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Veteran
Posts: 101
Location: Oregon | I have had a number of Christine clones, plus a couple of dozen other forward-look cars. I have never personally went ground up on any, but always picked them up in various stages and finished them off or passed them on. A lot harder to find them these days though.
I am getting to the end of doing this so I have decided to go for it. I have a 58 Savoy 2HT which is factory Toreador Red and Iceberg White (perfect for Christine!). I also have the major parts for a 1958 Fury which was totaled and not worth trying to do anything with due to condition and lack of title, etc. However, it did still have the 150 Speedo, bumper wings and best of all the 350 GC engine, including correct dual quad intake and carbs. I also have the Fury torsion bars and heavy duty rear springs off of it. A have aftermarket sport-tone one correct aluminum and the other is the mylar. So I am set to go and spend $40K -$50K doing this right.
My dilemma: I want to upgrade the trans ( I have a new 65 TQ) and have already put in a 66 B-Body posi with the Fury Springs. The 350 is totally worn and has sat for 20 years or more, but now it is stripped and clean. I had it sonic checked and I can go up to .100 over, which is a 361 +.040. I can get the 10:1 factory compression easily enough with available pistons. I will put the modern crank in to accommodate the newer trans. For me to do what I want as far as quality, performance (just a mild streetable build) I will probably hit $4K. I will dress it up with an offy dual quad I have as well as offy 4 bolt valve covers. So it will look like it should except for all the aluminum. As a side not I also bought a 1958 Fury 318 complete engine with 70K or so on it off of forwardlook last year. It has a brand new correct trans. It is my "backup" in case something goes wrong in the building of the 350.
I am definitely putting a newer pushbutton trans in. I have already modified the rear end and have done machining work for the front brakes to be upgraded. However, from the visual aspect the car will still look correct for Christine with the 350. But... for not much more I can spend my money building a nice 440 to put in it (I have been down this road in the past.) The 350 GC is such a unique motor, but bottom line is the B-Block will be limited as compared to the RB engine. But I will not be racing or abusing, just getting my heart rate up now and then.
My question is:
Which direction would you go? This will be a Christine car to some degree, but only because of the factory color scheme. Otherwise I would likely go a different route. A perfect Christine clone is not what I am looking for, it will have the Fury speedo, silver sporttone, bumper wings and the Fury script on it when I am done.
350 (I have chromed and painted original oval cleaners) or 440? |
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Regular
Posts: 90
Location: Oklahoma | Why not go with a 400 B block. There are lots of off the shelf stroker kits for those, or just use the 440 crank for 451 ci. I plan on doing that to mine when the time comes. 400 looks like the 350 more than a 440. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9650
  
Location: So. Cal | I would stroke your original motor and don't go more than necessary on the bore. Just use custom pistons since you would need to with a stroker anyway. You could go with a 3.75 stroke to give 395 cubic inches very easily, or go with a 4.25 stroke to 447 cubic inches. Then make it look mostly stock with dual 4bbl carbs. That would be really cool in my opinion. I am planning to do something similar with the 361 in my '58 Desoto if I ever end up rebuilding it.
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Expert
Posts: 3033
Location: N.W. Fla. | witch ever makes you happy. With today's crappy gas I'd think 9-9.5 would be better than 10:1. |
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Veteran
Posts: 101
Location: Oregon | That is a good idea, I will have to get a quote on the Pistons. With a 383 stroker crank I would be good to. Then it's just a matter of matching up the rest, cam etc |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | If you use a 400 block then you get a 50 inch 'bonus' before the crank is involved.
Big inches make grunt so you can back off a bit on c/r and cam and still get the job done well.
The cheapest stroker will be the 440 crank and you can use either the B or RB rods; KB Silv-o-lite has pistons for both. Fair warning...the United Machine web site is not real easy to navigate... |
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Regular
Posts: 54
Location: Avondale, AZ | If it was me since true correct look is more important than orginal. I would then sell all my correct 350 parts to somebody on the board that is doing a full Resto and put a 400 stroker in using components from 440 source dot-com as they can even bring a 400 up to a 496 I would also utilize the later 915-906 452 heads. The increased Flow versus the early heads is substantial and also the valve sizes are better. I would then sell the cast iron manifold as I'm sure you're aware they are very valuable if they are correct for the fury and run Hedman headers the shorty variety all these modifications will give you a very cool. Correct Day 2 restoration look for the car yet save you money and give you a more powerful setup unfortunately that too for intake while looking cool does not perform very well however I understand the reasons for going with it I believe ellebracht still makes a two four intake that would far out performance I really like the direction you are going with this build |
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WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
