Time for a rebuild

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I've been looking thru countless online stores with "slant six rebuild kits" and I was a little confused as to why "site a" would sell a kit for $150 and "site b" goes for $350 with the same parts? I was wondering if someone out there in slant 6 heaven can help me find a good rebuild kit at a decent price. I'm not looking for hp or some p.o.s. kit. Just something that I can be happy with and enjoy the fact that the parts will last as long as my 96,457 mile Dart Sport has.
 
96,457 mile Dart Sport has.....should have that many left to go...what happened?

thats what i was thinking! i had 300K on mine. as for the parts. summit has factory style pistons up to .080 over for like 12 bucks each. u can also get all the bearings and gaskets from them.
 
Online wouldn't be my choice.

Go talk to your local machine shop and see what they can do for you.
For a stocker, nothing wrong with a Victor Reinz kit. They can get it for you, likely for a competitive rate.
If your not prepared to do it, have your machine shop measure and get your compression up a bit. Better power, and better economy. Shoot for 8.5:1 or 9.0:1 You can take it off the deck or the head. I like the deck, but I build for lot's more compression.
The car will run better and pass emissions with more compression. If you can get away with it, put a larger head pipe on. 2" is good, 2-1/4" is better for a single. The Feather Duster used a factory 2-1/4" which breathes pretty well though the stock manifold.

100K isn't a lot on a slant. The timing set is likely shot, but unless lubrication or coolant was lost, or the vehicle was driven extremely hard, it shouldn't need a full rebuild. Some rebuilt engines last a short time, but only when the machinist is a total fleebe.
There are concerns about oil pump gears. Stay with a stock size pump. High volume and high pressure pumps are a bad idea on the slant. They simply don't need a whole boat-load of oil or pressure. The loading on the pump gear of a high volume pump can cost you an engine. High oil pressure in a stock engine can flow your bearings.

If you change your mind and want to get some serious power out of it, visit dot org and spend some time in the articles section and searching for options. If you do decide to build power, think about timing curve. It will be necessary to make it run right. Even a high performance build doesn't need an oversize pump. For high RPM, bump the pressure relief up to match. Rule of thumb is 10# per 1000 rpm peak. The stocker is set for 55#. If your not going to run it that fast, don't mess with it.

As long as you've got the engine out, it doesn't take a bunch more $$ to build some potential in. :D

CJ
 
I know it not a lot of miles but this sucker burns oil and i don't see it leaking from anyhwere. My guess is that the rings are blown. I came to that conclusion when I pulled the plugs and all of them had oil, not carbon, on them. I was thinking it might be a gasket, but like I said, I never found the source. If that were the case then I would just do a gasket overhaul.
 
I know it not a lot of miles but this sucker burns oil and i don't see it leaking from anyhwere. My guess is that the rings are blown. I came to that conclusion when I pulled the plugs and all of them had oil, not carbon, on them. I was thinking it might be a gasket, but like I said, I never found the source. If that were the case then I would just do a gasket overhaul.

either that or valve guides. i have a 73 dart with a slant and that thing smokes like a MF...
 
I know it not a lot of miles but this sucker burns oil and i don't see it leaking from anyhwere. My guess is that the rings are blown. I came to that conclusion when I pulled the plugs and all of them had oil, not carbon, on them. I was thinking it might be a gasket, but like I said, I never found the source. If that were the case then I would just do a gasket overhaul.

Agree with you if it's not leaking, it must be burning the oil. Look at the tail pipe and see if it's oily. Just because I'm cheap, I'd suggest running a compression test to include a leak down test. Then take a look at the valve seals.

If there are pieces of the valve seals missing, consider where they may have gone. Although it's not fun or easy, it may be necessary to drop the oil pan to clean off the pick up and remove debris from the pan. Even so, it's cheaper than doing a full rebuild.

FWIW: The 73 is closing in on 300K miles and burns a quart of oil every 1200 miles. Compression is good, seals are cracked. It is my daily driver. For the time being, I'm leaving it alone while looking for a long block core to rebuild.
 
Thanks fellas for the help. Now I have a starting point. Let's see how far this goes.
 
Thanks fellas for the help. Now I have a starting point. Let's see how far this goes.
 
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