If you have ever done this before you know all parts that need cleaning, prep, painting, and . . . the list is long. I spent 1 to 3 hours every night after work and weekends working on the car. I took me about 6 weeks to finish the firewall, brakes, and . . . Finally I get to the motor. Another 2 weeks cleaning and assembling the motor. I really wanted to get a WS block for originality but decided it was too pricy. So, I have a ’68 400 block with stock crank/rods. I installed dished pistons to lower the compression to ~ 9:1. I wanted lower compression to be able to run on today’s fuel. I know you can run higher compression on today’s fuel but admittedly I am not the best tuner. I wanted something less temperamental. Several years ago purchased #12 heads with the original exhaust manifolds. They were rebuilt new stainless valves and bronze guides. I used the intake, timing cover, and other ’70 parts off of a 455 I had. The cam I chose was a Summit 2801. I still have to determine what carb I am going to use – I have several to choose from. Unfortunately there is not a 7040273 carb in the house. The pic above shows the motor installed on November 1, 2008. The pic below shows the motor after break in on November 8, 2008. With the weather turning cold and wintery I was able to put about 170 miles on her before putting her away for the winter. I accomplished my goal of getting on the road this year! I have a long list of things to do for spring next year. Hope you enjoyed my journey. As I said when I started, others sharing their journey motivated me. I hope this helps motivate someone on their project. As I look back I can’t believe I really did this. Yes it’s a lot of work but keeping the pressure on the project gets it done.
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