420cid build with a new Ritter Aluminum Block

This is my first post here so hi to everyone.
I am working on a new 420 cid small block with a Ritter aluminum block. the heads will be RFD W9RP heads, crank is 3.875 stroke with 6.300" long Oliver rods. and Ross flat top pistons. Not sure if the pictures are attached.

Judging from the background there I would say this is going in a 4 speed car! Very Nice!

Be prepared for lots of questions about the block

Clark

Yes sir, its going in the Dart with the 5 speed. The Cuda will keep the 468 in it. Question are not a problem.

Good luck on your build, I hope you have better luck than all the others that have tried to make those blocks work. The metal welded in the crank to balance it there is not a good idea. Everyone I have seen done that way over time come out. Not trying to be negative, trying to help.....
Maybe it's not heavy metal welded in there, hard to see in that pic.

Needs to go in my Dart MC.

You are right, its not heavy metal he just needed to fill in a drill hole a few oz. I hope the block turns out, that's why I am posting here. Hopefully people will say the problems they have had with their blocks so I can try and solve the problems before I get it in the car.
Thanks
Mike

Good luck with it, should be a fun piece.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post1885847

Welcome, looking forward to seeing the build.

I saw you in Cordova but did not have a chance to talk.

Really looking forward to seeing you back on Drag Week next year, I assume that is the plan.

Bill Lamb

At this point in time that is the plan, I saw you and was wanting to get over and talk to you and see what you have updated on the car. I hope to have this thing back in the car by the end of the year. That gives me all of next year to sort it out. I have talked to some of the guys that have had problems with these blocks and so far most of the major problems were fixed when I got the block. There have been a few small things but nothing major.
Thanks
Mike

Thanks I have been following that threat since it started.

I can't comment on your bock but I will say your head guy is one of the best in the country. Everything Curtis works on runs hard. Keep us updated.

I hope that the new blocks. Are better than the old ones. Did he fix the rear main cap so the oil passage .would line up with the pump.i would love two see a pic with the oil pump gasket laying on the cap

Looks killer. An engine like that deserves a billet timing chain cover!

I had a talk with lawndart, smart & knowledgable man. Sounds like the main issues the earlier blocks had have been corrected. Hope to see good results on his build. Since there aren't any r3's around, I might spring for a aluminum one for my demon.

different bolt patterns

I will take a picture of the gasket sitting on the rear main, the oil hole in the main lines up with the block oil hole.

No sir it does not line up. I took some pictures and will and will attempt to post them, its an easy fix now that I know about it I will put it in the mill and mill a nice slot to the oil pump outlet. Thank you for pointing this out.
Mike

it would be pretty cool to know that there are two operating Ritter blocks in existence. I'm truly hoping for the best for you. Small block guys need this option to basically stay alive.

That's a nice timing cover who makes it?

that's Andy's handywork.... he has some nice items.

While were looking at this side of the motor the oil pan will block off the oil return if you have an oil pan gasket lay it up there and you will see the oil return for the time tunnel is blocked off.

Yes the oil pan will cover most of the original hole that was there that's why there is more of a slot there now. I have also drilled and tapped 4 1/2NPT holes right under the cam next to the back of the mains for oil drain back. I know if gets into the swinging assembly it will cost HP but for now getting the oil back to the pan is more important than windage loss.

Are you bushing the lifters ?????will the lifter uncover the oil hole when its all the way at the bottom or all the way at the top.THIS is another big problem.... if so bushing the block is the easy fix... I would pressurize the water aND oil before I did anything..

At this point in time I am not planning on bushing the lifter bores he has moved the upper oil gallies up so it is just like a small Chevy, I told him that I wants the lifter bores under size so we could fit the lifters witch he did they were all .003" to.004" under sized. Right now the lifter clearance is .001" to .00012" I have assembled the whole motor several times and pressure tested the oil system to make sure that the oil doesn't go into the cooling jackets or in to the crankcase. I have also pressure tested the cooling jackets to 10 psi on both sides using my torque plate and the right side held 10 psi overnight and the left side was 9 psi in the morning it started at 10 psi so I don't know if the O-ring plugs leaked or head gasket or the porosity in the block. But I plan on checking the water system again after it is fully assembled. Thanks for all of the information.

