[DaveHess]

Ray: First off, you have my deepest heartfelt sympathy for the loss of your son. It looks like it has been 8 years for you but I am sure his memory remains in all you do. I would have to add as soon as I read your first couple of lines involving the 331 I was intrigued!

Mine is a 1973 Plymouth Scamp that was a completed "restification" project. It had a 318 2bbl and air but I got tired of people making fun of me at cruises. This car was running somewhere in the 17's at that time. Anyhow, I started stripping it down and building the engine up and finally went all race and bought a 1970 340 out of a wrecked Duster. The engine is in pieces right now but as a 10.5:1 engine, it ran 11.504 at 114.876 at Hallsville, Texas. Moved to ND and went 1/8 mile racing in Minot. The best there was a 7.501. Then the A727 pump let loose. That was 6 years ago. Right now I've got a new 340 on the stand. Brand new 1977 casting W-2's to handle the valvetrain duties. Mopar Performance 2.02/1.60 valves with Diamond Racing springs and Comp Cams Titanium 10 degree keepers and locks. Hedman Huslers will handle the exhaust. I bought an Indy 360-3 intake and put a "warmed" over Holley 750 Double Pumper on top. The cam is a Comp Cam mechanical unit but I have forgotten the specs. The pistions are Ross pices in the 12.5:1 domed variety and connected to Eagle H-beam rods. The crank is a forged factory piece. I use a Fluidamper on the front and an ATI Treemaster 8" converter resides out back. The Transmission is a Rick Schmidt built A727 with lots of toys inside. No transbrake but a full reverse pattern manual valvebody. The rear end is a Chrysler 8-3/4 with 4.88 or 5.30 depending where I race. I use Mopar Performance Super Stock leaf springs and 6-cylinder torsion bars up front. The front shocks are Lakewood 90/10's and the rears are 50/50 long Mopar Performance. The front brakes, master cylinder are Strange Engineering. I am hoping for mid-10's. The interior is gone except for a Jaz racing bucket and Autometer Gauges. The ignition system rides shotgun to me and is an MSD 6AL hooked up to a MSD billet distributor and MSD 8.5mm wires. A Holley Blue feeds the 750 and a S&W Race Cars 10 point cage keeps me safely inside my Simpson 5-pt harness. I wear a 2 piece firesuit and use a Simpson Voyager helmet. Just got my renewed Comp License today after a 5 year hiatus. I kept for a year after the tranny broke. (H435)