Yes, you read the title right. Thank god my roomie is an understanding person (or pushover, depending you your perspective). As witnessed in the first couple pictures, I've kinda taken over a good portion of the room.

As far as the project goes, the block is out of 78 Volare. Got it from a local yard for $150, and they even loaded it the back of my truck for me. My uncle has a machine shop and shaved the head .90, installed new valve guides, cut the seats for oversize SI valves, did a mild port job, and even cut down the valve guides, should I ever want to go w/ the teflon style seals. Also hot tanked everythign for me and installed my cam bearings for me. He's quite the mopar guy and claims to have built and maintained the fastest 440 in the midwest for quite a while. (I think it was sometime in the 80's, but I digress.)

Anyway, I've been attacking the block w/ my dremel, trying to get rid of all the ugly flash and casting defects, and I'm nearly done w/ that part. Don't have the block prep all done yet (had to go buy smaller grinding bits and haven't had time to finish cause of class work), but I hope to sometime w/in the next week. Then it's off to the car wash to get it immaculately clean and begin final assembly.

Internals:
Bottom end:
Stock pistons, stock size, with sealed power moly rings.
Clevite 77 rod and main bearings
Melling oil pump; currently have HV, but after more research, thinkin about going with the standard instead. I'm gonna hardness test the gear on the replacement vs. the stock one that I pulled and see how they compare. (It's great bein an ME major at an engineering school.)
Top end:
head shaved .90, ported, swirl enhanced; soon to be mildly polished
oversize SI stainless valves
Comp cams springs, retainers, and locks for 360 (barely clears stock spring pocket)
Hoping to keep stock length pushrods (bought a new set from Sealed Power)
Double roller timing set from Cox bros.
Erson cam, 268 advertised duration
Factory iron supersix intake w/ 2300 Holley from an unkown ford product
Has the reverse idle screws, hope to upgrade to a Clifford w/ 390 4 barrel or EFI at a later point.
Stock exhaust manifold; headers/dduals in the future

Goal is 9ish:1 compression, but still running 87 octane. With the head shave and a little tweaking on the advance, I think I shoudl be there. The drive from home to school is 3 1/2 hours of two lane roads w/ lots of hills, so hopefully this setup should get my truck to where it can get out of it's own way and everyone else's. Right now it's a stock '82 that goes through a quart of oil every 300 miles or so.

Enough talk. Pics:



Couldn't believe the coolant ports were as clogged as they were. On closer inspection 99% of it was actually casting flash.

Five minutes w/ a dremel had it beautiful:


There were similar flow problems in the waterpump pocket.

Hopefully I can get some pictures of the de-flashed block and crank up once I get them finished. Then if we could just go back to a few days warm enough to make a trip to the car wash and clean all the accumalated filings out, it's time to start final assembly. The goal is to get it in the truck and running by the first part of March. We'll see.

Is there any chance, you could get your uncle to take a cleanup cut off the deck surface of the block?

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

looks like the kitchen in one of my old bachelor pads. ahhh, those were the salad days, indeed!

-james

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I did most of an engine build in my dorm room in college too, but didn't have a roommate - salute!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Well, I could, but neither of us thought that it needs it. It's straight and flat, just still has some gasket residue left on it that comes of w/ a little purple cleaner and elbow grease. After a thorough cleaning, I'm pretty sure it should seal fine.

Sheez, and I thought I was bad in university, using the space between the blinds and the window as a mini beer fridge in winter!

I would love to see the conflicted look on your R.A.'s face if he sees what you're doing.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Pretty tame compared to some of the activities I used to see in and around the dorms. Ahhh to be young (and single) again.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Sir!.....today you are my hero! You add to the Legend of the Slant Six. Bravo!

(if your Build is not clean enough to be in your living room...it aint clean enough)

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Hey, CStryker, you seem to have built my long block to me exact specs! Thanks very much! Can you also deliver that to my garage in Dallas? I won't ask you to install it or anything (although some help would be appreciated!).

Nice engine, BTW!

VM

Lots of progress since the last post. Everything has been deburred and cleaned. Between yesterday and today, a friend and I got the entire rotating assembly back in. It went together unbelievably smoothly. Had to take the first piston back out cause I put it in backwards ( doh ), but all the clearances were right on.

After an epic battle with my valvespring compressor tonight, the valves are in the head. I have some time reserved in the lab on Monday to Rockwell test the new oil pump gear against the old (mainly out of curiousity), then hopefully it all gets buttoned up in time for an install over St. Patty's day break.

(Yeah, that's right, we get a five day weekend. St. Pats is a big thing here. Several years ago, Rolla supposedly set the world record for most alchohol consumed per capita in a single weekend.)

Then I just have to decide if I trust it enough to go on a road trip over spring break. Hopefully it all goes well.