WHO’S GONNA BE THE 1st TO DO THE SWAP

VintageRacer67 said:

I can’t argue that statement. That’s why my old Mopar IS my day to day transport.

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Nor would I argue, which is why I am trying to get mine to a point where I want to daily drive it. But summer only as well.

Was perusing a build here that just got posted and remembered that at one point in time, I had dreams of building an M3-ish early A-Body. I had read and heard that the E46 M3 was a pretty good all around car; easy to daily drive, fits 4 adults and some luggage, but fast and capable both on and off the track. Being too poor (still am) and not really being a BMW guy, I figured I would "roll my own".

Ended up finding a "free" '63 Valiant 2 door. Plan was to upgrade the suspension, add big brakes and 17" wheels, AC, EFI and turbo the slant and swap in a 5 speed. Was making progress, had the EFI intake for the slant, an R154 adapted and bolted in minus building the floor sheetmetal, was working on a turbo exhaust manifold and had even sectioned and modified a later K-frame to fit the early A-Body. But by then I had gotten my Duster back and started to realized just how rusty the Valiant was. At the same time I also concluded that I was a V8 guy and was missing the sound (Duster wasn't driving yet), and would probably always miss the sound.

Either way, reading the other thread and reminiscing about what I had planned made me realize that this new turbo straight 6 might make for kind of a neat build if done right. I would keep the sheetmetal and interior mostly stock (minus seats) and build it on an M3 template.

Something similar to this:





https://fordauthority.com/2019/07/this-1966-ford-mustang-needs-no-v8/#&gid=1&pid=9

Not something I would do, but could be cool.

It's weird, but for some reason a V6 just makes me think "could have had a V8" and seems like something that someone settles for. Not a hot rod motor. But a straight 6 seems much more hot rodder-ish. Makes no logical sense, just my base emotional response I guess.

Not knocking the V6 swaps out there.

DionR said:

I should have said that better. I was asking about motors designed and produced after 1971 (just a random date I pulled out of the air). Wasn't even limiting it to Mopars. Just trying to gauge whether there was anything you like that was designed after Nixon was in office.

EDIT - I'm not asking about what you would swap into an old car. Motor swaps are not part of the question.

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Not necessarily 'designed' but more refined would definitely be the 5.2 and 5.9 Magnums.

@Princess Valiant

Lets see what our resident /6 daily driver thinks?

Would I do it?

I dont know. Maybe. The weight and milage are cool as is the small size. It would have to be a very specific build for me to want to go this route. Like a early A or some very small car I didnt want to cut up.

Who am I kidding tho. Cutting up cars is what I do. So....

The Hellcat swap guy I know is already planning for this.

So when the HellCat goes away...then there is......
If the flathead six is a hotrod motor, then.......
The wife said, if you play your cards right today, tonight you can have.........................
A homemade mater sandwich. Darn! What was I thinking??????

Hemis have always been dirty and thirsty, they had to move on. Slant Six Dan will love it.

Is it short enough to fit in an LA platform? Remember the slants were 'slanted' for a reason: to fit under the new for 60 lower hoodline hoods.

Cope said:

@Princess Valiant

Lets see what our resident /6 daily driver thinks?

Would I do it?

I dont know. Maybe. The weight and milage are cool as is the small size. It would have to be a very specific build for me to want to go this route. Like a early A or some very small car I didnt want to cut up.

Who am I kidding tho. Cutting up cars is what I do. So....

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The way people in this country drive as a culture, no one wants to be underpowered. Newly driving Kids are taught to speed down residential Neighborhoods with no regard to life or consideration to residents or consequences, after all, anything bad will happen to someone else, not ME!!

No one wants to slow down and just cruise anymore. It's all about who can go the fastest and loudest, with no regard to consideration for the fellow driver. It's all about whose dick is the biggest, who can twerk the most slutty and who can do the biggest coal roll, or who has the latest Tesla.

The old time slant six has no place in the world today. The slant six is a 60s relic from a world when people drove so conservative that seat belts were not necessary the vast majority of the time and 9 inch drum brakes were more than enough to roll you to a stop to avoid the the kid who chased his ball out to the street.

