DON'T BE FUELISH

Getting to this point was pretty exciting! Pretty obvious that what was coming would mean that the engine would be one step closer to starting.

I decided to use the stock fuel tank, filler pipe and mounting location. It just seemed like a huge amount of work and expense for a new tank, floor alterations etc. With 2 fuel tanks to choose from I filled both with water and looked for holes. Surprisingly, both tanks were intact, NO HOLES! Using the fuel level gauge opening I then inspected them both and choose the one with the least corrosion.

A fuel injection engine requires an electric fuel pump to supply fuel to the motor. Again lots of online research and pricing for the pump. Basically there were two (2) choices. Internal, in the tank pumps and external pumps mounted inline as part of the fuel line. I finally settled on an internal tank pump. Then which brand? I looked at after market and "stock" units. The stock units were too tall and the majority of the big name aftermarket brands were as well and EXPENSIVE. I stumbled across and chose a Tanks Inc. pump. It had the necessary rated capacity, was adjustable to fit the internal height of my tank and a reasonable price. The instructions were relatively clear and easy to follow. Ok, of course I had to cut large holes in the tank to get everything into the tank, but the kit included everything necessary to fit, mount and seal it back up.

Since the top of the tank was cut for installation and access and feed and return line fittings projected through the top I did have to cut a section of the trunk floor. I dealt with this by fabricating a removable cover for access and any necessary repair. A picture is included of the access cover.
I purchased a new fuel tank fill level sending unit as well.

Internal tank corrosion was not bad but present. Back to the internet and research for solutions. I found several! After looking over various options and user comments and ratings I chose KBS Tank Sealer. It was/is basically a two(2) part system. The first part is a solution for corrosion treatment that dissolves and/or treats for surface preparation. The second part is the coating. The instructions were simple and clear. The user does have to be a little creative in sealing all the openings and parts. The tank and any related parts to be treated and coated must be rotated and moved about to insure proper cleaning, preparation and coating. That movement includes upside down. I used multiple layers of Saran wrap and numerous layers of duct tape to create the necessary seals. I had NO LEAKS during prep or coating!

The tank hanger straps were shot and were replaced with after market units supplied by Tanks Inc.. The original tank hangers had a thin rubber strip between the straps and the tank. I got a bicycle inner tube split it to width and length and used a little contact cement to secure them to the straps. Of course everything was painted or sprayed with rattle can truck bed liner for corrosion protection before reinstall.  A picture follows.

Fuel injection engines require fuel filters to protect the injectors from fuel contaminant. There are choices of direct in-line or larger canister style types. Depending on type there micron particle sizes to deal with too. I purchased a large unit rated for the required fuel flow and the smallest micron size capture, pressure and mounted it the floor pan rear trunk wall. The pictures shown are not in sequence, showing some of the hard and flexible lines in place.

I also almost forgot an important little aside. When we initially started the engine we were kind of running around like chickens with out heads cut off; looking for leaks of all types and kind of surprised and elated at this momentous step forward!. YEP!! we found one! Crawling under the rear of the car we found a large puddle of gas!! After a quick shutdown, and depressurization of the system I found that I had pinched the large and floppy o-ring canister seal. Had to order a new one! There is a link to First Start-up and on CAR DOMAIN.com to see and HEAR a mufflerless Viper engine.  A pic of the filter canister .follows.

Now I need fuel lines. Remember back in MO POWER that I said Chrysler personnel had told me the motor mounts were backward? I could not figure out where the fuel line went on the Viper motor. Out of pure frustration I took a shot at contacting Chrysler to ask WHERE? My son had posted a number of pictures on a car site of the build. I mentioned that he called it Project Red, White, Blue and had posted it on CARDOMAIN.com trying to get their attention. Boy did I ever! They called and emailed me! The site had several hundred hits and they emailed the mount comment. The Viper uses a hard fuel line with special fittings and standard pipe thread/AN connections. The stock line at the motor is a two (2) foot section costing over $200.! Their response was there are two (2) plug fittings one on each rail end of the manifold that are NPT plumbing/AN thread. Also surprising, the manifold is one piece unit with combined internal fuel passages and manifold.  Remove the "rail" plug, remove the stock fuel line and fitting and put the plug in where the hard line connector was and your are ready for new fittings and lines.

So now I know where to bring the fuel line to. What to use? The easy way out is rubber fuel lines. Talk to enough guys and shops familiar with rubber lines and they say plain rubber lines start to break down and very quickly you can begin to smell gasoline vapors! Every one said use metal lines. They are difficult to bend, can kink or crack and run; difficult to properly flare, nut and seal. Doing this on your own requires special tools, patience and equipment: or pay someone. There is at least one other alternative however. It is somewhat pricey. Some of the new cars on the road and many drag race teams are using composite layered, braided and coated lines with standard pipe end fittings (NPT) or AN fittings. I chose this route. I used a 3/8 inch boat rope and pulled it tight from location to location and wrote down the measurements. I marked possible routes and locations for brackets. I did this three (3) times and arrived at the best route for the lines. I got the custom made lines from JDA Enterprizes /Tech AFX.              .

