Ultimate Daily Driver : Slant 6 or 318, or...

[ValerianMagnum]

I Guys ! i bought a new car 2 months ago a dodge dart sport 76 in a verry good shape and it as already is original mechanic in it , its never been restored and its not fucntionnal , but everything is there ...and i want to do a daily driver with it , remember i live in montreal canada , so we all used to drive our muscle car 6 months per years but i want to use this one to replace my golf and take it all year long . is this possible or its a impossible dream ?

So my point is what will be better keep my slant 6 ( a good old 225 ) or do the v8 swap and swap a 318 that i have left ... and if i keep the slant 6 i need to modify it cause that year the 6 ad like 100 hp so .. i think the big dart needs a lil bit more hp than that ..

Give me your comments please !!!!

 

[ValerianMagnum]

 

[Purple Haze]

If it were me I'd keep the slant.

 

[blackbomber]

First, congrats on going classic. I think using the car as daily transportation is perfectly reasonable.

Having had both a 225, 318, and a modern VW (2002 TDI) for daily transportation, I would say I like the 318 for daily use. The extra attitude and fun of the V8 outweighs the extra consumption. But since you already have a 225 in the car, I would go with that. What Golf did you have? I don't see the 225 being a problem unless you had an R32, or something. Even then, drive it for a while, and you will get used to it.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Edit, I read your list of cars, and see you are no stranger to the /6. You know best. I have never driven a Super 6, but modding to that spec might be just what the doctor ordered.

 

[jamesdart]

i tried the slant for a second time. after a super six, opened up exhaust manifold, mandrel bent 2.5" exhaust and 3.73s its almost tollerable. in stock for they are way too booring. im still going to swap it out.

 

[ValerianMagnum]

im driving a 97 golf with a 1,8 engine , it goes verry good but , i dont know i always wanted a old car to use for a daily driver , it sounds like if i lived in california !!but theres some folks here with novas .. 4 door darts etc who still run these cars on winter time , and im always amazed when i see that . sometimes i wonder if im better to put them EFI to run them 24/7 and all year long !

 

[dgc333]

Anything is possible but I assume it snows in the winter in Montreal and they salt the roads. The Darts weight balance is not good for snow traction (though you can load the trunk with ballast) and the structure does not have the rust protection of a new car so it will deterirate quite quickly so putting a lot of work and money into body/paint work doesn't make sense. The 225 won't provide enough power to be really entertaining but will do just fine for A to B driving.

What I did was make my Barracuda a 3 season daily driver (comes out mid to late March and gets tucked away the first time the roads are salted in Novemember). I also swapped the \6 for a hot 360 so the car is fast and is always entertaining to drive which more than makes up for not having creature comforts like AC.

 

[ef8340]

i'd keep it a /6 when i was growing up in ohio mid west area alot off wind from the great lakes some times with a wind chill factor of -30 i had acouple of 70 /6 darts and they were my daily driver projects i was driving my 70 back in the so called blizzard up there in 94 and taking back roads with 2'1/2" snow drifts across the road with no problems i'd say fine tune that 6 and put some good brakes and tires on it and let it roll

 

[TexasDart]

no doubt...whip it out and put in that V8...they just sound better and the gas mileage won't be that much different.

 

[65cudalover]

318 v8!

 

[4flats]

I'd say 318, although, I always thought about lightening and hot-rodding a /6 for milage instead of speed. Fiberglass fenders, trunklid, hood, bumpers, tallish gears and a 5-speed, but with the goal of maximum miles per gallon (or KPH, eh?). I saw somewhere there used to be a 2-piece manifold for the dart 6, there's definate possibility there. But, you could do the same thing with a 318, cheaper and easier.

 

[rumblefish360]

If it were me I'd keep the slant.

I agree, keep the /6. A 318 swap is costly for a cruiser.

 

[mopardrt]

my 1974 has an all original 318 with a two barrel and it gives great gas millage

 

[memike]

Snow tires and keep the /6, Looks like you need a few parts to run the /6 ?

 

[VDART]

keep the slant, read up on some mods to improve performance, (supersix,2.25 exhaust-- etc...) drive daily & enjoy--- Lawrence

 

[RedFish]

My daily driver was a 73 Valiant for a long time. I only thought it got decent fuel milage. It had cold start issues in winter. Slow to thaw the glasses, etc...
I recently got in a 91 Geo Prizm and never looked back.Turn the key and go. How it idles never changes. 10 gallons of gas goes forever.
The classics are great, fair weather fun. I look forward to driving my B'cuda once in a while. I wouldn't dare drive it in rush hour traffic, much less snow. My.02

 

[leblanc]

360 the darn thing, I did and i'm not sorry!

 

[player1up]

My daily driver was a 73 Valiant for a long time. I only thought it got decent fuel milage. It had cold start issues in winter. Slow to thaw the glasses, etc...
I recently got in a 91 Geo Prizm and never looked back.Turn the key and go. How it idles never changes. 10 gallons of gas goes forever.
The classics are great, fair weather fun. I look forward to driving my B'cuda once in a while. I wouldn't dare drive it in rush hour traffic, much less snow. My.02

I drive mine in rush hour traffic, but that's one reason why I painted it an annoyingly loud color. I suppose it depends on what you call rush hour, and yes, I've had a few close calls.

I will have to say that even here in FL I have to jack with my carb twice a year, once when it starts to get over 80 during the day and once when it starts getting to 50 at night.
OK with that said, a classic as a DD is, um, well, an adventure. You have to be willing to work with it and not expect it to be something it's not. Unless you do a complete refit of everything down to the wiring it's not going to behave like a new car, and even then it's 30 yr old tech.
I've done some mods to my slant ( just your average stuff, no internals ) and it's a handful in the rain, can't imagine driving it in the snow.

 

[D Dodge]

Montreal? I hear you get some pretty bad ice storms up there. Those winters are not kind to Dusters. Salt will kill it fast.

 

[ValerianMagnum]

but if i put an anti rust treatment it will help the dart for sure ... yeah okay if its -30 with a big snow storm outside i will never take it but i mean for a normal winter day i dont think it will be that bad ??

 

[ValerianMagnum]

i was even thinkin swapping a new 5.2 or 5.9 EFI in it ... but again i dont know !!! doing all the wiring conversion !! ouch

 

[Dart_Doctor]

well im going with the slant 6 u can make them do the same as a small block thats what im doing with my wagon