In addition to the green car I also bought another 68 Valiant 2dr post car for parts. When they were new the only difference between the 2 cars is the green car came out of Michigan and the red car was built in California. This will give me a stock hood and I’ll probably also use the trunk lid. It also gives me a heater, gas tank hardware for when I replace the fuel cell, and a bunch of little odds and ends you always seem to need.

1968 PC by M Patterson, on Flickr

After thinking and planning for a little while I’ve decided to do the engine/transmission mock-up on the red parts car so I can leave the green car complete and moving under its own power while I figure everything out.

Fortunately I had a builder Hemi block and heads I could use for the mock-up and was able to borrow and empty 46RH case and overdrive housing from a friend at the transmission shop.

mock up parts by M Patterson, on Flickr

I When I built the HEMI that will be going into the green car I used a rear sump pan…..unfortunately to clear the cross member drag link that needs to be changed to a center sump pan (57-58 392 Hemi and 354 Poly only). I did manage to find one, not real cheap but still easier than building one.

The old Hemi just fits and I think I have the motor mounts pretty much figured out. I still need to crawl back under the car and do some trans tunnel modifications to properly fit the 46RH.

MU2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

The last issue will likely be exhaust. I have a few different options on hand to try (manifolds and headers), but it might come down to building custom headers to clear the steering box.

Anyway that was where I left off when the weather turned cold and it became too painful to work in the shop. Now that it’s warming up again it looks like I’ll get a chance to get back to work on it again.