70 D100

-

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
26,048
Reaction score
22,812
Location
Colorado
So I got this truck by random chance, came to me cheap, like really cheap.
It looks horrible but its very rust free. Door thresholds are clean, box is totally rust free. Only rust is on the floor where the cab mounts are, which seems easy enough to fix because it's all in an open area where everything is accessible.

So I unload the truck into the garage hoping to pull the engine and go through it and get it running quick.

I had a feeling I should go through it since I bought it from a guy who looks like a meth head from under a bridge.

It was a typical "ran when parked kind of sale " but the engine is toast with rusty cylinders. but I can't complain because it was cheap enough.

So I get the driveline out ( what a pain in the azz) these NP 435 transmissions are probably best taken out separately.

After busting the voltage regulator, it was out and on the ground.

I separated the trans from the bell and still can't see how separate the bell from the engine.

I found a crack in the bell so now I am not sure where this is all going.

20190209_155000.jpg


20190209_180536.jpg


20190209_213258.jpg


20190209_213236.jpg
 
Last edited:
So tear it down, clean it all up, dingle hone piss outta the cylinders re-ring it and go. You don't think it'll live? I got news, I've made a LOT worse run again.
 
could do up the slant, but Now is the time…. a "up to snuff" 318 would slip real nice in there.... For simplicity, a 727 behind it.
 
So now I am pondering.

My cousin's friend might have some parts locally but the options are.

A. Get another slant and figure out how to address the crack in the bell and get back together and running.

Not sure of the cost yet but a slant header would be in order.

B. Small block. I would need motor mounts , truck oil pan and small block NP435 bell. Headers would be cheaper than for a slant but possibly not as cost effective with buying the mounts, oil pan ....ect.

3. 440 I have a cast crank 440/ 727 but it's not drilled for a 4 speed so that is out the door. I would need to find a new steering column with the column shift and make a driveshaft.

Another side Option
1b. I have a truck 833 OD but with that, I would have a smaller clutch ( bad or I may be overthinking)
 
could do up the slant, but Now is the time…. a "up to snuff" 318 would slip real nice in there.... For simplicity, a 727 behind it.
could do up the slant, but Now is the time…. a "up to snuff" 318 would slip real nice in there.... For simplicity, a 727 behind it.
For a 727 I would need to find a new column with the column shift.
 
So tear it down, clean it all up, dingle hone piss outta the cylinders re-ring it and go. You don't think it'll live? I got news, I've made a LOT worse run again.
I was thinking it would not run again without a bore out and extensive build , but you got me thinking
 
Last edited:
we had a '70 D100. We took it from Illinois to Colo. I like how when you open the hood, the fenders become an instant workbench. :) Ours was manual brakes, manual steering, 318 auto (which I put a 340 in it), 8.75 rear end.
 
we had a '70 D100. We took it from Illinois to Colo. I like how when you open the hood, the fenders become an instant workbench. :) Ours was manual brakes, manual steering, 318 auto (which I put a 340 in it), 8.75 rear end.
This one is also manual steering, manual brakes and has an 8.75 with 3.55 gears
 
This one is also manual steering, manual brakes and has an 8.75 with 3.55 gears
same with ours, 3.55's. I put the 340 in it with a MP cam, headers, and TQ. When we went to Colo, I put 2.76 gears in it and we got 17 mpg. Topper shell and a matress in the back.
 
I an wondering if I should use the truck 833 od I have. That would eliminate the cracked bell housing syndrome it has but the down side would be a 122 tooth 9 inch clutch, which seems ok for a duster but......a big *** truck ??
 
I an wondering if I should use the truck 833 od I have. That would eliminate the cracked bell housing syndrome it has but the down side would be a 122 tooth 9 inch clutch, which seems ok for a duster but......a big *** truck ??

A big *** truck with a slant six. Just a slant six. I think the 9" clutch would do the job.
 
You could always use what was in there...it came from the factory and worked. If you go 440/727 you can always put a reverse pattern shift in it and shift without a clutch. Machine shop can fix your crank....it isn’t in anything right?
 
It sounds like you are like me, you tend to over think things, Rani.
If it were me, i would just clean the engine up and re ring it, weld the crack in the bellhousing, maybe a new clutch kit etc., take care of the safety things, re assemble everything, and drive it.
The only other thing i would do would be to convert it to power steering. That's because i'm old. lol
Years ago, i had a '81 Dodge 1/2 ton pickup with the 225 slant 6 in it with the NP 435 tranny in it, and that thing was awesome.
I trailered a lot of cars with it, and while it was no powerhouse, it did the job quite well.
It was a lot of fun with the granny low first gear.
That's one of the vehicles i wish i wouldn't have sold.
Good luck with the project, i like it!
 
Have you looked into what a new slant six truck header costs? When I did my 68 slant truck in 1990 the new Clifford header was $450! Let alone the 4-bbl intake and 390 Holley, and that darn valve cover. It would have been MUCH cheaper to put in 440 and 727...
 
NP435 is a fine transmission, don't be too quick to get rid of it. The crack in the bell housing has likely been there since day one. Flow some brass across it if it worries you.

That slant may have been running just fine "when parked" but it looks like it has sat for a while. I'm with RRR, clean it up and see what you really have. I bet the bores clean right up with some 220 grit wet/dry and ATF. Rings, bearing inserts, timing chain, lap the valves, gasket set and and a tune up... Bob's your uncle, a runner. That's an "overhaul" not a "rebuild", but I bet you have enough left out of $1000 to do the brake hydraulics too.

Heck, I'll take the whole mess off your hands if you don't want to bother with it.
 
I would go 440 and get a big block bellhousing for the existing transmission, but I like a 435. You mentioned the bell housing bolts. IIRC, have to drop out the clutch and flywheel and the bolts are inside, gearwrench is your best friend! That’s the way the 11 inch clutch has to go behind the six, being the 11 inch flywheel starter gear ring is larger than the bellhousing bolt pattern of the \6. I took the four bell housing to transmission bolts loose and left the transmission in when I swapped engines. I advise lining the clutch up with the input out of an old transmission instead of the plastic garbage that comes in the clutch kit, putting it back in with the bellhousing on makes things tricky. With a V8, bolts are outside the housing up to a 12 inch clutch.
 
Last edited:
With a 440 and 435, I would go with a set of 2.94 gears if I was gonna highway drive it much. 9-1/4 out of a seventies with a trac-lok or install a lunchbox locker. Those truck axle shafts can be cut and resplined to A body length, makes your 8-3/4 pretty desirable.
 
I tried cleaning the cylinder out and poured some ATF in.

I need to beak it loose because I need it to turn to get the clutch cover off, in order to get the flywheel off in order to get the bell housing off, in order to get the engine on a stand, in order to get the oil pan off

20190210_155200.jpg


20190210_155145.jpg
 
A little diesel fuel with the ATF may help speed things along, I would find some used synthetic motor oil, too. That stuff with a little diesel added will just about seep through anything. One good thing about the \6 flywheel is there is only one hole that has to be drilled to make the slant flywheel fit a small block bolt pattern crank.
 
Rani....after the ATF soaks a bit, get a piece of 2 x 4 about a foot long, put it down in each cylinder and whack it with a hammer. That will break it loose, and then you can rock it back and forth with a breaker bar until it loosens up enough to turn over completely. I had to use that trick on a 4.7 that I sent back as a core for a new one I bought. :)
 
-
Back
Top