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68 valiant big block swap

18K views 77 replies 5 participants last post by  Mygasser 
#1 · (Edited)
i'm making a start on pulling the motor and trans today. i'll get the motor out first so i can slide the trans out without removing the trans crossmember. i'm extra careful since removing the crossmember on a c body i was breaking years ago so either slacken the torsion bars or leave the crossmember in situ now.
the motor is a 383 originally from a '70 jensen interceptor, they came with a 383 and later a 440. i've bought some used schumacher headers as they'll suit what i need from the car.
updates later.
cheers, neil.
 

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#4 ·
ok so today started with a few overdue jobs on ashley's 66 ford zephyr. first was some chassis strengthening around the rear coilover mounts as i originally only fitted shock absorbers and the posty mate who bought it from me later fitted the coilovers to lift the rear some more. so, some years later we had several stress cracks. these got welded then the surrounding areas were braced with plenty of 2mm plate. while i was doing this ash' fitted new polybushes to the front tie rods as the sponge rubber ford ones were way past there sell by date.
with those jobs done we removed the engine and box from the valiant as it's being collected in the week. that all went well with no problems so i can start the mock up of the 383 next weekend.
cheers, neil.
 

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#5 ·
the s/six and box are being collected wednesday evening so i can clear up all the anti freeze and trans fluid in the garage doh
then i've decided to mock up the 383/727 (make mounts etc) before i pull them apart for a freshen up, i'm not fitting the torque convertor either for this. reason is if i fit it all in i KNOW i'll just get it going and use it as is. i want to paint the engine bay and the engine/box so this way i have to take them back out and they'll get what they need before the final fit up.
well it makes sense to me anyway.
neil.
 
#6 ·
s/six and 904 gone, now there's room to start the 383 mockup. i had a look and it has the stock single point dizzy which will stay. yes an electronic one performs a bit better but with spare points and condensor i will always get home. if an electronic module goes south it's a ride on the AA tow truck. it's not being built as a race car so i'm happy with points ignition and a carb for fuelling.
neil.
 
#7 ·
been sorting a wilwood brake kit for the front end. we're the wilwood official agents at work so getting what i want is easy. plus with lots of new 'old type' calipers i can get very cheap i'll order the kit without calipers and save even more. for the 9" axle on the rear i'll use the finned ally handbrake calipers we do with discs to suit.
cheers, neil.
 
#9 ·
yes, even organising parts is progress. i've just got to pop a drum off to check if it's 9" or 10" so i order the right kit from wilwood. either way we've checked at work and we have the equivalent calipers in the 'old' stock at about a third the price of new so i'm happy with that. it's not so much that i'll save money as it'll just be spent on something else for it anyway so......
on a different note progress will have to stop for a little while as i've just been given a 30' x 9' concrete sectional garage for free. and the guy even bought a new steel roof which he never fitted and that comes with it too thmsup. so i can get that erected on the property i bought from my neighbour and move my vintage rolls royce clone i built with my dad out of storage. i'll lose time on the valiant but the storage payments saved can be used to buy more parts so win win.
 
#10 ·
i had a deal earlier this week, included with the free garage was 11 8x4 sheets of 11mm osb board. i sold them for £100 this week which covers the cost of the mini digger to level the ground for the garage. that'll be next weekend.
i also collected a prop' to fit the 727 box today. thanks to stuart 'stu twin' here on the mma forum, nice to meet you mate. :D
plus i bought a hardly used 'shiny' 750 holley off ebay for £108 posted for the 383, bargain.
 
#11 ·
i had a deal earlier this week, included with the free garage was 11 8x4 sheets of 7/16" osb board. i sold them for £100 this week which covers the cost of the mini digger to level the ground for the garage. that'll be next weekend.
i also collected a prop' to fit the 727 box today. thanks to stuart 'stu twin' here on the mma forum, nice to meet you mate. :D
plus i bought a hardly used 'shiny' 750 holley off ebay for £108 posted for the 383, bargain.
 
