What would you do? Slant performance
I resisted the rant myself, but just had to say something. Normally Aspirated 274 HP out of a 225 /6. That is like 340 territory, and still the "put a 360 in it" that the OP clearly said he did not want. The 440 poke was, why stop at a 360 when you can get even more potential. I personally have had, and still have almost, every configuration of "A" body except a 426 Hemi. Loved every one from the 170 to the 383. In my opinion, one size does not fit all.
Sometimes it's interesting just to ask yourself, "What IF?"
For example, WHAT IF.... Ryan Peterson's little 1966 Valiant ( modified as it exists, now,) had shown up as the Chrysler factory was assembling their armada of Stage II and Stage III wedge and Hemi vehicles to do battle with the best from Ford and G.M.?
I worked at an NHRA drag strip as a Stiocker tech, classifying cars in, and vividly remember the 6-Pack 440s for the street, running 13.50s, and the street hemi-powered B-bodies running a tad slower at 13.80s, miles behind this little Valiant. The out-and-out race cars, such as the 426 Heni with the crossram intake that they put into the A body Darts and Barracudas in 1968 were low-11-second performers. And, these were the cream of the srop... Ma Mopar had never built anything as fast as these cars... Never...
And, Ryan Peterson's home-brewed slant six powered '66 Valiant would have put them ALL on the trailer, including the Vaunted Z-11 427 Chevys and Fords mighty 427 Thunderbolt.
None of those "killer" Super Stock, factory race cars could keep up with this "shadetree" modified economy car....
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QzUfV8iTpQ"]Turbo Slant Six 10.74 @ 127 mph 7-19-10 - YouTube[/ame]
So, what do you think might have happened if Ryan had showed up with a slant six that was 90-pecent smaller than those 427s, and showed them ALL the way home?
Sure, his engine has a turbo on it, but that inline "economy" engine is just over HALF the size of the N/A 427's...
I thik it might have changed history; the "mighty" Hemi might not have looked so "mighty" if it couldn't keep up with a single 4bl, automatic slant six...
Might have given Tom Hoover apoplexy... LOL!
All that work to make those huge Hemi heads fit on the RB motor, only to get outrun by an "economy" motor, just over half the size of the darling of the Ramchargers... LOL!
Well, it never happened, but, it COULD have... except, Ryan Peterson wasn't born, yet... :oops:
Fun to think about, though...:blob:
