Hello all slantheads,

Motor's about to come out of the 71 dart, which is a stock 225. I plan on cleaning the entire motor out, hot tanking, replacing all bearings, port match, new valves, springs, the whole 9.

I want to get this motor to a point where it is as close to as ready for SPFI and turboing at the best cost/labor point, but intend on daily driving it for a while before I go spfi and turbo. Should I use certain type pistons, deck the block/shave the head, arrange for a more aggressive cam profile? I saw the sticky about different setups and that gave me a lot of info, but I was more looking for advice as to what I need to tell the machine shop to do (and not do).

I'm not sure what intake/carb combo I even want to use, as I dont know which would be best for this approach. Any help would be appreciated, ill keep looking too. Thanks!

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The only way you can ever really break something beyond repair is to give up trying to fix it.

Found some great turbo info on another sticky about cams, carbs and gn turbos. Any other ideas are fair game!

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The only way you can ever really break something beyond repair is to give up trying to fix it.

Don't shave the head! If your a good hot rodder than I would cc the head and shave enough to clean up the surface and get a compression ration of about 8:1. The pistons don't have to be anything special if your going to keep boost low. If you have the money forge would be a good safety net in case your mixture ever gets off. I would keep the boost target to 8psi and stick with cast pistons. The money would be well spent on balancing and ARP bolts.

A normal RV style cam is good enough. That way it will be drivable untill you build your EFI/Turbo set-up. High lift to lower duration ratio. This is a smart move to button up the engine, install it, and break it in. Than you can save and build the expensive parts.

I would suggest getting a super six manifold for right now. That way you can drive it with a nice two barrel and save some money over a four barrel. Than when you are ready you can hog out the manifold, and build an adapter plate for whatever Throttle Body you want to use.

This is exactly the information I needed. It is as if you read my mind. Thank you!

What is your turbo 225's build if you dont mind me asking.

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The only way you can ever really break something beyond repair is to give up trying to fix it.

My turbo 225 will actually be a 170. If your going off the title under my name that is actually false. The 225 I have currently in the car is a fuel injected (Megasquirt) 225 that has an Erson cam and standard head work.

The 170 will hopefully be an over the top build. However, the main things I would take away from my experience would be light head work such as gasket matching. A strong balanced bottom end. Light boost with a possible water injection kit just in case. Finally, a commitment to tuning with the proper timing knowledge, O2 sensor, and an understanding of whatever EFI system you choose.

I wouldn't waste money on big valves, a monster camshaft, billet con rods, or a custom turbo. The money should go into a nice turbo with a good intercooler setup. A strong engine that is well built. Hopefully this doesn't sound over bearing, just sharing some highlights of what I have planned.

My head just had a clean up passed ended up being 55cc, if your doing the head yourself spend some time bowl blending smoothing out bumps imperfections in the runners, I put maybe 60hours into my head only because i plan on pushing 18-20psi through it. I personally like the bigger valves their cheap and help, i have them in both my motors. My compression is 8.5:1

Kev

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