what would you do to make this car a dayliy driver

what would you do to make this car a dayliy driver? its a 1976 dodge charger sehttp://http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss192/matts76charger/DSC00433.jpghttp://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss192/matts76charger/DSC00434.jpghttp://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss192/matts76charger/DSC00442.jpghttp://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss192/matts76charger/DSC00449.jpg[/IMG[IMG]http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss192/matts76charger/DSC00432.jpg]

Well...edit the wheel and tire setup is ok (although I'd get 4 of the same tire). I'd make sure it's mechanically sound, and drive it like I stole it

LOTS AND LOTS OF WET SANDING :yes:

Whats the drivetrain combo?

I find for a super excellent daily driver, the little things go a long long way. My first Magnum was such. Everyday useage bar none because there was no replacement for it. That car was "IT!"

It had a 360 in it stock and I addeed a few bolt ons. That's it. 20 mpg's and running on regular gas. I dumped the poor running 2bbl. for a;

Carter 625 on top of a OE 4bbl and a OE 340 trap door air cleaner.
I did dual exhaust off the exhaust manifolds into a H pipe exhaust and thrush turbo mufflers. I added a MSD which is a nice mileage getter, onto a junk yard distibutor because a vacuum advance was needed. Which also adds some really good mileage over the fixed lean burn distributor. The 904 was left stock save the deep pan, the gears were 2.76's with 26 inch tires on all 4 corners.
(235/60/15's)

The car had good power and drove really nice on the Hwy. Good passing power. Not so much off the line, but then again, with 2.76 cogs.......

Can you say "Hot Rod Black"!

thats a little harsh. somes best isnt quite the same as anothers. Hard to put a 10,ooo dollar paint job on a 5k car thats a driver.

drive train is 318 2bbl/904 and 2.71 rear end, its not mecanicly sound i suspect it spun a bearing it knocks and squeeks internally...... but it isent to bad a stock rebuild would cost 1,550 but that puts it at the stock hp rateing of 140 hp...... i plan on going mild performance, the guy said i could get around 270 out of it with the stock heads, mild cam, edilbrock intake and carb(500 cfm) and a complet ballence and bluprint of the motor for 2,800 CAD. taxes in, he's been in busines for over 20 years and my step dad has had 3 motor rebuilt by him and had no problems, other stuf the car need is suspenson, the leafs in the rear are almost flat thats why the guy put huge tires in the back to compsate for it but other than that it dosent need much other than some TLC

It would cost (basically) the same to rebuild a 360 as the 318. There are a few things you need to know to do that, but the can make a lot of power. If the trans needs to be done as well, you might as well consider going big block instead of sticking with the small. However, you'll open a can of worms as far as making sure you have all the right brackets etc goes.

Rebuild the suspension and brakes. Replace the rear springs. "Tall" tires to compensate for sagging springs is an idiotic idea, cause if you're really really lucky, they'll rub the top of the wheel wells. New springs should give you plenty of room for those tires tho. On the other hand, the tall tires (if significantly taller than stock) will kill your gear ratio and acceleration. Could help to lug the car down.

well i dont know how to read the old tire size the door sticker says G78 X 15 or GR78 X 15, the breaks are 6 months old all around(pads and shoes rotors and rear break cyilenders) and the ball joints and tie rods are 8 months old the car came with the recipts, and i would have to find and pay for a 360 ontop of the rebuild rather put a 340 in it than a 360, the trany is fine for now i plan on puting a 4 speed overdrive 833 i think it is next year, any other coments on what i should do?

update: i have found a 1979 chrysler cordoba doner car good runing 360/727 combo sufers from frame rot but the body is solid for 400.00 if i'm not wrong 85% of the parts should be interchangeable betwen the cars, it should all be the same other than the front clip and tail light panels right?

for 400 I'd take the motor and trans and transplant them in to your car

thats what i plan on doing, will the AC bracets from the 318 fit the 360?

I personally didn't mean to offend anyone! I'm not that way. I thought tunescape1 was talking about the car as a whole. I thought you may have boughten it that way. And if you painted it yourself tunescape1, kudo's to you!!

Lots will interchange for sure. I'm not sure about the bumper though.

Swaping in the 360 is only a few shims on the motor mount where it attachs to the block, driverside.
All brackets will swap.
The driveshaft will need to be shorten IF;

you use the chargers driveshaft with the 727 OR;
if the rear ends are different, in example a 8-1/4 to a 9-1/4.

