Looking for a slant builder/guru

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DodgeLad

DodgeLad

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I am located in Albuquerque and looking for a turnkey solution. It's for a daily driver 1980 truck. The motor runs ok now but doesn't have enough power. I thought about a v8 swap, but I want to keep the /6. Plus the truck has a /6 A727 that is working well.

Looking for someone close, but that is not necessary as I am willing to work something/almost anything out with the right person. Thinking about a performance rebuild with the Offenhauser intake and Edelbrock 500 carb, although nothing is carved in stone right now.

Time frame is sometime in 2017. I say that because I am recovering from illness. That is why I need turnkey...I can't do much on my own. Drop me an email at andy.ryan(thirty)@gmail.com. Replace the (thirty) with 30 and the email will work. I am wanting to get a plan started.
 
Hi, our shop does rebuilds all the time, but you'd have to ship it to New Jersey. We can build it any way you want. The more sensible way to do this is find a machine shop that is local to you and have them build the long block for you and you can bolt on all the after market parts (goodies) after it's completed.

You said the engine runs "ok",.but not enough power. Does it smoke? If not and it has decent compression, it can be upgraded to make more power. A good tune-up, bigger exhaust etc. I would give it a good tune-up first before rebuilding the engine. Make sure the valve lash is set correctly, advance the timing a few degrees,.upgrade the carb, intake, a header, 2 1/2" or 3" exhaust would be nice. A good muffler, better gear ratio. Performance camshaft. A lot of upgrades can be done to make it run more efficiently.
 
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FURY440 said:
Hi, our shop does rebuilds all the time, but you'd have to ship it to New Jersey. We can build it any way you want. The more sensible way to do this is find a machine shop that is local to you and have them build the long block for you and you can bolt on all the after market parts (goodies) after it's completed.

You said the engine runs "ok",.but not enough power. Does it smoke? If not and it has decent compression, it can be upgraded to make more power. A good tune-up, bigger exhaust etc. I would give it a good tune-up first before rebuilding the engine. Make sure the valve lash is set correctly, advance the timing a few degrees,.upgrade the carb, intake, a header, 2 1/2" or 3" exhaust would be nice. A good muffler, better gear ratio. Performance camshaft. A lot of upgrades can be done to make it run more efficiently.
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I *think* the rear main seal is leaking and I would like to replace the timing set. Looks pretty easy to pull the engine and just go through it. No its not smoking.
 
Well there ya go and that's the way to do it. Pull it, regasket it and so on.
 
You really need to go to slantsix.org and look around there,,, several slant six guru's frequent that site,, in the FAQ section there are postings where folks detailed:cams, compression ratios, manifolds used and the results.
 
How much more power are you looking for?
I mean a 318 is a quick 100hp with a 4bbl for like,$500 with a tranny.That's really hard to beat.
Otherwise more gear will do it for even less.
 
You will end up spending way too much money to add 50 or 60 HP and be disappointed in the end.
 
I hate to go on the V8 bandwagon but there's pretty much 3 problems building a /6.

1st is 300 hp or so is maximum power 1 hp per cid would be a pretty hot /6.

2nd /6 heads needs work to make even 200 hp $$$$.

3rd is you still have an engine with no torque which is OK if you don't mind running deep gears. And by deep gears I mean deep gears to equal a 3.55/360 you need to be in the 5.'s:1.
 
Thanks everyone for the insight. Right now I'm thinking of getting a core and building it myself when and if I get better. I like hydraulic lifters so an 1981+ would be nice. 60 extra hp would be welcome. That would be a huge increase.

Questions: thinking of removing the air pump. Do I just plug the hole in the head? lol Will there be any undesirable side effects?
 
DodgeLad said:
Thanks everyone for the insight. Right now I'm thinking of getting a core and building it myself when and if I get better. I like hydraulic lifters so an 1981+ would be nice. 60 extra hp would be welcome. That would be a huge increase.

Questions: thinking of removing the air pump. Do I just plug the hole in the head? lol Will there be any undesirable side effects?
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1)I'm wishing You a speedy recovery for the new year!
2)Is this tk. a 2WD or 4WD?
3)What gears are in it now?
4)How much real hi-way time does it see? Over 70mph for any length of time?
5)Someone had a set of long-tube headers for a slanty that looked like they were for a tk., use the search function in mech. parts for sale?
6)You should try dropping the belt off the air-pump, then drive it, then be honest w/yourself if it really made any diff.........probably not much.
7)Downsides?...besides increased emissions? Your scores will plummet at the Concours judging portion of the next show You go to.:D
8)You don't have to build a 200Hp mill to have a greatly improved running truck, it's a daily driver, what do you plan to use it for 90% of the time?
9)You don't even have to do the job "right" to see an improvement, see powernationTV episodes on a slant build.
 
Killer6 said:
1)I'm wishing You a speedy recovery for the new year!
2)Is this tk. a 2WD or 4WD?
3)What gears are in it now?
4)How much real hi-way time does it see? Over 70mph for any length of time?
5)Someone had a set of long-tube headers for a slanty that looked like they were for a tk., use the search function in mech. parts for sale?
6)You should try dropping the belt off the air-pump, then drive it, then be honest w/yourself if it really made any diff.........probably not much.
7)Downsides?...besides increased emissions? Your scores will plummet at the Concours judging portion of the next show You go to.:D
8)You don't have to build a 200Hp mill to have a greatly improved running truck, it's a daily driver, what do you plan to use it for 90% of the time?
9)You don't even have to do the job "right" to see an improvement, see powernationTV episodes on a slant build.
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Thanks. Its a 2wd with 3.23. I would like to drive it 50 miles to Santa Fe and back. Thats at 75mph and lots of hills. lol, I'll just keep the pump as it is. I mainly commute 12 miles at city speeds with the truck.
 
First, insure you understand what "power" means. That occurs at high rpm, with the engine screaming. So, unless you plan to drive around like that (sometimes looking childish), max HP may not be the most important spec. What most people describe as "power" is really low-end torque, think a Harley glugging along in high gear, ready to torque it out w/ a twist of the throttle. That is why most V-8's were sold w/ 2-barrel carburetors.

If you want power (high rpm) with good torque down low (and better mileage), look at Rhoads lifters. That will let you run a high-lift camshaft and still a good idle. I "think" that small-block lifters might interchange w/ slant hydraulic lifters, but check. Slant lifters are oiled a bit different so might not work even if the bore is correct. Would also need a racing hydraulic cam, which might be a custom part (anyone seen one?).

First thing is to look at your ignition. I don't know trucks, but sometime in the early 1980's Chrysler started the "lean burn" ignition which was problematic. If so, changing to an HEI module is your easiest fix. You will probably get more gain for the buck from a bigger exhaust than a bigger intake and when installing the engine is a good time for that.
 
DodgeLad said:
I *think* the rear main seal is leaking and I would like to replace the timing set.
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I think you can change all the gaskets and seals w/ engine in car. The rear seal is a 2-piece rubber, so you can slide the top half around the crankshaft. The bottom side installs in a removable aluminum cap. You don't even need to remove the rear bearing cap as one must in a V-8. Might need to jack the engine up 2" to slide the oil pan past the K-frame. A-body owners must. You need to remove the radiator to take the crank damper off to get the timing cover off.
 
BillGrissom said:
First, insure you understand what "power" means. That occurs at high rpm, with the engine screaming. So, unless you plan to drive around like that (sometimes looking childish), max HP may not be the most important spec. What most people describe as "power" is really low-end torque, think a Harley glugging along in high gear, ready to torque it out w/ a twist of the throttle. That is why most V-8's were sold w/ 2-barrel carburetors.
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Sorry to say your wrong all an engine makes is power whether be low mid or high end power. We're use to talking in terms high end hp and low end torque which is not accurate. Power or hp is the combined effort of torque and rpms through out the powerband. And the 2bbl thing is economics, cheaper to make then a 4 bbl no advantage with torque or mileage.