New oil galley positions.

You don't have to bush the lifters but I'm thinking you'll need a taller than normal lifter so that when it's at the bottom the hole is not uncovered I've had both style blocks the one with the oil hole behind the lifter and the one with oil hole in the center of the lifter. If you measure from the base of the cam to the top of the oil hole that will tell you how tall of a lifter you will need

That's good information Thanks
When I was testing the oil system it didn't seam to uncover the oil galley's with all of the lifters heads and pushrods in place but I will defiantly check that when I test it again.

cam and lifters

Are the front of those blocks the same as the 9.0 and 9.20 R3 blocks? (bolt pattern wise).

The ones I have seen all take the low deck cover however the block could use a tall deck cover if new holes are made.

check every lifter to be sure that you are ok .they look low when they drill the galley from one side only the hole some times will wander of course. That is why other blocks are drilled from both directions and intersect one another

I just had to drill and tap (2) new holes on my R3 block for a stock 360 timing cover to work. Not a big issue

Kinda like the looks of this block and I hope all goes well.

Now where are the xr2s.... I'd love to get my hands on a raw casting of one of those.

AndyF

arengineering.com

http://arengineering.com/products/sb-timing-chain-cover/

R.

Are those coolant passages in the deck correct? Something funny looking there.

Some of the cooling passages in the deck I have added. Kent designed this block to except the P5 head so you need to drill water passages for your style of head. I used a Felpro Gasket for the pattern.

What brand of roller lifters are those. Thanks for starting this post.

No problem, thanks for all of the input. The lifters are Morel +.300 height and .200 intake offset .904 diameter.

This is a great post, very interesting with lots of people watching. Good Luck !

This just might be what Moparts is supposed to be. I am a big block guy bt I find the ritter idea to be very interesting as well. Lots of luck and the more detail the better!

What is the deck height and lifter angle on these
blocks

Good luck, hope it works out as we sb guys need something for blocks.

This one is a tall deck (9.6") 48 deg. you can get a short deck and what ever lifter angle.

This one is a tall deck (9.6") 48 deg. you can get a short deck and what ever lifter angle. [/quot

What you have is what I'm looking for... thats why
I will watch your build... I have a set of W-9 for
one

Good luck and I beleive most of the horror stories come from the iron blocks.
Anyway I am also interEstes in this build.

I have a set of W9's on my other R3 block (468 cid) with 59 deg lifter angle. That set of heads is a set of Chapman done heads and they are to small for that motor it gives up at 6800 but it pulls hard in the mid range.
This one is going to get the W9RP that Curtis Boggs from RFD did.

Not to mention aluminum is easier to fix

My set is the standard Chapmans they ported... I wasnt
gonna go that big

... never saw my W5 head that I tried to have repaired did you. Some aluminum..... well, isn't.

are these blocks actually for sale?? I remember the other attempt at building one it was mentioned it was a "prototype".

I hope to have some info after this weekends race if the same guy shows up that I was introduced to at last years race. If not I should still have a contact number.

Yes I think the blocks are for sale, all I did was E-mail him. I know last time I spoke with him he said that the foundry was having problems casting the steel blocks because of core shift, but the aluminum blocks they weren't having problems with. I was told that the other aluminum block that is running is the prototype block.

Isnt that the truth... my first set had so much crap
in the alum that it was useless to even try... when
I got my replacement set from mopar they said I could
keep them... I tried to weld on them..what a joke....
the set I have now is pretty porous but seal.. with
some work

Yes you can buy bloks from Ritter he has them available. I am not a small block guy but have head from a very well known shop they need "some work" when you get them Bt I also know they believe everything needs some work as delivered anyway

This is great news for Small Block guys IF the problems have been fixed or at least they're addressable now

Anyone have a number for Ritter?

