318 or slant 6?

[the one with the hat]

im building a 73 dart that i plan to take on a long trip one day with my girl friend.
the thing is, what engine do i want? i have a 318 and a slant 6. i will rebuild each of them but im not sure with to use.
i want decent mileage, good power and amazing reliability

 

[mopardude318]

318

 

[dodge71demon]

I was contemplating the same thing.Went with the 318
and I beleive it will be more econonical and reliable than
the slant in the long run I will be having A/C

 

[805moparkid]

I was contemplating the same thing.Went with the 318
and I beleive it will be more econonical and reliable than
the slant in the long run I will be having A/C

lol you havn't raced a slant six with 300,000 miles on it... they are as reliable as the come and can get near 30mpg if built right...

 

[ESP47]

318 will give you a lot more power.

Slant will give you better mileage and more reliability. You just have to decide whats more important. The slant will save you money but wont win you any races unless you put a lot of money into rebuilding it.

 

[OLDFARTSDART]

My /6 will get 21 mpg, and go 70 all day easy,I don't know how many mile it has on it
64dart w/ 67 engine
Moe

 

[dodge71demon]

My /6 will get 21 mpg, and go 70 all day easy,I don't know how many mile it has on it
64dart w/ 67 engine
Moe

Drove my 340 Demon 350 miles last weekend and got 22 MPG driving
70 MPH but kept my foot out of it.I have the Tremec 5 speed with 355 gears.So 21 on a slant isn't that great not enough motor

 

[dodge71demon]

318 will give you a lot more power.

Slant will give you better mileage and more reliability. You just have to decide whats more important. The slant will save you money but wont win you any races unless you put a lot of money into rebuilding it.

Just my opinion but I don't see how

 

[Dartnut]

I would go 318 for your purposes.

 

[nothingface5384]

Drove my 340 Demon 350 miles last weekend and got 22 MPG driving
70 MPH but kept my foot out of it.I have the Tremec 5 speed with 355 gears.So 21 on a slant isn't that great not enough motor

Well, youre comparing a slant 6 no o/d with a 318 w/ o/d.

so slap an overdrive behind the slant with perhaps a nice torquer cam..gear it right and i'm sure you'd get 26-28 mpg with that lil engine..fuel injection and a double o/d and i'm sure you'll reach over 30mpg hiway and 20mpg city

but I agrea with you on the power department .i'd take more power if I only lost 1mpg hiway ..or even 5

 

[mopardrt]

360 two barrel motor

 

[needsaresto]

360 two barrel motor

He has a 318 and a /6.

For me it's a tough question. Your not giving up much reliabilty by going with a 318 compared to the slant,So I'd go with the teen for ease of parts availabilty. This should make it cheap to build. As for power 300 h.p is easily doable with a stock 318,and with highway gears you can pull down 16-18 mpg.

 

[mopardrt]

He has a 318 and a /6.

For me it's a tough question. Your not giving up much reliabilty by going with a 318 compared to the slant,So I'd go with the teen for ease of parts availabilty. This should make it cheap to build. As for power 300 h.p is easily doable with a stock 318,and with highway gears you can pull down 16-18 mpg.

your point? scrap the Slant six sell the 318 find a truck/van 360 :cheers: touchdown

 

[dodge71demon]

Well, youre comparing a slant 6 no o/d with a 318 w/ o/d.

so slap an overdrive behind the slant with perhaps a nice torquer cam..gear it right and i'm sure you'd get 26-28 mpg with that lil engine..fuel injection and a double o/d and i'm sure you'll reach over 30mpg hiway and 20mpg city

but I agrea with you on the power department .i'd take more power if I only lost 1mpg hiway ..or even 5

I have a 74 Scamp that had a slant with the 833OD tranny and it didn't like it a bit probably wrong gearing in the rear for the slant.I'm in the process of remaking the Scamp and going with the 318 and 833OD tranny don't know what gears I'll run yet but looking for econemy

 

[Old Tired Rebel]

Slap a turbo on the /6 and call it good. It will surprise a lot of people.