Yes you can do mods that move that powerband higher (off idle) making low end weaker under 2000 rpm even though you'll make more torque overall (hp). For street engines I see the goal is increasing the powerband without moving the powerband to far from idle.

The problem is with low power stock engines is there done by 4500 rpm and already make good low end power (torque) hard to make huge improvements down low. Most things like cam heads and exhaust moves the moves the powerband up. The trick is to increase it with little to no impact on bottom end. There's no reason you can't increase top end a 1000 rpms giving you an idle to 5500 powerband with more power across the board. Above that under 2000 rpms begins to suffer so greater stall and gears is required and most cars are under geared to start with basically anything under 4:1.

So best to do things that work between Idle and 5500 especially 2000 to 4000. The only thing I could see you really screwing up under 2000 rpms is cam. And the head is so weak have a hard time believing it could over done plus a good flow head needs a lesser cam which is more streetable then big cam poor flowing head. Plus without any head work your not gonna make more than 200 hp.
 
You may as well build it stock if you are going to stifle yourself with hydraulic lifters. The slant needs every single little advantage when it comes to more power. Going hydraulic is simply dumb.
 
Thanks for all the tips. I've done a rear main seal a few times on Magnum V8s. So I should be able to handle that chore. I'll keep the solid lifters although I don't find adjusting them all that gratifying. I got the HEI from Trailbeast...best mod so far.

What kind of gains would be had from the Offy intake and a different carb? Right now I'm running a Holley 1945. I know there is a Super Six package, but seems to be a lot of ado for 10hp.
 
DodgeLad said:
Thanks for all the tips. I've done a rear main seal a few times on Magnum V8s. So I should be able to handle that chore. I'll keep the solid lifters although I don't find adjusting them all that gratifying. I got the HEI from Trailbeast...best mod so far.

What kind of gains would be had from the Offy intake and a different carb? Right now I'm running a Holley 1945. I know there is a Super Six package, but seems to be a lot of ado for 10hp.
Click to expand...

here is info on the slant six build that I did for an 83 D150,
photos at the link below
2017 1 Jan 83 D150 S6

* kept the hydraulic lifters,,, in today's world they don't hurt performance and it would be a major hassel to do valve lash adjustments on a slant in a truck chasis, maybe not such a reach in an A body, but would not be an easy reach in a D series
* for a cam, contact Oregon Cam grinders, depending upon where you live shipping will be about 20.00 each way and the re grind is about 75.00 Oregon has a long list of hydraulic and mechanical grinds, if you want I can dig out the exact grinds that I used and I set this motor up for low end torque,, used a reverse dual profile setup
, IIRC 212 and 210 @.050,,,, 256 and 250 duration advertized
maintained the OE 105 LSA,
* Dual Dutras, 30 inch extensions off those leading to a Y into one
* Holley 2280 2 BBL on a cast aluminum intake manifold, with the intake manifold EGR cavity modified to be a hot water heat chamber
* HEI ignition
* OS valves, mild cyl head porting
* static compression set to 8.50, I was very careful with the pre and post machining measurements, cut something like .040 off the head and .010 off the block. With the short duration cam and early intake closing the engine develops 185 psi cranking cylinder pressure.
* .030 cast pistons, moly rings, King bearings, stock rods,,,,,

engine is in a nice 1983 D150, OD A833, I added AC, power door locks, power windows, cruse,,,,
did the rebuild 2+ years ago. The truck / motor has 23K miles on it since the rebuild.
pulled a solid 178 HP on a chassi dyno,, was listed as 104 HP in the stock condition. The torque builds off idle, the curve flattens out from 1700 to 2700 RPM, at highway crusing speeds the motor is on the high end of the torque curve which is what I wanted
at highway legal speeds (65 to 70 MPH) gets a consistant 22 MPG, the truck will run 90+ MPH. Runs regular gas and has been reliable. Runs great.
 
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