Here's his email.

http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/produ...mp;partid=25164

called Kevin at Hughes Engines yesterday about doing a ritter block and he said they have done 4 engines to date and have had no problems. He said they will support 1400 hp easily. just need to make clear what you want done from Ritter before they send the block to Hughes.

I'm a bit concerned about what looks to be a casting flaw in that threaded hole in the pass side valley wall...

Yes sir there was a problem with the pipe threads on the inside lifter wall, we just drilled them out and tapped them to 1/2 NPT. the original size was 3/8NPT.

I just got an E-mail back from Kent If you need his Contact information just send me a message and I will send you the information.

good/bad otherwise I hope you stick with us on this build. We've seen one guy years ago "promise" that he was going to make a iron block work and stated that there were a "few" running in dirt track cars although no proof was ever uncovered.... that never happened. We've lived Whitedart's he77 with his build (only running one that I know of....and BOY does it!!). Luckily he had a very qualified builder that saw it through. We had the aluminum "prototype" build that seemingly almost made it, but some failure set it back and iirc, life got in the way and it got shoved to the corner....or something. I wish you the best... there are A LOT of really good head packages out there needing a good foundation. I was so dangerously close to getting an iron Ritter block in 12.... but being I work at a dealer, a couple of guys REALLY leaned on my to go the R3 route so I did.

Knowing MC like I do he will see this build through.Good or bad.

Ok I fixed the rear main oiling hole this evening not to bad just put the main cap in the mill and made a slot to the oil hole in the main line up with the oil pump feed hole.

Yes I will finish this engine, I am taking my time checking everything I can think of. If anyone sees something that there might be a question on please say something. I figure out some way to check it.

Having seen both of Whitedart's iron blocks machine work as delivered I have to say CHECK EVERY surface, bolt hole, treaded plug, etc.

Alot of things were not drilled/tapped streight, machined parallel or to size. Brad at QMP saved his block, most shops would have scrapped it.

Yours looks like a cool build, and I hope it all plays well for you.

"I have a set of W9's on my other R3 block (468 cid) with 59 deg lifter angle. That set of heads is a set of Chapman done heads and they are to small for that motor it gives up at 6800 but it pulls hard in the mid range.
This one is going to get the W9RP that Curtis Boggs from RFD did."

Curious, what kinda flow numbers does a Chapman W9RP have to choke off a 468ci at 6800?

The Heads on the 468 are standard W9's done by Champman, they flow in the 360 CFM range at .700 lift through the intake and throttle body. The minimum cross section on W9 heads is small in comparison to the W9RP's.

The heads that are going on this 420 cid motor are W9RP done by Curtis Boggs at RFD and they flow well over 425 CFM at .800 lift and continue to flow better up to 1" lift. The W9RP will not fit on the 59 deg motor because the rocker offset is not enough, the pushrod will hit the head.

Thanks for the information. I have assembled all of the heads, head studs and valve train the only thing I have not put on the motor yet is the clutch and bellhousing that will need to be indexed in, that is a standard thing I do on all of my motors, and the timing cover and water pump.

Thanks for all of the input on this build.
Mike

I'm more than happy to share any information that I have gained. I will say that these motors have a tendency to have oil drain back issues crankcase pressure going up kind of prevent oil from going down. I also drill through the china wall into the timing case area to help vent the crankcase I also enlarge the oil drain backs in the front and and back . And drilled for 1/8 holes cam tunnel

Are these blocks setup for a dry sump? sounds like
a dry sump would be a better way to go with the drain
back and pressure issues

Finaly a good technical post again:D

Yes I agree that is why I drilled and tapped 4 of 1/2 NPT holes in the cam valley right next to the cam bearing main. To try and get the oil drain back to the crankcase. I also plan on putting my vacuum pump on the fuel pump plate in the timing cover. My logic is to make the crankcase lower pressure than the top end and kinda pull the oil and vapor through the holes and drain backs. Thanks for the input.

