Mopar Small-Blocks. Larry Shepard

Piston Rings

      Chapter 4: Camshaft, Lifters and Cam Drive

       Production Cams

       Aftermarket Cams

       Camshaft Technology

       High-Performance and Race Cams

       Cam Selection Process

       Cam Installation

       Tappets

       Cam Drive

       Timing Sets

       Oil Pump Drive

      Chapter 5: Cylinder Heads

       Identification

       Production Cylinder Heads

       Head Spec Comparison

       Aluminum Heads

       Cast-Iron Heads

       Bare Heads

       Cylinder Head Selection and Prep

       High-Performance Valve Job

       Special Head Considerations

       Valves

       Head Gaskets

      Chapter 6: Valvetrain

       Oiling System

       Pushrods

       Rocker Arms

       Valvesprings

       Valvetrain Parts

      Chapter 7: Intake Manifolds

       Production Intakes

       Aftermarket Intakes

       Fuel Distribution

       Manifold Selection

       Manifold Prep

       Porting Matching

       Carburetors

       Throttle Body

       Fuel Pump

       Fuel Injection

       Nitrous

       Superchargers and Turbos

       Final Installation and Prep

      Chapter 8: Oiling System

       Oiling Hardware

       Oil Pump

       Breathers and the PCV

       Oil

       Oil Filter

       Windage Tray

       Oil Pan

       Oil Pump Drive

       Dry Sump

      Chapter 9: Ignition System

       Spark Advance

       Distributors

       Aftermarket Ignition Systems

       Advance Curve

       Ignition Timing

       Spark Plugs

       Distributor Drive

       Coil and Ballast Resistor

       The ECU/ECM

       Wiring

      Chapter 10: Fuel System and Tuning

       4-Barrel Carb System

       Fuel Injection System

       Fuel

       Magnum MPI

       Fuel Injectors

       Fuel Lines

       Airflow

       Carb Tuning

       Magnum MPI Upgrade

       A-Engine MPI Conversion

       Nitrous Oxide

       Supercharger

      Chapter 11: Exhaust System

       Manifold

       Header

       Flanges

       Merge Collectors

       Oxygen Sensor

       Installation Clearance

       Coatings

       Pipe Crossovers

       Mufflers and Catalytic Converters

       Cat-Back Systems

       Tailpipes

       Gaskets

      Source Guide

       ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      The Chrysler/Mopar small-block V-8 engine was in production for almost 40 years and was raced in many different categories and configurations during this time. Chrysler built millions of these engines with so many racing variations that the history alone could easily fill a book. Quick references and focusing on availability kept it within the covers. So hats off to Indy Heads (cast iron and aluminum), Edelbrock (aluminum), and B1 (aluminum) for maintaining key performance parts for the small-block.

      The small-block program had many ups and downs, many parts programs that came and went, and too many racers who helped with these competitive efforts to name individually, but thanks to all! I owe a lot to the many contractors and Chrysler engineers: Ted Flack, Al Nichols, Tom Hoover, Pat Baer, Bill Hancock, Tim Zuehlke, and Jim Szilagyi, with special thanks to John Wehrly. They taught me well! I also want to thank the many manufacturers that display their new hardware at events and shows such as PRI & SEMA; their representatives are always willing to answer questions and discuss the latest hardware.

      I thank Rob Cunningham of Mancini Racing and Bob McSwain and Rob Miela of Godfather Racing for their help. Plus a big “thanks” to Gary Stanton, Ron Keselowski, and Larry Henry for helping me with history data conflicts.

      The writing and photography required for an engine book is a lot of work but not anywhere near the amount of work that went into the design and development of the parts originally. Extra thanks to Scott Koffel, Dave Koffel, Leonard Lawson, and Greg Charney for helping with the photographs and their leading-edge creations, along with Frank Parker for the real heavy work.

      I owe the most thanks of all to machinist Richard Koffel, and engine builder Dan Parker, and the 340 engine’s owner, Charlie Henry. I couldn’t have done it without them! They all put in lots of time to help me put photos and words together.

      Perhaps most of all, I must thank my editor, Paul Johnson, for his patience, guidance, and foresight. He took a tremendous number of words and photos on small-blocks and made it fit into this book and be readable.

      I would like to give extra special thanks to my wife, Linda, for her steady hand in keeping our household going during this project and accepting the huge piles of research material and photographs that I used to create this manuscript.

       INTRODUCTION

      Any discussion of the Chrysler/Mopar small-block V-8 engine has to start with the introduction of its ancestor, the A-engine, in 1956, but the original engine was relatively bulky and heavy. By 1962–1963 it was obvious that the compacts needed more power, so the LA-engine was created. The A-Body was the compact-size cars produced by Chrysler called Valiants and Lancers.

      Equally