Swapping to a BB or am I cursed?

[71mopar383]

My 71 was orginally a 318/904 that i had built up.  Then went to a 340 which I put that motor thru hell I mean hell and back and toward the end of its life it might have been a pain in the a$$ but it would still run like a bat out of hell when you hammered down.  So everyone said that thing needs a BB so I started converting it over my 1st block a 440 was a dud, 2nd one had a crack dn the side but good brackets and tranny.  3rd attempt was supposed to be a 383 ended up a 361 I kept the crank and heads and found a 400 sb that was a warranty exchange mtr never been in a car.  So here I go this was 2000-2001 so stroker kits were still expensive so I put the steel 361 crank and rods in and start the build.  Ive had no luck the head have been of 4 or five times for various problems, whiped out the 1st cam, intake didnt fit tranny problems.  I finally got to drive it dn the street in 2005 twice before we realized it was losing water from the head where the machine shop nicked the waterjacked when they ported the heads o and btw they had a mixup while they were in there and shaved .020 off of them.  So far up to this point it might have a mile on the motor when it wont go into 3rd any more running up the street to the beer store.  Fast forward to 2009 I rebuild the tranny put in a new stall get it all back together fire it up for the 1st time in 3 yrs(had daughter #2 in 06) go around the block no 3rd still now it looks like the lokar kickdown cable is a pos and maybe it didnt need a rebuild just a different cable..I had actually thought tonight as I sit here fuming maybe I should pull out my BB and go find me a nice SB cause I swear I didnt have this much bad luck and its not like its a cheapo setup MSD, Milidon, MP, Edelbrock, KB it has some good stuff a lot better than the 340 I built in 93 when I was 18.  And I had no clue then, I've now become the joke look there's Jay's car he's been working on it for 3 days now but is afraid to start it cause right now he thinks it fixed and once he starts it something else will be wrong.  Sorry for the rant its just been a beating 

[elacruze]

Boy this brings back some memories.
I remember being so excited about getting my headers in, that I forgot to reinstall the dipstick tube. Went to the neighbor to show it off, then had to spend the weekend scrubbing the oil out of his concrete driveway.

I've come to the point now that after a project is finished and I'm anxious to take it out on a shakedown cruise, I force myself to spend a day going over everything and put the test off for at least 24 hours. Something always presents itself that would likely have been a problem. Every part you install has a function and if you trust the makers, you're sure to be disappointed eventually. Confirm every function.

The Devil's in the Details.