/6 TO V8 CONVERSION

[4spdfury]

WHAT DO I NEED TO GET TO CHANGE MY 64 VALIANT OVER TO A SMALL BLOCK. I KNOW I NEED A TRANNY AND DIFFERENT RADIATOR AND TORSION BARS , WHAT ELSE

[bbscamp]

I just did the swap from 170 to 318. 

Drivetrain:   318 will need headers, or 273 CI manifolds.  Get a 90 deg. oil filter adapter too.   Eng. will bolt to a 904 trans, no problem.  You will need to have a driveshaft made.
You'll need a shifter assy too, you probably have a pushbutton shifter, that won't work with the later 904.  Aftermarket floor shifters work well.  Std. 318 A Tbars work well.

Brakes:  go the the LBP mopar disk, as your 9" drums will suck.  you need the UCAs, spindles, rotors and a split master (yours is a single res.).

Suspension: I went to a 8.25 SG LBP rear.  not req., but nice.

Steering:  I went to a manual box. You gonna need the early A drop centerlink.

Misc.:  you'll also need a V8 gaspedal too.

Have fun!

[4spdfury]

WHAT ABOUT MOTOR MOUNTS. bbscamp do you still have the park cable for one of these cars

[ski]

You can use the motor mounts from a stock V8 early A body.  The K frame is the same.

[bbscamp]

I used the Schumacher mounts, yep, same K frame.   Yes, I still have the park and shift cables.  The park cable is 180 and the shift 160 from Imperial Services....pricey eh?
Make me an offer off list if you want them.   I was just about to ebag them....so let me know.   Mike

[joesnow]

what exhaust manifold must you use? I have  1972 cuda 340 manifolds, will they work. Will magnum truck manifolds work?

[bbscamp]

Only the 273s will work.  there is a real tight gooseneck where it goes under the steering shaft.  I've got a set....but I'm not sure if I want to cough them up or not.
They're great with a 318, but might not flow well enough for a 340 or 360.

[340fyd]

Listen to BBscamp, everything he said is what I did when I first put a V8 in my 64, back in 1993.  I was lucky and found a 65 Cuda v8, 4 speed car for the donor.  Then I used 74 UCA's and spindles and a 74 8 1/4 rearend.  I even used the scissor(thingy,or what ever you call it)to put the power brakes with the little booster.  Cleared the hood and everything worked awesome.  I used the power steering gear box and reservoir off of a 65 Dart GT also.  I ended up taking all the stuff off.

Lee

[64 Dart in a Donut]

i read on a post a that you can use 74 318 manifolds or something like that. will they work??? i have a 340 with the 273 headers, im sure they rob my power majorly, i cant wait to upgrade to spitfires or ttis

[64ragtop]

Check this article:  http://www.geocities.com/lars_an_artist/durango.html

Or consider Spitfires Headers - or cough up the big bucks for the T.T.I.s - and their special high buck starter...

I've not heard of anyone having success with the '74 318 manifolds. but if you have some and some time, let us know!

All the Best!

[roadrunnerreds]

4spdfury if you need a v8 center link and 273 manifolds email me at roadrunnerreds69@yahoo.com.i have what you need. Brad

[crvtec90]

i put a 74 318 in my 66 dart. i couldnt steer the car all the way (cant remember which way). the oil pan needs an indention so that the centerlink does not hit it during its travel. i remeber being very upset having to screw up the fresh paint on my oil pan. now that i am thinking about it, that might have been because the centerlink was upside down or backwards. if nobody else had this problem then just forget it. its been a while since i did it. i am pretty sure that my 273 oil pan did have an indention if i remeber correctly.

[64dartsb]

I did this conversion too.  Another thing is if you go to manual steering you need the steering box and the steering rod that goes all the way into the steering wheel because they are different.  I think there are different types of trans mounts too and the later mount is better.  Try to get one with two studs sticking out it's better.

Also since you are going to be changing everything about.  it's best if you check your u-joint angles when your done, because you may need to use shims under the trans mount and for the rear also.  When I first finished mine it shook like a mother.

As far as the torsion bars....  My car is a drag car so I left the /6 bars in it they are fine.  If you want your car to handle good on the street then it's a good Idea to upgrade but you don't have to if you don't want to

I used shumaker mounts for mine.  that was then though.  I was new to this whole v8 stuff back then.  If I could do it all over I most likely would have just went to the junkyard and got some or just make some solid ones on my own.  It kind of seems like a waste of money to me.  i put those mounts in and the polyurethane was all ripped in a couple of months.  So I had to change it anyways.  I need a torque strap!!!

You have to change the driveshaft because your old driveshaft  from 64 is  ball and trunion  ( I think that's what they call it)   but it's not the same  where it connects to the trans.   

I suggest going to the book store and buying all the chrysler, mopar books you can find I own one called  mopar performance upgrades or something like that it covers everything you need to know



Good luck            welcome to the club

[65 SIGNET]

Can you use the later transmission cross member in the early A's   i will have some horsepower and i am going drag my car alot and would rather use the later mount 

[340fyd]

I don't think so.

[flyboy01]

Check this article:  http://www.geocities.com/lars_an_artist/durango.html

Or consider Spitfires Headers - or cough up the big bucks for the T.T.I.s - and their special high buck starter...

I've not heard of anyone having success with the '74 318 manifolds. but if you have some and some time, let us know!

All the Best!

FYI, the 92 Manifolds had a bigger collector, they were good on the Dakotas for an extra 20HP.