Okay,
I will probably run the current engine in the Duster this season if it lasts that long. I'm going to start scrounging for a builder engine to start on though.
I would like everyone's suggestions on how I should build this engine. (What am I getting into here)
At this point I don't want to try anything exotic or radical like nitrous, turbo, alcohol, etc. I just want a good combination that will run well and last several seasons without needing constant tuning and tweaking.
I know there are lots of other variables involved like transmission, torque converter, rear gears, car weight, etc. I will keep those posts in their own sections.
I need some Race Proven advice from you all that have tried this already and seen what works and doesn't. This is a race car only and will not see any street time. We may decide to tweak the suspension and see what it will do on the autocross later, but for now I'm concentrating on a drag race engine. I know there will be lots of different opinions and ideas out there. I don't want to start a debate over what head gasket to use, etc. I will take what everyone has to say here along with my Mopar Performance 6 cylinder engines manual, articles in the articles section and what I can learn from the guys at the track that don't frequent this forum and decide what will work for me.
I would appreciate any and all advice you all are willing to share. I'll ask some basic questions to get this started...

1. How much can/should I mill the head and still be able to run 93 pump gas?
2. Should I also deck the block? (see #1)
3. How big can/should I bore the block?
4. What pistons/rings do you recommend?
5. What camshaft do you recommend(or not recommend!)
6. I'm going to buy an Offy 4 barrell manifold. What carb do you recommend?
7. What other head work do you recommend and what valve sizes can/should I use and from what source (Ford, Chevy, etc.)
8. What ignition system do you recommend (Mopar kit, MSD, stock, etc)
9. Is degreeing the cam all it's cracked up to be or should I go straight up with it?
10. What head/block castings should I try to find?
11. What other questions have I forgotten to ask or what else do you want to share?
12. Does anyone have or know of a good builder engine for sale for a good price that is fairly close to Atlanta?

Thanks in advance everyone!

Rob

Rob,

If you have not already read my Dart buildups and sagas, you might check 'em out. This page effectively includes my answers to your questions, although I may clarify a few points later.

http://www.slantsix.com/UBB/Forum4/HTML/000051.html

Both my cars run on pump premium, and have been bulletproof. My '64 motor has about 100 official 1/4 mile passes on it, lots of street beating, 40k miles, and 5 road racing weekends (about 3 hours of continuous racing per weekend).

I admit I am not a "serious" drag racer, but my other experiences should count for something. My '68 is consistent in the low-16 sec range as a street driver.

To answer some of your questions specifically:

0.120" off the head/block combined is certainly safe, assuming you set up your timing curve and get a big enough cam - the static compression you can stand w/o detonation depends heavily on your cam duration/events.

0.060" is fine for boring the block if you want to go that big, but won't make a big diff in performance. I'd say just bore it enough to clean it up - probably 0.030" is fine.

Unless you want to pull better than 14s or run higher than 6000 rpm, stock-type cast pistons are fine. I have TRWs in my '64, Silvolites in my '68, and I've heard Enginetechs are good.

I'd start with a 240 or 250 @0.050" cam, maybe one of the Ultradyne or Hughes or Reed grinds.

MSD 6A(L) driven by a stock elec dist and blaster coil is a very solid ign package.

Personally, I would bother tracking down specific heads/motors, although you might stick with a pre-77 forged crank. I like the pre-75 tube-type heads since you can easily pull lifters and change cam w/o pulling the head. Any pre-68 motor will have the small hub crank, which is somewhat of a pain to get a torque converter for. Pretty much any block should be strong enough for what you're doing.

Plan on at least a 2800-3000 rpm stall converter and >3.91 gears.

Hope this helps,

Lou

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