340challconvert
Well-Known Member
How about a little incentive to go with the 6 pak; a thing of beauty!
340 Heads and Cam swap or 408???
- Thread starter jdcarnathan
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jdcarnathan
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6 pack it is. It’s decided. I’m sure they if I get stuck I have this wonderful group of folks that will keep me in line. Thanks for the confidence fellas.
rklein71
Well-Known Member
You will love the six pack. My 440+6 I had in my 69 383-s Barracuda for over 25 years. Rod
Bluecuda74
New Member
I think this is my first response on this forum but I had to chime in to agree with a lot of the above. My 318 Barracuda came with an 8 3/4 but it was an open diff. Good chance yours is too. As for the engine I think the 340 is the best small block Chrysler ever made. Wish I could afford one. If that car is a true T/A then it probably had a 6 pack at some point. Get that back on there! The guys I know with 6 packs are having WAY to much fun! Lastly I also think the 904 is a great transmission. I toyed with the idea of swapping to a 727 a while back on recommendation from friends. Wow what a lot of hassle. My local transmission shop swapped out my planetary gears for the steel ones for an extra 75 bucks on the price of the rebuild. No problems whatsoever. Enjoy the car man. She's a beauty!!
340challconvert
Well-Known Member
Bluecuda, Great way to go with minimal hassle.
I did some reading on the torqueflite transmission topic a while back.
The 904 can be beefed up to handle just about any high horsepower engine. A 727 swap is a pain with the number of mods necessary to make the switch. Looks like you already found that out.
Here is an interesting article from Motor Trend on this very topic;
904 Torqueflite Transmission - New Old School - Mopar Muscle Magazine
I did some reading on the torqueflite transmission topic a while back.
The 904 can be beefed up to handle just about any high horsepower engine. A 727 swap is a pain with the number of mods necessary to make the switch. Looks like you already found that out.
Here is an interesting article from Motor Trend on this very topic;
904 Torqueflite Transmission - New Old School - Mopar Muscle Magazine
volunteer
Well-Known Member
Nice topic. I am thinking about some of my Allpar 'buddies' who have a nice talent of being more than willing to spend someone else's money.
You said it yourself, in original post, "not a drag car - by any means - - ". My first suggestion is to take some time (like a month - not a year) to weigh all your options (pros and cons). Since this is not a numbers car, it does not need to be a T/A clone/tribute - unless done perfectly. And, that will not only cost a lot to do but, you still end up with a G as fifth digit on your fender and dash plates. If and when you decide to sell the car, this will mean more than a little to prospective collectors. So, having said this, (if it was my car), I would either restore the body and interior to stock - - or - - turn it into an R/T. At the very least, all you would need would be some body emblems or the special side stripes.
As far as the engine, if car is to be improved but not 'cloned', use the 360 as it is cheaper to rebuild and provides more 'torque' than 340. You cannot tell one from the other just by lifting the hood. Any original 340 block, especially standard bore, is worth gold as a resto/numbers engine. I have sitting under my porch a 'one-owner' 1973 (standard) 360 block, crank and heads that are only worth $100. as cores. Same parts, as 340, can be worth upwards of $1500. - $2500. (especially if uncut steel crank). You can sell parts you don't need to acquire parts you do need. Do not even consider using six-pack setup OR anything bigger than OEM (340/360 HP) cam. Balancing everything inside the engine will unleash more power than you'd think. The Edelbrock (1406) intake has a dual patter top that accepts square-flange OR spread-bore carbs. However, that trade-off is that the ports are a compromise between the 318 and the 340/360. The T.Q. was best performing (factory 4Bbl) carb ever offered. I've had them all.
My own '73 Challenger is almost totally numbers-matching. The (340) engine was freshened once - only to install 10.5 pistons. Cam, heads, rods, intake and crank are all original. Even (T.Q. 6319) carb and distributor and module are original. One of the few changes are 2.76 gears to replace the (deteriorated from lack of use) 3.23's. The 'fun factor' has improved with gear change. Highway driving revs less and plenty of torque and acceleration - as needed. Mileage improved to an easy 22 (cdn) on highway. Oh, and that's with 87 octane.
As I suggested earlier, use your own judgement, but don't install or upgrade engine parts based on one person' idea. It used to be fun to drive these cars - 30 or more years ago, but now so much traffic, high fuel and insurance costs and expensive shop rates - especially machining.
Build the car the way you want it, but first, weigh all your options.
You said it yourself, in original post, "not a drag car - by any means - - ". My first suggestion is to take some time (like a month - not a year) to weigh all your options (pros and cons). Since this is not a numbers car, it does not need to be a T/A clone/tribute - unless done perfectly. And, that will not only cost a lot to do but, you still end up with a G as fifth digit on your fender and dash plates. If and when you decide to sell the car, this will mean more than a little to prospective collectors. So, having said this, (if it was my car), I would either restore the body and interior to stock - - or - - turn it into an R/T. At the very least, all you would need would be some body emblems or the special side stripes.
