Yard Sale Valiant

[GEARHED73]

At this point it needed to be in the garage. So I rented a 5X10 storage unit and moved all of our karting stuff in. That gave me the ability to keep it out of sight while we play in the engine bay. I try to keep everything low key as possible with my neighbors..it can be tricky at times.

[SuperBuickGuy]

very cool, keep us updated as your build

[GEARHED73]

After the exhaust and manual steering we installed I started planning my top end. I did a compression check and had low 140's in all the holes, the oil pressure was high enough not to trip the dummy light so i decided to leave the short block alone. I score a set of fresh 302 casting cylinder heads from a diplomat in the junkyard. I purchased a comp xe262 cam and new timing chain to top it off. The performer intake was cleaned up and I put a Holley carb that was on my shelf. I did some very basic port pork on the heads and lapped the valves. Planning on running stock springs until after the cam is broke in. I had everything ready to go and had a free weekend, was ready to make it happen. I was all motivated, until I popped the first head off. There was a ridge big enough to catch my nail... I decided to roll with it because its just a beater. That was the plan until I started puling the cam. The cam bearings were in sad shape. That was it, not going any further. I need another short block. After searching around for a serviceable 318/360. With some digging I found a .040 318 disassembled block. Drove down to San Diego to pick this pile of parts up for $140. Spent some time cleaning and inspection, rod bearings and rings were in good condition but the rod bearings had to be replaced. I also added a new oil pump. After a quick cylinder hone job the entire
mess was cleaned and assembled

[GEARHED73]

One of the very first things i noticed was the massive amount of pinging under load. This early 318 has (had) a timing pointer bolted on the passenger side, it was long gone. In its place was a twisted up hose clamp. Using what was available the engine liked about 5 degrees of timing (didnt check total). Also note worthy, a heater hose ruptured as I was under the hood, lucky for me the rusty water wasnt up to temp.
I was pretty much ready to start throwing parts at it. I found a guy out by Irwindale that had a huge stash of mopar parts.I picked up a set of headers, performer intake and a set of leaf springs from a 340 car for $200. Ive owned other A body mopars and very familiar with the joys of installing headers, especially with power steering. It took about twice as long as expected, and after they were installed i decided to swap over to a manual box to save weight and gain some clearance. I built up a 2 1/2 pipe with a crossover from ebay tubing and parts and stuck a set of the longest magnaflows i could find it. I realized very quickly that the mufflers need to be shorter, they dont tuck up very tight. So, when I get around to running everything out to the bumper I'll install shorter mufflers. Until then they are too long, low and dumped in front of the axle.
Knowing that I wont have a major powerhouse with this low compression 318 we decided to remove all extra weight.. power steering, A/C system, entire heater box etc.. The weight of some of this stuff is staggering.

[GEARHED73]

FNG here, Ive been lurking for a very long time. For many years was wanting to build a budget 4 door. I had a 59 apache that I decided to let go. It was a super cool truck that I rescued from the dead, but I just wasnt really feeling it. Not really sure whats wrong with my brain, I basically sold a running/driving swb Apache and jumped on this.
This is a 69 Valiant. I found it local to me on marketplace. It was the guys driver, had the basics up to speed... so I drove it home for $2200. Its a 318/904 with 71/4 out back. Disc brakes, fresh trans and electronic ignition. The down and dirty is I want to be deep 13's on the engine and then spray it. Ive already acquired most of the parts (just waiting on time) and im currently hovering right at 5K.