The last bit of the system is a fuel pressure regulator. Too much pressure can damage the injectors too little can burn them. Either way engine damage could result. The Viper engine I have requires roughly 55 psi. A picture of the Mallory regulator follows.

MO, MO, MO POWER!

All engines whether gas or diesel are nothing more than air pumps. The more air they pump the more efficient they become. When fuel is added they then become sources of power ie. an engine..

Without going into great detail, here is a bit of HEMI history. What is a HEMI? Hemi is a shortened name for a hemispherical head combustion chamber for an engine. Simply described, cut a ball in half, look inside and you have a round chamber; cut two (2) holes for valves to operate in and put a spark plug between the valves. This design allows for VERY large valves without piston interference and ideal spark plug placement. The large valves allow more air and fuel to flow, therefore providing mo' power. Chrysler Corporation started working on this so named head design in 1941. They worked and developed the head design through the Second World War and even introduced several aircraft engines utilizing the head design. Those motors never really saw the war or production but they did break speed and performance records for aircraft. They were basically abandoned with the coming of jet age.

The late 40's and early 50's saw American car manufacturers introduce horsepower wars. Prominent players were GM/Cadillac, GM/Oldsmobile and Hudson. Hudson, working with their straight 6 engine won the early NASCAR stock car championship several times in the early 50's.

Chrysler introduced its hemispherical head engine in 1951 as a 331 cubic inch engine. It almost immediately surpassed all the other manufacturers in horsepower. Each Division except Plymouth quickly followed; with the DeSoto offering a 276 cu. in. hemi and Dodge in late '52 with a 241 cu.in. hemi. Chrysler entered stock car racing and was almost immediately champion. By 1955 DeSoto was at 291 cu. in., Chrysler was 331 cu.in. Depending on whose history you look at Chrysler, had the first passenger car with 300 horsepower. They capitalized on that with the model name Chrysler 300. In '56 the Chrysler motor grew to 354, DeSoto to 330 and Dodge 315 cu. in.. By '57 Chrysler was 392, DeSoto 345 and Dodge 325. By 1958 all the hemispherical head engines were gone as they were big, heavy and expensive to produce.

Chrysler reintroduced the HEMI engine in 1964 as a 426 cu. in. motor. It was an all in racing motor variously known as King Kong in its early years and later as the Elephant motor due to its weight and size.  It was instantly a winner at Daytona taking the first three positions in the Daytona 500 in 1964. It became the basis for all TOP FUEL and FUNNY CARS through today.

The 1956 DeSoto 330 came in two basic variants. The two barrel (2) carburetor version and a two (2)
four barrel carburetor version. Both of my cars were of the two barrel versions. Aftermarket performance parts for this motor were and are virtually nonexistent. There some parts for the Dodge motors and a huge aftermarket for the Chrysler motors. So if I wanted performance for my build what do I do? Chrysler hemi? Very expensive either used, rebuilt or new. What about the big block 383, 400, 413, 426 or 440 cubic inch Chrysler motors? Parts availability is very good but cost is HIGH compared to Chevy and Ford motors. I priced out MANY different motor scenarios for the Chevy, Ford, Hemi and building a Mopar big block after I knew the body repairs and body mounts were viable as I described in "LOOKIN UP".  Again, I stuck with the something "different" idea but all MOPAR.

While my son was home from school, he came to me and said look what I found on the internet, on EBAY. What he showed me was a 1996 Dodge Viper Generation 2 motor with 5600 miles on it salvaged from a wreck. It was complete, top to bottom, including clutch, pressure plate, bell housing, wiring, computer, engine harness and body harness and one header. There was no guarantee but the seller verified the motor was unhurt and running.when salvaged. He had intended to build a race car but had changed plans and was now selling. We bid twice, staying low, and did not expect to win. We had researched, on line, salvage yards specializing in performance car salvage; what similar Viper, Corvette, Camaro, Challenger and Mustang motors were being sold for. We won the bid! Boy was that a HARD NUT to sell my wife!!!!!!!!!

A new Chevy, Ford or Mopar crate motor would have been roughly about $500. cheaper and still would have required wiring, computer, carburation, headers etc. Pictures of our "crate" motor, motor mounts and various stages of installation follow.

Our "crate" motor as shipped. Not shown is the motor wiring harness, and car/body harness, ECM and PCM, which came in separate packaging. Nearly 100 % of the online sold motors included ONLY the motor. No accessories, pumps, a/c units, wiring, coil packs etc. This purchase was complete top to bottom!
That't what made such a buy!.






The one of the motor mounts welded in and before painting, with motor installed. I was told later by Chrysler engineers that I had assembled the mount backwards!  More on that a little later. The engine shop that helped with this work gave some really BAD advice which nearly cost me the engine and thousands of $$. They said I did not need an engine oil cooler. It was OK to plug the line fittings. Turns out plugging the line fittings partially starved the engine of oil and caused damage when we did get to the point of running. The engine and transmission had to be pulled, torn down and repaired.  This cost me a full year plus and $$$$!              




