Thought I’d go ahead and throw my current project up on here. A long story short, I built what should be a nice street 354 Gen 1 Hemi a couple of years ago with plans on putting it in a 55-56 Dodge or Plymouth.

CVC by M Patterson, on Flickr

Engine build Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzFdDWr1XcY

Over the last year the degenerative arthritis in my lower back got a lot worse, to the point where I have problems driving a manual transmission car. I decided I needed something that could serve both as a daily driver and a toy. 50s cars draw too much attention for me to feel comfortable leaving it in a box store parking lot while I shop so I starting looking for something a little newer/plainer than the 50s Mopars I’d been looking for as a home for the HEMI. I’d always liked the late 60s A bodies and came across 3 possible candidates. I ended up buying a “street/strip” 68 Valiant 2dr Post car.

valiant 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

valiant 8 by M Patterson, on Flickr

It’s a normally aspirated 11second car that’s far more race car than street car. It has a 508 440 based stroker motor with stealth aluminum heads.

Valiant 5 by M Patterson, on Flickr

The paint has issues, but what sold me on the car was the suspension work that was already done. The car was a rotisserie build and already has sub-frame connectors, been converted to 5 on 4 ½ front suspension and disc brakes. It has an 8 ¾ rear end hung on coil-overs and ladder bars. It currently has 4:10 gears (that were improperly set up) that will be changed out for 4:30s. It’s also been mini-tubbed which is nice for the wide tires.

Rear end by M Patterson, on Flickr

In order to finance the car I ended up selling my 37 Dodge pickup…..neat toy and a fun build but not real practical or comfortable.

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.

That's a pretty clean little parts car! I am heading out to San Diego from Oklahoma this weekend to get my 69 Valiant. I had it in a body shop and made the mistake of feeding them money (15k) before it was done and as a result I have a stripped out Valiant that looks worse than your red car. I almost want to leave it out there but it's the last thing I have to move from leaving there in Jan 2023.

If you ever want to part with it let me know!

".....I had it in a body shop and made the mistake of feeding them money......"

Yeah I made that mistake once on another car. Finally got all my parts back, but the paint job was so bad I sanded it back own and redid it myself. It actually came out pretty nice but the year in body shop purgatory is something I never want to go thru again.

As far as the parts car, the current plan is to finish the mock-up, then I'll probably swap the K frames between the 2 cars. The Green car has appears to have an aftermarket K frame with spool mounts and I'm building the mounts for the HEMI off the 6 cyl mounts in the red car. Once I get to that point, I'm looking at packaging the red body with the left over parts from the green car including the engine and transmission and see if I can find someone who wants to build a race car to get rid of everything at once.

If I was a bit younger and in better shape I'd probably keep it and throw a straight axle under the front with some fender well headers and turn it into a gasser LOL.

Well, you may have a buyer when that time comes!

I was living in San Diego. In 2018 I got my VA disability figured out and got a back payment and a monthly amount. I decided with my new found extra income I would build my dream car. They quickly tore it down, I took the suspension home and put it together using a spool k-frame and all the Firm Feel and other go fast suspension pieces. Well, they quit on it a few weeks later and would only work on it when I raised heck every couple of months.
Short story is 4.5 years later, $15,500 later, a move from CA to OK, I almost don't even want to spend the diesel money to go pick up the shell of the 69 Valiant and the few associated parts. I'm just sick about it and only picking it up from them so they see I still care. I feel like abandoning the car and putting a bullet in my head.

BTW, I have just been diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis so I know all about the back pain. I'm only 43 and only have manual vehicles and I'm also thinking about automatics. Life sucks, nobody cares, and it only gets worse.

Sounds like we have a bit in common. I retired from the Army after 20 years. The initial VA evaluation after I retired was 20% disabled. Over the years as the degenerative arthritis got worse I’ve been reevaluated a couple of times. The last evaluation was in Oct and the rating went to 50% …….of course their holding the payments and back pay till they do an audit.

My 2 favorite cars are my 57 Plymouth with a 4 speed and a little Dodge Ram 50 I put a Small Block Chevy and 5 speed in a few years ago. Love driving both of them……unfortunately I can’t drive either, especially in town.

As far as automatics go I ended up really liking Mopar’s 46 RH/RE. The OD lets you get way with a lot deeper gear than you can with a non-overdrive unit. I was running one in my 37 Dodge truck with 4.6 gears and it would comfortably cruise at 75 MPH. Unfortunately they are a SB bolt pattern so you would need something like an ultra bell to mate it to a BB. There are also trans tunnel mods required to fit it in an A body (that I’m planning covering in this thread).

