Engine decisions and interior decisions

[Hemiwes]

So I'm about 95% done with my 64 and I'm pretty much down to choosing a powerplant and finishing off the interior. Hoping to get a little help from the forum. I've got a stock late 70's motorhome 440 right now, a JW bellhousing with a TH400 tranny, and a Strange 9" centersection with currie axles and 4.91 gears I believe.
So I'm in the Navy on deployment right now and won't get back till next year some time. I'd like to budget around 7K for an engine. I've looked ALL over the interwebs and I've narrowed it down to a couple. Right now, my number one choice is a 493 from Koffel's. 593 HP/ 605 TQ sounds amazing for a street car and an occasional trip to the strip. The other's I looked at are a Blue print 493 from Jegs. I like the idea of having a 2 year warranty! The other 2 choices are rebuilding my current 440 from Total Performance in Santee, CA or Bostick Racing engines out of El Cajon, CA.
There aren't very many MOPAR builders, that I know of, in San Diego, CA. I'm looking to get all my money's worth for an engine that will last a long time is the goal.
The interior needs to be finished, but nothing stock will fit since I have a cage now, a custom transmission tunnel, and Kirkey racing seats. I think stock door panels might work, but it's next to impossible to find a pair nowadays. Would custom aluminum ones work better? I'd like to do a somewhat stock interior, but don't think it'll work with the cage and wheel tubs. Anybody run into this issue when finishing off their interior? Thanks for helping me out! She's almost done!

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[RVW]

Looks like a fun ride. You could contact Scott Brown about a nice engine. Good guy good prices and great parts. He will be building the Hemi for our 64 project car.


Competition Components, LLC
4406 Van Atta
Okemos, MI 48864
Project
Phone # 616.499.6223 [email protected]
www.buyracingparts.com

 

[happyjackdaddy54]

Nice car. Any reputable engine builder can build you and engine. It's just nuts and bolts to them. Regardless which brand it is Around here we suffer because we build mopar and people just think you can only build one design.The attention is in the details. Good luck!!! PS, put some legendary door panels in it Front and rear. It will make the car look much,much better. They may even be on sale right now

 

[HT413]

Great looking car, bro. My $0.02, engine warranties are scams. 2 guys I know tried to collect, both denied.

 

[snakeoil24]

With such a classic good looking car, save your money and go for a Hemi this body deserves it. I don't mean the new so called small block stuff. I mean the real deal! Build a 572 Hemi and use a torque Flite. Forget the TH 400.

 

[moparcrazy]

Both HT413 and snakeoil24 have a point..."warranty are B.S" that's for sure !!
and get Rid of that th400 run a 727 plus i would find a reputable local engine builder talk to guys @ the car shows that has something you like, personally i like to buy my own parts then have my engine builder build it

 

[aldal]

I like the car Hemiwes especially the look of your rear tires, can you tell me what brand and size are they?

 

[HT413]

I think for the stated budget of around $7k, we can forget a HEMI. Rebuild that 440 into a 512 stroker. looks like you have some nice pieces on it already, so reuse what you can, I bet you can be reasonably close to $7k.

Checkout my budget 451 thread - under $4k with aluminum heads. Of course, I shopped for deals for almost 3 years.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?82619-My-BUDGET-451-build-finally

 

[Hemiwes]

Thanks for the support everybody! When I was initally building her, I wanted a frankenstein mopar. Mopar engine, chevy tranny, and ford rearend. This is what I was going after and it came out the way I wanted it! The tires on the rear are Mickey Thompson's Sportsmans 33 x 19 x 15 I believe. They are gigantic. But I plan on putting Hoosier prostreet radials when I get back. I'd LOVE to throw a HEMI in it, but there is ABSOLUTELY no way I'm going to get permission from the Mrs.'s for a 20K engine! LOL, so that is out of the question. 512 stroker sounds awesome, but I'm wondering how it would do on the street, longevity wise. I was kinda thinking the whole warranty thing was a joke all along, but I was trying to find out if anybody had any experience with Blue Print engines from Jegs. My local engine builder wants like 8K for a rebuilt 440 and a hydraulic cam installed. Still using stock heads! I thought this seemed kind of high, that's why I was thinking of going through Koffel. Thanks for the inputs everbody.

 

[Longroof]

Try Greg Luneak in Vista. Tri - City Competition. He is a long time Stock/Super Stock racer with lots of Mopar experience and can probably build you a real nice piece.

 

[mentor70]

If you care to venture to the burbs of Los Angeles, Waynes automotive in Diamond Bar Ca could handle that with ease.

PM me if interested.

specializing in Mopar.

im in no way affiliated, i sold him a Cuda a while back, and that started a friendship thats seen many awesome builds!

