Thanks for the kind words, 'dude. I am sure that a lot of younger guys with a lot of testosterone and not much patience, have trouble understanding my oddball mindset when it comes to the affinity I have for these slanted "wonders," but consider this: I started building "fast" cars (well, I thought they were fast...) when I was about sixteen (1954,)and, of course. they always had to be V-8's... lol I sailed through the 1950's Gasser era with an OLDS 88-powered '35 Pontiac B/Gasser, a '51 Henry J (SB Chevy-powered,) and was partners in a C/GS '50 Ford coupe with a G.M.C.-blown, Hydramatic-equipped 12 second (327 Chevy-powered) thriller. Then, in the '60s, when the Junior Stock era emerged, I built one of the first 4-speed Hydramatic-equipped, '57 Chevy sedan deliveries for H/SA ("Power Pack" 220hp 283.) Then, my Mopar era began in 1971 when I put together a 1971 340 small block from a wrecked Demon, and a 1964 Valiant V-100, 2-door sedan, 4-speed.... a REALLY fun car (and, amazingly-enough, the only car I ever owned that was never outrun!) Then came old age and what I though might be my "last gasp" effort, a 1972 Valiant that came from Ma with a 318, P/S, P/B and A/C, but was soon to receive a 360 Magnum crate motor and a Vortech supercharger (runs mid 11's at 118.)
Do we see a pattern here? Yes... they are all V-8s. FIFTY YEARS OF THEM... in a word, "BORING"!!!
My friend and fellow Mopar fanatic had much the same history as I did... a lifetime of V-8s...
One day about 5 years ago, he looked at me and I looked at him and we simultanously said, "We need a six!"
The next day, his wife found us a '64 Valiant for $700.00 in the kind of shape you'd expect a 46-year-old car to be in that had spent te last fifteen years of its life sitting under a tree, out in an otherwise, vacant field.
Dirty, totally worn out and ugly.
He (Freddie) spent hundreds of hour on sanitizing that relic, while I determined the mechanical specs I found appropriate for our little project, and stated buying parts.
I did lots of hours of research and learned a lot in a hurry. I was 71 and he was 72, so we both knew we didn't have lot of time to get this done... :disgust:
I discovered that FABO members Tom Wolfe and Ryan Peterson had both built slant sixes that seemed technologically and financially within our reach, and both made over 500 horsepower.
My decision was made when Tom offered to help us in any way he could... and, he did, in spades!.
He spent tons of time, fixing us up with some stronger (220,000psi) ARP head-studs, engineering a "group-buy" for them on the "ORG" list, built us a deep (oil) pan, made camshaft recommendations, carb and jetting recommendations, (Ryan Peterson was a big help, too!), provided ignition timing information, and saved us a whole lot of time, on many subjects.
His help made this project do-able. We basically, built a clone of the engines in his and Ryan's cars. I just hope ours (mine, now,) will run within a train-length of theirs...
Then out of the blue about a year ago, Freddie, who had contributed mightily to this project, decided to go another way, bought a 150 hp nitrous kit for his 380hp, 360 Magnum-powered '69 Dart GT, and a Paxton supercharger for his '68 Road-Runner look-alike '68 Cornet, project, and made me an offer that I could not refuse (for sole ownership of the six-cylinder car.)
So, it's all mine, now... The glory and the problems... LOL!
THAT is how I came to be a slant six freak. I came to realize that the slant six is an engine that may not have Achilles heel when it comes to a limit on how much you can boost it. But I have seen guys running 30 pounds (600 hp) and apparently, have not seen the limit, and, that's probably enough for this old man...
When it comes to V8s.... been there; done that... I just wanted to try something AA/Different...
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rayer:
