RustyRatRod's Guide To Hot Rod Bliss

Rainy Day Auto said

ok, now to throw something in the mix for change.

In this thread I get the sharp vibe that hot rod bliss is synonymous with a well tuned V8. That is cool and all but to some people hot rod haven can be reached with a slant six.

What would you do to be cost effective but warm up a slant six?

I understand this is a tall order because I have a Clifford header and 4 bbl. set up and I can tell you first hand that is was not cheap to buy it all new. :protest:

but assuming someone does not have a big budget but has a slant under the hood and a lot of time, what would you do to warm it up a bit. Not expecting a rocket but just some old fashion hot rodding with what exists.

Click to expand...

/6 hop ups are relatively cheap and simple.

1. Mill about .06 to .09 off the head.
2. Get a cam and valve springs a little less than 340 specs.
3. Put a double roller timing set in while you are at it.
4. Run the factory 2 barrel carb and intake.
5. Run factory electronic distributor
6. Run 2.5 exhaust with straight through or low back pressure muffler.

This will definitely wake up a /6 if tuned correctly. It won't be like a V8 but it will be a lot more fun to drive and usually gets better mpg. A manual transmission is also a plus but not cheap to convert. I did this to a 170 /6 in the 80's and it was a sweet little package in a 4 speed 64 Barracuda. Plus it got 30 mpg cruising on the highway.