Newbee to the forum, but not to Chrysler. I'm 43 and I've been wrenching on A-bodies since I was about 14. It's time to share some stuff with my sons who are 11 and 9. My oldest wants to build my 225 in my 66' Barracuda to go faster. I love the fact it sits for weeks and pump the gas twice and turn key and go! Even with this fuel we have been delt with... It runs like a champ and is just a fun, fun car.

Now asking for advice for help building an engine can bring every persons opinion and then some; all I respect for sure. If you have a known good package and will share... Thank you in advance. I really don't want to do much experimenting on a build for the first one with my boys involved. They won't get trial and error. So to keep this simple, I will list what the car has going for it, what the boys and I want from it and If you can help with part numbers that are able to be bought currently that would be awesome! We have set a budget for this project and it's pretty fair I believe to get it out of the 140hp range and up to the 185-190 hp range.

1966 225 74k on the clock. The engine was re-ringed and crank polished about 3 k ago back in 1989. The cylinder head was milled 0.010 flat and had hardened valves installed at that time. About a year ago we pulled the car out of the barn after sitting for 20 years and installed a 2.25" Accurate LTD exhaust pipe complete system. The radiator had a full rework about 4 months ago. The Holley 1bbl was professionally rebuilt about 1 year ago. The car has the original and very good shifting 904 behind it and it was resealed about the time of the engine internal work back in 1991. The rear axle is like a 2.76 ratio and works great with the 25" tires.

What I would like to keep the car appropriate for its age is:
Keep the new exhaust and exhaust manifold; trying to avoid headers.
Either build a log type intake with dual carbs or a large 2bbl. I like the old school era appropriate stuff. I own a welding shop so fabrication is not too difficult.
I want to change the cam and I am not opposed to Electronic Ignition, I will just need to hide the wiring. Points are kool incase of attack with electronic destroying electrical pulses... whole different topic
Head modification; even larger valves does not scare me, I'm just not sure what to do as I have built and raced small blocks but this is my first 225.
RPM range stock to 5,000 rpm is good.
The car currently has the tube type spark plus and adjustable rockers. I would like to keep those for sure.

Also, if you have parts that would help in this build let me know thru here please. I'll keep an eye out for posts.

Thank you for allowing me on the site!

Joe

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1966 Plymouth Barracuda
1972 Dodge Demon 340
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 Diesel

I'd say do some research on the hyperpack. a 4bbl carb that's tuned to the engine (with bigger valves of course) should work together well. in terms of cam, there's a lot of research and opinions out there. i just recently bought the Howards 752002-10 cam, and will install this weekend, i'll be sure and let you know how that one turns out.

as for the electronic ignition, i'd say skip it and go straight for the HEI and run the Zfr5n plugs. want to keep it looking stock? okay, grab a mopar ECU orange box from the junkyard and gut out the back of it. go to a computer store or radio shack and buy a small aluminum box that you can drill and vent some proper holes into and mount the gutted Mopar ECU orange box on top of it. This picture is one of the first ones i did, it looks rough, real rough, i've found a way to hook those bullet pins to the Electronic ignition harness and keep it all looking pretty tidy.

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

Welcome to the forum
Have you checked out the various engine build threads? Lots of good info there.
Offy still makes a dual carb intake and stock 2 barrel intakes pop up here or on eBay all the time. Either will work perfectly with your stock exhaust manifold. If your Barracuda still has the stock rotating rod throttle linkage (the 66 I parted out did), then the Offy with the included linkage was designed for it. You'll have to go with a cable operated throttle for the 2 barrel. I have an extra Offy with linkage if you're interested.

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65 Dart station wagon slant 6 - now under construction
47 Dodge Custom 4 Door sedan
87 D100 Short Bed slant 6

Retired USAF 1966-1986
Retired US Postal Service 2004-2014

Thank you for the welcome!

1) when Valiant Boy Wonder spoke of an HEI set up; did he mean like an MSD set up or something I am not aware of? When I hear HEI, I think of the old Chevrolet coil in the cap of the 80's. I was always taught points are the way to go ( no use for change) up to about 5,ooorpm. After that Electronic is the way to go. I could be wrong here. All my small blocks are made for 7,ooorpm so electronic ignition is the starting point with an MSD controller. I am curious on the cam shaft selection. I be waiting on the results... what else does the engine have done is what I'd want to know. Cams are a good change as long as they work with the whole package.

