Motor

While the 400 SB that came in '58 is in the hopper for a rebuild, I've had time to start compiling all of the essential bolt-on parts.....

Style Points
Approaching things with a distinct of presence of mind, tends to give them a sense purity and resolution.

OK- I stole that from someone else. Actually, I didn't steal it- I imagined that I was dreaming and Dr Ferdinand Porsche came to me with an important message about my truck... and recited it to me.
That's right.
Either way--it definitely applies here. Sorry, but I can't stand when I see a car at a car show and it has that look......you know, that ding-dong jumble of mismatched "dress-up" items. Some of the 60's/70's stuff, mixed with all the same cheap chinese made 80's/90's knock-offs.


Being no snob- I hunt bargains with the best of them, but being in design for a living- it just needs to have a cohesive "theme"- that's all.


The idea here is to carry off what will look to most people, like an early 60's corvette motor swap. Way back in say, 1962, aftermarket speed parts were VERY hard to come by. What most "rodders" did then was to hunt junk yards for entire motors to swap in. Of course, the small block chevy would have been the most popular- and the Vette motor the most desired.



Cal Custom/Mooneyes

Understanding that having "Chevrolet", or "Corvette" script valve covers in a Ford truck might be immediately kind of lame, I opted to go for the next better thing. Original style Cal Custom valve covers.
the first set I bought off ebay looked really nice-- but had 70's/80's style PCV provisions smack-dab in the top.......... and looked condemningly like knock-offs from the orient, after having them in hand:


--not liking these turned out a good thing- as i sold them for $25 more that i bought them for.



These are "real" Cal Custom Style valve covers:
(they need some detailing to step up the bling factor- but they're already Chevy orange)




I'm shooting to end up with something close to this-- monochromatic red block, with a little bit of polished/ chrome, and period correct painted slver/black parts.




Road Draft Tube

Most older motors SBC's that were made without a modern PCV system within the tops of the vave covers, used a "Road Draft Tube"in conjunction with a vented cap for the oil filler tube.

Here are some good HAMB tech links:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61376
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=269492

Installing a real Tube in a newer motor is alot of work and just plain unnecessary.
I plan to us the early style intake, with vented oil filler tube, and a discreet PCV hidden in the intake like this:














While initial planning and budget prompted a Craigslist '61-'63 327/300 HP cast iron intake, it's been canned for a Edelbrock Performer RPM unit. Why? Numerous hours on desktop dyno, and an expensive trip to Bailey's Machine shop in Mesa, AZ get me thinking more about most horsepower/torque per dollar.



The new intake will get the same treatment.