I'm new to the slantsix.org community and I'm 17. My question is that I don't have much money and I'm planning on building the slant six in my 1971 Dart. I wanted to get the option from some people who knew a lot about these engines. I have already decided to get a master rebuild kit, have a valve job done on the head, cut the head .100", new intake with a Weber 38 carb, and possibly an electronic ignition conversion. I would like it all to be under $1500. Anybody have any thoughts?

You will have to shop around locally and find out who is the better machinists in town to do the job and who can handle a mopar engine (lots of chevy guys can say say they've done them to get the business then goof up the work because they never have worked with one. Your next bid will be to ask the cost on the machine work.

Roughly if this were done by my local "bread and butter" machinist:

The have a flat rate for milling the head and .100 runs around $134...
Head work price will depend on how bad your head really is (pre-1973 non-hardened exhaust seats may be needed)...if it's a high miler with new valves, guides, springs then you are already batting at $500+
I'll assume the master rebuild kit ran around $575 with shipping (northern auto parts kit?)...so that's leaving you with about $400 for hot tanking and magnafluxing the block, overboring (say 20 over min), cleaning and shining up the crank, checking the rods, resizing them, and hanging the pistons...Typically this stuff runs in the $500-700 range also.

The block deck may need a little milling to get it back straight after being mated a certain way for 50 year...usually it's good to have them mill the block deck .010 to give it a new true surface then take the remainder off the head...(best to get the block assembled first and check the deck height while they work on the head, so if looking for a 9:1 compression ratio you can confirm the block's measurements then determine what the chamber volume needs to be to support the CR, and have the machinist mill it for you-the chamber volume will change a bit especially if they do seat work, new valves/etc...)

That budget also will assume that you are doing all the cleaning after machining, assembly and rechecking of the work.

Intake is another expense, carb is another, new kickdown cable, electronic conversion about another $80

etc...

-D.Idiot

I do appreciate all the help you are giving me. The engine now is in a semi good running condition, so (this maybe frowned upon) but I don't really want to haul the block 30 miles away to the nearest machine shop in Colorado springs. Is block machining work a must? Like I said I don't have the money. All I want is a little more power/mpg, and a good reliable vehicle to drive 20 miles away to school.

My neighbor rebuilt engines for a living 20 years ago, so he has all the tools and knowledge to put the engine together.

As for the head work, if its going to be $500+. It would be cheaper to buy a re-manufactured head on Ebay with hardened seats for $350.

For the title I should have put rebuild instead of build.

There becomes a big question and you are very lucky to have someone close with the experience and the tools to help guide you through the job.

This is where visual inspection is needed:

If you pull the head and the bores are smooth with no crosshatching and there is a "ridge" at the top of the bore, then you take a gamble...the extra compression pressure from the milled head might compromise the rings and you are back into a full rebuild...

If there is minimal ridge, and the bores are in OK shape, your buddy might be able to guide you through a driveway hone and rering job...then put the reconditioned head on and good to go for a while (that would save money on the master rebuild kit and you can get a re-ring/re-gasket kit, and the block machining money as well). Any scratched bores and it's gonna not go so well for long...

But that will require pulling the head and taking some measurements and visually inspecting the bores...

-D.Idiot

Alright, That's kind of what I expected to hear. The car only has 54000 miles on it, so it shouldn't be too bad, but this car is also full of surprises
Thanks a lot for the insight, I really wanted to know what I was getting into on this.

You have to factor in though a car then was expected to last 100,000 miles or so. A car with 51k would have the ware of a 100,000 mile engine in a modern car.

_________________
Leela: 1970 Dart 225 CID
Coulmn Shift TorqueFlite
7 1/4" Axle 2.76 Gears

Go ahead and save that weird car, the sedan, the 6 cylinder, the C-Body. If you want a big block musclecar and that's all you care about, your missing the point.

I'd suggest you hold off on the intake and Weber for now, too. Save the money so that when it's time to replace the exhaust system you can upgrade to 2 1/4". Won't make much difference trying to get more air in if it can't get back out again.

Actually redirecting your money and having the exhaust replaced with 2 1/4" from exhaust flange to muffler and 2" out the muffler to the bumper will give you a bump in power and gain 1-2 more mpg over stock. You might start ter first and then think on the compression increase...

-D.Idiot