I think you are correct on this one, but since this is a street/race car in a stock chassis I don't have the room for a dry sump.

Mike,

The car is Clark's (Bad340Fish above). I am his dad, road flunky and navigator. We did not hang around long at Cordova, we wanted to beat the rain out of town.

This is going to be an epic thread, keep it going.

Thanks,
Bill

Just keep that Grandson watching those videos I shared of MC. Say no to the bowtie stuff Bill. LOL.DW is a blur and its hard to talk to everyone.I "Think" I waved at you once and talked to Clark for 20 seconds.LOL.Glad to follow this build and I have not seen anything. LOL

OK, since I am waiting on the new head gaskets to show up, I assembled the top end with all of the studs, heads, rockers and used gaskets,so far everything is fitting up nice.

Lookin good!

Good luck on it! If you have any questions feel free to give my old man a call as we have finished up our alluminum ritter block engine. The last issue we had, and hopefully we can help you avoid with yours was oil drain back to the pan from the valley. The enclosed cam tunnel with small drain backs is not enough and after a short time on the engine dyno the pan was empty. We had to disassemble it, and put better drain back passages in it, and it is happy now. A lot of hours chewed up though.

Wayne @ Joss Engines. 1-403-320-7272

-Kenny

I have the first aluminum 9.600 xr2 that I am doing now.Hope to post some on here of it as we make progress.

That's super cool, hope it works out for you. Should be mean!

Thanks Brad.I hope it works out good too.I was told the aluminum block doesn't have the core shift like the cast blocks.

I for one would like to see everyone make a go of these blocks.if kent and everyone else involved with these are at least willing to invest their time and money to come up with a viable solution to mopar not being able to supply blocks for the performance side then I applaud their efforts.sure with his stockpile of parts he stands to make financial gain but they are the ones that stuck their necks out to get this far.nothing that is as innovative as trying to do a block to cover such a broad array of heads and combos will come without large growing pains but without a couple brave souls who work thru these problems nothing will be accomplished.maybe the ones who have been there and done that can help others who are willing to give it a go .we will see how things work out and be more than helpful to others who try if we can

but I wanted to see what kind of money
it would take to get it to a running block.. so far
it doesnt look bad... drain back seems to be the big
issue... I'd like to see how they corrected that...
the pick up issue is nothing.. but glad it was brought
up so people know of it

Ask Jeff Allison he had a great amount invested in his as far as I know got nothing in return except a nice boat anchor

Was his the iron or alum block

He has an iron block as I did too. I returned mine. I had a long talk with lawndart. His block looks like there have been corrections that the iron blocks had. He made his own drain bad holes in the valley, not a big deal.

Whitedart has the only running iron block that I know of.

I am keeping a list with pictures of all of the things that we (my machinist and I) would like to see changed on this block.
I had a long phone conversation with Wayne last Friday about all of the things he did to get the first prototype block running. Very smart man. After talking to Wayne it sounds like my block and the block he machined up have all of the same problems. After I get this thing running I will be contacting Kent and see if we can get these problems solved. It seems that most of the problems are in the machining of the block.
Thanks for all of the input on this project.
Mike

Subscribed.

What is the weight of the aluminum block with main caps and a ball park price? I wonder if this would be good for a road race block....

I will do what I can next week hopefully.




Shipping weight was 94lbs. with no sleeves in the block. IIRC the price was similar to an R3 with out the sleeves in the XR block.


-Kenny

My Brother was up at Kent's this weekend getting some stuff and was getting an update on the blocks. Kent said he got the block approved by NHRA for stock and SS racing. My brother has two blocks on order: An aluminum XR2 for P7 heads. It has been cast and machined and is getting sleeves in right now. And the second is an iron XR1 48 degree. It is to be cast with the next pour at the end of November 2015. Machining to be done in December 2015. I will let everyone know how they turn out.
Dave

What's the aluminum one cost machined and sleeved? I'd like to do a big inch P7

We are still talking about lifter valley drainback?