So with all that said, by all means, build your hellcat, tornado, hurricane or whatever the hell they call it. Hurry! Gotta keep up with everyone's asshole attitudes on the highway.... hurry, gotta show them you have more power. By all means HURRY HURRY!!!

I admit I am old and woreout. But I still love the feel and sound of a stock 383 with a 3:54 gear.
I also admit I love to just drive my old Mopar down the road, yep slant six powered. Or, 318 poly. Chilling. Just enjoying the ride, the smell, the sound, the scenery. Chilling. Thats the old term.
But you know there are still people out there restoring and driving original old Mopars of the 40s, 50s. They are slow. But they love them. Just like those of us that love the slant.
The world is in a huge hurry. To get where fast???
Yesterday, there was a terrible head on wreck out in rural West Tx. Happened on a 2 lane blacktop, the speed limit is 75. Country road. That mean most everyone is running 80 and up. College golf team in a small bus and 2 in a pickup. 7 dead and 2 life flighted, critical..

Princess Valiant said:

The way people in this country drive as a culture, no one wants to be underpowered. Newly driving Kids are taught to speed down residential Neighborhoods with no regard to life or consideration to residents or consequences, after all, anything bad will happen to someone else, not ME!!

No one wants to slow down and just cruise anymore. It's all about who can go the fastest and loudest, with no regard to consideration for the fellow driver. It's all about whose dick is the biggest, who can twerk the most slutty and who can do the biggest coal roll, or who has the latest Tesla.

The old time slant six has no place in the world today. The slant six is a 60s relic from a world when people drove so conservative that seat belts were not necessary the vast majority of the time and 9 inch drum brakes were more than enough to roll you to a stop to avoid the the kid who chased his ball out to the street.

So with all that said, by all means, build your hellcat, tornado, hurricane or whatever the hell they call it. Hurry! Gotta keep up with everyone's asshole attitudes on the highway.... hurry, gotta show them you have more power. By all means HURRY HURRY!!!

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Language young lady!

Personally, I don't care much for keeping up, but I do care about stopping when the 2400lb Civic in front of me can stop in 2/3 the distance I can, even when we are both just cruising. 9 inch drums where fine when everyone was running drum brakes, but now even the base economy car can stop much better than the old cars, without even factoring in ABS. So I think the "everyone is in a hurry and drives like jerks" argument is a bit of a straw man in that while there are certainly those that do, there are plenty of situations that could require upgrades just due to unexpected circumstances. You could find yourself half into an import if you are are driving the speed limit in a residential neighbor hood and some kid runs out in front of the car in front of you. You can certainly drive with more space, but I would rather do that and know I can stop.

Now, in regards to keeping up, I am more about what's enjoyable rather than what is the fastest. And building something cool is part of the hobby. So a 400hp straight 6 could be fun to drive, but hopefully my low compression 360 will be as well. Which will be faster? Who knows, I don't really care. If I did, I would be swapping a 6.4 into my car and and prepping for an SC. Maybe you don't enjoy the rush of acceleration, but some do and not all of us that do are out to prove anything or be the biggest/baddest.

Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution and like barbee6043 related above, there are times when the best brakes or most horsepower won't make any difference. Hard to walk away from a head on at 80 mph.

To be clear, I didn't take offense to anything you said, just sharing some thoughts.

DionR said:

Language young lady!

Personally, I don't care much for keeping up, but I do care about stopping when the 2400lb Civic in front of me can stop in 2/3 the distance I can, even when we are both just cruising. 9 inch drums where fine when everyone was running drum brakes, but now even the base economy car can stop much better than the old cars, without even factoring in ABS. So I think the "everyone is in a hurry and drives like jerks" argument is a bit of a straw man in that while there are certainly those that do, there are plenty of situations that could require upgrades just due to unexpected circumstances. You could find yourself half into an import if you are are driving the speed limit in a residential neighbor hood and some kid runs out in front of the car in front of you. You can certainly drive with more space, but I would rather do that and know I can stop.