The 727 is longer than a 904
A 9-1/4 is ever so slightly longer than a 8-1/4.

no harm done alleyoopmgv and i did paint it myself and those pics where taken right after i put it back together but befor the paint was treated its a single stage urathane by dupont after a week of cureing you polish it with this compound and it takes a lot of the orange peel efect away, and thanks for the input rumblefish360 i'm not shure if the doba has a 727 or 904 tho i'm hopeing its a 727 tho, i cant rember tho how to tell them apart by a quick look the 904 has the cut off cornor on the pan and the 727 has a round bulge on the side of the pan??? or is it the other way around?

Whats the drivetrain combo?

I find for a super excellent daily driver, the little things go a long long way. My first Magnum was such. Everyday useage bar none because there was no replacement for it. That car was "IT!"

It had a 360 in it stock and I addeed a few bolt ons. That's it. 20 mpg's and running on regular gas. I dumped the poor running 2bbl. for a;

Carter 625 on top of a OE 4bbl and a OE 340 trap door air cleaner.
I did dual exhaust off the exhaust manifolds into a H pipe exhaust and thrush turbo mufflers. I added a MSD which is a nice mileage getter, onto a junk yard distibutor because a vacuum advance was needed. Which also adds some really good mileage over the fixed lean burn distributor. The 904 was left stock save the deep pan, the gears were 2.76's with 26 inch tires on all 4 corners.
(235/60/15's)

The car had good power and drove really nice on the Hwy. Good passing power. Not so much off the line, but then again, with 2.76 cogs.......

Could you pm what you did on the dist? Mine has been changed from the lean burn system to a points type dist. I want to go electronic dist for my 318. So far I have put a 360 intake and a Edelbrock 1406 on my 318.

update: i have found a 1979 chrysler cordoba doner car good runing 360/727 combo sufers from frame rot but the body is solid for 400.00 if i'm not wrong 85% of the parts should be interchangeable betwen the cars, it should all be the same other than the front clip and tail light panels right?

Those are actually different bodies, the drivetrain/ rear end will be the only thing interchangeable. The front clip is different. up to early 77 will work for yours. I have a cordoba listed as a 77 on the door, but it is for the 78 Model year, same as the 79

The car with the 360 should have the 727 tranny and yes it has the round bulge on the side like this:

727
http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1611/6730072/16330034/284710840.jpg

Oh yea, rear bumper may not work between cars, cause the tail lights are even different

Most of these BIG luxury MoPars with the 360 had the 999 trans, which is basically a beefed 904. Less rotating mass means less power to drive and uses less fuel. My mom had one of these rich Corinthian leather cruisers. What a ride!!

Rumble, 20 MPG in das boat!!?? That's fantastic!!

Meep meep;

YES SIR!

Though living at sea level has an edge others up in the air don't have, I think the basics of what I did and what you can do will help no matter where you are in a similar way.

Things I could have done to help mileage, but, never got to doing.

A better dual plane intake. Theres nothing wrong with the factory 4bbl intake, but, I think even a performer would have helped.
Weight not the issue, though I guess a few pounds here and there would help.

I'm a big fan of a T-Q. The tiny primarys for better atomizeing and a higher velocity would have been the target and reason for the carb,
though any carb well tuned is worth it's weight.
The Carter 625 emissions carb I used was a very good carb. Dead reliable.

Headers! Over the factory iron manifolds, Yep, you bet ha ha ha.

I was also considering a cam change. A split duration unit, a real low RPM turner. I was entertaining (SP?) 2 cams in my head when I had
this car. They were;

Comp Cams
...................RPM range.....Adv. Duration..@ .050......lift............C-line

Dual energy; .1200 - 5500 - 255/275 - .....203/219 - .422/.462 - 110 w/manifolds

Extrm. energy; 800 - 4800 - 250/260 - 206/212 .432/.444 - 110 w/ headers


(For effect, when you read below, play the music from "Star wars , the tracks of when Darth Vader is on screen, the meanceing "Empire" music)


At the time, New York State just installed into the auto shops, by law
a dyno emissions tool where you had to run the car on the rollers at Hwy. speed for a short time and pass emissions while at speed.

At the time, it was the only way you could get a passing sticker for a car not old enuff to skip the test. Living within the metro area and
not haveing a car older than 20 years old at the time, I was faced with being screwed and not haveing a car should I fail.
The car also had twin cats before the "H" pipe and all emission parts hooked up including the floor jets in the intake manifold.
Everything had to be in order.

As a final insult and a big dose of "Big Brother", the state installed video cams at every test station for "Big Brother" to radomly check and
make sure the test was being done correctly.
Should the shop be found to skew the test in someway other than the exacting procidure writin up by the state, the shop would loose
there license and abilty to work as a legal shop, period!

(The Darth Vader music also works very nicely when mentioning,
"Anything "New York, the Empire State")

Nice huh?

