Howdy all,

After much poking around and curiosity, i decided to not build up my spare 318 for a swap, and see what i can squeeze out of my stock /6'd 1964 valiant pizza delivary car (oh yes.) The budget for my build up has to fall within my highschool budget (approximatly 1500 give or take). With that said, let me get started on what i think might work and what could work.

Acknowlaging the undersquare attributes of my 225, i figure if i use a shot-peened cast crank (for lightness therfor throttle response), and shot-peened rods with stock pistons, i can safely keep my revs under 5500 on the bottom end.

The compression ratio will be as close (or a tad over) to 9.5:1 as possible. Im still not entirley sure how to determine final compression ratios with the cam characteristics. The head will use 1.75" intake valves (55 dodge v8 i believe?) and 1.5" exhaust valves (forgot the donor engine but have it written as well as the necesary machining to shorten the stem). I will open up the bowls a little bit and do my best to poish it.

The ignition system will be a 45,000 volt blaster 2 msd coiled HEI system. I have faith in the oiling system, but might look into a stronger oil drive gear.

I'll be sure to get the bores straight for both pistons and crank mains, which will probably require something around .30 off with oversize pistons to get this worn out thing in good shape.

I'm a bit hung up on the intake system, i cant decide to just got with a 4 barrel, or if i should make things interesting (since its a freakin slant six, its just gotta be cool) by experimenting with multiple carbs or TBI.

If anybody has any tips on proven combinations or maybe something REALLY cost friendly, please let me know!

thanks guys,

Aaron

You needn't spend for shot-peened crank or rods. And if you're building up your '64 engine, a cast crank is neither a feasible option nor particularly desirable for what you want to do. So that's $$ you can spend elsewhere...

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

What he means is that the 64 forged crank block won't accept the cast crank of the later years. You can shot peen the forged crank and rods. ARP bolts and balancing will be required for 5500 rpms, cause I stop at 4500. My suggestion would be to start with the head with machine work and valves. Than move onto cam and bottom end, 1500 won't get you to far when you start down the road of performance. So talk to machine shops about the 64 motor you already have and go from there. Guides are nice too!

What!?!? I run my factory balanced '76 forged crank unit sustained at 5500rpm regularly, and launch at 6200 (with the original head bolts/main bearing bolts/but with new ARP rod bolts).... you must not have much faith in mopar's manufacturing abilities... these are nice options, but he'll have to decide how 'often' he's going to wind it up to that point (having a manual tranny makes it easier to 'dump' the clutch at 6000 rpm, than leaving it in neutral and having an unprepped A904 tank on you when you dump it into drive...)

Doc had a run of better oil pump gears, the oil system could use some 'massaging', just look at Doc's posts on what to camfer.

Once you build this up, you will need to spend some attention on: updating the tranny a bit, and also getting a better/liveable rear ratio (2.94 is a good start... but 3.23 is going to be a bit more- 'fun' and work better for your build up)...

I would start basic with a carb, then upgrade to the EFI setup, so far a lot of builders have broken in their mills with a known working carb system then switch over to EFI that way something doesn't get screwed up in the first couple of minutes of break in if the EFI isn't 'spot on'...

-D.Idiot

A head with big valves and gaskets will eat up $700.

Cam, timing set and pistons w/bore another $500

Big exhaust $300

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Again, I'm not a slant six aficionado. However, if $1,500 is all you have to work with. If the motor is running well as it stands now. Why not, simply keep the rotating assembly stock, deck the head slightly for higher comp. Then go with a super-six setup, with the 2 1/4 exhaust everyone has been telling me to go with. Depending on how much your local machine shop charges you may even have some money left there to have a good valve job done, and get hardened valve seats installed (with better seat angle off 45 degrees for more flow).

Also, you can find the post 73 electric ignition setup for dirt on E-bay. Or go with an MSD 6al.

Okay so after poking around my local wreckers, theres no super six combinations to be found. The main part of my budget was going to be dumped into the head (oversize valves and bore notch). I agree that the rotating assembly is adequate, but i think the valve retainers should be beefier and some 340 springs will be required with my new cam. I would like to use a dual single carb manifold not just because its a challenge im willing to take on, but it pays homage to the south american valiant 3 GT :p

i guess for the time being i should focus on getting the exhaust, ignition, oil pump gear, and intake figured out since i am currently driving this car and cant use it with the engine at the machine shop..

HUM are you planning to do all the wrenching? Can you find a spare engine to build while you keep driving the car(sure makes it better on keeping the job and keeps cash flowing) I know from experiance that to take a car down like this is no weekend project. It can be if you have a fresh built engine ready to go in though.
How much of this do you allready have? Are you buying NEW or Used? Ebag and other used sorces dont allways have what you want when you want it.
Just some things to think about.
Good Luck.
Frank

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Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered

I can always insure my Fiero/Volare Duster in a compromise for style, so another block just for saving time shouldn't be necessary. I plan to go with new bearings, perhaps turn the crank, some shotpeened NOS rods with oversize pistons, supersix with higher output 2 barrel carburetor (havn't a clue on options whether to re-jet, or buy a "bigger" one), and use a bowl ported/polished 9:1 head with 1.75" intake valve and 1.5" exhaust valve (bore notch required on exhaust i believe). All i really need is to work out the details such as the carb and exhaust

For the exhaust, I would go with "Dutra Duals". A new casting from Doug Dutra, a.k.a. Doctor Dodge, for the front 3 cylinders, and a modified exhaust manifold for the rear 3.
For the intake, may I suggest an Offenhauser aluminum 4bbl intake. You can run a 4bbl carb, or do like me and run a 2bbl carb with an adapter.
It will look cool, and save some weight.

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"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

so your using the 4 barrel intake with a 2 barrel carb for improved plenum flow? I'm aware of the dutra duals, but im curious if it would be more worth while in terms of original pipe layout and less pipe therfor less weight, something like a 6-1 header perhaps.. I would also like to tune my carb and exhaust to take advantage of ram air, i recently bought a collection of books on how to power tune this kinda stuff so its gonna be a trial by fire

From what I understand, the hyper-pack 4 barrel doesn't do much more than a super-six in terms of performance unless a pretty street-unfriendly cam is used. I read an article on Allpar.com that said .464/276 was what one builder used. I'm not entirely sure, never owning one myself, but from what I've read, it doesn't seem to be a daily driver style of setup.

Carpdar you may want to use the Dutra Dual set up for manifold heat. Also 6into 1 headers can be hard to put in a lot of cars.
Frank

_________________
Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered

i have to re do my exhaust system completely, so i was thinking of doing a 6-1 header feeding a side mounted pipe. I dont really want to buy more exhaust tubing than i already have to since this is a very budget conscientious build up.

I find it helpful to make a list of what the car currently needs, in order to be a reliable "runner" and then prioritize that list.

If the car is currently running good, a tune-up and a new "large pipe" (2 1/4) single exhaust system may-be a good starting point.

Having restored a lot of Mopar A-Body cars, my next investment is usually a set of anti-sway bars and nice shocks... a car that runs and handles well is fun to drive.

As already suggested, find another SL6 engine to rebuild "on the side", people give me Slant engines all the time.
As others said, start working on a good (ported w/ oversize valves) cylinder head as a first "performance improvement" and spend the $90.00 (shipping included) to get a set of Enginebuilder valves. These drop right in and are a great value.
See this
ebay Link

Remember, do one thing at a time, start with what the car needs the most.
It is important to keep the car running and on the road as much as possible.
DD