I ran across a 64 Dodge van with a slant this A.M Is it safe to assume that it would be a 170 cubic inch.

I dont think the 198 were offered until 70 is that correct?

It is complete from oil bath air cleaner down.

I pulled the head cause I didnt know any other way to identify what the engine was ( and it was fairly freshly re-painted, prob. had been re-built not long ago ) and found these numbers ( VT 226 26 ) on top of the block at the front behind alternator underneath the head.

Is it true that a 170 is a shorter block than the 198/225s. I ask cause the head appeared in even better condition than the block, not even painted and oil free but if it wont fit my 225s than it does me no good.

Someone had rigged up an oil line from the pass side of the block all the way to the top, punched a hole in the valve cover and rigged up copper plumbing inside of the valvecover to feed the top end with oil.

I guess I have answered a previous question I had on identifying blocks.....yes they are date coded ( cast in number on side of block ) this one clearly read 1964, I looked at my 86 Dodge truck and it clearly is cast with a 1985 ( close enough cause I know thats the way it works ) and two other slant engines I have that I pulled out of 83 are dated 1983 cast into block.

I have one other that is in my 73 that is a Jasper re-built and it is also cast 1983 so its a 1983 block with an earlier drool tube typed head and solid lifters.

If anyone here needs parts from a 1964 engine let me know. Just pay what I pay plus shipping. I will mail part with receipt of what I paid. not looking to make any money.

I bought valve cover cause I want the earlier look valve cover but it is not even close to bolting onto my 225 head so I guess that confirms it as a 170?

It has a manual trans, didnt I read that these early slant manual trans bell housings are sought after?

Anything else I should grab for my own builds, didnt I read that the earlier oil pumps are better but will a ( assuming ) 170 oil pump fit a 225? What else might be worth grabbing?

I don't know if any assumptions are safe after a vehicle has been released to the wild for 50 years.... a 170 seems a little small for the factory to have put it in a truck, but a lot of things can happen since then.

It is possible to tell a (fully assembled) 170 block in about 2 seconds, if you know what to look for. Charrlie_S wrote a concise description here

Cylinder heads are identical for any given year, no matter the displacement.
And then you no doubt realized that you'd done a lot of extra work, since those numbers are visible when the engine is assembled.
Well, I guess that's one way to do it... it makes me question the professionalism of the "rebuild", though. It makes me think that the shiny paint you're seeing is just shiny paint, not necessarily indicative of anyone having been inside and put it back together, nor having methodically drilled out oil passages to change flow patterns.

- Erik

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Lots of early Valiants and Barracudas have crossed my path.
Also a handful of other toys for variety now and then.

Quote: Cylinder heads are identical for any given year, no matter the displacement.

Well I must say that I know cylinder heads are not the same, I know that post-1981 have a bit of a different valve cover in that there is a difference of shape right behind the alternator.

Now come to find out that is not the only difference, there is no way that this valve cover will fit my 1986 225 engine without some major modifications.

Not wide enough to start with and then the holes dont even come close to lining up.

Quote: And then you no doubt realized that you'd done a lot of extra work, since those numbers are visible when the engine is assembled.

You gave me much too much credit, it was not until I read your post, went out to my shop and mounted a cylinder head that I was able to see that the numbers are still visible even with the head installed.

Now just to understand what the numbers that I gave mean.

Yes I am sure now that it is a 170, I did know the water bypass hose length deal and did check it whilst I was there and it did seem short but very hard to tell for certain cause the rad is right up against the front end of this thing.

The fan blade is mounted on the other side of the radiator so its pushing air through.

Nope, it's not a 170.

V: 1964 model year
T: Truck engine
22: 225 cubic inch engine
6 26: Engine built on June 26, 1964

Yes, the LG block (170) is an inch shorter than the RG block (198 and 225).
The 170 was offered as a special-order "downgrade" option for the A100 vans and even the D100 pickups, for buyers who wanted maximum possible fuel economy and didn't care about zero-to-sixty times of 45 minutes (downhill with a tailwind).

Exterior oil line means this engine probably experienced top-end oiling problems (insufficient oil to the rockers), which can be caused by sludged-up oil passages or a misaligned rear cam bearing; rather than disassemble and fix, the owner chose to supply oil to the top end externally.

The '81-'87 heads will not accept the '60-'80 valve covers, it's true. Pre-1981 engines have mechanical valve lifters; '81-'87 engines have hydraulic. But all Slant-6 cylinder heads can be bolted onto all Slant-6 blocks (though there are a couple of block/head combinations that bear special attention and care, none of which you're likely to encounter). Better combustion chamber shape starting in '67. Secondary air injection provisions on some '72-up and all '75-up heads make the head heavier, but are necessary for vehicles equipped with air injection (and deleting the air injection is unwise if your vehicle has a catalytic converter). '75-up heads take taper-seat spark plugs; there are fewer options for these than for the gasket-seat spark plugs used on '74-down heads with spark plug tubes. '75-'80 heads are such that you cannot remove a valve lifter from the engine without removing the head.

The truck engines got heavy-duty components: shot-peened crankshaft, double-roller timing chain, polyacrylic valve stem seals, etc. Nice stuff, all of which can be added to any other engine. They also got heavy-duty buildup: No block repairs or crank restraightening permitted, as opposed to passenger car engines which could have flaws of this nature and still be passed as acceptable for installation.

This pre-mid-'76 engine has a forged crankshaft, which is both heavier and heavier-duty (and the bearings are bigger) compared to the mid-'76-up cast crankshaft. However, the cast crankshafts aren't known for breaking in anything like reasonably normal service.

