1973 Dodge Charger "Momma's Mopar" heads to the Dyno! : Part 6 from Lucore Automotive

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Hopefully you have followed along as @73ChargerChic Dodge Charger has gone through some maintenance and upgrade rounds! As we are trying to improve the tired worn out 400 cubic inch Mopar under the hood, she's also been getting seat time with the Horsepower Honeys at several different drag racing nights.
Unfortunately with this last round of upgrades seen in part 5, there were a few things we just couldn't handle ourselves so in this video we are off to CIA Performance in Columbus Ohio to dial it in! Having swapped out the entire fuel system, intake manifold, and ignition system to say there were some bugs to be worked out is an understatement!
As you'll see in the video we battled through some challenges on this one, and although it was drive-able to the dyno it just wasn't RIGHT, so Eric and I dove under the hood and adjusted... well everything to get this Holley carb setup up juuuuussst right!
For those of you new to the build story, this is Katrina Bell's 1973 Dodge Charger SE powered by a Mopar 400ci Big Block. Purchased in the summer of 2018 it's becoming more and more show car / drag racing focused as she begins to enjoy the "Sexy Car Club". As a female owner/driver it's a rare thing to see, and you haven't already watched old episodes jump to those and you'll see her getting dirty and wrenching right along side us!
Huge thanks to everyone who has been following along on the Momma's Mopar process, being a small little mechanic shop outside Dublin Ohio and getting to share all this has been quite a journey for all of us here at Lucore Automotive.
We hope you enjoy the updates on this project car, make sure to subscribe to see LOT more over the winter and going into the 2020 drag racing season!
As always, thanks to our good friend Jeremy Moore of ZTP Magazine for the fantastic photo/thumbnail!

Опубликовано:

15 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 64

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

It's fun to share this sort of thing with you all, this is how a REAL dyno day typically goes not the short clip of awesome sounds and a huge dyno chart! We're pretty happy with what this old tired 400 put down especially considering the state she's in but OH THE DIFFERENCE once the engine gets swapped! What do you all think we should do with this 400 once it comes out? .... another build? ;)

@Loki13M 3 года назад

Know I am behind the curve by a year or so here, but ya mentioned a 499 stroker kit ... could always build the old 400 into a 499 and have a bit more of a race motor to swap between.

@LucoreAuto 3 года назад

@@Loki13M That's actually kind of the plan as it sits right now. The 451 we built because it should be more rev happy and in order to shoot our Big Block Wars video we wanted to keep it in the same displacement range as the 454/455s for comparison sakes. Once we tear down the old 400 and get it cleaned there's a VERY good chance it will get a big displacement stroker kit dropped in it as either her "next motor" or something to power a truck... to haul her Charger with ;)

@Loki13M 3 года назад

@@LucoreAuto Nice! Just a suggestion but an older Dodge pickumup truck with a Cummins would be the perfect hauler for that car, save the 499 for race nights ;-) And Yes, I am totally biased in favor of Dodge/Cummins, got 5 of them from 90 to 93 as transport/light cargo haulers. Two were wrecked, two got sold (after many years of service) and the last one that my dad used as his own is now mine and sitting out front still.

@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369 Год назад

HOWdy LUCORE, ... PEEKING at the NUMBERS & Gaining Driveability ... Thanks for taking us to the CHASSIS DYNO COOP the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA ...

@deggs1975 4 года назад

Weird stumbles and breaking up can be the Bane of a mopar guys existence. Pro tip In those days the ammeter was not shunted so all those angry electrons have to go through that meter. If the back of the circuit board is corroded you can have a ton of problems. That are hard to nail down. Also a big problem is the bulkhead connector where the ammeter wire pass through the firewall, can melt and catch fire. I’ve had this issue rob my ignition of a few volts and cause it to crap out. Glad I caught it in time. Definitely worth a look. Loving the content. Keep it up.

