New shoes

I finally found some skinny white walls on e-bay for a decent price. 5 wheels already on valiant rims (old stud pattern). Cleaned 'em up and fitted the dodge hubcap. Looks good!
Discovered one small problem though. The stud pattern is the same as the VIP which is good, the rims however are off a car that didn't have disc brakes! As a result of this when I mocked up the front wheel, the inside of the rim sits up hard against the brake caliper!
Currently the original VIP rims are at the sand blasters and then going to the powdercoaters. Once all cleaned up I'll have to get the tyres changed over.

Sneak Peek

A quick look at the new motor.
I've pulled all the front end of the old motor and transplanted it. Water pump, alternator and harmonic balance. I located a compressor for the A/C with the bracket still attached and that's been fitted as well.
Fingers are still crossed that this is going to run. One thing that's got me puzzled is the firing order, based on the leads, is not the same as the motor I just pulled out. It's either got a very different cam in it, ( I was told it was an experimental Dodge block and the engine number starts with an "X") or I'll have to re-organise the leads.
The guy I got it off told me he had it in a VC Valiant. He'd restored the car, sprayed the car and the motor. Took the car for a spin, planted the foot and twisted the chassis in the car about 300mm, writing it off. (His VC had a 6 originally and the chassis wasn't strengthened for the V8)
I was also told it was a Canadian Dodge block, that they build for racing. The only things I have to go on to verify this story is that the stamped serial number on the block starts and ends in an "X". Also, the original water pump on it fed in at the bottom on the right and not the left as per the VIP pump. Now when everything is set up on the front of the block, the bottom radiator hose goes over the timing marks. This will be fun to tune!
I was also told it was very, VERY loud!!!!
Itching to get it in but I still have to clean up the engine bay.

A lot of cleaning up to do

Now the motors out, the extent of the engine bay cleanup is a bit daunting!
This one might take a while!

Point of no return!

Out it comes.
Judging by the dirt and oil on the block, I'm pretty confident no-ones had a "play" with this one. Hopefully will just be a case of rings and valves.

Getting serious now

I did what I could to get the motor to a road worthy condition, but I couldn't stop the fumes. If I accelerated heavily, there was quit a lot of smoke which wasn't good.

Time for the motor to come out!

Fortunately I've got one to replace it that I was going to use it in the hot rod, but for the moment it might see a bit of life in the VIP. Once I get the ol girl registered, then I'll rebuild the VIP motor and swap them back over.
Once it's in and running (fingers crossed), I'll let you all know more about the motor. From what I've been told it's not a standard 318

With the motor out, it'll also be good opportunity to clean up the engine bay. It has a bit of surface rust and is also a combination of every colour the cars been painted

May Update

Not a lot to show you with photos but I've managed to get a few bits done. To begin with, I pulled the auto out (on the floor of the garage with a lot of foul language) and swapped it over for one that I got off e-bay a while that I rebuilt. Fitted that one in (this time with a HEAP of foul language) and the car now moves forward AND backward. It still didn't have any brakes.

Next step was to get the brakes working. First off I started with a basic bleeding of the system. The reservoir was empty so it was a safe bet, no fluid, no brakes. Started with left rear, all good. Moved onto right rear, all good. Still no pressure in the pedal. Moved on to left front, all good. Finally, last one, right front. This one had a blocked hose!. I spent a couple of hours trying to run a wire down the hose to clear the blockage. Finally got it done and put the hose back in. Now I had pressure under foot, but it was a bit spongy. I backed it into the driveway to try and see how much break I was getting. A little bit of left foot brake and bit of accelerator should see how well they're holding. . . . . . . . Before I knew it I was doing I was smoking up the back tyres! Drove it back into the garage to assess. The right rear slave cylinder was blown and I had brake fluid everywhere!From e-bay, I picked up a rear brake set. Left and right slave cylinders and new shoes for $59 (cheap fix). Set about to change the cylinders and shoes over on a Monday night. Two nights later and with a couple of busted knuckles, I had them swapped over. Who designed that stupid clip that holds the spring in that holds the shoe on!!!!!!!!
I now have pressure under foot on the pedal and the car stops quit well up and down the drive.

I've also sanded all the black paint off, down to the gold colour that was underneath. The next step is to get it painted and looking good again.

One other thing. . . Gotta love that e-bay! I picked up a clock for the dash for $80.

Found some shiney things when I cleaned the dirt off