AdamBrooks98
Active Member
Just moved over from the welcome wagon forum, I hope this is the right place for this topic. I have a 1972 Plymouth satellite with a 318 and a 3 speed auto. I've done a decent amount of work to the car, and the big things left to do (other than rust repair) are engine internals/transmission work. I've been driving the car as my daily for a few weeks now, and I have noticed what sounds like lifter tick and (possibly) some knock from the lower end of the engine. When I had the oil pan off a few years ago I poked around with the rods and noticed most of them shifted a bit on the crank, I'm assuming that's worn bearings? I received some good advice from a lot of great folks on the welcome wagon page regarding what I should look for on my car before I start driving across the country, and I have a few answers for some of their questions as well. In regards to the rear end of the car, I was able to get a picture of the rear differential and I believe the numbers on the tag say 2.71. Also, it appears to be an 8.25, but there's no drain plug, so I may be mistaken. I'll attach pictures of that. I'm tossing around the idea of rebuilding the engine myself, sending it off to a shop for machining, or possibly just leaving it all together and chancing the trip as-is. My main concern is those old engines internals, rings, bearings, cam, valves, lifters and springs, ect. I've also seen some wild stories about guys stroking these engines out to a 390, and getting some crazy horsepower. I don't really have a budget for that, but I figured if I was pulling the engine and replacing most of the internals I may as well check what sort of options are out there. Any advice is welcome, and I'll answer any questions you guys have to the best of my ability.