2)65 Dartman: I was reading a lot of the older posts and that is great information there. I really appreciate the fact I've seen little to no "Brand Bashing" here let alone what I find on other sites that I'll call a "pecking order." To me this 225 is just as awesome as a hemi. I really love the articles on the Ford electronic coil conversions and appreciate the time and talent that went into making it and the EFI set-ups work. Wicked cool. We all have our personal choices but not slamming another for what you like and think is better makes for a better visit. I have more fun in my 66 Barracuda with the /6 then I do in the 72 Demon 340 4speed. Yes the Demon is faster and worth more, but the Cuda just makes everyone smile.

Keep the engine info coming please.

Joe

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1966 Plymouth Barracuda
1972 Dodge Demon 340
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 Diesel

I just built my engine out and I am hitting around 190-210 hp in my 65 Barracuda.

I have a 791 Oregon Cam 231 intake and exhaust there are larger cams but if you are running an automatic I was told this is about as big as you can go.

I installed larger intake and exhaust valves and springs from engnbldr on eBay.

I shaved the deck and the block I can't remember exactly how much because towards the end of the build my machinist realized he missed my target.

I did bore the cylinders .040 over and ported and polished the intake and exhaust on the head. Did not need to gasket match it was already damn close.

I had the crank polished and it was trimmed -.010 just clean up.

I installed new pistons from Silv-o-lite and new rings

The total bill for machine and parts was about 2200-2300. 1500 for machine and I paid 300 for the 2 engines I used and then 400 for the pistons and rings. I already had a 2.5 in exhaust and I bought a dual barrel intake from Charlie on this board and a Carter BBD from DusterIdiot also on the board.

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2006 Jeep Commander
2013 Chrysler 200

1964 Valiant 4 Door
1965 Plymouth Barracuda
1967 Chevy Camaro

AWSOME! Sorry about the machine shop. I had a similar thing happen once... Cant put it back on when they go to far.

That is excellent information. Thank you.
Joe

PS: keep the information coming, I truly appreciate it.

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1966 Plymouth Barracuda
1972 Dodge Demon 340
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 Diesel

Joe,

Check out Doc's engine builds or my build, many others are listed.
It is in the Engine FAQ: Engine Build Matrix.

Increased compression really wakes a SL6 up.......and a distributor recurve is the next biggest bang for the buck. But the list goes on, larger free flowing exhaust, cold ram air, converting to the GM HEI and HEI style coil, fuel line upgrade, carb heat deflector, alcohol/water injection, air/oil separator, fuel/water separator, mini gear drive starter, Denso Alternator conversion, rewire the engine harness, etc......are really simple inexpensive upgrades before you get into more expensive cam/spring/valve upgrades or intake/carb/NOS/turbo/supercharger upgrades. There is are many things you can do to make the driving experience more fun.

On the red link below you can see pictures of a few of these upgrades.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Aggressive TED is right. (laughing) I appreciate the link to the pictures, that is really cool stuff. I'm still trying to figure out the oil/water separator and what it does. Since my car is a complete 1966 car with really good sheet metal just black paint that is shot and Cragars from the same vintage and a almost perfect red interior (I'd add photos of my ride but cant seem to find out how yet.) I am trying to keep the modifications that are seen as vintage looking as possible (aka 1966) and the internal stuff that no one can see go crazy on. Example a flame thrower coil is wicked cool... but who makes the same type of coil that is of the shape of the factory unit I can paint black and pop in the factory bracket. The thing I really appreciate is the heat shield under the carb. That was like 1968 Chevrolet vintage on the Corvettes - and it works! I had one under the Thermo quad on the Demon forever. Yes even a plastic bowled carb can get hot.
I like the fact you are running the 1bbl. Good torque for sure.

Thanks for the pics and I will check out the other page as well.

Keep them coming.
Joe

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1966 Plymouth Barracuda
1972 Dodge Demon 340
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 Diesel

Joe,
Well, when you have an old shot engine like mine which is $100 barn find (my good engine is out and getting some upgrades) it keeps the blow by from going into the intake and coating the valves.....
It also idles a heck of a lot better too!

Pertronix makes both the HEI style and stock round ones in 3 different ohm ratings, black or chrome.