@clydegreenwood5673 Год назад

Sweet car and sky is the limit with it

@SteveP-vm1uc 3 года назад

If the ignition system is stock it has a ballast resistor. You need the correct coil to run with it. You are working on a nearly 50 year old car with presumably stock wiring. Try bypassing the cars electrical with a hot lead from the battery to the ballast or coil and see if the power picks up and the flat spot goes away. It may also have an ancient ECM. That can play the same games. Pull the distributor out and give it a good look. It can be all or part of the problem. Pull the distributor cap and watch the rotor while rotating the crank back and forth. That will give you an idea how warn the chain and cam gear are. You mentioned the initial timing, but never said anything about the swing or total timing... Vacuum secondary spring. Change it or not?? Most come from Holley with a tough spring in them causing a flat spot in RPM. What size is the fuel line? Did you pull or replace the fuel pump? Did you measure the fuel pump push rod? Are you watching the bowls while full throttle on the dyno??? Unless you just are not saying everything you are doing, there is PLENTY you can test without changing parts.... I also noticed that on the engine that is on the dyno, it has a truck/motor home water pump housing on it. Some use it so they can use the small block radiator. This leads me to think you have a 22" radiator in it now and you CAN get away with it, but it MUST have a shroud and be a clean QUALITY radiator. No Mickey Mouse BS.... Oh, and check the ground strap. Battery to chassis AND firewall and firewall to engine... Corrosion can be a nightmare.....

@LucoreAuto 3 года назад

You've got a whole lot of quality in this comment, thanks for being so attentive to the playlist! To address a couple of the points. Firstly the dizzy actually had been replaced with a factory style remanufactured unit. The vacuum initially wasn't working then when we got inside, better to just replace it than waste the time on an old crusty broken part. As for the internals of the NEW distributor we left that just as it came from the box. The fuel pump ended up being replaced slightly before this, we had been able to run it and watch fuel pressure drop in the higher RPMs down to 2.5-3psi so that was something that needed addressed and was very likely causing a big chunk of our issues. The fuel lines are stock size, off the top of my head I don't honestly recall. We KNOW the cam in this thing is garbage, and there's likely some play in the timing set as the front cover doesn't show any signs of having been off in a long long time, if ever. Because this is still her "old motor" we picked the easy battles we would win and didn't want to go throwing camshaft and timing work at it. The waterpump thing, you certainly seem to know your way around Mopars and we are learning a lot of this as we go. The radiator that is in the car is a giant Champion unit for big blocks, the hosing we are using is factory style formed for a 73 B series Charger, so in order to still use the hoses/radiator we stuck with the style that came on this motor. Have never been told is was a motorhome style pump but that COULD be the case? Thanks for so much interaction on these, we very much appreciate it!

@LucoreAuto 3 года назад

Also 100% honesty, the wiring on this thing is a BIT less than awesome. The ignition wires and wiring to the coil have all been swapped out but there are very likely other issues with as you said, 50 year old wiring. All of that will soon be replaced by nice new very functional stuff! :)

@paradiseroad6405 3 года назад

...at 10:30 ...what's that spark jumping from the head to the left front corner of the intake manifold?...

@toddhowes7722 3 года назад

Seems like there are some issues with vacuum or the vacuum signal as indicated by the poor fuel flow in the primary venturies on light throttle. Like others have said, it seems as though the motor has some power balance issues (compression/valves) The spacer plate installed makes the signal worse. Definitely time to get the new motor bolted together and installed. Even so, sounds much better with the new intake, carb, and fuel pump. Sounded pretty anemic on the last dragstrip runs. Personally I'd also run a crossover tube on the exhaust; I think it improves the sound, and will definitely smooth the torque curve.

@LucoreAuto 3 года назад

Unfortunately it was hurting in a lot of ways at this point, it was also as you can tell dealing with a leaking exhaust at the head/flange on BOTH sides. We also had an ignition system that would occasionally just, refuse to work. When it would work or not work was totally random. Lots and lots of little issues were piling up into one giant pile of problems. With the new motor setup we're throwing her purse at some of this and just replacing anything that can cause an issue. No more questions or possibly problems, replace it!

@jameshoneyc 3 года назад

I noticed you were listening a numerous amount of new parts. After decades of mechanical experience I've learned one thing. Never never never..trust a new part. There's some real garbage being manufactured. When I have problems I always suspect the new parts first.