Tuning for a flat torque curve and optimizing performance in the RPM range you spend most of the time in is the key. The Edelbrock SP2P with its longer runners would also be a good choice for low end torque. I had good experience with a TQ as a daily driver on my old 68 Barracuda plus it has the metering rod hangar adjustment you can diddle with.

I have also found that weight has little to do with freeway fuel economy. My 02 Durango gets the same HWY mileage pulling my empty 1900 lb car trailer as it does without. I checked it on the way to Oregon to pick up a car for a buddy and I burned one tank with almost no city driving. 19 MPG.

Yeah, that really sucks to have a smog era car but it does make you think! I remember building my 68 RR around the emissions testing (no dyno at the time) and having to loosen the valves on the .528" cam to kill overlap so it would pass. It did and with flying colors!! Now we have dynos and I'm sure big brother is watching us too - Empire music included!!

Most of these BIG luxury MoPars with the 360 had the 999 trans, which is basically a beefed 904. Less rotating mass means less power to drive and uses less fuel. My mom had one of these rich Corinthian leather cruisers. What a ride!!

Rumble, 20 MPG in das boat!!?? That's fantastic!!

All the 360's that Ive had all had 727's. Unless the 999's look just like the 727's.
the ones that Ive had come out of a 75 Gran Fury, 75 Newport, 76 Newport, and a 76 Cordoba

LOL, well, I've never had a 727 behind a 360 small block yet though I haven't had a car older than '78. It's normaly been 318's powering the older cars I've had. My Cuda is a 4spd Manual.

My mom had a 76 360 Cordoba and it did not have a 727. I used to find them in salvage yards in the 80's and remember seeing the 904 looking trans in them. As I understand it the 999 was only put behind the 360, but suppose the 727 could find it's way in there too. Trucks most likely got the 727 even behind the 318. My 76 Ramcharger 4x4 had a 727.

The 999 looks like a 904. Seems to me there was also a 998, which I think was an AMC trans.

My mom had a 76 360 Cordoba and it did not have a 727. I used to find them in salvage yards in the 80's and remember seeing the 904 looking trans in them. As I understand it the 999 was only put behind the 360, but suppose the 727 could find it's way in there too. Trucks most likely got the 727 even behind the 318. My 76 Ramcharger 4x4 had a 727.

The 999 looks like a 904. Seems to me there was also a 998, which I think was an AMC trans.

Is this a 904?

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s102/old_tired_rebel/Cordoba/th__00_1586.jpg (http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s102/old_tired_rebel/Cordoba/_00_1586.jpg)

Well, I got 2 trannies sitting out of cars, I KNOW one is a 727 cause I put a new gasket on it and its attached to a 75 360. I will check the other one

I just don't know about any earlier cars or when exactly the started useing the 904 trans behind the small blocks in B body cars.

Meep meep

AMC used MoPar tranny for sometime but just renamed them. Theres no difference in the internals of it, svae perhaps the way the levers are on the outside to shift it. This I do not know. But they were Mopar trannys.
(904,998/999 all MoPar.)

Is this a 904?

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s102/old_tired_rebel/Cordoba/th__00_1586.jpg (http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s102/old_tired_rebel/Cordoba/_00_1586.jpg)


Kind of hard to tell from the picture because the corner is cut off and I'm not sure where the front of the car is. A 727 has a bulge in the pan where the dip stick goes in. See here -

http://image.carcraft.com/f/9142941/116_0302_trans05_z.jpg

Rumble, yeah, I should have clarified my statement. What I meant was pretty much what you said - but you said it better!

I had a 69 Charger back in the 80's with a 318 and it had a 904. Seems to me the only cars that had a 727 were big blocks and 340's.

I believe the 999's have the 2.77:1 low gear and more clutches. Hmmm, sounds like a baby HEMI tranny!!

Lots will interchange for sure. I'm not sure about the bumper though.

Swaping in the 360 is only a few shims on the motor mount where it attachs to the block, driverside.
All brackets will swap.
The driveshaft will need to be shorten IF;

you use the chargers driveshaft with the 727 OR;
if the rear ends are different, in example a 8-1/4 to a 9-1/4.

The 727 is longer than a 904
A 9-1/4 is ever so slightly longer than a 8-1/4.

can you tell me a little bit more about the 318 to 360 swap?

Meep meep, I do beileve your right. The trip 9 had more internals to deal with power and the low first gear. I'm not rock solid on the in's and outs of the tranny though.

tune;

No I can't, I think I cover it all above. What do you need a clearing of?

Humm, thought about it some, let me re-word it this way;

The 318 has a different size engine mount on the driverside. You can use washers to take up the space or a short hollow sleeve, like the Alt. uses over it's attaching bolts.