#12 ·
the front and rear bench seats were both collected today by a courier and were on there way north to be retrimmed for fitment to a dart (67 i think). as i think i've said it'll be cheaper to fit standard black leather seats from another car (i've got a scorpio set for £100) than get the benches retrimmed so....
all i need to do is make the front seats 'tip' forward for rear seat passengers, how hard can that be?
just had a sweep out inside the car now the seats and carpet remnants are gone. there are just 2x 1/4" holes together on the pass' floor which is about what i expected. this car is excellent rust wise, it just looks a pos thmsup
 

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#13 ·
So if you like stuff matching then look away now. I've sorted a pair of wilwood calipers for the front at work today. They are nice billet superlite 6 piston jobbies which is all good. Now the bit you may cringe at, as they are ex display ones one is lug mount and the other radial mount. Every other detail is identical so on the basis you can't actually see the mounts when on the car and considering 'i don't care', at £150 the pair including fast road pads then that's what I'm using.
 

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#14 ·
i thought it's time to start fitting the scorpio seats so when i got in today i dug the rear and a front seat out of my van. a quick offer up of the rear and the width is about spot on, the back sections will need shortening at the bottom so the base will slide back under them but that'll be easy enough. once they're mounted i'll see how much of a job making the front's 'tip' for rear seat access will be.
oh, and i bought this too https://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/st...tch-fan-546693
 

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#17 ·
as an aside i borrowed this '66 fury back from a mate as i needed a car to 'do' a wedding tomorrow. i had it briefly some 10 to 15 odd years ago and painted it then before selling it. the new owner wanted the poly 318 taken out for a 440 instead and proceeded to strip most of the car, selling the 318 and box and buying a 440/727 from duncan watts. the project stalled and he offered it back to me so i knew a mate was looking for something to build so he bought it. it's been back on the road now about 18 months and i thought it'd fit the bill for this wedding.
 

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#18 ·
when i used the fury i had to borrow the inside door opening handles from my valiant as a previous owner had lost them . so i told kerry to leave them for now and i'd try to locate a pair for him. in less than a week i got a pair from the MMA forum which was great. apparently the guy had bought them new for his car but when he fitted a rollcage the doors wouldn't close so he took them back off and shelved them 'til i bought them this week. i asked kerry if he wanted the nice shiny ones but he prefers the 50 year old ones so i fitted the new ones to the valiant and he's paying me for them so a free upgrade ;)
next job was to see how i could get the scorpio seats to tilt for rear seat access in my 2 door car. i removed the plastic side covers and straight away could see it would be an easy job :cool:. the backrest is held to the base with a basically triangular bracket each side with 2 bolts to the base and one to the backrest. so first i removed the rear bolt each side and loosened the front and hey presto a tilting seat. to keep it from reclining too far i slotted the rear bolt hole and refitted the bolts loose. now it tilts and has as stop when it's back. last part of the job was to cut the plastic cover in 2 as it screwed to both the base and the back of the seat. oh, and i ran a pair of wires to the 'feed' plug to check all the electrical functions which all work fine. i just need to loctite the bolts so they don't back out in use.
one seat done and one to do ;D
 

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#20 ·
well i sold all the chevy stuff and the twin turbo's i'd bought but i couldn't shake that itch. so..... i've bought a new gt45 turbo for the 383, just to liven things up a bit. i'll add pics when it arrives, the ad showed it dwarfing a 6 pint milk container though

also now i know the seats will tip forward i've bought another front pair in better condition as the ones i have have some wear.
if anyone wants the 2 i have to recover then let me know.
cheers, neil.
 
#26 ·
we had quite a good day today, the 727 box bolted straight up using the 904 mount and crossmember which was cool. this then gave us a fixed point to mount the engine in place. i knew the engine mount bracket on the driver's side of the k member would need notching for oil pump clearance, also rather than cut'n'shut the sump i cut a deeper corner into the passenger's side of the k member.with the bellhousing propped up close to the tunnel we offered the motor in and pulled it again for more motor mount trimming. we ended up at the back of the slot where the mounting stud goes so we're back about 2" from where a big block usually sits. i'm fine with this as i'm making my own mounts anyway and it'll give more room at the front for the turbo pipework. the engine now back in and sat on a block of wood at the front on the k member we could start to position ancillaries always keeping in mind turbo plumbing. it doesn't look like it'll keep the aircon which is a shame but it'll be too tight and i don't want the boost pipes hanging down under the front. the alternator will mount low on the passenger's side under the turbo, we've already hung it on a bolt so it just needs some spacers and an adjuster bracket. the power steering pump brackets were straightforward too, just a bit of angle and a dog legged rear bracket. both are slotted and now the p/steering pump and water pump will run off the same v belt. the p/steering hoses are fine, they'll go well above the driver's side manifold with a heat shield of some kind for insurance.
more as i/we do it, neil.
 

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