Thanks again for the help fellas, you guys are great.

I've been thinking about this unit a bit and I've come across something that I'm a bit confused about. The stock unit from Orchard Machinery Equipment uses a Dodge pick up front end as discussed. Someone who owned this machine before me cut out large holes in the hood as well as big portions of the wheel wells. It appears they were trying to get more air flow through the engine compartment which may indicate the engine was running a bit hot. Keep in mind that the machine moves very slow through orchards (and backwards compared to a pick up) so there's not much fresh air flowing through the radiator, just what the fan will pull in.

What I'm pondering is whether this is a design flaw by OMC or is there another reason this engine may have run hot? Anything typical about this engine I should look for?

If the cooling system is not kept reasonably well serviced, some Slants did crud up the block passages. Flush the cooling system and put in a new thermostat and you should be good.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Might want to throw in an electric fan, maybe as a pusher in front of the radiator to help get air moving.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

Yeah, I figure I'll do a good flush. This engine won't be in a closed compartment on the machine I'm fabricating so air flow shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I'm a little suspicious that the Slant 6 may have been JUST enough to power the machine it's in. I know a number of folks that used the same machine with the Slant in them. I'll querry them on how hard the engine works.

Sure would like to use this engine. It's all set up for me.

A slant is one of those (somewhat) rare automotive engines that can run pretty much 100% output for an unlimited time without overheating.... PROVIDED that the whole cooling system is in good shape. As far as the holes in the hood, I'd guess that over the years the cooling system was allowed to deteriorate and some previous owner figured that cutting metal was easier than fixing the cooling system. A good flush of the block and check of the radiator (re-core or replace if it can't be saved), plus the usual water pump, hose, fan (and shroud) and thermostat checks should solve any overheating problems regardless of how hard the engine has to work.

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judging by that grille, its a 77-78 Dodge truck front clip, although as an industrial app, maybe they kept the drip tube head in service longer than they did for a street engine???

Another thing to consider about overheating is the overall condition of the engine.

If the valves need adjusted and the carb is full of gunk, then the motor could generate a lot more heat than it normally would in good repair. Before I put lots of hours into the cooling system, I'd get it running in tune and see if heat is really a problem. Even at that point, the overheating could be related to overtiming (due to the gear reduction) or vacuum leaks at the manifold gasket, which are very common. Just don't try to fix a leaking manifold gasket by over tightening the manifold, that created whole new problems.

As far as power goes, with all that gear reduction, a slant six should be far more than you will ever need. (even a badly worn out one). Keep oil and water in that slant six and it should run the rest of that rig into it's grave.

Almost wish I needed a couple of industrial machines so I could use slant sixes in them. I just love these motors.

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

Thanks again,

I'm guessing that overheating won't be a problem.

Looks like I'll give this engine a try in the new machine. I'm sure I'll be visiting you guys some more as things progress.