Hello all slant six fans,
I am a 22 y/o recent college grad who received an amazing gift for graduation... a 1966 Dodge Campwagon (A-100). My life has changed very much with this van and I am practically in love. I have been driving the van as is since May except for brake repairs and a rebuilt carburetor. I know little to nothing about cars and my father, even though he bought me this car for the sole reason that it has a slant 6, has very little knowledge either.
I am driving cross country in it right now and have made it from MASS to Santa Fe, NM with only a tune up in Nashville. The problem is that I lost a huge amount of power two hours before I got to Santa Fe. I had someone suggest that it was in need of a point adjustment. I brought it into a shop and they said the distributor shaft was bad so they adjusted it and off i went only to travel 1 mile, up a hill, and stalled out. They put in a new distributor, yet the power is completely gone when I go up slow grades. I was going 65-70 on the way out here... now I feel like a 4 cylinder VW!
The next step was to flush out the fuel line... I ended up running out of gas when I took it from the garage not knowing how much they ran it (gauge is a bit off). It was running horribly before they rebuilt the carbuetor a few months back. This didn't do it either. I am really worried that the engine is failing and I desperately need help. Please let me know if you have any suggestions at all.
THANK YOU!
Devin

Well, first, hello and welcome. Second, this is very hard to diagnose without actually being there.

My first bet would be point replacement and adjustment. After that, valve lash adjustment. Then I would check the timing chain to see if it was stretched. Then I would double check the base timing and the vacuum advance. Then I would look for vacuum leaks.

What town are you nearest to? Maybe a board member could give an in person diagnosis.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Valve lash is what I would check first,If you are comming out west,I am in Long beach ca,more than willing to help out,68 A 100 truck with a slant,62 Valiant chop top with a slant,62 restored Valiant with a alluminum block slant.Parts and willing to help here,Mark,www.motoguzziclassics.com

Also could be the NEW dist isnt timed correctly,Dog House on these are a pain,I would play with dist timeing first,allways go with the fastest easiest way first,Feel free to call me and I might be able to talk you tru this,Mark 562 290 2194

Don't listen to these shops when they tell you the distributor shaft is bad. I've had two different shops tell me on three occasions that my distributor shafts were bad when in fact it was just the points that werent opening enough. I would check your points and timing first. Valve lash second. Start with the easiest stuff that costs nothing to adjust and then go from there. If you don't know how to check the points and timing then just ask or search on this forum and you'll find the answer.

And Steve Remmington,Is in Pearce Az,closer and with alot of parts,knoweldge,You will have to call me to get his number,I have to ask him if its ok to give out his number.mark

Don't worry man... your engine isn't shot!

With a little work you'll be driving that camper van until you are 82!
(Assuming you can still buy gas in 60 years)

Like the fellas said, tell us where you're at and someone will help you out.

If you do go to a service station, make sure you find one with a mechanic who is at least 50 years old. If there's no grey hair, they probably have never touched a slant in their lives. (Apologies to all the under-30 crowd on this board, you are the exception to the rule!).

-Mac

If the last shop "swapped-out" the distributor, you now have to start over, as far as finding-out what the timing settings are.
Did you get to keep your old distributor? Having the old distributor will help you figure-out how much mechanical and vacuum advance the old combination had.

A good mechanic will be able to trouble-shoot the problem: fuel, compression, spark at the right time and it will run.
DD

Welcome on the board! I can't quite tell from your post if you're still on the road in the middle of a trip away from homebase (therefore at the mercy of whatever parts and service places you can find locally) or if you're at least semi-settled and have some time and space to do some work (or at least be choosy about who touches your van).

The others in this thread are right: Your engine certainly isn't blown. Probably in need of maintenance and adjustment, though. Keep in mind you've got a 43-year-old vehicle, and while it is relatively simple, the knowledge, experience, and skill needed to diagnose it and put it in top shape are just no longer found at most service facilities. You will want to buy these three books right away, as soon as you can. They will get you up to speed on theory and practice of operation and repair so you won't be forced to believe whatever a mechanic of unknown competence tells you the problem is, or make random guesses at the fix.
Tune-up parts and technique suggestions in this thread. And if your old slant-6 is like most old slant-6s, it's years or decades overdue for a valve adjustment.

Also keep in mind that the "rebuilt" or "remanufactured" carburetors one can buy at the parts stores or online these days are virtually always junk that frequently cause serious running problems; see this thread. I mention this so that if you did in fact buy such a carburetor, you'll know not to assume it can't be contributing to the problem. Unfortunately, the same applies to "remanufactured" distributors, starters, alternators, etc.

Please report what you find. Once you get a handle on what-all needs doing, we can steer you towards preferred parts and techniques and/or upgrades as applicable. For instance, you will likely eventually want to upgrade to electronic ignition rather than spending significant time, effort, or money on the old points-type system.

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

Check the firing order too, (1-5-3-6-2-4) I've seen shops screw it up.

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V8?? We don't need no stink'n V8!!

that was my first thought exactly and it must be your top priority, you are on a collision course for being stranded thousands of miles from home with nowhere to turn for help. or worse yet, tits-up in a ditch. get you and your van to a safe place right now and don't embark on any long trips again until you are completely familiar with how to maintain and troubleshoot your ride. this isnt a modern car. you cant just put gas in it and traipse all up and down the coast, you are very lucky you got as far as you did. do you even check your oil yourself?

none of the other advice in this thread has any bearing on your immediate safety and security, you are driving a van with obvious running problems and you are completely blind to the condition of the rest of the mechanicals. and how much money do you have? how far away are you from family again? would you know a bald tire if you saw it?

get home NOW before your brakes pop again or your steering pump throws a belt or you blow a steer tire doing 70 with worn shocks.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

nice.

i did something very similar to this when i graduated and bought my first car, a vw camper. i drove that thing everywhere.
difference is, i knew that bus inside and out before i even bought it, and when i lost the spring-clips on the throwout bearing on a trip to bethel NY with two girls riding with me i had both the tools i needed and the technical wherewithal to tear my engine out right on the side of the road, in the rain, and reattach the clips. i was back on the road in three hours. one of those girls still has pictures to prove it.

i would NEVER have gone on a trip like that with a 40 year old car and no more money than i could spend on food and drugs if i didnt know what the hell i was doing. can you imagine that happening to you? we didnt even have enough money to get ourselves back home on a greyhound where it broke down. id have never seen that bus again.

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I've been calling it as i see it for my entire life and that's not about to change. Take it or leave it.

Well, that's good and pragmatic advice. Ignorance and faith will get you a long way down the road...and then leave you stranded with a story that won't seem funny for a decade...or leave you hurt or destitute or dead. A new-to-you vehicle is a terrific temptation, but you really do need to make only very short trips in it as you familiarise yourself with its idiosyncrasies and condition and learn how to identify and repair problems. It's not a late model Corolla that you can just get in and drive anywhere right off the bat. It'll get to that level eventually, if you stick with it, and the payoff will be that you'll have something much cooler and more interesting than the Corolla ever will be.

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