well... my first project is a jeep and its not exactly good on gas so im lookin elsewhere for gas milage i origionaly wanted a duster but dad figured i might live longer doin reverse donuts in the mud lol than i would in a street machine ive seen slant dusters go cheap and its got me thinkin so mainly lookin to learn as much about slants as i can get in my head so i can make sure i get a good car that will last thru college without any problems mainly i wory about a lack of power and how much i can build it till i cant afford to drive it i would appreciate anything yall got to say

matt

Lately even slant six dusters aren't quite so cheap anymore!Anyhow,getting to having power AND economy from a SL6 duster(or dart,valiant-or aspen/volare) First make sure the engine,trans & rearend aren't wore out as worn out powertrains kill econ & power.A 225 will make most streetable power while getting good economy.If you luck out & find a 198 SL6 ('70-'74)hold on to it for the long rods, the 198 & 225 have the same block and the 225 crank(forged), 198 rods & 2.2 Turbo(4cyl Chrysler) pistons are getting VERY popular. The Clifford or Offenhouser 4-bbl intakes with the 390 Holley carb(#8007) will give good power,and get good economy too( if you stay out of the secondaries!) If you take the cyl head off for service,have it milled .030(minimum)to .060 for better compression,check out engnbldr.com for GREAT deal on bigger stainless 1-piece valves(1.70/1.44 vs stock 1.63/1.36) make sure the bowls are blended to the seats if bigger valves are installed.Even stock valved ports respond well to bowl-blending as the factory cast & seat cuts leave flow-robbing ridges right below the seats(unless a previous owner already fixed that) For exhaust,the "Dutra Dual" makes for the best combo of power,economy,hassle-free installation&trouble-free and quieter operation.If you just gotta have headers check out the Clifford "Street-Rod" headers.The Hooker Super Comp headers(full length,$400bucks !) might make maximum power AND gasmileage,but at the cost of them,the noise ,poor ground clearance,and hassle of installation(and heat-soaking the starter,thereby having to remove and re-install 'em 'cause the starter won't come out otherwise) not worth it for a college-guy's daily driver.Camshaft-don't go over 260/220 @ .050 duration(up to .500 lift ok,any more is a waste and exponentially increases cost/reduces long-term durability) Distributor( lotta gains to be found w/ proper tuning)electronic mandatory-points SUCK!Check out the Engine threads for info on timing curves and optimum parts (part #s)
If you luck out & find a 4-spd car,or even a 3-spd stick,consider swapping in the OD/4spd inplace of the original trans.Although the 1 to 2 shift is kinda steep the SL6 has such a wide torque curve the RPM drop is no big prob- but the 4th/OD is the deal,you can run a 3.55 or 3.91 rear gear for good accelleration and still get good gas econ.If all youcan find is auto-trans cars, a slightly higher stall convertor(200 higher RPM) rv/tow shift kit,large auxillary trans cooler and (trust me,it works great)quality type-F trans fluid will launch,accelerate,shift & cruise WAY better than a bone-stock automatic and still get 2 to 4 more mpg than stock. Warren@PDX.com p.s. don't stop at my advice,keep reading -lotta good tech & parts source info to be learned @ SL6.org!

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"Faith in Science"

Welcome Matt, glad you made it over.
Lotsa very good info here on the slants. Take some time to read some archives and tech posts also.

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1966 Dart GT
1965 Barracuda

alright thanks man thats alot of help out of curiosity what kind of milage do these super sixes get they sound pretty bad its realy catchin my eye i may want to build one one day you dont see em too much or at least i aint never seen one4

My old'77 Volare wagon w/Super Six (R.I.P.) got 12-18/city & 18-22/freeway depending on how I drove. Usually I'd "leadfoot" it 'till almost out of gas and/or money , then I'd slow down & take it easy.The wagon was a original Super Six w/the following mods: M.P. fast curve distributor( w/10 degrees static advance),8 mm Mallory wires,Accel "big yellow" coil,
MSD 6al box w/5000 chip,sprk plugs gapped .050 w/ground strap filed back to expose electrode/spark kernel, reman BBD carb (for '76 Dart Sport w/318 & choke plate removed), exhaust man. outlet "hogged out" to 2 1/4(matched larger Super Six exh pipe) & heat flap welded in place, head milled .030 w/ Fel-pro "perma-torque blue" head gasket,all ports bowl blended & "cleaned up" & int valves back-cut.No cooling fan, biggest radiator that would fit(Cordoba IIRC),160 degree t-stat(180 in winter)
The trans was original stock w/ Ehrenberg's(Mopar Action) el-cheapo shift mods(toss 1-2 accumulator spring,turn up line pressure to max adjustment & run type-F fluid),factory trans cooler ('82 Diplomat cop-car)
Tires were 305/50/15 on 15x12 Centerline (aluminum) rims(yes,they rubbed a bit on hard turns)rear& 205/55/15 on 15x7 Centerlines.
That car was 100 % reliable & strong enough to haul a '74 Valiant 4dr from Portland to Wildcat Auto(10+ miles past Sandy,Ore) even after haven been in a front-end wreck. I highly recommend Volare/Aspen/Diplomat wagons,theyr'e tough,comfortable,neither too big or small,easy to fix & find parts for & CHEAP!!!

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"Faith in Science"

Girlfriends '01 Cherokee gets 15mpg with bigger tires and a 4.0L

Slant six door slammer that runs past her gets 20mpg with 3.73 and overdrive. I've driven that jeep, ditch it and get a pavement pounder, cause my attention has defintley switched from big tires to carbs (I mean EFI).

ive read a few threads about super sixes best i can tell is that they were a performance package right? ive heard stories from guys round here who claim to have ducttaped snorkels to slants and sink the trucks in water n mud and the motors still out lasted every piece of sheet metal on their trucks most every one who has had one seems to wish they still had it so i figure its gotta be tough to survive one night of redneck fun let alone years of it lol