I don't want to linger on the Veteran thing but if you get help with your claim through a Veteran Service Organization they can surely help with the process and even appeal the rating. DAV is a big one but they are cumbersome and take time and more of your involvement. I am working with a small group called Dale K. Graham Foundation. An important note is that when you start the claim process with a VSO you have to stick with them. Once the process is final you can switch VSO's if you want to start a new claim or appeal.You just can't switch VSO's in the middle of a claim.

Back to the Valiants, I think yours is a radical. Only way I can see it getting better is doing a straight axle front. These cars are almost almost like an AWB from the factory, just need to straight axle it an jack it up! Have you thought about the 8HP80 or 70? It's in just about every LX and Ram platform from the last decade or so. Very tough and great gearing. I know you're probably so far down the path your'e on to change the transmission plan.

My son and I are going to leave for SD tomorrow or Saturday. I usually drop down from I-40 and go through Payson to PHX to SD. Are you on that route? I would love to see your projects and meet you. The Flagstaff to PHX route is nearly the same so we could go that route as well I just like stopping in Payson to trout fish at Christopher Creek.

John, your correct I'm pretty set on the 46RH as I already have a rebuilt one on hand along with the aftermarket cross member to install it. I'm also familiar with them having used one in the 37 Dodge.

In my mind the boxy style of the 68-69 Valiant 2 door sedans lend themselves very well to a straight axle style Gasser build (there are a couple videos of such builds on You Tube). The problem with me building one is I'd need a box to climb up in to it with my back in it's current shape LOL. Maybe the next owner can built the parts car, at least I saved it from it's planned fate by the previous owner, which was to swap in an LS motor.

By the way I sent you a PM.

The darn weather and my back have pretty much been keeping me out of the shop for the last couple of weeks. Rather than sit around and wait for better weather I started on a couple of small projects that I would normally do much later in the in the process. One of those projects was to figure out the wiring for the MSD 6A and backup Chrysler Electric Control Unit (ECU).

After I build a car the big test is usually to drive it from Arizona to Illinois and back (normally around 4000 miles or so), something I hope to do in the Valiant. About half of the trip is done at night and anybody who has driven through the Southwest knows there are section of the trip where there is nothing for miles and miles but miles and miles. I usually carry a box of “just in case” parts with me, the usual things like belts, hoses, bulbs and fuses ect ect. I also carry things that might be not be on the local parts store shelf that would a show stopper if I couldn’t find a replacement. Sitting in a motel in downtown nowhere for a day or 2 while I wait on something to be shipped in is not fun so I usually also carry a spare complete HEMI distributor, wiper motor and switch, alternator (1 wire 10SI) etc.

I like running a MSD 6A on these old HEMIs (which I have convert to Chrysler Electronic Ignition), it really helps with cold starts and drivability as the engine warms up. To me the 6A boxes are a bit pricey just to have one sitting in a box in the trunk “in case”, their also PIA to change out along the side of the road at 3AM. The compromise I came up with on my 57 Plymouth was to mount and wire both the MSD box and a Chrysler Electronic Ignition Module to separate plugs that can be connected to the cars wiring harness. If the 6A box goes out it’s a simple matter to unplug it from the wiring harness and plug in the Chrysler module. I’d usually run the car on the Chrysler module once in a while just to make sure there are no issues if I ever needed to use it.

I built the 57 Plymouth almost 20 years ago and used a 6AL box. I’m using a new 6A box on the Valiant and there is a bit of difference in the wiring between the 2 so I basically had to redo my wiring diagram. Of course the wiring on the Chrysler ECU hasn’t changed in decades, although I have noticed there have been changes in the color coding of the wiring harness that plugs into ECU depending on where you get the harness from. You might also notice that there are some circuits on my diagrams that don’t show a color code. That’s because I haven’t built the wiring harness yet and the color(s) I use will depend on what wire I have on hand (I’ll pencil in the color on my copy of the diagram once I get it all wired into the car).

These are the wiring diagrams for the 6A box and Chrysler ECU I started with.

wiring MSD CHRY org by M Patterson, on Flickr

And these are the diagrams that show the 6A and Chrysler ECU wired to the 8 pin plugs I used. I actually only needed a 7 pin plug but 8 pin plugs seem to be a bit easier to find.

wiring MSD CHRY 8 by M Patterson, on Flickr

Finally the wiring harness plug that connects either the 6A or Chrysler ECU to the cars harness.