As far as the engine, if car is to be improved but not 'cloned', use the 360 as it is cheaper to rebuild and provides more 'torque' than 340. You cannot tell one from the other just by lifting the hood. Any original 340 block, especially standard bore, is worth gold as a resto/numbers engine. I have sitting under my porch a 'one-owner' 1973 (standard) 360 block, crank and heads that are only worth $100. as cores. Same parts, as 340, can be worth upwards of $1500. - $2500. (especially if uncut steel crank). You can sell parts you don't need to acquire parts you do need. Do not even consider using six-pack setup OR anything bigger than OEM (340/360 HP) cam. Balancing everything inside the engine will unleash more power than you'd think. The Edelbrock (1406) intake has a dual patter top that accepts square-flange OR spread-bore carbs. However, that trade-off is that the ports are a compromise between the 318 and the 340/360. The T.Q. was best performing (factory 4Bbl) carb ever offered. I've had them all.
My own '73 Challenger is almost totally numbers-matching. The (340) engine was freshened once - only to install 10.5 pistons. Cam, heads, rods, intake and crank are all original. Even (T.Q. 6319) carb and distributor and module are original. One of the few changes are 2.76 gears to replace the (deteriorated from lack of use) 3.23's. The 'fun factor' has improved with gear change. Highway driving revs less and plenty of torque and acceleration - as needed. Mileage improved to an easy 22 (cdn) on highway. Oh, and that's with 87 octane.
As I suggested earlier, use your own judgement, but don't install or upgrade engine parts based on one person' idea. It used to be fun to drive these cars - 30 or more years ago, but now so much traffic, high fuel and insurance costs and expensive shop rates - especially machining.
Build the car the way you want it, but first, weigh all your options.
jdcarnathan
Active Member
- Joined
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Gents, yall are awesome. I like all the differing opinions, with one similarity. "Build it like you want". The truth is, we have a chicken house full of engines. Some in great condition, some not so great. A few 360s, 1 almost completely built 340 (I am leaning this way), another 340, a couple 318s, and a few 440s. I don't want to say price isn't an option, because I am still a working man with a family. One day maybe I will become independently wealthy and that will change. However, we have plenty of parts laying around, and it turns out my brother is a machinist which helps for a good bit of my work. The 6 pack, is sitting on the shelf with the intake and air cleaner already. I hate to not use it if we have it and know the price of a set up normally. I must say I just married into the right family about 15 years ago! Heck, got to looking and we have a set of aluminum 340 rods, though I cant remember where we got them. I would love to find a TQ for reasonable around me to put on another project.
After all that rambling, my current plan is to get this car running a bit better now. The 1406 needs rebuilt, and few other small things. Then she is getting discs and a rebuilt front end (though it feels tight now) with some poly bushings. I am going to keep my eyes open for a sure grip around the place, we may have one in our old Cuda sitting out back as it was a 340 factory car. And then I am gonna drive the crap out of it for a while. Until I finally make up my mind on the engine for sure. Though I am strongly leaning toward a 340 thats on a stand currently. At that time the 904 will most likely be rebuilt, or the 904 out of the scamp may find a way to this car. And then I will figure another project for a little bit. If I can get this one where we are happy, I will most likely pull the cuda out and get to work....lots and lots of work.
P.S. if yall ever make it through Arkansas you are welcome here. Plenty of room, and every summer there is a good swap meet up on the mountain, occasionally you will find some good mopar parts.
One day maybe I will become independently wealthy and that will change. However, we have plenty of parts laying around, and it turns out my brother is a machinist which helps for a good bit of my work. The 6 pack, is sitting on the shelf with the intake and air cleaner already. I hate to not use it if we have it and know the price of a set up normally. I must say I just married into the right family about 15 years ago! Heck, got to looking and we have a set of aluminum 340 rods, though I cant remember where we got them. I would love to find a TQ for reasonable around me to put on another project. After all that rambling, my current plan is to get this car running a bit better now. The 1406 needs rebuilt, and few other small things. Then she is getting discs and a rebuilt front end (though it feels tight now) with some poly bushings. I am going to keep my eyes open for a sure grip around the place, we may have one in our old Cuda sitting out back as it was a 340 factory car. And then I am gonna drive the crap out of it for a while. Until I finally make up my mind on the engine for sure. Though I am strongly leaning toward a 340 thats on a stand currently. At that time the 904 will most likely be rebuilt, or the 904 out of the scamp may find a way to this car. And then I will figure another project for a little bit. If I can get this one where we are happy, I will most likely pull the cuda out and get to work....lots and lots of work.
P.S. if yall ever make it through Arkansas you are welcome here. Plenty of room, and every summer there is a good swap meet up on the mountain, occasionally you will find some good mopar parts.
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