The motor as installed. Note the "high tech" 2" x 4" spreader bar and chains for lifting the engine. I used 1/8" x 3" heavy metal flat stock and loops welded to it. Then drilled the flat bar to match the header bolt holes and bolted the bars in place. The "spreader" keeps the chain from crushing the valve covers. Found out much
 later there are lift points on the engine for installing hooks. Early
Viper headers had a two piece headers. You removed the "elbow"
 turn out and used the header as the lifting point.

 Viper headers have a nearly 90 degree turn out to get the exhaust pipes to the rocker panel area for the Bonneville/ Ford Cobra "lake pipe style"for the exhaust.. For a straight back setup, the turn outs had to be cut off. With professional welding help you can see the 3" stainless pipes attached to the cast headers.

Both DeSoto motors were sold. One locally, to a builder, and the other to a DeSoto restorer in Georgia.
I had been looking for a DeSoto Adventurer dual quad 2x4 carburator manifold for over a year when just a few weeks after the Viper purchase a man called and said he had one!. The price was SO cheap I could not let it pass! Only about 4,000 were made in '56-'57! I made a few $$ by including it with the engine going to Georgia.

Ok, we have motor. What about a transmission? Automatic or stick? To me was almost a no brainer! A Viper is stick shift. Through my early teen years stick shift was dying out, BUT, the "most desired factory "muscle" cars had stick shift. Shopping around, a new Tremec T-56 6 speed for a Viper would be about $3 to $4 K. I located one on line from salvage with 26 miles on it! I got one DIRT CHEAP! It came from an '06 Dodge Ram 1500 Pick up SRT 10 with Viper engine. It will cause headaches which I'll cover a little later. A picture of the "crate" transmission follows.

To get everyhing into the car we eventually"gave up" and cut the floor. I had saved an overlarge piece of floor from the 4 door car which was trimmed down, bent slightly and overlapped for attachment. In this later picture,you can see a black border which is flat stock welded in for reinforcement, drilled and tapped to install the removable floor section.
You can also see the partially installed Viper adjustable clutch, brake, gas pedals and rotating control knob hanging down.
Once the front clip (fenders, core support and inner fenders were installed) the only way to remove the engine and transmission is to separate
the transmission from the bell-housing,
then the bell-housing, clutch and pressure plate
then the engine. Adds a ton of hours and expense
which came into play when the engine had to be
repaired.

In the foreground of this picture you can see the transmission mounting cross-member and behind it the and to the sides the X member which was fabricated during the frame modifications.

This picture shows another view of the transmission cross-member with the transmission installed.










Now I need a rear end. Ford 9 inch is the most popular rear end with lots of gearing possibilities and aftermarket parts. BUT, this is a Chrysler product! Chrysler used Dana rear ends for many of their muscle cars and heavy duty pick ups and vans. I found a Dana 60 4.10 posi-traction unit from a salvaged 1999 Dodge Ram 1 Ton Van. Dana 60's are very large, heavy and the ring gear is 9.75 inches. Bigger and stronger than the Ford. It came with an inspection certificate saying it was mechanically ok. A picture follows which shows the new flanges, axles and extra long stud bolts.
Many Chrysler products have offset center sections for reasons unknown to me. To make this rear end work, I had the housing cut down on one side and added to on the other to match the old DeSoto rear end. Then new axles were ordered from after market suppliers along with new end plates. The end plates in this conversion are commonly Ford pattern and include better heavy duty Ford "big end bearings and  studs.

What is not shown is the drive shaft. I some how failed to take a picture of that component. It is all black, 3 inches in diameter. Of course there is a tale of woe for it. There is a shop locally that makes custom drive shafts as well repairing them. The owner happens to live a few streets over and volunteered to come over one evening and measure for proper length; and kind of check out what I'm building. After all the specs were laid out, I went to the shop and made the order. An employee wrote everything up. Occasionally people don't listen carefully and make mistakes. That happened I guess. The splined universal they ordered came in, was welded in and the shaft was done.... BUT it was the wrong one. The engine is 1996 the transmission a 2006. DIFFERENT transmission different, different output shaft. We came VERY close to wrecking the transmission when it was started. The drive shaft universal was just floating inside the transmission supported by the oil seal and the transmission shaft was rotating inside. To understand this take  your thumb and first finger and make a circle. Take a finger from your other hand and insert in the circle and spin it.Had either part slightly misaligned the they would have ground each other to  pieces. Only the transmission oil  seal kept them aligned and away from disaster. After I figured out why the wheels weren't spinning I had to remove the shaft, they had to cut the shaft, get a new part and redo it.  TWICE! The second one was the wrong part as sent by MOPAR parts. It would not go on. Remove again, haul back again etc. Third time was the charm!!