No Replacement for Displacement

After the brakes were installed, I set out to find something fierce for the engine bay. Originally, I was content with a small but reliable 318cid engine with a two-barrel carburetor. It wouldn't quite strike fear into the hearts of the local gearheads, but they were cheap and plentiful. But after surfing the local Craigslist ads for months, I still hadn't found one for the right price. Luckily, my buddy 5.9ANDY from www.jeepforum.com asked me if I wanted this old 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Magnum long block of his. After a bout with low compression, Andy gave up and pulled another 5.9L to replace it.


Like any red-blooded American gear-head, I jumped at the chance of a free long block, and Andy brought it over last July. Since then, this project has consumed my dollars, time, and focus.

I started out with the build by getting the block hot-tanked, machined, and the rotating assembly assembled inside the block.


The rotating assembly consists of the stock crank, .010 oversized main and rod bearings with cam bearings from Clevite, stock connecting rods, and pins and pistons from Speed-Pro. The gaskets are a Fel-Pro set, and the hi-volume oil pump is from Melling. The distributor, electronic ignition module, distributor drive shaft, timing cover and oil pan and pickup are all Mopar Performance pieces, while the timing set is from Comp Cams. The mechanical fuel pump is a Carter unit from NAPA Auto Parts, and the harmonic balancer is from Bouchillon Performance.

The camshaft is a Hughes Engines custom-grind. The valve springs and retainers are also from Hughes. The cylinder heads are discontinued Racing Head Services Magnum heads, boasting a new casting (stock heads are prone to cracking) and larger intake runners.

Smaller 'bling' parts include a billet aluminum alternator bracket from Summit Racing, a Milodon braided-stainless steel engine dipstick tube, and a Mopar Performance aluminum right-angle oil filter adapter. The entire thing will rest on the Schumacher Creative Services engine-swap motor mounts.

Only a few more items to purchase before I can stuff this between the Demon's framerails.

Holding Those Horses

As many people know, vehicular safety wasn't Detroit's number one concern in 1971. Big motors were shoehorned into small cars to provide the giddy-up, but with 10-inch standard drum brakes fore and aft, it took a country-mile to come to a stop. Now, being that my original intention was an engine swap in the form of a V8 of some sort, and with traffic the way it is nowadays, I decided that some stopping power was necessary. Thus, I gave Magnumforce Race Car Fabrications a call, and they hooked me up with their A-Body disc brake upgrade kit.


Because 1967-72 A-Bodies (Darts, Valiants, Dusters, Demons) had smaller ball joints than later model cars, it was necessary to purchase upper control arms with larger ball joints in them, in order to use the Mustang II disc brake spindles that also came with the kit.

Magnumforce also makes a kit for 1967-72 stock drum brake spindles, but it means retaining the stock 5x4" wheel bolt pattern on the front wheels; it's useful for those who want to retain stock appearances, but the more common 5x4.5" 'big bolt pattern' is more useful for those looking to change wheels, increase wheel size, or gain brake caliper clearance for their brakes.

The tear-down and install procedures were fairly easy to follow, and each procedure only took a couple hours for both sides. After it was done, I had nice shiny disc brakes to show for it.


With these 11.75"-inch vented rotors, four-piston calipers, and carbon brake pads, I was ready to hold back the horsepower that is still to come.

How fast am I going?!

This is usually not something you want to say to yourself while operating a motor vehicle (especially within sight of law enforcement), but this was indeed something that I uttered to myself while driving around in the newly-mobile Demon. No, I didn't receive a speeding ticket or run a red light; I literally had no functioning speedometer. So my first step in rebuilding the car was to replace the instrument panel.

Not only did I have no way of confirming my speed while behind the wheel, but other instruments, such as the fuel level and water temperature gauges, also didn't work. So I set about gathering parts for an instrument replacement.

First, because the stock instrument cluster itself was cracking, I made a call to Redline Gauge Works in Santa Clarita, CA, who make an awesome gauge panel for Dodge and Plymouth A-Bodies. I purchased mine in feaux-carbon fiber. Then I filled the panel with instruments from Auto Meter's Designer Black II line and LED indicator lights from Detroit Speed and Engineering.


Following the factory instrument wiring harness, I wired the entire instrument panel and installed it in place of the stock cluster.

Getting 'er Started

A lot of work - which, due to a spun rod bearing, has turned into a waste - went into getting the old slant six firing. I rebuilt the carb, replaced the radiator and water pump, installed new spark plugs, and even gave the distributor the advantage of electronic ignition in order to start the tired engine. It worked great for a couple months even - until it finally keeled over with a bearing squeal that makes dogs howl.

For the reason that the motor is now in the process of being replaced, I will not bother to go into any more details about the motor.

The Beginning

Pictured here is my 1971 Dodge Demon. Currently, it sports a 225cid slant six-cylinder engine mated to a Torqueflite 904 transmission. Hardly muscular for a car with such a fearsome name as 'Demon.' Good thing then, that in my plans lives an engine swap and a electrical and mechanical update to give this Demon the grunt that it's Demon 340 brother had back in '71.