Wiring Harness by M Patterson, on Flickr

If someone decides to use this as a guide for building a backup ECU system keep in mind IT IS ONLY A GUIDE. There are differences in the wiring between the 6A box I’m using and other MSD boxes depending on the model and probably age. As I noted there are also differences in the wiring color coding on the Chrysler ECU plugs depending on where you source them from. From my experience the wiring/plug that goes into the distributor have always been orange and black wires, but you never know what’s out there in the aftermarket if you use a replacement pickup assembly. Basically it’s up to you to verify the wiring for your specific car/components.

Anyway for me it’s worth the extra effort to go I through if for nothing else than just for the peace of mind when I driving far away from home and shop. It was also a good mind exercise on a cold rainy day LOL.

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It’s finally warmed up a bit in the last couple of weeks and my backs doing a bit better now so my grandson’s been coming over to give me a hand on the car. We spent yesterday clearance the transmission tunnel for the overdrive unit on the red car (we’ll have to duplicate this on the green car but wanted to see what we we’re in for and needed it done to get everything in straight so I can finish building the motor mounts).

OD 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


By this afternoon we pretty much had it figured out and the transmission is resting on the USTC 46RH crossmember.

OD 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

We have a bit more trimming to do and I’ll need to weld some flat-stock in to gain the strength back before we call it good. We were able to adjust the engine bit more. We’re not quite there yet but we’re close to getting the engine and transmission to the sweet spot they will live at.


A while back I had looked at the dash/gauge cluster in the Green car. It might have been OK when the car was mostly on the strip, but left a bit to be desired for something that gets driven on the street on a regular basis. The factory cluster behind the tach actually looks pretty nice, it even looks like they installed new gauges in it…..unfortunately nothing appears to be hooked up.

68 Cluster 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr

Oh well that’s what I built a parts car for. I didn’t mind using this for a basis to an aftermarket gauge cluster. And I could pretty much just work at the bench when my back bothered me.

68 Cluster 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

I already had the speedometer, tach and 1 ½” gauge trio. I could not find a 1 ½” fuel gauge however and finally settled on a 2” gauge. Although not exactly the placement I would have liked had I found a 1 ½” fuel gauge this is what I came up with.


68 cluster 3 by M Patterson, on Flickr


I’m using the original locations for the headlights, wipers and hazard flashers (plus added a new switch for the fuel pumps) so I needed a portion of the original back plate.

68 dash 4 by M Patterson, on Flickr

I’ve still got a little to do/re-do on it but overall I’m pretty happy with it.

z GC by M Patterson, on Flickr

Over the weekend we got finally got the transmission located in the transmission tunnel. We had run into an issue with a boss located on the OD housing that wouldn’t allow the transmission to be centered where it needed to be. After talking to my friend at the transmission shop that I had borrowed the case from I found out that on the 46 RHs, the boss really didn’t really serve a purpose, it was cast into the case but was really just a blind hole that was plugged at the end. On the 46Res, the hole is threaded for and an electrical connector threads into the boss. I didn’t need to trim much, just the corner off of it.

z OD int 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

That gave us just enough to do the trick and get the transmission to fit on the aftermarket crossmember.

OD Trim by M Patterson, on Flickr

The transmission is pretty much dictating the location of the motor. Back any further and we start running into transmission tunnel interference issues. Forward and we’ll run into fan/radiator issues.

Early on in the project I ordered a set of Schumacher small block to /6 K member A body conversion mounts. I knew these were a Bolt-on to the 1st Gen Hemi and I figured and I figured it would give me a head start on building the mounts rather than starting from scratch.

When we set the motor down it’s about an inch too far forward to allow the motor mounts to fit into the holes in the frame mount (we cut the bottom studs off mounts for test fitting……no big deal the mounts are available and cheap). Anyway set down on the mounts the engine centers into the body where it belongs and if it wasn’t for the wide heads would be in a good location. As it is looks like the motor will have to be raised a bit, both for head and exhaust clearance. And that’s where we stopped on Sunday.

S mounts by M Patterson, on Flickr

Yesterday it was back to finishing up the gauge cluster. I had gotten the headlight and wiper switches in it and overall was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

z dash d by M Patterson, on Flickr

I have 2 grandsons, the oldest one is out on his own and is a mechanic now, actually turning into a pretty good one. He’s been coming over on Sundays and helping me with those things that my back won’t let me do. I don’t think the younger grandson (13 yo) will ever be a mechanic, his interests lie in different directions (but you never know). He has shown an interest in electronics however. I’ve been working on that a bit with him just the DC stuff right now. He’s progressed where he can do wiring diagrams so yesterday we started on wiring the gauge cluster.


z aust wiring by M Patterson, on Flickr

It was a lot of repetitious work but for his first time he did pretty good. We bench tested everything we could (everything but the tach and speedometer which needs a running engine/transducer connected to a driving car for) and everything works as it should. Actually seeing things light up and work was probably the best part for him LOL.

z AW2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

The wiring could stand to be bit neater but it’s functional.

