Well, looking at the MATS website, there seems to be a cruise going to the event on Thursday that leaves from the Glendora Dodge Dealership 5 miles from my house all the way to Vegas. So, that was my plan of action to go to the event. If something goes wrong and I am unsure of fixing it, someone may have some nohow or someone they know to get it to Vegas.

Sammy
I have not been following every post on this thread but it sure seems like Hotchkis is jacking you around with the time it is taking. I had my mechanic install a complete TVS in my 69Dart and he did it ALL in 4 days in between all the other bread and butter shop work he had going on...a one man shop! I see some other stuff going on and I don't know what all it is but it still seems like it has been going on for a loooooong time!

Well, I put together the entire TVS minus the sway bars and subframe connectors before I took it to them. What has taken most of 6 months has been making seat brackets, installing a steering wheel, and making a 6-point cage. What I'm going to have them do next is install the 408 and T56, a borgeson steering box, radiator, and other necessities.

I don't want to talk down about Hotchkis because the quality of their work is amazing, but their priorities seem to favor quick customer product installations, the boss's projects, and then my car. My Dart is the lowest tiki-man on the totem pole. Just look at their Facebook page and you won't see a single picture or reference of my car unless it's far in the background. If I were them, I'd be pretty tired rolling my Dart in and out of the shop every day.

Once I get my Dart back, there is no way in hell it is ever going to any shop again. It cost way too much money in labor and takes way too much time (granted if I were to do an engine and T56 swap, it would have probably taken me 5 years to do). Again, Hotchkis does great work but the turnaround time has been awful. Right now, they're just waiting on the engine which will be done in a week and a half so hopefully they can kick it into gear and finish the car.

Had a long day today. Drove all the way out to Indio to pick up the engine and drove all the way back to Santa Fe Springs to drop it off at Hotchkis. Engine looks real good and Brian was great to talk to. It's a 408 making 523 hp @ 6000 rpm and 522 ft lbs of torque at 4500 rpm.

Crank: Scat 4340 4"
Rods: Scat 4340 I-beams 6.123"
Pistons: Icon Forged Dish 4.030"
Camshaft: Custom Hydraulic Rollers by Comp Cam
Lifters: Morel
Timing Set: Double Roller
Oil Pump-Pickup-Pan: Milodon Road Race Pan and Pickup with Melling Pump

Heads: Engine Quest/IMM
Intake Valves: 2.02
Exhaust Valves: 1.60"
Rocker Arms: 1.6 Chromoly
Intake: Port-Matched Edelbrock LD4B
Carb: Holley 850 DP
Timing: 34 deg

Headers: TTI shorties

Dyno Sheets:

I talked to the guys at Hotchkis and really pushed them for that late-February date. They said, if anything mid-March and they'd try their best to get me at Muscle Cars at the strip.

Why did you go with the LD4B? Wouldn't a LD340 or an Airgap been better. Runners in the LD4B awful small.

It's what I had at the time of the drop off and it was cheaper to port-matched. I figured it would be the largest restricter. Otherwise, I would have went with the Airgap. I was planning on saving the LD4B for a 273 build.

What are your cam specs?

He didn't give them to me. It just says "custom" on the build sheet. Give Brian a call and see if he'll give it out. All he said is it's going to be pretty lopey and aggressive and will idle a little hard on warm up, but it when it's warm, it will start right up.

Sounds like my Dart 340 cam, I was beginning to think I was tuning wrong for when cold. It was in there when I got the car so I do not know what is, but it sure runs good when warmed up:) I found some old Isky boxes in trunk but nothing with cam #s just retainers and springs. I put a new timing chain on just because I wanted fresh but I saw no #s on front of cam and had stock chain and sprockets still.

I bet your will be a runner for sure also.

I talked to them again today, applying that pressure. Well, the '61 El Camino that has been in the shop for about a month or so was getting aligned today and should be done. However, the boss's Barracuda isn't done yet and won't be done till next Monday. They said, starting a week from Tuesday they'll get back on it. I told them to get on it. They're already ordering the PS box and radiator (of course charging more money). At this rate, there's no way the car is making it to MCATS. They still have to finish off a couple of the tubes in the side members of the cage. If anything, I may make it to Willow Springs for Spring Fling.

Squeaky wheels get grease Sammy. Go tell the owner you will be posting on these sites the kind of service you have received and see if he responds.

I'm going to give them a couple weeks to give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they start working on my car again. I'm not the kind of guy who's just going to blaze someone on the internet. But people are already noticing based off of my threads that this is taking way too long.

Well, things are starting to move now.

Sure seems like lack of service.. I have mentioned the same thing to Samy about squeaky wheel...

They sure are dragging their feet working on his car IMO and can't imagine it would encourage any one else reading this to want to jump up and have them do a project on their car as well.

Is this the same outfit that sells suspension systems? If this is an example of their business practices I'd think twice before I put my car into a hostage situation.

Sweet baby Jesus, you're gonna enjoy it when you push the loud pedal in that car. I follow your build and enjoy the time you take documenting it all. You and Al V over at FABO and his 69 GTS do a great job. Too bad about the car-shop purgatory. I guess it's not just a paint and body thing...

Good luck - George

You car became so much MORE than what you started to build...awesome. Sure hope you get it for Willow Springs, I am really looking forward to seeing how it handles there.

Who's AI V? I don't think I've spotted that thread.