 

[383man]

Well I run this 493 on the street and the driveabilty is great. Its a 440Source kit with a 4.15 crank. If you click the link and go down near the bottom is has my 493 build info. I run a solid flat tappet cam and the basic Indy EZ heads. Up top is an Indy dual plane intake with an 850 DP and it drives very good with no stumble at any rpm and it speeds up nice and calm. Its also got enough power to push my 3700 lb 63 to 10.70's so far through the pipes on 92 pump. Ron

http://www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/mmo82008.html

 

[snakeoil24]

383man that is a fierce lookin ride for sure!

 

[Hemiwes]

Just checked out the link 383man and your 63 is bad @ss! Sounds to me like the 493 is the way to go to still have longevity and have fun at the track every once in a while. 10.76 and able to be street driven sounds amazing! If you don't mind my asking, how much do you think that would set me back if I were to build the same engine? The Koffel's engine has 906 heads that are cleaned up and have larger exhaust valves installed. I wonder how much of a difference it would be compared to your engine.

 

[383man]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Hemiwes I figure I spent close to 8K on all the parts to have it in the car running. I built the eng myself but parts add up quick. Right off the top of my head I can give you thsese figures:


1)440Source 4.15 stroker kit - Just over $2000 with tax.
2)TTI 2" headers $700
3)Indy EZ heads which I bought from Dwayne Porter and he put in new springs and retainers with keepers (10 degree) and some mild port blending and clearanced for larger pushrods , cam and lifters , intake plenum plate , Indy dual plane intake and all machine work. - $3500

Thats the big stuff as there was more like the small things like the oil pump , timing chain and gears and so on. I usually would do all my own headwork but with my bad back I just cant stay bent over to work on any porting. So Dwayne is one of the best out there and he also made sure all the valves and seats were right and redid any seats that needed it. Plus he gave me all the gaskets in his package. The cam was a custom grind solid flat tappet he speced for me also and he is an Indy dealer so thats why I got the intake from him also. It was a package deal with the heads , cam & lifters , the intake and plenum plate and the rest of the listed parts.

But I would say I had a good 7k to 8k just in parts. I built the eng and did all the work other then the head work and I had no problem with Dwayne doing them as he does it every day for a living and is a pro at it. I tell you if I did not build my own engines I could not afford it as the money adds up fast. I figure if you have a shop build the same combo it would most likely be around 12k when you add in labor. And its really not a high dollar combo as it has no roller cam and the heads use stock type rockers (not offset) and the exh port is stock location and its a basic dual plane intake which is great for driving on the street but if it was all out race I would use a single plane. I am very pleased with it as I did not want to take weight out of the car as I like the body and interior stock or close to it so it reached my goal of 10's through the pipes on pump.


My guess it it makes about 600 flywheel hp as it puts my 3700 lbs in the 10's. It makes nice torque to get my heavy car moving and is a very nice driver and sounds just right for me as I am a boneified gearhead and like some rump rump in my idle. And the stroker eats up duration as it makes the cam sound even milder. I got to get Gary at the 62 to 65 site to update my page with some new eng pics as I went to these valve covers as they seal up great and I dont worry about an oil leak after adjusting the valves. Ron

 

[Grabinov911]

Ok. You've received about enough engine advice! My car is the same color. I hereby grant you the right to copy my interior idea. LOL. Maybe someday we'll get to park next to one another. That beautiful girl deserves not to have to park next to all those Fords...

It's black vinyl with black suede inserts and orange stitching. Sparco was willing to do this for me but I decided to stay w stock seats for now. Maybe the Sparco's will work for you...

 

[Hemiwes]

those seats look amazing! Very nice. I think for now, I'm going to stick with the kirkey seats. But mostly, I need to get door panels, custom rear panels, some kind of carpet, and a head liner. then it'll be ALOT more presentable on the inside. I figure I'm just going to go to a custom interior shop to get it done. I know it's going to cost alot, but alot of it is going to have to be custom due to the cage, the wheel tubs, and the custom tranny tunnel.

 

[dvw]

those seats look amazing! Very nice. I think for now, I'm going to stick with the kirkey seats. But mostly, I need to get door panels, custom rear panels, some kind of carpet, and a head liner. then it'll be ALOT more presentable on the inside. I figure I'm just going to go to a custom interior shop to get it done. I know it's going to cost alot, but alot of it is going to have to be custom due to the cage, the wheel tubs, and the custom tranny tunnel.

My door panels and seats were homemade. My friends wife made patterns and cut and sewed the carpet due to tubs and custom trans tunnel.
Doug

 

[Hemiwes]

WOW, DVW, your friend's wife should get into the cutom interior buisness! That carpet kit she sewed up looks very professional! Your interior looks amazing! Did you just use aluminum paneling and attach the sewed up door panels, rear panels, and sail panels? Looks like that will be the way I go about it. Looks really good!

 

[dvw]

The front doors are the stock upper metal with the lower made from 1/8" masonite. The rears are the stock uppers with replacement factory board so I could bend them to get them in. I cut the staples off and riveted the new pieces on. i cut the notches fot the factory clips with a dremel.
Doug