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With the transmission in place we could start on the motor mounts and exhaust. I had 3 sets of factory manifolds (1 pair of 4 bolt flange truck manifolds, 2 pair of 55-56 manifolds) and a set of shorty headers.

exhaust by M Patterson, on Flickr


We tried the shorty heads first and as I suspected it was no way/no how. Next was the 4 bolt truck manifolds (the ones I really wanted to use). No matter what we did we just couldn’t get the exhaust pipe flange to clear the steering box.

We finally tried a pair of the 55-56 passenger car manifolds. It’s tight but they do clear adequately. I’d really wanted to use the truck manifolds because of the 2 ½” exhaust outlet and the 55-56 manifolds only have a 2” outlet. That being said I ran a pair of the 55-56 manifolds on the 354 (364 CI with the overbore) in my 57 Plymouth. Even with the dual quads and 4 speed the engine always pulled strong with no issues. Frankly custom building a set of headers would not be too hard and if it weren’t for my back I’d probably do it. As it is I can live with trading off the HP I’m leaving on the table for the extra time I can use to get the car on the road.

In the process of fitting the exhaust we ended up raising the engine a bit.

install 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


Besides giving the exhaust clearance we needed, it also allows enough clearance to run the aluminum valve covers I want to use. I’d already decided I was going to use an aftermarket AC/Heat combination evaporator under the dash (this works well as there is currently no heater in the green car and the fire wall hole for the blower motor was filled when the car was built). The master cylinder won’t be an issue as I have the brackets to raise it above the valve covers. There is adequate clearance to get the distributor in and out under the wiper motor. I may actually be able to run the steering shaft on a straight shot to the steering gear, but if not, it won’t be too difficult to build a 2 piece shaft with U joints to get the steering hooked up.

Next was to tack the frame mounts together, of course that was when the welder started to act up so the welds aren’t real pretty but as we’re going to remove the K member anyway I’ll be able to do some grinding and final welding before it goes into the green car.

After we got the mounts tacked in we decided to take a break from the car and start getting the 354 on the engine stand ready to install in the Green car.

The engine had a very minor oil leak from the valley cover and of course the manifold had to come off to access the bolts. The leak appeared to be oil wicking up around the treads on one of the bolts.

At some point I am still looking at trying aftermarket EFI on the car (after I get a few thousand miles on the motor). I’ve been leaning towards the Holley Sniper, and reading some of the forums on them it appears that there is an issue getting a good idle out of them with if you’re using a dual plane manifold with a full-length divider. The cure appears to be milling the divider down. Now was a good time to do this so it went over to the machine shop to have about 3/8” removed.


HHI2 by M Patterson, on Flickr



divider by M Patterson, on Flickr


When the manifold came back from the machine shop I decided to set it on the mock-up engine and see where I was going to be as far as hood clearance went. The Hot Heads intake is tall and even before we raised the engine I suspected we’d need a hood scoop of some kind. With the engine raised it will be mandatory …….and would require a taller scoop than I would like to use.


zz HR by M Patterson, on Flickr



I had a factory single 4 BBl intake laying around so I tried that one. It’s better (a bit over an inch lower), and push come to shove I can use that one with a couple of minor modifications.


zz Factotry by M Patterson, on Flickr



The lowest intakes I’m aware of are the 57-58 392 dual Quad units. That with a dropped base air cleaner may even let me use the stock hood without a scoop. I started putting the word out that I’m hunting for one of those or a Weiand 7263 which appears to be basically an aluminum copy of the factory intake.

DQS by M Patterson, on Flickr

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Then it was getting the engine off the stand to change out the rear sump pan for the center sump 392 pan. The pans aren’t reproduced so I had to find a good used one. The fortunately that wasn’t too hard.

zz Pans by M Patterson, on Flickr


Unfortunately the pickup is no longer available new, and even decent used ones are hard to find. The profile of the 392 pan is similar to the 64 and up small block pans. I’m also using one of Hot Heads High Volume oil pumps (a modified 340 oil pump with a spacer). The SB pickups are readily available new I decided to see if that could be made to work.

pickup by M Patterson, on Flickr

Turns out it actually fits pretty well.

zz PU 3 by M Patterson, on Flickr

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You down near Sierra Vista area by chance.?