The R2 and R3 blocks had no drainbackbuilt in. It's not the enclosed tunnels fault. On the R blocks you can expose the cam and the oil drains on the spinning assembly if that's OK with the builder. On R5 or the XR blocks you have to open the bottom of the cam tunnel as well with wet sump. The R5's have been converted using 3/4" holes on either side of cam bearings to drain oil.

On R block I drained around distributor and using stock drain holes to drain behind belt drive. Trick is the heads need to drain seperate with that limited drainback around lifter valley. Haven't seen that on R5 or XR. I run R5 with dry sump, haven't needed to experiment this.

If you like swiming in oil, limit your drainback and add oil to keep from starving, NOT. Don't skimp making drainback passages. Wonder if anyone ever thought of plumbing a secondary pickup plumbed to rear of cam tunnel. May be a disaster. May work.

Two stupid questions.....What is the difference between the XR1 and the XR2 aluminum blocks?

And what heads are you guys typically running on these?

XR2=P7 heads

XR1=W7,8,9 heads

XR1 takes the wedge style LA series head

XR2 takes the Dodge P7 head. These blocks were designed primarily to run the P7 heads (As Kent as a very large stock pile of them)

Aluminum block with sleeves is $4800 is my understanding.......

That would be an excellent price......if they can work out the bugs that will be am excellent deal

How's it coming Mike!

This weekend was spent moving one of my neighbors.

Short block is assembled, At this point in time we are flowing the heads through the intake and throttle body, and with the headers. When that is done everything is ready to finish the long block. The next step is to run it on the test stand. Have a few small things to finish on the run stand. I will post the results and a video of start up and it running.
Thanks for all of the input and interest.
Mike

So what's a guy use for a cam in an XR2 P7?

You use a r5 cam and have the snout modified by lsm.

Update, it is on the run stand waiting on the right length pushrods and a few fittings and I hope to have it running.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks
Mike

Looking slick!

man I hope this works..... there are some killer top end deals out there just waiting for an available block.

Wow can't wait for results! You plan on dynoing it or just put in car when it comes off run stand?

Update, it runs, no bad noises, cold oil pressure is 70-90 psi depending on RPM, hot(170F) oil pressure at idle (1150)is 40-45psi. oil pressure goes to 90+ when you bump the throttle. I did run it at 2500 to 3000 for 2 to 3 minutes to make sure the oil was gettingg back to the oil pan. So far the oil is nice and clean no water in the oil. The only thing I am concerned about is the amount of oil going to the top end, not much getting there. There is a leak on the front of the lifter valley cover I think that it's the set screws for the oil passages to the opposite side lifter galley, crank case vacuum is good. I took a video but it sucks so I am not going to post it. I plan on running it and working out some small problems and then go to the dyno.
Mike

hope the good news keeps on coming! the small block world could definitely use it! Any thoughts on the quality of aluminum used?

Glad to hear that it is running! Is it in the car or on a run stand?

Is this block designed more for a dry sump than a
wet sump being that you had to come up with drain
backs... and as asked already... how is the quality of
the alum and porosity(if any)

I have it running on a run stand, as far as the quality of the aluminum it is good there are a few spots that I can think of, one is in the core plug in the lifter valley. I had to tap them out to a larger size 1/2 NPT. We didn't find any porosity when we bored the block out to put the sleeves in and nothing when we decked the block. Yes I think the block is designed for a dry sump oil system.

Did you drill a couple of holes in the dist area(at
the bottom) for your return oil.. I didnt recall seeing
the return pics
EDIT
Thanks for the info and hope it goes well for ya
and makes good power

Did you use a grooved lifter or bushin, so the oil could pass by 100% of the time. Because the oil galley is dead center of the lifter a groove someplace is necessary.. I used a grooved bushing. So that oil will pass by continuously

It is in my opinion🎲🎲 the oil galley should have just broke through into the lifter .or done like a typical r3... not dead center

Keep the updates coming. I'm interested in one if they work.

