Looking for rebuild advise

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zfriedbauer

zfriedbauer

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Hey Slant 6 fans. i recently decided to rebuild the engine in my 74 duster and i have a pretty low budget. around 500 bucks. now, i have lots of time to rebuild and want to build a Slant six that looks and sounds awesome, holds up well, and is responsive to the throttle. I plan on taking the ladyfriend for highway drives on the weekends, maybe entering the car in a parade or car show too. As far as performance goes, i love POWER but all those add ons get expensive. heres what i have so far...

2 Forged crank slant 6's 1974, 1976
(and all the stuff to go along with those)

A super-turbo muffler that sounds better the higher you rev the engine
(i was told not to rev a slant above 4500 but that seems high anyway)

basic air filter, oil filter, thermostat.

nothing special but any pointers anyone? thanks in advance.
 
The best thing I can tell you is you don;t have enough for a rebuild - but you should have enough for a re-ring deal. Invest in a vernier caliper, a set of micrometers, and a dial bore gage and carefully inspect and check things out per the service manual. Buy the parts you need to replace worn beyond spec stuff, and you should be fine. Slant's generally don't wear too badly unless they were abused.
 
nm9stheham said:
Are both engines worn out or not running?

Here is a recent thread on thorough, near stock, rebuild costs.
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=301995
Click to expand...

Very good thread im going to continue reading it. however i neglected to mention, the engine block, crankshaft and cylinder head were both cleaned and machined. block bored .020 over. I found a master rebuild kit on Rockauto for around 275 bucks. it doesnt come with a cam. so i guess some of the advise i was looking for was where to get parts at a good price, and what brands to stay away from too. thanks ALL for your responses!
 
Is the $500 in addition to the money spent on the machine work so far?

So no cams with the engines? If so, were the lifters numbered to stay with the lobes? If not then you need to get a set of regournd lifters to use the cams; if you mix even one lifter and lobe, then the cam will very likely lose a lobe. A torque cam and reground lifters will run you around $250 from Doug Dutra; so if you have a stock cam with the lifters matched (or get reground ones from Doug Dutra), then I'd stick with that to keep close to budget. You need to put $$ into the head with valves, guides, etc., or you are going to have poor operation even with the new rings and pistons.

The cams of your vintage have more lift than the older cams so are better. Makes sure you put new cam bearings in the block; old ones can lose oil pressure quite a bit.

If you have both oil pumps, disassemble them and check the wear/scoring inside and measure clearances and pick the one with the closest clearances.

Due to budget, get a new stock type timing chains and sprockets. Cloyes makes one.

Are both your carbs 1 BBL's? If one is a 2 BBL, use that.
 
I went ahead and bought the kit above the last one i mentioned, 300 bucks. That cam advise was awesome, that gives me a good place to start ill look up dutra, heard that name alot! what kind of head work are we talking? should i get the valves done too? New oil pump came with the kit. just no cam. Also have the timing kit, and a 2 barrel intake. My day also found an early slant 6 valve cover my granpa had horded away. really cool looking. would it fit on my slant? Also, would anyone on here have a mild used or new cam they would sell cheap? Possibly donate or trade? would that be worth starting a new thread? idk. thanks so far guys. good useful advise!
 
Yes, do the valves&seats and have the guides re-worked as needed. You just have no idea what you have there and in what condition, good or bad. Hardened valve seats are not needed IMO in the /6 head with stock or mild use. I would also shave the head about .050" to give a little compression ratio kick even with the slightly thicker aftermarket head gasket.

Doug Dutra can be found on www.slantsix.org as 'Doctor Dodge'. If you ask about the torque cams and reground lifters make sure you he knows you have a 2 BBL carb; the better 2 BBL breathing can use a slightly narrower lobe separation angle on the cam to get a bit higher RPM. (Not sure if one of your cams could be reground or not.)

If the budget allows, also discuss oil pumps with him; I had him blueprint one for me for shade over $100; a good investment, IMO. He has the right parts and the know-how.

Can't think of any reason that the older valve cover won't fit....?? I assume the only difference is the breathers.
 
Ditto on the cam. See if he will recurve the distributor for you too. That is a low cost high gain improvement.
I would do this in this order:
Cam and head work (since it needs to be done anyway)
Distributor recurve
these 2 items will give you much enter low end torque or grunt

2 bbl Supersix with the next $200-$300 you can invest.
Better throttle response and better pull up through the rpm's

Dual exhaust with the next $500-$600
Better mid to high rpm power

None of these additions will make your slant less reliable or difficult to work on.
Best of luck!
 
How exactly does recurving a distributor work? could I learn to do this and practice on an old one first? also, Dutra does dual exhaust doesn't he? Edit: Also, got to thinking, can I do any refinishing work myself? the lifters? etc..?
 
zfriedbauer said:
How exactly does recurving a distributor work? could I learn to do this and practice on an old one first? also, Dutra does dual exhaust doesn't he? Edit: Also, got to thinking, can I do any refinishing work myself? the lifters? etc..?
Click to expand...

Ping BigSlant6Fan on slantsix.org - he sells (used to sell?) recurve spring kits:

http://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52750&highlight=

Doug Dutra does Dutra duals (and Dual Dutra Duals, and oil pumps with hardened gears, and headwork, and... :))

http://www.dutra.org/doug/doug-sl6-exhaust/dutra-duals.htm
 
I would look for a running slant out of a car that is getting an upgraded motor.

You can find them complete for between 2-300 bucks if you keep a sharp eye out.

That will leave you with a few bucks for dinner and a movie. :D

http://www.ebay.com/itm/68-dodge-22...Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e9a15465e&vxp=mtr

Found this one in 2 seconds. You could probably negotiate with him.

Good luck on your budget build.:cheers:
 
I have a bunch of new /6 engine parts in a box somewhere in the garage. Can't remember exactly what, but pistons, bearings, etc. Wasn't planning on selling, but I may never need this stuff...I'm old. PM me if interested and I'll find that box.
 
There is a specific machine for the precision grinding of lifters... you can't do it in you garage! You can do a light crankshaft polish and do basic head porting work in your garage but I suggest that you focus on doing a good quality assembly of parts finished by others at this point in your auto-education.

You CAN change distributor springs for some basic recurving work by yourself. I would suggest again that you concentrate on the basics of a good running engine and save that mod for later since you are on a learning curve on a number of things.
 
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