Jonan1647545505 Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 So, if you guys had a 69' Valiant that needed a motor and had no interior and a decent body what would you do? My parents recently got divorced and it has become increasingly hard to spend time with my dad. We've always talked about building a fun car, drag, classic, street rod, etc, but time is key I have none and he has lots (currently unemployed). I have the ablitily to get a decent looking, black, missing nothing but he interior, and the motor is toast 69' Valiant for next to nothing. I come from a family with a some gearheads, well actually just my dad and his brother. My dad restored a 62' volvo with his father about 25-30 years ago, before my time, and my uncle has a quite a few cars, coolest is prolly his 67' RoadRunner (low-mid 11s) nice car sounds reeeel nice. Drunkendubber has seen/heard it. Anyway back to the task at hand... What engine would you all suggest? Money is sort of an issue and this car would be a slow build year or two, but thats fine with me, more time to spend hanging out with my dad. We're not tring to make the fastest, sweetest anything we just wanna have some fun together. So if any one has, what ever v8 would be good for this project just laying around, that are good, blah-blah-blah. I'm sure you all get the point by now. Oh, and we're looking to go in a straight line, just to clairify. Lemme know what you guys think, suggestions are welcome. Thanks, John On another note please be kind, the divorce is still kind of a sensitive subject and it wasn't too long ago. So if you think a Valiant is a poor choice thats fine please keep it to yourselves, I'm just looking for a good economical project to spend time with my father. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 The A body mopars( dart, demon, duster, valiant, early barracuda) make great performance platforms, there is plenty of aftermarket and original go fast parts for these cars. When it comes to engine choice you are limited to running the same block type that came in the car unless you want to change out the K member or make custom motor mounts. The K members were block specific, so if your car came with a slant six and you want a 340, you must first swap out the original K member for a small block one. My suggestion would be to run a smallblock 340 or 360(easier to find) if it originally came with a small block. Or if it came with a slant six, swap out the K member and go big block Also, mopar transmissions are block specific too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 If you can find a 440, that's your best bet. Otherwise, go with one of the small blocks that Tinman suggested. Hemi's are rather expensive, you may not want to go that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bgbdbn Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 Get the 360ci 380hp crate motor. It is relativly in expensive and runs awesome. My buddy has the 360ci 300hp motor in his 73 dart and runs low 11's and high 10's all day long. The motor is very reliable and comes with a warranty. That engine will move an A body right down the road and not be so heavy it will decrease cornering ability like a big block. And you will not have any issues with steering clearence or inner fender clearence problems with headers. Plus it will bolt right in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1647545494 Posted January 30, 2005 Report Share Posted January 30, 2005 heres another option you might consider. you cam buy a complete efi 360 (magnum) and 4spd trans from a junkyard for about 1200 dollars painless wiring makes a harness that makes it all work for around 300 bucks. a little bit of nitrous (500 bucks for a complete kit) and you'd have a fun easy on gas cruise anywhere car that runs low 12's pretty easy. there are also a slew of after market performance parts for the magnum engine. hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJINOHIO03 Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Yeah Schumacher (sp) sells engine mounts these days for anything almsot ...318 or 360 my vote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonan1647545505 Posted January 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 thanks for all the advice/info!! graemlins/grin2.gif I'll share all your posts with my dad. He will be glad to know i have this connection, with quick knowledgeable responses incase, we run into anything or just for a second, or third, or fourth opinion! Thanks again guys keep it comin', we'll prolly get rollin’ on this project once the weather breaks, where he’s living right now doesn’t have a big garage. Hopefully when he gets a job he'll be able to get a place with a better one so we can get the car out of the field. I'm so excited, oh and there will be pics once we get started, I would like to document the endeavor. THanks again, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1qwk767 Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 the 340 is stronger than a 360 340 with built 727 tranny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boost-n-Juice Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 440, motor plate, decent heads and intake etc and you've got a solid 10 second car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lustalbert Posted February 4, 2005 Report Share Posted February 4, 2005 i like the 440 idea.a 383 would be a good one also. sumit and jegs used to have a 505 wedge listed as a crate motor before i left, that would be gobs of power for a valiant. k members arent to hard to modify. just make sure it is strong (1/4" deck plate to reinforce the remaining metal) check what rearend it has. a dana 60 would be a godsend, but if it was a slant 6 originaly, it wont have one. the 8 3/4" rear is plenty strong for street use. also a 8 3/4" rear wont set you back near as much in the cash dept. if you want, look me up when i get back to the states, i have some books on mopar you can read through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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