Yeah I am.

I found an intake……small world, but the guy I bought it from is the same one I got a 392 oil pan from last fall. He had a Wieand WC2QE which was the one produced before Holley bought out Weiand. He was more than fair on the price so we made a deal on it. As I figured, it’s the lowest of the 3 intakes.

DC1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


DC2 by M Patterson, on Flickr


I had originally thought about running the pair 550 AFBs I have, but I had shelved them in favor of the pair of 650 AFBs because of how much better the old 57 ran with the bigger carbs. This 354 is built pretty close in specs to the one in the 57 so I ordered a second 650 AVS2 to go with one I already have.

Building fuel lines and linkage was pretty straight forward.


intake carbs by M Patterson, on Flickr



That left starting on the air cleaner. Modifying the base got it reasonably low, and for now this is the way it sits. I’m going to have to wait to finalize it until we get the engine in the car and a hood back on (I may run into wiper motor interference with it as far back as it is). I can possibly go 1 to 1½” lower by changing out the top and dropping the base a bit more but that remains to be seen.


DQ AC by M Patterson, on Flickr


The big project for today was to get the mock-up motor and trans out of the car and get the K member out. The next few day will probably involve final welding the mounts and grinding the mounts, cleaning and painting it to get it ready to go in the green car.


K Member by M Patterson, on Flickr



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I got the K member cleaned and painted last week, so that’s ready for next weekend.

Hemi K member by M Patterson, on Flickr


Yesterday my grandson and I actually started on the Green Valiant. Turned into a long day but by the end of it we had an empty engine bay.


EB by M Patterson, on Flickr


And the 508 and torqueflite sitting on the engine cart.


508 by M Patterson, on Flickr


As expected fighting the headers to get the engine out was the biggest issue and a giant PIA. Fortunately, the HEMI swap should be a lot easier. Having already done the mock-up will save a bunch of time when we start putting the car back together. I’m sure glad we won’t have to fight those headers when we put the car back together…….so is my Grandson LOL.


A body BB by M Patterson, on Flickr


With the car up in the air I was able to get the casting number off the carrier and order a set of gears. I ordered 4.30s which with the overdrive will have an effective ratio of 2.97. I’ll probably spend the rest of the week cleaning and sorting parts so I can put the parts car and parts up for sale in the next couple of weeks.



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Nice project! I wish my grandson would help me...

Thanks tboomer it’s been enjoyable so far. I’m lucky to have the 2 Grandsons I have. The older one who comes over to help on Sundays has been a big help. He’s been following me out the shop since he was old enough to walk and always enjoyed working with his hands. He’s actually turned into a pretty good mechanic….he’s doing it for a living now. I think one of the reasons he’s so willing to help on this one is he knows it will be the last car I build and I’m glad he and his brother are a part of it.

We got the K members changed over. The BB K member now resides in the red car so that’s back to being a roller now and is about ready to be rolled out of the shop and put up for sale.

z RC2 by M Patterson, on Flickr


One of the main reasons I bought the Green car was that the suspension work had already been done and it would be one less thing I would need to work over. I really figured that with the stroker BB in the engine bay that the torsion bars would have been changed over for heavier ones……nope. When we got the engine out and I could get in there to measure the torsion bars it turns out they were 6 Cyl bars. I decided on a new pair of PST “103” bars and while I was at it also added one of their 20:1 ratio steering boxes to the cart (the steering box in the green car had a little slop in it, but plenty of adjustment. Just for peace of mind I wanted a new one because if there did turn out to be issues with the box it would be a real job to change out once the HEMI was installed. With the new parts in hand the modified K member was installed in the green car.


Z GC by M Patterson, on Flickr


While I was waiting on the parts to come in, I started removing some of the stuff that I won’t be using on the green car and will sell along with the red body. When they wired the car they had installed the wiring for a Terminator EFI system…..I don’t know if they actually tried the unit or not but I won’t be using it, so out that came. I’m also going to remount the battery back under the hood so the cables for the trunk mounted battery also came out.

The hood that was on the green car is also going with the red car so we changed that over along with changing out the deck lids…..(saves me from having to fill the for the power switch that they had on the car).

z RC by M Patterson, on Flickr

With the holiday coming up it looks like a short week, but down times a good thing.

Looks like fun.

Looking forward to seeing the finished car running around