Now, in regards to keeping up, I am more about what's enjoyable rather than what is the fastest. And building something cool is part of the hobby. So a 400hp straight 6 could be fun to drive, but hopefully my low compression 360 will be as well. Which will be faster? Who knows, I don't really care. If I did, I would be swapping a 6.4 into my car and and prepping for an SC. Maybe you don't enjoy the rush of acceleration, but some do and not all of us that do are out to prove anything or be the biggest/baddest.

.

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That's why I stated the slant six is a thing of the past. I took a very gloomy way saying I agree with hot rodding for more power and I agree with brake upgrades. My slant six car has disk brakes up front.

I am very grimly pointing out that with more power comes more responsibility. I am glad you didn't take offense because of the shoe doesn't fit, then don't wear it.

I have found first hand by driving a slant six car and driving no more than 5 over the speed limit that being tailgated is a regular thing that happens almost everyday.
The only solution I have found that deters tailgaters is having a huge go pro camera facing back on the back window.

Another thing that makes me see this problem for the majority is knowing a 22 year sitting in jail and probably going to prison for speeding through a neighborhood as she had always done, the exception is the last time she did it and hit and killed a man.

Power is good and even I enjoy hammering a big block on a lone highway or somewhere safe.

You gotta ask yourself what you're going to do with the power and are you going to do the right thing.

I am guilty in my younger years of being faster and louder than I am now, but then I started seeing some real life ugliness and that took the joy out of mashing the pedal at every red light.

Princess Valiant said:

My slant six car has disk brakes up front.

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Nice! I guess I am guilty of assuming, thought you were still running drums. My apologies.

Princess Valiant said:

I am glad you didn't take offense because of the shoe doesn't fit, then don't wear it.

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I just find it easier to state things. Wanted to make sure I didn't come across different than I meant. Seems recently like so many are apt to read attacks and anger into comments even when it isn't there. So I am trying to be overly communicative to make that harder to happen, even when the risk of misinterpretation is pretty small.

Princess Valiant said:

I am guilty in my younger years of being faster and louder than I am now, but then I started seeing some real life ugliness and that took the joy out of mashing the pedal at every red light.

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I was guilty of picking a target and shooting for it when I was younger. I did want to keep up, even if only just keep up. But things are out of hand in that regard anymore (much like you are saying) and I have slowly realized that I need the level that I find enjoyable and stop worrying about what the guy down the street has.

And you have to admit, it isn't just how people drive that is the issue. Seems like the world acts the same way in most areas of life now. Like we stopped teaching people some foundational things and now it's just a free for all. "Men without chests..." C.S. Lewis

If yur gonna put two turbos on something, you might as well do it to whatever engine that you already own, that doesn't have a lot of electronics on it, that you can never quite really trust.
I mean the smaller SBMs are ideal candidates.

I mean face it, if your A-body requires 40hp to fly along at 65 mph, that takes a certain amount of fuel, that can only be varied ever so slightly;
and the body cares not how it gets its requirement; whether from four cylinders or eight. The mpg limiting factor becomes internal friction and efficiency. Friction you can fight with reduced rpm, and I can tell you that my 367 has gone 65 at 1450rpm easy enough. I bet a 318 could too.
Efficiency you can fight with chamber design and Effective Compression ratio.

I often wish that 22 years ago, I would have had the funds to build a turbocharged 273/318 combo with which to target mid 30s mpgs @65mph, and an easy 350/400hp; the key component being that very low cruising rpm, with enough starter gear to roast the tires. In today's world, we have everything available to make this happen. Lessee a 273 @.020 o/s is 277. That's an easy 180hp normally aspirated, and 360 supercharged; Can you say; Dial-a spin?......... hyup, what was I thinking......
What"s between tornado, and hurricane? Hmm, How about 277SuperCommando? .....yeah I like it.
Everybody send money and let's build it. Then after it's dialed in, we'll raffle it off. I might even quit my dayjob.......
Sorry boys, there will be; no idle-lope, no ThermoQuad roar, probably no hi-rise intake, no electric fans, and probably no longtubes, But probably; solid lifters, and an A999LU, or maybe an A833od.
Chit, I have everything but the turbos and plumbing; when do we start? lol