1967 Barracuda - Slant Six (orig) or 440 Big Block? Daily Driver, Need MPG

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DMitch

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So I'm in the works of restoring my 1967 Barracuda Fastback and I'm going to be putting an engine in soon. I have two options.

The car was originally had a slant six inside of it, but the guy I bought it from was in the process of converting it to a 440. I'm not sure what he all changed, but I believe the original transmission is still inside of it. He sold the /6 and rebuilt a 440. The 440 ('74) is ready to go, complete with radiator, fans, starter. But no transmission. I picked up a slant six for 100 bucks, and the guy gave me a new starter, alternator for it. But it needs a rebuild and overboring.
I'm transferring universities so I'm moving to a bigger city (SLC) and I need the car for a daily driver.
What are the average MPG of each?

440
-Rebuilt, ready to go
-Has Radiator
-No transmission (my friend might have one I can use for free)
-Also he knows a guy that can put both in and add some reinforcing for it for a couple of hundred, I just need to buy the motor mounts (it might have them on already)

Slant 6
-Needs rebuild
-Has Radiator
-Has Transmission
 
I never checked the mileage on the slant that was in my Barracuda when I bought it, but I think it was better than the 11 city/14 highway we get out of the 440 cars...
 
Damn, but that's not as bad as I assumed.. I dunno, this is a toss up! It's going to cost about the same for either one, but the 440 is ready to go! Unfortunately I'm in college and should be saving up my money
 
DMitch, to me, you've got a nice problem in front of you trying to decide which way to go with this, since I have no car & no $$$ at this point :D.

Seriously, if you were my son, I'd recommend doing the 440, but not just yet.....Use some of your funds to pick up a cheap daily driver, and focus on school first. You can always play with the car as time allows, and have something real nice in the end, although it may take a little more time then you'd like?
 
definitely go slant six for the time being. Maybe even fill your free time with a megasquirt& gm tbi conversion to eek out a little extra mpg?
 
Lessie. You have two engines. One is core and needs rebuilding. The other is completely rebuilt and ready to run. For about the same cost as rebuilding the one, you could have all the details to put the other in with everything you need.

In the end the slant six is just a slant six. It will be basically worthless even rebuilt. Unless I was doing it for the love of the slant, the slant would get thrown in the ditch.
 
I've never got great mileage out of a /6 where I I'd pick a six over an 8.
If the 440 done right should be able to get respectable mileage especially for the performance advantage.
 
Your going to have a harder (more expensive ) time putting the 440 in the the slant six.
 
You don't know what has been done to the 440 or if it will fit in the car yet? Buy a running slant 6...remember yer in college...
 
If you use that car for your every day driver. The body will be done in 3yrs.Why not store it,and buy a vw or something.That car is to hard to replace.my 2 cents
 
I don't know if buying a project car at this point in your life was a great move. Maybe it was a great deal. Anyway... I say wear a used Camry or similar until you have achieved your other much more important goals.
 
MPG depends on your commute, city or highway. City depends on too many variables. You can get up to high 20's highway mpg with a /6, maybe 16 with any big block. Hard choice, I like my cars to move on their own, so I'd probably throw the slant six in and take my time with the 440. Everything is hard with the 440, driveshaft, exhaust, brakes, suspension. I'm thinking 9 inch front drums and a 7 1/4 rear with a 440.
 
Nothing is really hard about putting the 440 in, it's just some expense in parts...
 
No offense here, but comparing MPG between a /6 and a 440?? AND you need it for a daily driver?? By the time yer done buying everything needed to convert it over to BB you could have bought a running daily driver...
 
if you have to ask what the MPGs are then you probably need a newer econo-box.

Most normal people don't build these cars for economy.....I have a 72 swinger with a 440 and its a real fun car, I only fill it up with gas when its empty.

Unless you have the will power of a monk to stay off a 440 then maybe .....big maybe you can match the economy of a modern econo-box.....but more importantly, why torture yourself, just build it as a fun car and use a modern car for the econo commute.
 
My 68 barracuda has a 440 and 727 from a 78 New Yorker. In the new yorker I could coax 11 - 13 mpg after deleting Lean Burn. I have not calculated the since the mild performance rebuild and putting it in my baracuda but I am pretty sure I can watch the gas gauge dropping...
 
Buy a usex running slant. They're listed all the time for under 200 bucks. Drop it in and save your money. To do the 440 swap 'right' is gonna cost some cash. Wait until you can afford to do a quality swap and not need to worry about mpg. Just my 2 cents..
 
Decided to stick with the slant. I can order a kit for around 400 and the machine work will be ~500.
I know it wasn't the smartest decision to get a non operating car while I'm young. Hell, the reason I did was I was making a lot of money at the time. After high school, I didn't set up my university tuition but didn't go cause I sort of left/kicked out of my house (father issues) that summer. (~1800-2000 a week) and had another truck to use at home..
But when I came home my uncle ruined my truck, my mom needed help with her car payments and rent, and I started using her car for the time being. Now I'm leaving her with it and moving out of town ha. I didn't make the best decisions...
 
I admire you for wanting to drive an cool old car every day. I havee to say however that you'd be better off buying a 4 cyl beater for a daily driver and wait to do the car the as a toy or hobby car. I drive a a 1996 Subaru legacy with 205k on the clock. I paid $2100 and put 58,000 on it so far. My hobby car of a 70 Duster with a 440 that runs mid 11s. Life is cheap and easy like this. Trying to drive a big block car and get good milage will be a problem.
 
Why bother rebuilding the slant? Just get a cheap running one.

Maybe I'm not reading this right, but it seems to me like for you, the slant might be temporary, then you'd want to convert to the 440 later, right? If there's ANY chance of that at all, don't put any $ into a slant. And even if the plan is /6 power long term... same answer...

Just look on CL or here for a used /6 that runs, buy it cheap or maybe even free, and stick it in. It will get you by. You're already talking $900 to rebuild the slant you have, but that will end up being even more before you're done. It's the first rule of projects... always cost way more than you plan.

All this of course is just if you don't just pick up a cheap daily driver and stick the Duster in storage for now, which is probably an even better option.

Don't get me wrong, I love slant sixes, and have no plan to convert my '72 to V8 power even though I have everything I need to do it, but they're cheap and plentiful, I don't see any reason to stick good money into one unless you're doing a performance build, and even then, it's arguably wackadoodle (in a good way, but still...)

If you were close by, I have an extra nice /6 and 904 I'd sell you... there's gotta be guys near wherever you are that have the same lying around.

EDIT: Oops, Barracuda, not Duster, whatever :)
 
Why bother rebuilding the slant? Just get a cheap running one.

Maybe I'm not reading this right, but it seems to me like for you, the slant might be temporary, then you'd want to convert to the 440 later, right? If there's ANY chance of that at all, don't put any $ into a slant. And even if the plan is /6 power long term... same answer...

Just look on CL or here for a used /6 that runs, buy it cheap or maybe even free, and stick it in. It will get you by. You're already talking $900 to rebuild the slant you have, but that will end up being even more before you're done. It's the first rule of projects... always cost way more than you plan.

All this of course is just if you don't just pick up a cheap daily driver and stick the Duster in storage for now, which is probably an even better option.

Don't get me wrong, I love slant sixes, and have no plan to convert my '72 to V8 power even though I have everything I need to do it, but they're cheap and plentiful, I don't see any reason to stick good money into one unless you're doing a performance build, and even then, it's arguably wackadoodle (in a good way, but still...)

If you were close by, I have an extra nice /6 and 904 I'd sell you... there's gotta be guys near wherever you are that have the same lying around.


Couldn't agree more.
 
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