 

[66V100]

What year slant? Cast or steel crank, hyd or mech valve train? 2bbl or 1?
I had slants for daily drivers for over a decade. Good reliable motors, in stock form, work nice with factory 2bbl and elect ign setup, 20-25 mpg depending on weight, gearing, and driving habbits.
If you want to do a bunch of exotic machine work to the block & head, hang a 4 bbl and header on the side with all the associated headaches and hava good cam made, (if ya cant score a suitable off shelf piece) just to keep up with a warmed over 318 and get similar fuel economy, go with the slant.
The 318 2bbl will do just as good a job, climb the hills, and last just as long if ya treat it rite, rebuilt basically stock.
Parts are much more readily avail and usually cheaper. No valve lash to adj on the 18 (unless you make it so)
Slant guys will argue turbo this and cam compress inject that till they turn blue, its just what they do.
I say mild 18 not hot slant for what you need.
(do 360 and gas mileage go in the same sentence?

 

[mopar410]

Do you have the tranny for both motors?I think on here your going to hear 318 most because the motor is more versatile for upgrades.All bolt on parts from a 340-360 will work.The 6 is a good engine.They both are extremely reliable in stock configuration.

 

[needsaresto]

your point? scrap the Slant six sell the 318 find a truck/van 360 :cheers: touchdown

Yes it's another option,but not the op's original question.

Doesnt sound all that simple to me,selling a 318 in this market. He wont get much. $50-$100 Max.

Scrap the slant? Are ya nuts?

So much for a touchdown. More like a fumble ,lol...

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

Besides the trannys what K frame do you have? If you have a /6 K frame then you will spend money putting in a V8 in it. If you have a V8 K frame then go V8. If you have both K frames I just wasted my time posting this, LOL.

 

[RustyRatRod]

If you want something different, something that few people have, go with the slant. They are bulletproof. Build a Super Six, put a mild solid cam in it, hang a header off the side and you'll have a peppy engine that'll last a lifetime. Plus, your car will have more people around it at car shows because it's something other than a V8.

 

[needsaresto]

Good point oklahoma,but there are some seriously cheap engine swap mounts available from transdapt for less than $100. Not all years are covered however,so it may not be an option.

http://www.tdperformance.com/Engine-Swap-Motor-Mount-Kits

 

[needsaresto]

If you want something different, something that few people have, go with the slant. They are bulletproof. Build a Super Six, put a mild solid cam in it, hang a header off the side and you'll have a peppy engine that'll last a lifetime. Plus, your car will have more people around it at car shows because it's something other than a V8.

VERY BULLETPROOF. Just by nature of the 6 cyl having all it's bearings in line,and more of them makes it a design with more integral strength. Then theres the enormously thick and strong /6 block itself. This little slant is a turbo lovers dream come true! Like I keep sayin,the mopar engineers did it best.:cheers:

 

[TylerW]

318.

My own opinion is that Slant sixes are somewhat overrrated on durability.

I think the long stroke is hard on the rod bearings and they are intolerant of infrequent oil changes. yes, I know everyone has a "tough slant six" story, but I've encountered 5 that were knocking by the time they came into my possession and so far not a single LA engine has done that.

If you really want a durable straight six, talk about a Ford 300. They use them in UPS trucks and on oil wells running off natural gas. They go forever.

 

[red67gts]

I was running a 225 last year when I went to Cruisin' the Coast and I swapped to .30 over 318 with Comp 268 cam running 9.2 cr with Edelbrock 1406 still running same 7 1/4 rear with 2.76 gears. Just got back home after over 700 mi and there is no way I would swap back to the slant. Milage was about the same if not a little better with the 318 but the sound and performance sooo much better. Joe

 

[805moparkid]

318.

My own opinion is that Slant sixes are somewhat overrrated on durability.

I think the long stroke is hard on the rod bearings and they are intolerant of infrequent oil changes. yes, I know everyone has a "tough slant six" story, but I've encountered 5 that were knocking by the time they came into my possession and so far not a single LA engine has done that.

If you really want a durable straight six, talk about a Ford 300. They use them in UPS trucks and on oil wells running off natural gas. They go forever.

lol on the slants being overrated... dont change the oil on anything and s**t is gonna start breaking...

and they used the slant in everything from forklifts to tug boats... and yes they also ran on natural gas and propane...