The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Wow you snooze on the line usually is a loss, good job Daydreamer Dave

Half a car length I think it was Jim. OK maybe a tad less.

Sounds like you blokes had a great time. I can't wait until my car is done and I can start taking it to some events here in Australia.


Bad luck with your car Adrian

had to take Carols M3 cabrio (which I parked well out of the way so I could'nt get mistaken for a hairdresser )

Thats funny

Not all fun and games for me as it happens.

First I had a flat tyre on the way there. I had to pull over onto the hard shoulder of the M1 motorway (one of the busiest roads in the UK).
No spare wheel. I only had one of my slicks which might have got me going (illegally) but being 2" taller than my other tyre might have damaged my suregrip.

I had a bit of luck though because my mate Andy happened to come past towing his 1969 B1 engined Coronet so he loaned me the two street tyres off the back of that to get me there (and home again).

Next it started to overheat.

I have had a slow water loss problem for a year or so which I put down to leaking header bolts and later a head gasket. However now I suspect a cracked head.

But I got there JUST with the temp getting up to 220F and only a half full radiator after the 240 mile journey.

Third problem was on the way home.

After that last run up the track with Wayne as passenger I had a bit of noise like a blowing header gasket.

By the time I was half way home it sounded more like a bad tappet noise.

By the time I got within 5 miles of home it sounded like I was loosing a rocker. It was raining now and I crossed my fingers.

Half a mile from home I heard at least one pushrod go west and the noise stopped. Oil pressure stayed up so I kept going.

This is what I found.

bummer have you worked out what the cause was dave i had a similar problem on a 302 clevo years ago it was a stuck valve which we were able to free up & straightend the push rod & it never faulted thankfully
cheers ian

Thats bad luck Dave & after the good runs she made.
Makes one ponder if one of the best built engines can do this, had I tried a 500ml round trip and a couple of strip runs I may have been taking the car home in jiffy bags.

It was probably the strain of carrying Waynes fat arse that bent the pushrods.

This can happen on an engine with a lot of valve lift with heavy valve springs.

Dave Hughes insisted I buy spare pushrods for this reason. My problem is I already bent one in a misshap during installation.

Think I will buy a set of stronger pushrods.....

The cam lobes and lifters look OK. I found the missing bits from the pushrod cup. Only damage I can see is the witness marks on the underside of the rockers.

I am going to swap some pushrods over so I can check the valves open OK and put a dial gauge on the cam lobes to make sure they are still within spec.

Then I have to start thinking about what to do with this cracked head that is leaking water......

dave-r wrote:It was probably the strain of carrying Waynes fat arse that bent the pushrods.

Hey I resemble that remark!!!

Get that in-car video you made up on Youtube mate. I want to see that.

dave-r wrote:Get that in-car video you made up on Youtube mate. I want to see that.

Will do Dave.got to do that bloody conversion first..I hate it....

Really? I thought Youtube took just about any format? Or is it a tape camera??

dave-r wrote:Really? I thought Youtube took just about any format? Or is it a tape camera??

They do take any format Dave, I have an MP4 format and its in GBs so it takes hours to download to youtube unless you convert it first.

Everything on the valvetrain has checked out OK.

Cam, lifters, rockers, rocker geometery, valve guides, spring bind etc. I think I just need stronger pushrods.

Still not sure what to do about the possible crack in the cylinder head though...

dave-r wrote:
I think I just need stronger pushrods.

Or me to lose weight.

Will you consider ali heads, 440 Source or similar? I'd love a pair for my next upgrade, better fix wot I got first tho' eh? Car looked bootiful on Sunday mate, did'nt see any body walk away unimpressed

Adrian Worman wrote: Car looked bootiful on Sunday mate, did'nt see any body walk away unimpressed

couple of pics seems i,m getting good weight transfer on launch, i did do an in car footage for jaygos.com i,l post it up soon as its sorted

RedRaven wrote:

dave-r wrote:Get that in-car video you made up on Youtube mate. I want to see that.

Will do Dave.got to do that bloody conversion first..I hate it....

Where,s the cockpit video Wayne.
Jeez it did,nt take this long to make Ben Hur.

DINGBAT wrote:

RedRaven wrote:

dave-r wrote:Get that in-car video you made up on Youtube mate. I want to see that.

Will do Dave.got to do that bloody conversion first..I hate it....

Where,s the cockpit video Wayne.
Jeez it did,nt take this long to make Ben Hur.

Ok ok I will do it............

Wow Dave, that is something with the bent pushrods. Did the lifters stay in their bores? You said you never lost oil pressure???

RedRaven wrote:

DINGBAT wrote:

RedRaven wrote:

dave-r wrote:Get that in-car video you made up on Youtube mate. I want to see that.

Will do Dave.got to do that bloody conversion first..I hate it....

Where,s the cockpit video Wayne.
Jeez it did,nt take this long to make Ben Hur.

Ok ok I will do it............

MLMFLCN wrote:Wow Dave, that is something with the bent pushrods. Did the lifters stay in their bores? You said you never lost oil pressure???

Yes thank goodness! The lifters stayed put. The last time I lost a rocker/pushrod the lifter popped straight out. These solid lifters didn't seem to want to go anywhere.

The pushrods are just too close to the limit on the pressure they can take. So hopefully thicker wall versions will stop any more bending.

I think these two rods bent slightly on that last run with Wayne. Then as I drove home they started to bend more until they dropped out one by one. But I think one must have gone completely quite early on in my 240 mile journey because it didn't "feel" right most of the way.

Once the second pushrod dropped out completely the engine actually sounded really good for a 7 cylinder.

Here it is yall............

The Shot Gun Run........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gYJ1lBc8uU

THIS IS COOL YOU GOT SOME VID OF THE AMX,OHH AND THAT CHICK IS KINDA HOT,nice run dave u cut a .572 light , pretty good, killer mcniller vid love it
you ran a 12.2 right?

12.35 I think it was with Wayne's weight and a pair of bending pushrods.

motor sounds strong tho dave, can certainly tell you running them 4.30,s
here,s an in car vid similar to yours went 12.40 something on this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbk6EYZhPj8

heres another it was getting off the line great but going flat up the top http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2rz1VJ_18

shame i hadnt got one of our run always next year

wayne seems to get the blame for a lot of things around here

jimbob 440 wrote:motor sounds strong tho dave, can certainly tell you running them 4.30,s
here,s an in car vid similar to yours went 12.40 something on this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbk6EYZhPj8

heres another it was getting off the line great but going flat up the top http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2rz1VJ_18

shame i hadnt got one of our run always next year

Listening to that it sounds like your torqueflight could maybe shift harder and faster. But other than that it runs bloody well and smooth too.

Good video from the Nats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MCFxlIl2Pw