My new `67 Imperial Crown Coupe!

MetalManiacAZ said:
Yeah buddy! Bring that beautiful center console down when you gift that red MD to me. We'll go cruise the Mississippi barrier islands and you'll forget all about sinking money into an ATC car. Haha!
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I DO NOT OWN THAT BOAT!!!
 
As I said in a previous post, the bottom end of the engine is in need of a rebuild. It feels considerably more tired every year, the blow buy out of the breather has gotten worse and the rear main just keeps getting worse, oh and did I mention the trans?? The worst part is because of all of this is that I don’t drive it much anymore and in fact I hardly even see it anymore as it’s stored across town…:(
I don’t currently have the room to tie up the shop for an engine rebuild. I already have a trans fresh and ready to go and as luck would have it I now have a 440 with far fewer, around half so it will be perfect for a transplant. It’s a ‘68 out of an Imperial(we won’t talk about its fate…:BangHead:) with less than 80k on the clock is what I was told. The car was rock solid and I bought everything that he wasn’t using and had not yet scrapped.
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It was loaded into the van with a skid steer and I didn’t have the same luxury on my end in the shop so I had to separate the engine and trans as I unloaded it so one thing led to another and I was excited to see what I had to work with. The timing chain was replaced but otherwise it had never been apart and I think I will be able to get away with a hone, re-ring to freshen it up. The block was full of clean and green coolant and there was no debris under the valley pan and rocker covers. Since I already did heads and valve-train some 20k miles ago those parts will transfer to this long block and the turn around in my shop will be quick And hopefully soon.
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detmatt said:
It was loaded into the van with a skid steer and I didn’t have the same luxury on my end in the shop so I had to separate the engine and trans as I unloaded it so one thing led to another and I was excited to see what I had to work with. The timing chain was replaced but otherwise it had never been apart and I think I will be able to get away with a hone, re-ring to freshen it up. The block was full of clean and green coolant and there was no debris under the valley pan and rocker covers. Since I already did heads and valve-train some 20k miles ago those parts will transfer to this long block and the turn around in my shop will be quick And hopefully soon.
View attachment 599178View attachment 599179
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Matt: Are you gonna change the cam?
 
Ripinator said:
Matt: Are you gonna change the cam?
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Rip I’m not sure yet. The cam, heads, etc. that are currently on the 440 in the silver car have only got around 20k miles on them and I’m definitely using those heads. The guy I got this ‘68 440 from said he was really surprised by the power that it made so it might be worth seeing if I can determine wether it’s still the original cam or if it was replaced with the timing set. Maybe I will throw a head back on and check the lift a couple of valves and compare them to the current lift of the cam in the silver car. If I have doubts about either of them I will just buy a new Lunati, the same one that the Director has.
 
detmatt said:
Rip I’m not sure yet. The cam, heads, etc. that are currently on the 440 in the silver car have only got around 20k miles on them and I’m definitely using those heads. The guy I got this ‘68 440 from said he was really surprised by the power that it made so it might be worth seeing if I can determine wether it’s still the original cam or if it was replaced with the timing set. Maybe I will throw a head back on and check the lift a couple of valves and compare them to the current lift of the cam in the silver car. If I have doubts about either of them I will just buy a new Lunati, the same one that the Director has.
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If you do change cams, the big problem is gonna be your choice of lifters. There seems to be so much junk out there in the market. A lot of engine builders have commented about poor quality control with respect to cams and lifters. Seems like the lifters from Johnson are the best setup, but are quite expensive.
 
detmatt said:
Rip I’m not sure yet. The cam, heads, etc. that are currently on the 440 in the silver car have only got around 20k miles on them and I’m definitely using those heads. The guy I got this ‘68 440 from said he was really surprised by the power that it made so it might be worth seeing if I can determine wether it’s still the original cam or if it was replaced with the timing set. Maybe I will throw a head back on and check the lift a couple of valves and compare them to the current lift of the cam in the silver car. If I have doubts about either of them I will just buy a new Lunati, the same one that the Director has.
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Leave the cam in it.
 
Ripinator said:
If you do change cams, the big problem is gonna be your choice of lifters. There seems to be so much junk out there in the market. A lot of engine builders have commented about poor quality control with respect to cams and lifters. Seems like the lifters from Johnson are the best setup, but are quite expensive.
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I have a brand new set of Lunati lifters in the box on my shelf because I had 2 different sets in my shopping cart online at Summit and forgot to remove one after making my final choice. What a surprise when they showed up!:rolleyes:
Clover said:
Leave the cam in it.
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The one currently in the silver car?
 
detmatt said:
I have a brand new set of Lunati lifters in the box on my shelf because I had 2 different sets in my shopping cart online at Summit and forgot to remove one after making my final choice. What a surprise when they showed up!:rolleyes:

The one currently in the silver car?
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It seems like the lifter and cam problems we see lately are associated with pandemic issues. Pre-pandemic lifters do not appear to be a problem.
 
Ripinator said:
It seems like the lifter and cam problems we see lately are associated with pandemic issues. Pre-pandemic lifters do not appear to be a problem.
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I had a brand new set of comp cams lifters that predated the pandemic by a solid couple of years that failed within the first 500 miles.
 
Ripinator said:
Crap! Now I'm worried about mine. . .
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Unfortunately, there’s lots of junk out there being made with poor quality, not limited to lifters. I do think the pandemic exacerbated the problem, but it was a pre-existing condition.
 
I have had constant problems with comp products for 20 years.
Howards has held up so far on a couple of engines. I have an NOS Mopar Performance cam and lifter set Р4452783 I bought 23 years ago from dealership.
 
A quick update. I just dropped the 1968 engine block, crankshaft, and the pistons and rods off at my engine builder for whatever they need.:)
 
Well I was hoping to get away with a light hone and new rings but it looks like I’m buying pistons…:mad:
Otherwise everything looks great, the crank just needed a polish and will stay std/std for bearings.
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detmatt said:
Well I was hoping to get away with a light hone and new rings but it looks like I’m buying pistons…:mad:
Otherwise everything looks great, the crank just needed a polish and will stay std/std for bearings.
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Boy that was a quick turn around. It would be quicker if I drove my heads up to your guy.:lol:
 
Zymurgy said:
Boy that was a quick turn around. It would be quicker if I drove my heads up to your guy.:lol:
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It helps that we’ve become friends since he did the first engine for me about 30 years ago. Man how time flies!
 
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