I drilled and tapped holes in the bottom of the cam valley.

Kind of easy to see here why it would have drainback issues.

Are you saying that the galley drilling goes straight through the lifter bores? As in... The first lifter blocks oil to all the rest!?

Yes sir it does go right through the center of the lifter bore. the lifters (Morell)I an using have a hole in the center so oil can pass through them.

Welcome to MoParts, Mike! So glad to see you getting this new bullet ready for your awesome Dart. Can't waiting to hear it singing through the gears on Drag Week again. Best of luck to you!
I hope that third times a charm for me to get my 'Cuda to Drag Week in 2016. Had a lawn sprinkler Indy BB head put me down for 2015.

Up date, After finding out that the lifter is blocking the oil flow down the lifter galley, That's why I have limited oil flow to the top end. I have dissembled the motor and we are in the process of installing lifter bushings with a slot in them for oil to pass through the lifter and oil the rest of the lifters. The oil that came out of the motor was clean no water in it. The bearing looked good except for one rod that had some stuff go through it.

I don't think a slotted bushing would be in your best interest you need a bushing that has a circular groove so the oil can pass by both sides of the lifter not through it. I will try to post a picture

The bushing on the left allows oil to pass by 100% of the time I think that's what you need that's what I had to do

You can ignore the up and down slot that's for a keyway lifter you just need a typical grooved lifter bushing unless you're running a keyed I had to go to a large lifter to correct the location. And angle... lifter timing would have not been correct if we did not fix that problem hopefully you don't have that issue... most people would never check...

Valuable info WHITEDART.

Thanks for the input, I see what you are saying with the free flow around the bushing to keep the oil flowing to the rest of the lifters. I am running a Morell lifter with the .180 intake offset.

Up date the bushing are installed and honed to size. after a trip to the machine shop for a good cleaning then home to begin reassembly. Will keep you posted.

Looking good!

Can't wait to see it on dyno

nice work who did the machine work. Do you have a pic of both decks I would like to see if he made any changes

The machine work was done by S&K Engine Specialists in Topeka KS.

R.

Update it runs, good oil supply to the top end, cold oil pressure is 70 to 80 psi and hot oil pressure is 35 to 40 psi,if you touch the throttle the oil pressure is 60 plus. No bad noises oil is clean.

NICE!!! 👍

Congrats

Guess I need to get out of the house and make a trip and check it out.Not like its a far drive.LOL.Lookin good Mike.

Thats some good news!

Going to the dyno next or into the car?
Thanks,
Bill

Update, in the car and running, went for a 20 min drive this evening and all is good. Oil pressure is 30 to 35 hot idle and 70 to 80 psi running down the hwy at 70 mph. Oil temp and water temp run 180 deg.

Nice.

You need to stripe my driveway.LOL

Cool. How soon will we see a time slip?

Track will be open in 3 weeks. I hope to make a few passes as long as everything is good.

That's great, good luck, keep us posted.

more pictures!!!

This is the only picture I have of the engine in the car.

O M G!!! Flat hood would fit!!! I'm in love!

This is great news, can you give us a summary of what it took machine wise to get it to work.

Looks great! Thanks for your perseverance on the project, a summary would be sweet

Super Sleeper....

Nice!

I am in the process of working with Kent to solve some of the problems we had with this block. I will keep you posted.

Anyone hear any news on how this worked out ?

I have seen pics on Facebook of it out cruising the street getting ready for drag week.

I wish we knew how things are going...thread kinda disappeared.

Car that cool it should be a requirement for a weekly update!

I noticed around here that no news is bad news

Fwiw mine is working well. I have put on about 400 street miles so far.
Need to get it to the track here ASAP.

How big of motor is yours? What kind of hp level are you running?

Hes been busy with his daughters softball games,sons scouting activities and its been hot as heck around here.Plus the track prep at HPT has sucked this year.I know he made a couple of hits when the PowerTour was at the Kansas Speedway.I havent heard the results.

