AAR resto

[Challenger RTA]

Well i was going to pay for the bolts that went with the kit and ARP said how about free

That's were a company succeeds. Follow through with a customer. That makes them an A++++ in book!

Agreed, 1° isn't worth the hassle.

At that point your spitting a Nat's hair on it's rear. You could install an off set key but not a big deal' as Xcudame said.

 

[don selleck]

got the heads back, Darryl did a great job on these, he used Howards cams recommended spring pressure 200/250 closed and 600 fully open. He changed the keepers to 7 degrees I believe. milled the valve seat to gain the clearance for the .600 lift cam. He had some questions and contacted Howards on the phone, Darryl didn't like the valve grind so he cleaned those up with a performance grind is what he calls it, and did a very slight mill on the surface just to clean it up. The chrome looking valve springs was the first thing that caught my eye. Very happy with the results, The rockers have just a slight rub on the springs just barely touching on a few of them, so a little relief will have to be cut and polished up a bit.

 

[don selleck]

well finally back at it. finished up the grand national i've been working on getting ready for auction on may 9th in Indy. Got my rockers clearanced, and shimmed, rollers are nearly perfect on the valve stem tips, one head had 6 rockers interfering with the valve springs and the other had three. took just enough to clear them leaving as much meat on the rockers as possible. Threaded the rocker assembly hold downs deeper to get a little more hold down power for them. 600lbs compressed is quite a bit imo. Heading back out to start measuring the push rods for smith brothers to make up a set for it.

 

[don selleck]

been a while, anyways got the geometry on the rockers set up ended up shimming the rocker shaft with one shim to gain the maximum lift for the center of the rocker itself and measured with an adjustable push rod leaving the two threads exposed on the bottom of the roller rockers. started out at the recommended .032 starting point and ended up around .040 of the adjustable rocker tip from the bottom of the rocker face to get .598 of lift nearly the advertised cam lift of .600. Did a piston valve clearance ended up with way more than enough. With the machining of the heads to get the 600lb springs in there I had to remove the exhaust valve springs to get a socket on the nuts for the studs on the heads to torque them down. Messing with ma Mopar sure can cause some issues, hope everything holds up with these, time will tell should be very interesting at start up. Painted the aluminum heads could take the contrast of the shinny metal, looks way better. I am using a Edelbrock air gap with a four barrel to get it running for this summer, haven't gave up on the six pack but figured I will get the rest of the car dialed in and deal with that this winter and early next year. I ended up getting a progression distributor also, made in usa can set your timing and curve from your phone, should make life easier especially when the six pack comes into play later. Got my tti headers into place ended up removing the center link and steering box while lifting the engine slightly to squeeze them in from underneath. started the exhaust process behind them this morning I am running 3" back to some power stick exhaust and called them today and the talked to the owner and he has some 2 1/2" in and out prototype AAR mufflers that flow 175cfm compared to the 45cfm stock mufflers, he engineered them right up the road from my house and said he would dig them out of his attic when he got back from the Carlise show this weekend made my day and will save me some fab work and keep me from going deaf driving it, got super lucky on those will show some pics next week or so when I get them installed. I will be removing the exhaust system after mock up and taking it to QC coating in Shelby township to get them ceramic coated black so they mimic the factory painted mufflers, of course the headers and pipes will be black also. This thing should look like a model car when I complete it. Love the purple, black, and orange on this car pretty cool it came that way from the factory, of course not quite this shinny.

 

[don selleck]

and one more

 

[larry4406]

Nice update!

What is the story on the prototype hi-flo mufflers stashed in an attic?

Aftermarket company or way way back OEM supplier attempt?

 

[don selleck]

the guy that makes the powerstick mufflers made a set for his lime green AAR he got from New Mexico in the early 90's he never got back together and still has, he is gracious enough to bestow them upon me to be the test Guinea pig, which I am happy to be, should have them next week after he returns from Carlise.

 

[don selleck]

they were developed at Walker muffler about a mile from my house, which is now Tenneco by chambered classics. tested on flow bench or meter at a rate of 175cfm compared to the 45 cfm stock ones

 

[Xcudame]

How much did you clay squish? Just curious.
This Cuda is looking really good!

 

[don selleck]

I'm thinking around .30, I still have them I'll check when I get back out there, been quite a learning process for me, thank goodness for friends, Bob helped with dialing in the cam and setting up the lifters geometry, Another friend John schooled me on ring filing oil stuff etc. He is old school. we had the dilemma of the rod side clearance on the crank of around .030 which is good when your running stuff over stock according to John Loshbough, talked to him about that he said that is ideal for what I'm trying to achieve, he builds alcohol dragster motors, so I took his word for it. The journey of this car has educated me, made some cool friends including you guys here which contributed, like Challenger RTA, larry 4406, Cuda Hunter, plus others, and you Xcudame, I see you guys helping people with questions every time I come here, I thank you for your time and consideration. And by the way not sure if I mentioned this , but I'm gonna drive the **** out of this car.

 

[don selleck]

getting drunk with my car tonight

 

[larry4406]

Don - the under carriage looks beautiful!

 

[Xcudame]

I remember as a kid helping my Dad work on various Mopars he owned. Occasionally he would crawl underneath to work on something and I'd wait by the car and him for when he needed a different tool. More than once I'd eventually hear snoring. Dad worked hard and probably just need a break from everything. I usually just let him sleep unless Mom came out.

Don, You're Cuda really is looking good!

 

[don selleck]

thanks, cool story also. never did a whole lot with my dad when i was young, but later on in his life after he retired got to enjoy more of his company