Best Slant 6 Reference Manual

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GoFish

GoFish

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I'd like to take on the project of building my first engine, and want to start with a /6. I've got all the pieces from a 225 motor that was already taken apart.

What's the best book to walk me through the build?
 
No book needed here.:thumbrig:
Just ask! We have a few here that do nothing but race /6 motors.:-D
I know that 66aCuda is getting ready for some company at home and may be to busy right now, But he is one of many go to guy's that will help, Just ask in the slant six thread and Frank or someone can get you on your way.
That is what they do, Race and or drive these leaning tower of power car's.

Or a book could work.:banghead:
Oop's you are in the right thread.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry
 
Well thanks Mike.
Ok guys a couple of questions. Do you know how to build engines(V8's)? Have you checked out slant 6 .org? A good video is Box Wrench's Basic Engine Building it doesnt cover slants but the basics are the same.
Next is what is your goal and budget for the build?
Frank
PS I dont think there is a great book on slants. Most of the books treat the slant like a V8 and its NOT.
 
GoFish said:
I'd like to take on the project of building my first engine, and want to start with a /6. I've got all the pieces from a 225 motor that was already taken apart.
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That's gonna make it a lot more challenging. It's much easier to reassemble an engine that you've taken apart YOURSELF to get an idea where everything goes.

Not trying to discourage you, I just want you to know what you're getting into. Is there a chance you get get a 2nd engine to pull apart first? Lot's of folks GIVE slants away.

Either way, good luck!
 
This is gonna be my very first attempt at building an engine and since I've got all the pieces from the /6 that was original to my Scamp, I thought it would be a fun, learning project. I was just hoping there was a book that I could use as a reference manual, and would ask questions here if (when) I ran into things I don't understand. I don't NEED this motor, so my budget is "as little as I absolutely need to spend" to get it running. This will be a basic stock build with no "hop-up" parts.

The good news is that I'm enrolled in an auto mechanics continuing-education class at the local high school that meets two nights each week. The teacher owned his own garage for 20 years, and there are other students there who are much more advanced than I am who can lend a hand. The guy who sold me the Scamp is also enrolled, and he's the one who tore down the engine. Of course, he was the one who ran the engine without any oil in the first place, so maybe that would be a case of the blind leading the blind...

I do have a basic knowledge of how engines work, so I'll have to invest in that $5.00 book and the video suggested as a first step. I'll try to post the step-by-step on this build in the hopes it might help others looking to give this a try. Hey, with help from other members here, this could become the definitive reference for a basic slant six build!

Thanks for the suggestions! :cheers:
 
GoFish said:
Of course, he was the one who ran the engine without any oil in the first place,
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Heck, slants run like that all the time! What's the big deal? LOL

GoFish said:
I do have a basic knowledge of how engines work, so I'll have to invest in that $5.00 book and the video suggested as a first step. I'll try to post the step-by-step on this build in the hopes it might help others looking to give this a try. Hey, with help from other members here, this could become the definitive reference for a basic slant six build!
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This is far more than a "basic rebuild", but it might help:

http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewt...days=0&postorder=asc&highlight=twiggy&start=0
 
I used to visit /6.org when I first bought the car. I originally planned on putting the motor back together and adding dutra duels and a turbo, but decided to add a smallblock V8 instead.

LOL. That link to Doug Dutra's build of "Twiggy" is WAY over what I have planned. I just want to learn to build a motor, not break the sound the barrier!
 
For a stock rebuild, forget about that Mopar book. Invest in a factory service manual. Usually, available on e-bay. It would be best to get the manual for the year of the car you are working on, but any year book from 1963 to 1975 will be OK for the Forged crank engine. If a cast crank engine, get a manual for a 1976-1980. If hydraulic lifter engine, get a manual for 1981-1985 for the trucks, or rear wheel drive cars. This is the "bible".
 
I second Charlie S's recommendation. The books the factory wrote for their own mechanics are a lot better than their performance manual, which is often a very bad joke. It's likely the people who wrote the six cyliner performance book didn't read the FSMs.
 
I'd love to tear mine apart in the swinger and build it up nicely with some performance goodies but it runs too darn nice to even want to mess with it, but when the time comes, I will also add a three speed to the floor since it's already a three on the tree column shift.

Doesn't Mopar Performance have how to build slant six engine books?
 
cudaspaz said:
I'd love to tear mine apart in the swinger and build it up nicely with some performance goodies but it runs too darn nice to even want to mess with it, but when the time comes, I will also add a three speed to the floor since it's already a three on the tree column shift.

Doesn't Mopar Performance have how to build slant six engine books?
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Yes, but it's not a very good one. There are all sorts of bizarre errors in it - the book confuses some doctored "official" specs for NHRA stock class rules with the real production specs in several places, it claims the Lean Burn ignition used breaker points, and they often didn't check if particular performance parts were still being made before they printed the book. Plus, they often neglect good performance parts from non-MP sources. In essence, the book is intended as an advertisement for Mopar Performance parts.
 
MadScientistMat said:
Yes, but it's not a very good one. There are all sorts of bizarre errors in it - the book confuses some doctored "official" specs for NHRA stock class rules with the real production specs in several places, it claims the Lean Burn ignition used breaker points, and they often didn't check if particular performance parts were still being made before they printed the book. Plus, they often neglect good performance parts from non-MP sources. In essence, the book is intended as an advertisement for Mopar Performance parts.
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I have a few of the Mopar engine books. They are a good read, but they are not the "bible". As Matt says, there are a lot of mistakes, and missinformation. They refer to parts that were available for the V-8's but never for the slant, and mods that are doable for a v-8 but don't yield results on a slant. The book can give you ideas, but use common sense, while reading.
PS: the older books are better then the newer ones.
Personal opinion, for info. Factory service manual for the year of the car/engine (parts manual nice but not required), the mopar performance book, and www.slantsix.org. Just remember the saying "the good thing about the web, is anyone can post. The bad thing is anyone can post". There is wrong info post all over the web on these engines, even on slantsix.org, but the people with first hand experiance, can generally, sort the valid info from the wrong info, in the post.
 
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