It's 468ci, 360-1 heads, bullet solid roller, 12.54-1, 1050 dominator.

.... that parked my ride for 4 years! (and I'd give anything for just one more year....)

hear you on the heat. been a miserable summer in the central us.

He also took some time to put together a BB Chebbie motor for a friend of ours.Hes a busy guy.

Sorry guys I have been really busy, I have over 2000 miles driving on the street and highway. I took the car to the Roadkill nights at Kansas Speed Way, it was called pit lane drags. I will say that this thing is WAY more motor than I expected. On the second pass I lost the cam sync and the timing went crazy. I fixed that and made a third pass after that pass it was down 15 to 20 psi oil pressure so I played it safe and pulled the motor to take a look at it. #3,#5 and #7 rod bearing were scuffed not spun, every thing else looks great, mains look like they just came out of the box cam bearing looked good, the worst cylinder on the leak down test was 3% hot. We polished the crank feed it a set of rod bearing and its back together and on the run stand, I hope to fire it tomorrow. I have up graded the oil pump to a Titan pump I have had on the shelf for a few years. I will try and do a better job about keeping you guys updated.

Any et?

Well then, the old combo was good for ten teens at a buck thirty-four. Mr. Crow has never been one for overstating anything either, so I'm looking for good stuff indeed!

No need to apologize. You have been busy.

Update, it runs and all is good, the oil pressure is 50 to 60 hot idle with 10W-30 oil. The new pump is definitely moves more oil. I plan on warming it tomorrow evening and doing a leak down and compression test and cut the oil filter apart, if all looks good then back in the car.

So do you know why you got the rod bearings?

I think it was a combination of things. Losing the cam sync made the timing fire where ever it wanted to, thus beating the rod bearings, none of them fit nice in the rods when I took it apart. And the fact that that on the third pass the new shifter locked between 2nd and 3rd gear sending it way high in the RPM, the high rev limit was turned off. (my fault) I don't blame the block in any way. The last thing is the oil pressure has been dropping about 10 psi above 6000 RPM, that's why we decided to change the pump. According to Titan oil pumps I was cavitating the pump at higher RPM.

Is there a minimum amount of oil you need with those Titan pumps? Thought I read somewhere like 13 quarts or something, but wasn't a Mopar engine

Update, finally got time to put the motor back in the car and driving it. Took it into town this evening and gave the car a good bath an then went out on the highway for a 20 mile drive, temp was 177 to 180, oil pressure was 70 to 75 psi and hot idle oil pressure id 45 to 50 psi. oil is clean. plan on driving it to work tomorrow weather permitting. then I will cut the filter apart and take a look.

Great news. Thanks again for sharing this information

Good luck!!

still on for dragweek??? I'm assuming so....

No sir, not this year, life is really busy right now.

Any plans on going to Heartland Park to test and tune? I'd love to come see the car in action!

Nothing set in stone, but I do want to get out there and make some passes. It feels really good, just being really cautious after kicking the rod out of the other iron motor.

I get it. I like to shake them down thoroughly as well.

I had planned on getting up there this summer but broke a few weekends ago and it's been so hot and humid anyway! It's supposed to be cooler this weekend.

Great job all around on the build. Kudos to you man !!!!

I must have missed seeing it, what are you using for rocker gear? Thanks.

The rockers are Steel T&D ratio is 1.8In and 1.7Ex pushrods are 7/16" Lifters are Morell +.300 tall and .180" offset on the intake.

NICE!

Update, I took it to the track tonight first time since I hit the deer on DW2014, I was planning on making three hits two, 1/8 mile and one 1/4 mile.
The track scales said 3397 lbs., full exhaust and 28x 10.5 slicks the only decent pass it went 10.552@130.67mph. Still having problems with the new shifter hanging up between 2nd and 3rd gear, on the 10.55 pass I still fought that gear change(Slow). Motor seems to be happy good oil pressure all night, oil is clean. Just finished the leak down and compression test all was good, Leak down on all cylinders were below 4% and the compression was all with in 6 psi. I plan on cutting oil filter in the morning. I think there is a lot more left in this motor, my tune was very safe, 30 deg. timing and A/F ratio was rich.

