New Member, 1967 Imperial

[detmatt]

Make sure you find out what it takes to make those heads “bolt-on”. I like iron heads.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Yep, fair point. The Stealth heads are sold as direct bolt-on replacements, with all factory parts fitting as standard. From what I've read, that seems to be the case. The biggest issues seem to be some casting quality issues early on, and some concerns about quality of assembly.

The casting quality seems to have improved, and I'll be checking the assembly before installing.

The plan will likely change before I actually have a need to pull the engine, and trans, but it's looking like: minimum bore job (likely 0.030"), hypereutectic pistons, new bearings, gaskets, etc., reconditioned rods, Stealth heads, low-rise aluminum manifold (CH4B or Action+), HP manifolds, dual exhaust.

Still very much up in the air is the cam. I'm leaning towards a roller retrofit as I think I'll get a bit more power and lots more torque with one of them. After reading the comments from the guy who was asking about the 518 swap, I may try a custom grind. Otherwise I'm leaning to something with very low duration like the Lunati 20230710 (Voodoo Retro-Fit Hydraulic Roller Cam - Chrysler 361-440 262/270 - Lunati Power).

My stock cam is 260/268 duration advertised, and I think that ends up being 212/218 at 0.050". Lift is 0.425/0.435. The 375 hp cam is 268/284 (216/224 at 0.050") 0.450/0.458, I believe.

The Lunati is 262/270 (211/219 at 0.050") and 0.507/0.515. The duration should keep the torque down where my stock cam is, but the lift should give it more torque.

The factory cams have more LSA, and I don't have my arms around the interactions of all that stuff yet, which is one of the reasons I haven't made up my mind. Another is understanding the ramps and how hard this will be on my valvetrain. I'm not interested if this is going to eat rockers or valves.

Anyway, the goal is to have it be still completely Imperial-like in it's torque production, but just have more of it.

Step one, put on EFI, and get it driving seamlessly. Step two, start accumulating parts for a rebuild. I don't drive much, so I'm hoping to have another year or more before I have to undertake the next stage.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

My 2 cents. Since you research things quite well I will just make these points. The hydraulic roller is a hoaky set up with the link bars, no way around that. I would also say they set the valves down harder so long term wear may be a consideration. Reduced friction is always nice but in a low rpm situation (Imperial) I don't know if the link bars may be starved for oil (just my thinking no science). A Magnum 375hp type cam is probably a good bet, or custom it up with lots of LSA and high lift. Careful blueprinting the engine and a change to 1/16 ring pack would get you pretty close to what you are looking for so that is a consideration with your climate and FI, 5/64 rings are super overkill.

 

[bajajoaquin]

More good points, thanks. I appreciate them.

The roller cam isn't so much for friction as to allow faster ramp rates. A lot is made of the Mopar .904" lifter which allows for faster cam action, and a roller allows for more still.

However, There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL, if you're so inclined), and one of the costs is, well cost. Another may be reduced valvetrain life. I'm not sure about that yet.

I don't have unlimited funds, but I do have enough money to do a nice job of it if I do it right. It's the "Right" part that's hard to find!

Part of the issue is that there's all sorts of builds to follow out there if you want to make max power, or even just a lot of streetable power in a 3500-lb car. There's not a lot out there for people who want to take advantage of improvements in engine technology to make a better luxury car engine.

It's going to be $600 or $700 more to retrofit a roller cam. The calculation I'm trying to make is that I am willing to spend about $1000 over my basic rebuild costs to give the motor a little something extra. What's the best way to spend that money? Roller cam for $700? Headers coated for $800 (yes, they produce more torque)? 500 Cubic inches (about $1300 more than a 440 rebuild kit)?

 

[bajajoaquin]

So sharp-eyed forum members may have noticed that there was a CH4B manfold for sale, but it's now marked as sold. That's right! It's coming here!

SOLD - 440 EDELBROCK CH4B INTAKE

It was one of the two manifolds I was considering for my engine rebuild, the other being the current Weiand Action Plus dual plane. I think both fit under the stock hood and perform a bit better than stock. Haven't made any progress on the cam decision, but I'm making progress deciding on the other stuff. 440-source heads, CH4B intake, HP manifolds (not much performance gain, but a little bit, and I have them making them cheaper than headers), TTI dual exhaust. I'm almost certainly going to stick with stock rotating assembly and not go to a 505" stroker. Also will not be going with a 518 swap. Although I haven't settled on a cam, it's likely going to be somewhere around .485"-.520" lift and less than 225 degrees of duration at 0.050" with an LSA of 112-114 degrees.

