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Mopar Slant Sixes
Any interesting stories to support the reputation
that this engine had for running almost forever?
My parents owned two, a 1960 Valiant with the 170
c.i. version, and a 1969 Dart with the 225 c.i.
displacement. Both ran over 100,000 miles before
they were sold, but I understand some ran well over
200,000 miles.
that this engine had for running almost forever?
My parents owned two, a 1960 Valiant with the 170
c.i. version, and a 1969 Dart with the 225 c.i.
displacement. Both ran over 100,000 miles before
they were sold, but I understand some ran well over
200,000 miles.
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A slant six was a different story! I knew a guy who had a Dart with over 200,000 miles on it.
He blew a heater hose on the freeway. The traffic was so bad it took him awhile to pull it over and the engine siezed up!
He had it towed to a shop, figuring it was the end of the line.
Not so! The hoses were replaced, the coolant and oil was changed and it ran another few years until it got rear ended and was totalled.
It died with over 300,000 on the clock!
Also a simple engine to rebuild..about as many moving parts as a wood stove.
Truly great engine, up there with Chevy 283, Studebaker 289, Chrysler 318 & 383, and Volvo B18 and B20. Virtually indestructible.
Not bad. That car saved me a bundle when I didn't have it, and hauled us around everywhere in comfort. Now that was a damn good car!
I know this sounds cruel and stupid, but these cars were recycled and are now the fenders on your Camry, so their molecules are still circulating.
If you didn't heed the short warning...KABOOM!
and just can not say enough about it!I just got back from the sierra's and it performed perfectly!! 18mpg,and comfort up the wazoo! my old p.u. had almost 400M miles and is still hopping.
in fact i will be using it as a work commuter!all that from a slant 6 that has only been torn down 2 times for repair and valves. still has 95 lbs of compression too! BUUUT the trans is losing its syncros and the rearend is howling like a banshee!
I located a 1/2 ton van and will probably switch out the components to the p.u.all i can say, is if the Dakota lasts like my old Dodge, i'll be in heaven. {after i pay for 4 years!} SLANTS 4 EVER!
My parents purchased a 1978 Plymouth Volare 2-door, with a 225 ci Slant Six. In the history books, the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare went down as one of the most trouble-prone cars built - ironically, this car was the opposite. The car was entirely new, and stickered for $6500; my parents purchased it from the bank for $3900. There were MANY exterior flaws with the car when we picked it up - fenders out of alignment, horrible paint job... but we took the car to the local Dodge dealer, insisted on repairs, and all was fixed to our liking - from that day forward - that car NEVER quit! My dad drove the car to Colorado and Nebraska on business very often - through snow storms, heavy rains, heavy winds, etc. - and while other cars would be off the road, my dad would keep chugging in his Plymouth - he put 275,000 miles on that car!!!... and the engine was still running reliably and smoothly when he sold it in 1992 for only $500 - The car had only 1 dent and some minor rust on the lower doors... yea, the Slant 6 engine wasn't quick or sophisticated, but it did its job and then some. it was, by far, the best car my parents ever had.
I was helping a friend track down a clicking noise which I thought was coming from a badly adjusted valve lifter....so I took the valve cover off this greasy, beat-up, neglected, 200K mile pig of a slant six engine and...and...the entire valve train was stuck in a kind of grease-jell...a solid, square-ish, quivering blob of gunk just stuck there, shaped exactly like a glob of jello after you take the tupperware off.
And I stuck my socket through this mess, tightened down on the valve lifter, without a gauge, until to got quiet, jammed the cover back down as best I could, torqued the bolts to something or other, and it ran great...might still be running, who knows?
They needed valve jobs, ring jobs, rebores, etc.
But not the slant six! For some reason, they were indestructable! Even the automatic transmissions (torqueflites) were bulletproof.
Where did Chrysler lose it?
Putting new points in, though was a B***H! Remember, Shifty? The distributor was tucked away alongside the engine and it was easy to drop(and lose) the screws!
They both had red painted engines. You could tell the differnce by looking at the length of the bypass hoses. The 225 had a hose about 3" long. The 170's were very short.
There weren't nearly as many 170's as 225's.
Yeah, pulling the distributor was probably the way to go. Once, I had a distributor pulled out of an old Buick. While it was out, somebody decided to push the car a few feet. It was a stick shift, and it was in gear! I didn't know it had been pushed when I re-installed the distributor.
Mr. S...You KNOW what happened!
Let's see...I distinctly remember yellow valve covers, but that may have been the slant six truck engines, which were beefier in CID.
Too bad they went away...
During my ownership I replaced the following:
2 exhaust systems, 3 sets of tires, front driveaxles, 2 timing belts, rear springs, rear parking brake cables, front rotors, brakes, one window crank handle, normal tune-up parts, a windshield after a monster branch took it out when traveling 35 mph (ahhh).
It has a lot of small things that need attention like, headliner is coming down, both windows have a stripped section in the movement, noise in front end while driving, seat is falling apart(duct tape application), small oil leak, left turn directional does not return after making turn, and lots of RUST!!!.
The engine sounds like a diesel at idle, but keeps on going. I have never been left stranded by a mechanical breakdown. Insurance is cheap $480 a year, no collision.
I definately got my money's worth out of this car, so am looking for something else.
With the benefit of hindsight, a case could be made that Chrysler lost an opportunity to offer a competitor to the BMW during the gas crisis years and after by introducing a rebadged version of the Plymouth Valiant as a Chrysler, with luxury appointments, such as leather, better suspension and steering, and a fuel injected version of the venerable Slant Six.
Such a car could have offered more for the money than the BMW in terms of low initial cost and maintenance. The car I envision but never was, call it the Chrylser 200 just to give it a name, could have been marketed to driving enthusiasts, as a luxurious, yet fuel efficient alternative to the gas hungry V8s of the day.
It seems to me that the Chevy short block V8 and GM 3800 V6 are excellent examples of what continuous refinement can yield.
And, as long as we're playing this fantasy game, the pre 1956 GM Hydramatics had four speeds, and very little slippage. They were also rugged.
One tough, heavy transmission!
I dont know if there is an order here but here thet are
1. Pontiac Turbo 301
2. Chevrolet 262
3. '75 & '76 Cadillac 500
4. Oldsmobile Diesel 260
5. Oldsmobile Diesel 350
6. Cadillac V-8-6-4
7. Ford 255
8. Buick 265
9. Chevrolet 288
10. Chevrolet 267
The most colorful commentary was directed at the Olds 260 Diesel" It could barely outrun the rods falling out of it".
To me, given that the Plymouth Prowler already broke with hot rod tradition by packing a V6 instead of a V8, it would have been even more interesting with a modified SS. Or, since the Plymouth brand will be retired, the '02 Prowler could feature the new Chrysler hemi V8. Personally, I find the notion of a revitalized SS every bit as interesting as a new age hemi.
Many old staight sixes seemed to have smallish bores and long strokes(torque motors).As the stroke on a V6 increases so does the hieght and width.A long stroke six,only increases in hieght.
Ah, you're talking about the old days when a person drove a truck because they needed to work with it