The engine in my kids dart is running but I purchased a head from ebay, $25 and I picked it up so no shipping, and wondered if it would be smart to mill it? Does it make enough of a difference? I don't want to put a ton of money into this car. But would this be a mod worth doing?

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Mopar Newbie stock 73 Dart Swinger, Bowtie fan at heart

Yes. Mill the head and spend some time porting the valve 'pockets' and installing new valve stem seals.

Don't forget to carefully adjust the valves hot, after install.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

How much should I get removed? .030, .060, .100

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Mopar Newbie stock 73 Dart Swinger, Bowtie fan at heart

You're going to need something to measure with, and remove the stock head...with a piston at TDC measure down from the deck...

and

You're going to have to get a large syringe or burrette, some clear plastic, and measure the CC of the combustion chamber of the head you are going to cut on (not to ask, but if you bought a head off e-bay has it been reconditioned...if not it can't be anyworse than your current head, I guess).


Just planing a set number off the head is a shot in the dark, it may do nothing, it may leave you posting another question about "why is the car pinging so badly?"

Also what head gasket do you plan to use? Felpro? got a stock one laying around?

If you can get the above numbers, someone here can run the calcs and get you the shave number you need. Do you know what compression ratio you are after? 9, 8.4?

At the same time are you going to change the exhaust and the carb setup?
(Just not worth it to go for 9.0:1 and still retain the noodle exhaust pipe and 1 barrel Carter/Holley 1920/1945....)

-D.Idiot

"Ya got two choices...you can pay a ton of money for a newer car...or you can pay a ton of money to fix up an old one....my car has 260,000 miles on it and still could use $5000 more dollars above the $5000 I spent on it....to bad it's still running after my wife's $12000 03 Grand Cherokee needed $5000 of work on it....she still has 200,000 more miles to catch up..."

DI has the right process, measure and set the compression to meet your goals.

If you want to take that 'shot in the dark', mill .060 off the head.
DD

Just some 2 cents from a teenager POV. First off the slant six is a great little motor for a teen and is very cheap and fun to rebuild. If you have the engine out take a couple weeks and rebuild it right not just pieces here and there. I've restored a duster over the last year and patience was the hardest part. If the rest of the car is good and you can concentrate on the engine there is a lot you can do for cheap and on a time frame. Milling the head is a great start , and you can just figure on how much compression you want. I did .1 and I sorta need to run premium gas (92 octane). The shop said .025 would've got rid of scratches and could've stayed with regular. I got all the valves taken care of (3angle, reseat, and guides) with oversized valve (probably not needed for your application). I stuck with .03 oversized pistons and stock everything else, just enough to clean the walls. On a budget of of $800, with paint, and ordered a custom cam from Oregon Camshafts, would suggest it for anyone and pay the shipping still cheaper than comp or crane. I would run 250-270 duration with .4-.5 lift. New springs, I used Small black chevy off e-bay for $20. Last, a little polishing of the head, don't buy a high flow oil pump, and read the articles. From your last post please, get a super six or four barallel setup and dutra duals are a great deal. It IS WORTH IT. This group of guys are great and will answer anything else you need. Good luck, your kid will love that car, I drove my duster and was still proud parked next to a lexus at school.

I took 0.100" off my Valiants head and came up with a calculated 9.8:1 ratio. I can use regular gasoline (87 octane) now that I figured out my timing issues, 10-11* inital and 18* mechanical.
Remember if you can not find the origainal style steel shim head gasket you will loose up to 0.020" with the FelPro gasket.

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