The painter says he's back to work, and there's a small chance that I'll get the car back by the end of the week. I've got work stuff after that, so it would be second week of February if it doesn't happen in the next few days.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Woo hoo! Back to making progress!

 

[bajajoaquin]

It idles, which was something that concerned me after mostly sitting for a year. It’s going to have to idle through traffic at the border and it would be an ignominious way to end the process of it ended up stalled out in the border wait.

If you listen closely you can hear my colleague talking to her uncle. She’s recounting her conversation with him where she’s saying it better not still be red (primer) the next time she sees it.

And, of course there’s the street taco pic. I just realized I had totally failed in including them previously.

(Looks like the idling vid is too large. I’ll have to upload it to YouTube or something)

 

[Zymurgy]

Get that bad boy back in the States and enjoy!

 

[detmatt]

This makes the cockles of my heart warm.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Easier to make a new post rather than edit the old one. Here’s the idling vid.

 

[bajajoaquin]

This makes the cockles of my heart warm.

It’s the hot sauce and it may change to heart burn!

 

[Sammy]

Nice imperial, welcome aboard

 

[bajajoaquin]

Thank you, glad to be here!

 

[bajajoaquin]

At least one bumper back on, and the grill.

 

[bajajoaquin]

It’s a race! July 21 will be a year. What comes first? The car or the anniversary?

And don’t forget the tacos.

 

[HWYCRZR]

Looking like it’s getting closer.

 

[73 T&C]

Looking better... great job.

 

[detmatt]

Looking great! Is it taking longer than you thought?

 

[live4theking]

Keep at it.

 

[Sammy]

No real updates, since I'm waiting for the calipers to be sent back after rebuilding, but I did drive it around to do some errands today.

It is really going to need a muffler soon. This one sounds horrible, and is puffed up and split. I just need to crawl under it to measure inlet and outlet diameters, as well as center/offset layout. I'll buy a cheapie for now, and switch to freer flowing duals if/when I do a rebuild.

I'm also really looking forward to getting the new shocks on there, as it really wallows bad. And new tires. And the driver's side window decided that it didn't want to go back up....

Ahhh. This can only end well.

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Hi, all. I'm a new member here, with a new (to me, obviously) Imperial. It's a '67 Crown hardtop sedan. It's pretty original, but has some rust issues. Somehow, all you guys in rusty parts of the country have all the rust-free California cars, and I live in San Diego, but ended up with a Minnesota car. Go figure.

Anyway, I bought it as a driver, rather than a real restoration candidate. Immediate needs to address are the brakes, cold starts, the transmission shifting, muffler, and a "clunk" from the torsion bar mount.

I've purchased new rotors and pads, and have a few extra sets of pads from the previous owner. I also have three sets of Budd calipers (including the set on the car), and one has been sent off to be rebuilt. Since the driver's side caliper is leaking pretty badly, I'm not driving it (much) until the new calipers come in. I also have new shoes for the rear. Calipers should be back in another week, so I'm hoping to have the car back, safe for the road by Christmas.

Cold starts will be addressed by a good, old-fashioned tune-up. New plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points, coil and condenser will all go in, as well as the old ATF-in-the-oil trick for a noisy lifter, and new exhaust manifold gaskets. The carb is a non-stock, manual-choke model. I'll check float height when I'm in there, and generally try to get it to work as well as possible, but eventually, it's coming out for an electric choke model, probably an Edelbrock.

Once it's tuned up, or as part of that process, the kickdown linkage will get a little attention, and I'll put on a new muffler.

The previous owner said that the clunk is the attachment point of the driver's side torsion bar to the chassis. The bushing has worn, and when it's unloaded, it rattles a bit. I don't have a lift, so I haven't been able to confirm that, but we'll see. Another idea floated by the Imperial group is that a transmission mount (which needs to be replaced) could also make that noise.

At some point in the next month or so, I'll also do compression and leak-down to see where I am with the engine. It generally runs nice, but feels a bit soft. I have my fingers crossed that I've got a couple years of easy driving out of it before I need to pull it out and overhaul it.

Sorry about the length of my first post. Unfortunately, I don't have any really good-quality pictures to make up for it, just crappy cell-phone pics.

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nice ride i love em in white
welcome abroad