The difference in trannys are just a few inchs. The 727 being longer than the 904.

The difference in rear ends varies in the rear size.

The driveshafts are different lengths when the drivetrain is changed around in any mannor of rear and/or tranny.

Meep meep, I do beileve your right. The trip 9 had more internals to deal with power and the low first gear. I'm not rock solid on the in's and outs of the tranny though.

tune;

No I can't, I think I cover it all above. What do you need a clearing of?

Humm, thought about it some, let me re-word it this way;

The 318 has a different size engine mount on the driverside. You can use washers to take up the space or a short hollow sleeve, like the Alt. uses over it's attaching bolts.

The difference in trannys are just a few inchs. The 727 being longer than the 904.

The difference in rear ends varies in the rear size.

The driveshafts are different lengths when the drivetrain is changed around in any mannor of rear and/or tranny.

thanks i just needed the motor mount cleared up it has the 999 thany so it should bolt in where the 904 was they look the same when side by side,

dose anyone know if 76 318 exsust manifolds will bolt on to a 79 360? the 360 has that stupid smog air pump and i dont feet like spending 600+ on headers......

thanks i just needed the motor mount cleared up it has the 999 thany so it should bolt in where the 904 was they look the same when side by side,

dose anyone know if 76 318 exsust manifolds will bolt on to a 79 360? the 360 has that stupid smog air pump and i dont feet like spending 600+ on headers......

OH good! Your welcome

The exhaust manifolds will bolt up, this I'm really sure off. I'll double check my private parts stock and make a correction later if need be.

The smog ports on the head can be solved in a varity of ways. IMO, the best solution would be to take the head off and ethier weld up the ports with a stick or MIG and grind it smooth and flat and/or drill and tap the hole for a 1/4 X 20 set screw. These screws are flat on the outside and cn be had in a allen ket end so it sits flush/counter sunk in the head. Use lock tight to keep them there.

On headers, the common headers for small blocks totally suck and become damaged on the first speed bump/pot hole. If you save money for a more expensive header, a slightly cheaper way out than a tti header is the Hooker super comp header. I beileve the part number is 5115. I stoled them from my 360 Cuda and bolted them on the OE 318 in the Magnum.

There a few hundered cheaper than the tti's, but still run around $450 painted..or so. Don't sweet the bigger tube and don't worry about the percieved lack of torque from the larger tube.

IMO, it would be worth the investment to get them.

Could you pm what you did on the dist? Mine has been changed from the lean burn system to a points type dist. I want to go electronic dist for my 318. So far I have put a 360 intake and a Edelbrock 1406 on my 318.

if you want a driver, and it has points now I would buy the pertronics conversion . its a self contained electronic ignition that installs in place of the points. it is a great performance ignition and user friendly.

on the motor mount deal..keeep the mounts on the engine when you pull it out of the donor car. use the driveshaft from the donor car also . keep it simple.
The 360 manifolds are a bit larger. cut the tubes off about an inch from the flange that bolts to the manifold and crush it shut. other options are cut off flush press in a small freeze plug or unbolt the flange and tube from the manifold and simply cut a piece of flat stock that will cover the hole and be bolted in place at the attachment point. if you are having new exhaust made Im pretty sure that magnum truck manifolds will fit. they allow a larger pipe and also flow much better than other cast manifolds.

I found out yesterday that my car has electronic dist. I bought the car from a Chevy guy.

Rumble, yeah, I should have clarified my statement. What I meant was pretty much what you said - but you said it better!

I had a 69 Charger back in the 80's with a 318 and it had a 904. Seems to me the only cars that had a 727 were big blocks and 340's.

I believe the 999's have the 2.77:1 low gear and more clutches. Hmmm, sounds like a baby HEMI tranny!!

Here is what Ive found out on my cars Ive had:

ALL of my 360's have 727's attached to them. Ive actually only had 2 318/904 and they are in a 78 Cordoba, and a 77 Monaco. Here are the other motors I have/ had.

1967 Fury III 318/727, 1975 Gran Fury 360/727, 1975 Newport, 360/727, 1976 Newport 360/727, 1976 Cordoba 360/727. I looked at my 67 Coronet, and what I thought to be a 318. looks like it may be a 71-74 360/727. Someone put the 318 manifold and carb on it, thats why I thought it was a 318. Im gonna check the heads out this weekend. SO, I find the statement that 727 only came in big block cars and 340's to be false.

A Tag, Insurance and Fuel ! ..... Now, what did I Win !

Copcar or Magnum GT wheels, some wheel lip trim ($$$), and a spoiler, which is being reproduced as I type....