Very nice, Mike. Good to see the car with some real tires on it!!

Whole new learning curve.Congrats. I should have came out.You will get there.

great pics billy. post hijack is this : how are the hubcaps held on ? i really like the look !

I am glad you got it out and had a succesfull outing.

You should come to the Mopar race in Tulsa November 4th(I think) its always a good time and the air is really good.

I made aluminum tabs that stick out and the hub caps bolt on from the side in two places. I used body panel epoxy to glue the tabs on the wheels, Centerline aluminum, I wanted the stock grocery getter look.

you did well with the grocery getter look

Thanks so much for the update...

thank you for the info !

Moparx,
I borrowed the photos from Bob Brehm's facebook page. Bob is the best amateur automotive event photographer in the mid-west!
Bob was a school friend of Doug, KSJ's brother, and he told me at Drag Week that KSJ's only redeeming quality was that he introduced Bob to 69 lawndart!

I have to agree KSJ has an innate knack of introducing cool people to other cool people!! While he is definitely not in that club, he serves as a kind of Social honey bee.

ROFLMAO! Wonder who Bob is riding with next year?Bob and Dougs high school was voted the most"Full of crap" class in Pratt Ks High Schools history.

Awesome! We did the Friday night test and tune and went to the swap meet up there last weekend. You guys have an AWESOME track to play at!

well, regardless if you borrowed those pics, i'm glad you did billy. i have tried a couple of different ways to attach dog dish caps to different wheels with varying results always using the original "snap on" method of retention. my old, cloudy mind never gave it a thought to use a retention screw method, and i just looked at a cap laying around and concluded a nice flat head or button head 8 or 10-32 stainless screw would work perfect for what needs to be done and not be easily observed. so in the end, all you guys helped my old mind with a good kick start. and i am very appreciative of all you guys ! thanks again billy for getting this ball rolling and allowing me to obtain the info i was seeking !

Last update, Went back to the track this evening the car went 10.285 @ 134.83 MPH and 10.224 @ 135.35 MPH, still on the conservative side leaving RPM and shifting. Motor seams happy, clean oil and good pressure.

Good to hear.

"last update"??? hoping that just poor wording, I prefer "latest update" that ride is just sooo cool!

Good to see some more laps on this.

Latest up date, I pulled the motor out of the car it has about4300 miles on it with no problems. Right now it is sitting on a Dyno and we have made 11 pulls, the numbers are not that great but we will keep working on it. the oil pressure is great and it is giving us no sign of problems.

Great news

Sounds like you're headed in the right direction.

Keep us posted

There is a block on racing junk right now 4100.00 new with some machine work done

There is a block on racing junk right now 4100.00 new with some machine work done

That is not in the owners possession apparently still at Ritters....

Hows it going with this project lawndart??

I pulled it last Friday to look it over. It looks Ok, its not great and it not bad, on three of the rod bearing the coating looks like it flaked off on the top of the bearing. The main bearings look good, cam bearing are showing some wear but that's expected with the spring pressures and RPM I am running. Piston skirts looked good nothing to be worried about.

Did you find any power with what you tried on the dyno?

Is it up to your expectations, or will you be looking for more when it goes back together?

Yes I found a little more power on the dyno but not ready to put a hood scoop on the car. I have mixed feeling on my expectations on one hand it ran as good with this new aluminum Ritter block as it did with the R3 block before the come a part. But on the other hand I don't think the motor is running up to its potential. Yes I will be changing things when it goes back together.

Great post man glad to see someone out here making it work... great job

Thank you sir

What a nice build!

Mike,

Have you made a decision on HR Drag Week 2018 yet?

It would be good to see you back.

Thanks for sharing what you learn with us.

Bill

Awesome Thread, I read every page. Great work and detail, thanks for sharing everything.

Watching,