ripped the heart out of it today

[charge-it]

Today we removed the big bad 318 out of the 68 Charger. Pulled off the bellhousing and found that a crack in it had been welded up at one time. The engine compartment is a mess, the engine wiring harness is a rats nest, but best of all, no rust. Got plenty to do now. Enjoy the pics and say goodbye to the 318, I gave away the original short block and heads from this 68 and hopefully they will be outta here asap!

[68RT4ME]

Ooooooowww, Hands about to get really dirty  . Good luck with the project.

[Brock Samson]

good goin. i had that same LD4B intake on my rebuilt 318 too...
well i guess ya picked the right time of year to get down 'n dirty... funny logo on those valve covers, I've never seen them/that before..
keep us apprised... 

[charge-it]

Erson used to sell cams back in the day. I`m not sure if they are still in business today. Supposedly they were a popular performance company at one time. I was told this motor has one of those hot Erson cams in it as well.

[Brock Samson]

http://www.erson-cams.com/   

[Khyron]

Good luck man! and stay motivated, you've got as fun road ahead of you 

[charge-it]

Been down this road before, first with my 70 GTX and then with my 64 Sport Fury. This one is going to be a Bullitt clone and I would also like to build a Dirty Mary Crazy Larry clone but my feeling is this will be my last full blown resto. It`s just getting too expensive...I love your DMCL 69, I want one!

[charge-it]

Good luck man! and stay motivated, you've got as fun road ahead of you 

Your avatar is one of the best I`ve ever seen! SNAP!!!

[Chatt69chgr]

Not sure what your drivetrain plan is for the 68 but there are some good parts on the 318 you can use if you going the big block route.  For one, the fan (not the fan clutch) is the same one used on the 440 4-speed.  And the early model Saginaw power steering pump is very hard to find.  All they sell now is the later type with the egg shaped reservoir.  You can get a rebuild kit for the pump at Advance Auto.  The housing can be cleaned up and painted to look new.  The metal cap on the power steering pump is hard to find too.  I'd save all the nuts and bolts also.  Other than that, the rest is more or less boat anchor.  I have heard that the crank in these is a forged steel crank that was supposedly the same as in a 340 but since you can't find 340 blocks and most just use a 360 in small block applications, the crank probably isn't much good either.

[DukesofHoward]

You should just wipe those valve covers off and hang 'em on the garage wall. You know...for atmosphere.

[charge-it]

Not sure what your drivetrain plan is for the 68 but there are some good parts on the 318 you can use if you going the big block route.  For one, the fan (not the fan clutch) is the same one used on the 440 4-speed.  And the early model Saginaw power steering pump is very hard to find.  All they sell now is the later type with the egg shaped reservoir.  You can get a rebuild kit for the pump at Advance Auto.  The housing can be cleaned up and painted to look new.  The metal cap on the power steering pump is hard to find too.  I'd save all the nuts and bolts also.  Other than that, the rest is more or less boat anchor.  I have heard that the crank in these is a forged steel crank that was supposedly the same as in a 340 but since you can't find 340 blocks and most just use a 360 in small block applications, the crank probably isn't much good either.

I saved the carb, intake, angled oil filter adaptor, the distributor, alternator, p.s. pump, water pump pulley, oil sending unit, special intake fitting for power brakes and headilghts, and a few other trinkets. The fan was a aftermarket flex fan but I have a nice original 215 fan and correct fan clutch. I have a nice low mileage 440 bring rebuilt so I gave the rest of the 318 to friend. The only thing I`m missing is a nice original two groove crankshaft pulley. My 68 is going to be triple black and I have been collecting parts for over two years now. I will be selling off any any and all of my 20 year collection of Mopar parts to help pay for this project. If I have a part and it isn`t going to be used for this project it`s outta here. I might reconsider keeping the valve covers and use them for garage wall art.