198 numbers matching or 340 clone...... opinions?

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o here is the question, when that day comes do I crush the value if I switch to the 340? Should I just overhaul the 198? If I keep the 198

if anything the value will go up with a 340 in it. while it may be neat to see an all original slant duster at a show there is a good reason you don't see many. they are boring as hell to drive. in the end it is all personal preference. its your car so its comes down to what you want. i know we have an original paint 70 dart. slant 6/ auto rubber mat car. i lived with that slob of a motor for as long as i could (about 5 years) and then dropped a 360 in it and its never been more fun to drive.
 
I know a guy who has a 68 valiant with a slant in it that goes 12s in the 1/4 mile
 
I vote keep it a slant! Yes, I'm a fan of the things but mostly due to the cool factor and indestructibility. Original slants with three-on-the-tree aren't all that common. I'm not a "slant or nothing" guy, as the Dart has a 340 and it is staying in there. However, my Valiant is an all original from 66, and it's staying that way. I'm going to rebuild and upgrade all the running gear from stem to stern but it will look like it does now.

As for transmissions, I can answer that in a bit. Mine is the A903 but it's tired. When decelerating it will drop out of second, and I really, really, don't like the non-synchro first gear. I picked up an A230 to swap in and keep it column shift. I'm sure there will be some monkey business involved but I'm willing to sort it out.

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My 64 is a 225 3/tree.
It had 97,000 on it when I got it. I did the column adjustment per the FSM to take out some of the slop. I also replaced the rubber linkage bushings at the trans and shimmed the other pivot points. Bottom line is I can't shift it fast or it jams and have to pull over, open the hood, reach down at the end of the column, and unjam it. And the trans is non-synchro in first, just like yours. Brewers and Passon do not deal with these baby trannies so if you need parts, good luck.

It is unique though. Nothing like driving around with the top down, stopped at a light and having people in their SUV's watch as I row through the gears in my fishbowl. I always hole shot em and give em a blast from the modified exhaust just for good measure though. I can easily smoke the right rear tire but that's kid stuff. And the shifter is my first line of defense against theft.

You could, for not much money, collect the parts to convert to a 3 on the floor. You'd need a slightly newer A-230 which was available in the early 70's. It's fully synchronized and is very similar to the A-833 4 speed. The 230 was the standard trans in 340 Dusters for awhile.

On the other hand, you could do an exacting bolt together 340 clone and it would be more valuable than your stock car. You could keep your original drive train and swap it back in a weekend but you'd have to deal with the floor hump.

This is a case where you have to go with your gut and do what'll make you happy.
 
Thanks for all the feedback, pretty much like I thought. I’ve decided to keep the 198, at least for a good while. Now I need to start bench building a proper rebuild, if anyone has seen a smart sounding plan, let me know. I am sure there is prolly something interesting over on dot.org, but man I can’t find anything with their search engine!
 
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