I just bought a 64 dart 170 4 door with a 225. it has 16,609 miles. no the speedo didn't roll over. it hasn't run for quite some time. the guy I bought it off of got it running (somewhat). I changed the cap rotor plugs wires, carburetor (the rebuilt BBS off my old 64 valiant) fuel filter, and oil. got it running pretty decent. except it had a terrible knock and a miss. so I pulled the valve cover and found it bent the pushrod on the #3 intake valve. I had a spare set of pushrods lying around so I changed it. problem solved. goosed the throttle a little on a test drive and pop! it bent again. is this valve stuck closed? whats causing me to bend pushrods? I cant find a timing mark on the dampener so I know my timing is still off a little. unleaded gas causing this?
thanks slant gurus

_________________
64' Valiant Signet 5.9, 64' Dart 170 moredoor 3.7, 67' A100 3.7, 00' Dakota SLT 4.7

Yup, you've got a stuck valve. See this thread for step-by-step on how to fix it without too much hassle. Unleaded gasoline has nothing to do with it — the car has been sitting unused an awfully long time; you're going to find a lot of parts seized up (or rusted/corroded) and a lot of seals degraded when you begin driving it.

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I have smacked the offending rocker with a dead blow hammer and wd 40 on valve stem to free up stuck guieds,not the correct or best way to do it,but has worked for me a couple times and only takes 5 min and no money.Mark

Make sure the gas is fresh or it will happen again.

_________________
11.02 @ 120.56
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAxRmoDgsdY
Chassis dyno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd6hFGzLJMc

the guy who got it running said the tank was empty when he found it. he poured race gas in there he was worried about unleaded gas. so it should be pretty clean. filter was just changed. I've got 11 more pushrods. I'll get it unstuck.

_________________
64' Valiant Signet 5.9, 64' Dart 170 moredoor 3.7, 67' A100 3.7, 00' Dakota SLT 4.7

The fuel tank should be removed, inspected and cleaned as required.

When cars sit for many years, the fuel can evaporate and that leaves the tank "empty" but that also leaves a coating of nasty "tar" behind.
Add new fuel and the old goo desolves back into solution... and just a little of this goo is quick to stick valves in their guides.
DD

It is on the to do list. lots of tlc needed. even with a car in as good a shape as this one.

_________________
64' Valiant Signet 5.9, 64' Dart 170 moredoor 3.7, 67' A100 3.7, 00' Dakota SLT 4.7

I completely vouch for the method SlantSixDan recommends. Do it and the problems will never come back!

I had exactly the same problem 5 years ago when I purchased my 1960 Dart. It had about 32K original miles and hadn't done much driving for over 20 years. So when I finally got it roadworthy again it started bending pushrods just like you describe.

Definitely order some Kroil from kanolabs.com when you do this--it worked wonders for this problem and you'll find plenty of other uses for it. It's great for stuck bolts and such.

5 years down the road I've put over 4,000 miles on my Dart without any more problems from the top end.

Phil

_________________
1960 Dodge Dart Seneca - @36,000 miles - all original