Assuming no hard damage, this '64 engine would be a fine basis for a sturdy buildup.

As for other parts: Well, the '64 truck engine probably has a big Chrysler-built direct-drive starter (called the "tin can" starter because of the round-body solenoid perched on the side of the motor housing). This is not interchangeable with the regular '62-up gear-reduction starter, but it will fit in place of the increasingly scarce '60-'61 (plus '62-'66 Canada) direct-drive Prestolite starter, so if you grab that now, eventually an early-model or Canadian slant-6er will be grateful that you did. The oil bath air cleaner is a fun relic, and the carburetor will be configured to accept it (may well have a manual choke, too), but I would not use these early components on your late-model truck.

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

I will grab the solenoid, it is there cause I had to remove all the surrounding housings to get at the engine. BTW once this doghouse was removed working on the engine would have been a breeze, everything was right there. Even unbolting the manifolds was easy.

I wish that I could take the entire engine but I am running out of room for storage.

Van was in decent/nice shape from what I saw externally, its a shame it made its way where it is.

If you bought the whole van you would have a nice place to store the engine PLUS a whole bunch MORE storage space in the back of the van! A WIN-WIN situation! Solve two problems with one stone! AND, best of all, if the missus kicks you out of the house for dragging home a parts van, you can sleep in the parts van!

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

On a serious note, though, if the van has an automatic transmission, you may want to grab the somewhat scarce factory adapter plate, hardware, and torque converter spacer that will mate the slant six to a smallblock transmission.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Van is a manual trans, I thought I had read that these early slant manual bellhousings were difficult to find? I mentioned this on another forum ( thought I had mentioned it in my first post here as well ) and there is zero interest at this point so I guess I was mistaken.

I'm not talking about the bellhousing, I am talking about the factory automatic transmission adapter package that allowed the slant six to bolt up to a smallblock automatic transmission. This piece was created so the slant six could be installed in heavy duty and fleet applications. The heavy duty automatic transmission used by Mopar from the 60s through the end of the 80s was the 727. Until the late 60s Chrysler did not make a slant six 727 transmission case. Because the slant six was availabel in applications that really needed the heavy duty automatic transmission, Chrysler engineers came up with a factory adapter package that would let the slant six bolt to the v-8 727 transmission.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Useless without the whole starter.

Y'welcome.

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

This is an excellent thread and very informative.

i check this forum every day and am always pleased and grateful for the collective shared expertise of those like Reed, Doc, Ted, Ceej and a bunch of others who post on here regularly. Although i dont post much here i have relied on this advice and have implemented many of their ideas and suggestions. Thank you all.

But i never cease to be amazed by Dan's absolute encyclopedic knowledge of our little engines.

Thanks Dan. it would be great to hear more from you on this forum

Dean

That's what I meant by "for a given year." If you look at a 225 and a 170 both made in 1964, (or both from 1968, or both from any year of your choice....) those two heads will be identical. Sorry for the lack of clarity.

- Erik

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Lots of early Valiants and Barracudas have crossed my path.
Also a handful of other toys for variety now and then.

Dan I know you did not say you wanted it but I put that starter and solenoid aside if you are interested. Problem is that this place charges almost as much for these starters/alternators as new parts ( assuming you can buy new ) Anyway I bet the starter would cost 25 dollars plus the shipping to get it to you if you did want it and the solenoid.

Again I know you did not say you wanted it but you did show an interest and I did set it aside where no-one would see it.

Can someone tell me if this early style ( what I am assuming ) PCV valve is a good design.... I know it may sound like a waste of time to some of you guys but I still want that early valve cover look on my 86, I plan to graft the top of this valve cover into my original 86.

I am a bodyman, for me this is no big deal.

Id like to know more about this fitting

Reed this is what was behind the engine,
tranny was so small, looked like a tractor trans, Im assuming a 3 speed?

The rods that went from the pedals back to this thing must have been 6 feet long.

I will use this if I decide to put my spare engine in my shop and mount it to run there, it will give me the ability to mount a starter anyway. Is it safe to assume that just cause this year took a different starter that I can still mount a late model starter to this bellhousing?

Will I have an issue mounting this bellhwousing to a late model engine, I am hoping flexplate mounted on rear of the late model engine will fit inside this bellhousing and I wont have an issue with the starter?

I can just return it and get my money back if there is going to be an issue.

Actually there is another slant late model manual trans there right now that I could just swap bellhousings for if this one will be an issue?

I just decided to take this one cause I hate to see this early stuff destroyed.

Thanks for that. I do not have a use for one of these starters right now or in the foreseeable future.
New starters tend to cost a couple hundred dollars, if you can get 'em. "Remanufactured" starters, for this application, maybe $80.
Sure. They've gotten difficult and expensive to buy any more, but you can use the later plastic type of valve: Remove the metal valve and its locknut. Save the 2-legged spring from the underside of the PCV valve "cap" that fits on the valve cover. Make a sandwich in this order: PCV valve (push the non-hose end through the cap from outside to inside), spring retainer, grommet (push onto non-hose end of PCV valve from the bottom). Sometimes the spring retainer won't fit over the plastic valve and you have to leave it off. Push this "sandwich" onto the valve cover chimney. It won't look original, but it'll fit and work fine. The old metal valves can be cleaned and re-used for years, but after awhile they just plain wear out. The spring gets tired, the plunger gets worn, and then they cause poor idling.

It would be easier for you to find a '66-'69 valve cover -- same as the one you show here, with the ridged top, except instead of the rear chimney/cup arrangement for the PCV valve it has the rubber grommet for E-Z snap-in mounting of a metal or plastic valve.

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