@LucoreAuto 3 года назад

You bring up a VERY important and viable point, just because a part is new doesn't mean you can trust it! On probably a weekly basis we have a "new part" turn out to be bad. Hate to use the phrase but.. They sure don't make 'em like they used to

@ernestrodriguez4659 3 года назад

I’ve been closely watching your videos on “Momma’s Mopar” and I have realized that there is one detail that you have overlooked in your quest to improve that awesome Mopar. I have no idea what the mileage is on the vehicle but, going by what you said that the engine is tired. I really suggest that you closely check for extreme timing chain slop! I do not guarantee that is the problem your trying to abate but I know for a fact it’s definitely NOT HELPING!!!

@LucoreAuto 3 года назад

Ohhh you've got a lot more videos to watch on this project! But you are 100% correct this tired old 400 big block has timing issues among a whole host of other things! Keep watching :)

@79tazman 2 года назад

The 400 has the biggest bore out of all the big block mopars the 440 4.32 and the 400 has a 4.34 bore so the 400 is like a 440 bored over .20 over. The 400 has a stroke of 3.375 where the 440 has a stroke of 3.75 anyway the 451 is a good combo I have built one before and other I know have too if you get a good set of heads you can make some good power with it and that's just using stock parts or you can buy the afyermarket stroker kit with a eagle or scat crank.

@anjdevil2 4 года назад

So, what were the numbers and the curve like? I may have missed it. I certainly didn't see the torque/hp curves...... I am part caretaker of a '73 Charger with a '68 440 under the hood, so this is of interest to me/us.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

Jump to 15:35 in the video you can see the sheet, it definitely didn't make earth shattering numbers but the drive-ability and delivery is improved and we made a solid improvement in power all the way across the curve. As an 'ole tired 400 with a pretty wiped out cam and somewhere around 7.5:1 compression, we weren't expecting a lot from just carb/intake upgrades. Hope you enjoyed the video, nice to hear there's another mean '73 out there it's not often we see another of this generation!

@11secghia 4 года назад

those ignition systems on Dodge products cant supply much power for a "hot" ignition I threw a GM hei module on a 360 4v it started much easier BUT the ignition switch melted twice because of increased draw upgrading that ign makes for other problems- hope this helps

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

Thanks for the comment and the watch! The ignition on this thing was a damn nightmare for sure, but FINALLY got resolved along with a few other issues. Be sure to watch the Momma's Mopar series, we have a big update on it coming likely end of this next week!

@karlsracing8422 4 года назад

Stroker kit and watch those numbers grow!

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

We are actually in the dyno room RIGHT NOW breaking in the new stroker motor! ;)

@brandonfults7078 4 года назад

So what was causing the stumble? I'm having the same issue with my 440 at higher rpm

@adamealey8802 2 года назад

Need fan shroud

@dougjackson8059 2 года назад

i think you need a new mech … it wouldnt have taken me 3 yrs to find out i have the wrong springs🤭🤭

@LucoreAuto 2 года назад

Ummm what?

@elkabela 4 года назад

Change the ignition kit this what happened to my 440 magnum rt.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

There are unfortunately a number of issues with the ole 400 in this girl, but she's a heck of a lot better than she was before! With the new motor complete and ready to swap in, there will be an ENTIRELY new ignition system in her.

@elkabela 4 года назад

Lucore Auto and LucoreRacing god bless man. I have a 1973 charger 440 magnum rt clean af factory front suspension factory breaks. 680 whp big block. all these cars have circuit problems especially fuses.

@garydavies5973 4 года назад

If performance is the goal, save your dollars, just run it as is. When you have enough turn that 400 into a 470 with a set of Trick flows.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

This was more of an exercise in "what will these small maintenance items do" than a build for power project. If you watch some of the earlier videos of the car she had all sorts of problems on track. There's a 400 turning into a 451 as we speak, should be assembled and dyno'd in the next couple weeks (hopefully)!

@garydavies5973 4 года назад

@@LucoreAuto Nice, good combo, good rod ratio with a nice light piston. Interested to see your results.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

@@garydavies5973 if you watch back to... episode 2 we go over some of what's going into it. Essentially, original 440 crank turned down, original 440 rods, some forged ICON pistons, and some lightly worked old school iron heads. We are all VERY interested to see what she makes, feel free to guess!

