Slant 6 HEI

David Ray, welcome to the swamp. I think you will be a handy guy to have around.

I don't know why, but history intrigues me. When something interests me I usually research the hell out of it. That's why I have a fairly extensive collection of books on Chrysler history. WPC, the 3 Musketeers engineering team, Ramchargers, etc. One thing that stands out is that the old Chrysler Corp was founded on solid engineering. They researched, engineered, tested and implemented a lot of advancements including electronic ignition. In the fall of 1971 we ordered a new 1972 Satellite Sebring Plus. Electronic ignition was standard on the hi-po engines but was an option on a 318 so I checked it off on the order form. I have NEVER owned a GM product but occasionally used to work on friend's cars. It was eye opening because to me GM seemed to take the cheaper way out but Chrysler would spend the money to make a more durable product. However, I was jealous of the sliding door on the GM points distributors that allowed external dwell adjustments.

Now to the Slant six...one of the few weak points is the oil pump drive geared to the cam shaft. This is well documented at www.slantsix.org
Yes the nylon distributor drive gear fails, also driven by the same camshaft gear as the oil pump. But knowing, observing and analyzing the thinking of the anal retentive Chrysler engineers, I believe the "weak" nylon gear was intentional and acts as a sacrificial shear pin. If there is a problem, the nylon teeth shear, stopping the engine like right now. Yes, a bronze gear would be more durable but suppose the oil pump gear outlasted the distributor gear? The oil pump would stop and the engine would continue to run without any oil pressure.

People tend to forget the Slant Six was designed in the late 50s so it's easy to compare It to what we're used to seeing 60 years later.

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My personal experience is when I rebuilt my 1964 225. The nylon drive gear was discolored and cracked through the pin hole so I replaced it with a new gear sourced from NAPA. I think it was sbout $4. I keep a spare in my trunk box because I drive the car to out of state shows. The car had 97,000 miles on it and had been in storage for about 32 years when I started so not too bad.