Hi,
i currently have a 73 duster with a slant six and a904 tranny. I have the opportunity to get a 318 out of a 72 duster. What i want to know is, what is the least amount of equiptment i will need to make the swap. I am no gearhead or performance junkie. I already have a dart with a slant that i love, but i want just a bit more for the duster. Will the 318 bolt up to my 904? Do i need to swap out the radiator,etc? Any and all advice appreciated. I am just looking for a weekend cruiser here, the engine will be completely stock and i am trying to keep the budget low. I realize that keeping the slant is the cheapest option, but i want to hear any opinions before i give it a try.

when i was young and foolish i did the same thing with a car while i was building another(with a slant in it ) and the 318 sucked, a 225/ with a few mild performance changes will blow any 318,

Big job. K-frame's gotta be changed or you need expensive conversion mounts, radiator won't be adequate, suspension won't be adequate, brakes probably won't be adequate, the V8 won't bolt onto the slant-6 trans, etc.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Back in the 70s, my best bud had a Dodge van with a tired 318 in it.

He horse traded for a built slant, and we did the conversion.

Tho he got the same fuel mileage with both enignes. The slant out preformed the 318 by a long shot.

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Basically you need to swap everything under the 72 v-8 hood into the 73 slant car-- including all suspension pieces. I do not know --but 73 is a transition year-- they changed k-member styles & such..

so there will be some differences---

good luck going v-8

wow,
i did not realize it was so much of a project. I have two slant cars right now, a 74 dart which i just finished all the body work and a 73 duster. My thought was to keep the dart stock and to put a v8 in the duster. I have converted 70's camaros from v6 to v8 and the job was relatively simple. I am pretty new to mopars however. Can you really get a slant to perform as well as a 318? Let me ask this then, If i keep my slants in both cars, which are both completely stock, what is the cheapest and best upgrades to make? If i want to swap the rearend, will that give me more power? If so, what cars or trucks can i get the appropriate rear out of at the junkyard? I have read the super six write ups, are they really worth the money? I dont really want to go and tear the engine up at all, both of them run perfect as they were both low mileage grandpa cars. I put new Holley carbs on both, and they run fine, just not a lot of acceleration. I am no speed demon, but i like some oomph when i press the gas!

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

thanks,
where do you get the larger exhaust system, i have not seen anything available through summit racing or other catalogs.

There are no off the shelf 6 cylinder exhaust systems any longer. You can buy a bunch of mandrel bends and make yourself a nice exhaust system or find a local shop to bend you one. Take the time to find a good shop and view some of their work!

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Joshua

You will be swapping the 318 into the 73 car:

You need to swap the K-member from the 72 into the 73 or use a set of shumacher conversion mounts.

Your torsion bars in the 73 will be fine as mopar dropped the slant six bars after 1972...1973 cars with the 318 used the same bars as the 225 car...

If your car has 9" drums, you'll want 10" minimum...

You will need a small block A-904 or A-727 tranny...

Radiator from the 72 might be better (check to see if they both have the 19" or 22" wide cores...use the 22" one).

Given the stock 1 barrel slant vs. the 318 with an auto and a set of 2.76's out back the 318 would be a bit better, but both will get equal gas mileage (stock for stock)... the 318 if given the same performance mods as the slant, will also perk up (and there are still plenty of vehicles in junkyards that will give up cheap 4 barrel intakes, linkage, and TQ's for the mod...)

If the '72 has an 8 3/4" rear, you'l need to keep that, the 7 1/4" under the slant car will work as a daily driver, but will grenade after too many launches...



I've grenaded about 5 of these guys (including one of the Diplomat cop car 318's) so I'm not particular for the baby LA engine... the swap is plenty of work, so gauge your skill appropriately...

-D.Idiot

Playing devil's advocate here... although I still have my stock transmission, absolutely none of the other items you listed are stock on my slant six powered '66 Dart, either. And I'm also sticking an 8 3/4" rear axle in it because I suspect the 7 1/4" won't last long either if I turn up the boost.

Most of these parts were quite all right for normal driving on 1970s era tires - but all of them have room for improvement, regardless of engine choice.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

only thing i will add is that if 8 3/4 rearend are hard to come by find a 81/4 out of a dakota pickup pre 94 they have 8 1/4 rears and usually posie`s with 3.55 or 3.90 gears put all the differenical parts in you A body 8 1/4 they are good rearends.

On the dakota rear end, you will need one from 87-90... 91 up had 6 lug axles in them! They used alot of 8-1/4s in Cherokees (NOT Grand cherokees tho) that should be real close lengthwise, too.

I went through (3) 7 1/4 rears in five years. The car came with a 2.76, tried a 2.93 and a 3.23. The pinion gear on each one went out, plus that axle bearing races would crack. Got a "C" body 8 3/4 and cut it down and put Moser Flanges on it for the bearings. It is the best improvement in stabilizing the rear end yet. Had Randy's Ring and Pinion build a 2.76 489 case with a Posi. Randy's also sells the correct axles. No more howling rear end, and I can stomp on it and not have to worry. I used a 1969 10" brake system instead of the 9" stock units which really made a big difference. My car already had 10" on the front. If you want to have fun with the car, or drive on twisty roads in the foot hills and mountains, the 8 3/4 is the way to go.

Also had "ESPO" build some 5 leaf springs and installed poly bushings. The rear suspension is nice and solid with no slop. Also added a 1 3/4 front sway bar and 7" wide rims, P215 60 14's for the front and P235 60 14's for the rear. As bad as traffic is up here with all the crazy drivers, my car can stop on a dime and has far better handling compared to the stock 4" wide rims with stock P195 tires and 9" brakes.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

yes the dakota did go to 6 lug put they kept 28 spline axles untill 93 so you can use the guts to beef up an A body 8 1/4 axle house and shalfts with lower gear and posie`s units