@garydavies5973 4 года назад

@@LucoreAuto Checked out episode 2 but couldn't find the link to the full build. Still, guessing mild port work, stock valves and a Hyd FT cam around 230@50 I'd guess 1 for 1hp, so 451hp and 500tq. I like the build, nothing wrong with LY rods and the 440 steel crank. Only thing I would say is line hone it for main studs and fit the pistons in at zero deck for that 3.75 stroke crank and your icons, the edelbrock RPM intake will work well with that combo. That way it will be good to go for another 100hp with a cam and head swap down the track. Just for a comparison I built a similar combo back 8 years ago, 71 Charger, 4100lbs, 3.23 gear 727 trans, street tires, pushes it to 111 mph in the 1/4. Although it had edelbrock rpm heads (untouched). Great street motor, easy to live with, vacuum brakes worked fine.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

@@garydavies5973 You are pretty well right on the money, we are getting a bit aggressive on the cam just planning for upgrades down the line, the heads will certainly be what hold this Mopar Monster back at first. This will be a pump gas runner so keeping compression in the 9.5:1 range to be happy with the iron heads, they are getting some light work and a good valve job, stock size valves. Part of the reason we're doing this build with an iron head setup is it will allow us to give legitimate comparisons between Mopar-Chevy-Pontiac-Buick big blocks in similar trim and displacement. We already have the other 3 motors run so we know what they've done. Once the dyno is done... well we'll see how long those 'ole Iron heads hang around! Curious what your ET was in your 71?

@karlsracing8422 4 года назад

Carb is easy, wait till the computer goes out on the efi.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

Unfortunately the carb that was on this thing originally was a major nightmare, just about everything that could be wrong with it WAS. So far we have had pretty solid luck with the Sniper EFI setups, fingers crossed that trend continues!

@225supersix1977 4 года назад

Charger is cry, is scream, in 3.24 minute video .....it upgrade trans 727 to A518 needs, this trans is OD 727 version, four gear ratio is 0.69....rpm down until basement

@johndillinger8482 4 года назад

valve springs are gone

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

Valve train in general is worn out! From everything we have seen this is an all original 73 400 so 45 years of use abuse and improper maintenance .. she's not got a lot left to give. But even with that said, she's a great driver and turns heads everywhere!

@johndillinger8482 4 года назад

@@LucoreAuto did she consider just buying a crate motor for it?

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

@@johndillinger8482 she certainly did, unfortunately for us 451 iron headed crate motors aren't something readily available... not like building a small/big block chevy or ford! On our side of things we really want see what it will do with minimally worked iron heads to stack it up against the Chevy Pontiac and Olds big blocks we have run on the exact same dyno.

@duanedahljr1669 4 года назад

Crappy Distributor is where my $$$ is

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

That was ONE of the problems we found! In the racing videos you can absolutely hear the spark breaking up as it advances

@afastcuda1970 4 года назад

What is the spark advance curve? What are the vacuum readings? What are the a/f ratio readings? These are all important tuning numbers.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

All very good questions! Spark curve is pretty standard, we didn't want to do anything overly aggressive. The old distributor had all sorts of issues, with the new one we set it up a base timing of 17 degrees and a total advance of 38 degrees all in. The A/F is by far the most important piece of running a car on the dyno. With the data we were getting we were able to move jets, pump shot, pump cam, and secondary springs to dial it in. Without that kind of data fine tuning a carb setup is MUCH MUCH worse, changing something driving he car diag-ing on the road pulling plugs, take it apart make adjustments... etc etc etc... If you watch in the video from the side of the car you can see the A/F value moving from green to yellow to red during the "odd breakup". A/F we aimed for was about 12.5 : 1

@afastcuda1970 4 года назад

@@LucoreAuto The Mopar 400 has a bore of 4.34 in and will like alot more timing than small bores. Also "smog era" distributors have a long slow curve. Get a recurve kit with lighter springs for a quicker advance. Should be all in 2000-2500 rpm. Advance it till it pings then back off 2°.

@LucoreAuto 4 года назад

@@afastcuda1970 This motor we are essentially getting running better for a couple of weeks and for some basic testing before taking it back out. Unfortunately for those of us here in the snow states, the flurries are already starting to fly which means muscle cars are going in the garage. Plus... heard from a little birdie that the 451 stroker motor should be ready to break in on the engine dyno in about a week! But you are 100% correct on the curve and squeezing some power and performance out of these old 400 cubic inch anchors!