On the heat shield, between that and the electric fans, it eliminated the heat soak problem that the slant suffers from. Hot start-ups are immediate! no cranking....
Yes, it is my favorite of all the setups for torque snap and punch. I have two and four barrel setups as well, but it is fun to drive the little one barrel. Mine is not the normal stock 1920 Holley, but the Economaster version made from 68 to 72 and used on Taxi cabs (1920 Holley Economaster R7585: 1968-72 Chrysler). It has the wagon wheel type atomizer which provides a great mix, especially when running the aluminum one barrel manifold. The aluminum intake is my favorite. Warms up quick and cools off quick and gets better overall mileage especially on short hops.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Perhaps get an aluminium single intake and modify it in your welding shop to take a 350 Holley or a Weber? An Offy dual carb intake would also look very period. You can set up a decent GM HEI setup that looks pretty stealthy,pertronix make a canister style coil that looks original and you can mount the HEI module,heatsink,relay etc all in one unit and mount it down beside the alternator to hide it. That's how I did my 66 and it looks very tidy. Duster Idiot and Agressive Ted seem to have the handles on cams,but be careful of the comp billets,apparently they have suspect oil pump gear machining that munches gears pretty quickly. When you choose the cam you'll be carving a lot off your head or deck to get the comp up to a suitable level for the chosen cam,these things can take a lot off the deck and head, .100" is not uncommon! While its apart hopefully you can just do a hone and rering and button it all up ! A decent amount of home porting on the head and manifold should give you a nice gain....don't go too wild,the ports are thin....there are some really good pics of a sectioned head on this site that are very helpful. It's great to hear you are teaching the young ones how to build up engines....keep it a simple build so they can get a good handle on the basics...perhaps do a 0to60 acceleration test before and after to show them the fruits of their efforts? There is a wealth of knowledge here with these guys,enjoy!

here's some info on HEI for Mopars
http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15779

the engine i'm working with:
.060 over
swapping out the head i currently have with one that was cut .030 and bigger valves
2bbl holley 2280
2 1/4 exhaust
HEI w/ low resistance coil
Magnecore 8.5mm wires

the cam and replacement head with higher compression should wake it up pretty good. I had the oil pan off 2 weeks ago and bearings look fine, should hold up.

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70 Plymouth Valiant 4dr

Holy COW!

You guys don't mess around here! I had no idea that a conversion to HEI was actually a conversion to HEI. Ok, first off I love the techie geek stuff. There is such better technology out there and you guys have found it. I thank you.
2nd of all, low spark is a really issue with the /6 especially at idle when the alternator drops output to oooohHh about 0.00v. I converted the my 66 to headlight relays already with better headlights bulbs and it made a huge difference to it, the switch and the 40year old plus wiring. This is great stuff. I need to try this and I will deal with the hiding it. Maybe I can hide it behind the splash shield covering my door hinges on the passenger side.

Thank you again and keep the info flowing. This is a big help to my son's and I.

Joe

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1966 Plymouth Barracuda
1972 Dodge Demon 340
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 Diesel

i think you're going to have a lot of fun here. i did a project with my son on an 86 f-150 with the 300, column shift 3 speed manual. he is now driving it at college; i'm sure you will find this very rewarding.

while working the bugs out on my 75 valiant, i came across a thread that mentioned how if your fuel, temperature, and oil gauges weren't working, it was probably the instrument voltage regulator (IVR). meanwhile, the ammeter is unaffected because it doesn't run off that circuit. i had noticed this to be the case, and kept reading. there was a link to an article by richard ehrenberg of mopar action detailing how to upgrade from the 1930s technology of the bi-metallic IVR to modern solid state. the article said it cost all of five or six bucks; i think i spent ten at radio shack. IT WORKS!! furthermore, it is considerably more reliable, and is completely hidden.

there are all kinds of technological advances that you can utilize (especially in the electrical department) to gain real advantages and still keep your old school charm. keep reading!

X2 on that Ehrenberg article. It's HERE. .

And a belated welcome to our little group - cool working with your sons too!

BC

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'64 Dart GT convertible, 64 Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust (the Az Dart) & a sixty THREE Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust. (future project)
Early Dart Disorder (EDD) is real, and I've got it!

Thanks Tex!

I am grateful for the warm introductions. As for the gauges; I had already pulled the dash and replaced that voltage regulator with a modern unit. Also bought from a company on ebay the circuit board replacements that really cleaned up the gauge issues. And again I solved the headlight issues with 2 ice cube bosch style 40amp relays with a 20amp circuit breaker from the battery feeding the new head lamps. HUGE difference. My last de lima is my wipers on the 66 cut in and out opposite of the reverse light. I replaced the neutral safety transmission switch (904 auto trans) with the newer 3pin style and it still has a wiper power issue. Basically it runs for 5 seconds and it sounds like a circuit breaker in the washer switch pops open. I loose wipers for 5 seconds and the reverse light come on. I know it sound weird but this was the issue before I switched out the trans neutral switch. I went back to the factory set up and it still does it. A member of a fellow MoPar site said this is due to a weak ground. I need a new wiper switch as it is on the same circuit as the reverse lights and feeding back thru. I bought the schematic but need to sit down an review it.

Let's get back to a cam selection: anyone else care to share in their build specs?

Thanks for all the help.

Joe

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1966 Plymouth Barracuda
1972 Dodge Demon 340
2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 Diesel