Death of a /6

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So what is it about #5 thats weak?

I bought a 75 Valiant once and the lady told me it had thrown a rod. I looked but couldnt see it.

I discovered the hole behind the starter,and another hole behind where the exhaust and intake mate together. The second hole was smaller,from schrapnel coming off #5. I still have the piston and S shaped connecting rod that came out of #5 as a keepsake because I couldnt believe a 225 would quit.
 
I did kill one without draining the fluids. It was an 81 Newport. big heavy sled and I think it had tranny problems. The engine always sounded like it was turnign too high of an rpm. I threw a rod about 75 miles from home. I drove it at highway speed home but had problems getting it up the hill. I lived in Duluth MN and it was a 400 foot climb up a steep hill home. I junked it the next week.
 
Looks like this 73 Valiant in the local U-Pull-It had the same problem............

P1030655.jpg
 
I have a 68 Valiant /6 225 that I drove nonstop from Long Beach CA to Chicago IL, made it here in a day and a half with no sleep.

Bone dry differential
Almost dry radiator
Broken Ujoints front and back: The back one had a quarter sized chunk taken out of one of the four bearings on it.
Front end out of alignment: The inner walls of the tires were worn all the way down with the metal wires poking out.
Brakes were almost gone.
The car was filled all the way in the trunk and inside the cab, had enough room to sit and look out the rear and side windows and enough room for my cat.
Mileage at the time of arrival was about 140,000...
From the looks of it nothing was replaced from the original owner.

I got it back my dad and I replaced alot of the needed stuff, then moved onto the hoses, fuel pump and tonight replacing the carb bc it keeps stalling on me at traffic lights or stop signs, even after it warms up. But it still starts up. Soon i'll have a 70 VW Bug to drive while this one will sit and I'll be working on it so its even more of a solid car than before. I may even look into converting my bug into a /6 225, that way i can run some decent heat on the inside of it!! LOL!
 
tribalturtle2 said:
tonight replacing the carb bc it keeps stalling on me at traffic lights or stop signs, even after it warms up. But it still starts up. Soon i'll have a 70 VW Bug to drive while this one will sit and I'll be working on it so its even more of a solid car than before. I may even look into converting my bug into a /6 225, that way i can run some decent heat on the inside of it!! LOL!
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lol join the club ! from what i am learning the carb has little to do with it . i rebuilt mine and still does it . i think i need to get rid of the points . and go eletronic .
 
I've had terrible luck with s/sixes;
I traded a clean '67 Belvedere 2dr h/t for a less clean '63 Dart GT. The valves were loose and when I tightened them, I could hear the rod knock.
I had a '71 Valiant 198 that kept tightening the valves up and always ran crappy. You could actually see the valve retainers bouncing off the head.
I Have a '61 Lancer hyperpak (All missing) that started a little lifter tick that got louder until I realized it was the rods. Having no place to pull over, I put my foot in it until it went bang. I then pushed in the 'N' button and coasted off. the rod beam had broken at the crank and pin and thrown through the block and pan and wrapped around the block flange. The oil pump pickup fell off.
I have a '61 Dart (Big body) thad had #6 out. I got it running after being junked in '76, tried to drive it out of the pasture and threw #1 and #5 in the process.
We'll see how long the '68 Valiant lasts.....
 
Think I spoke too soon on Death of a /6...

I was involved in a car accident yesterday, my valiant might be totalled!! A lady turned left in front of me, I had no time to stop and I ended up hitting her car on her passenger side and my front driver side hit her. My face and nose hit the steering wheel. My nose was gushing blood so much that my hands were filled with a pool of it. Pretty nasty!! Police were there right away, gave the lady a ticket for failure to yield. I was rushed of to the hospital to get checked out. My neck, shoulders and my right knee are in some pain right now. I talked to the towing company last night and they said that the Valiant is undriveable. So I'm going to have it towed to my Grandma's so i can check it out. Then probably part it out, we'll see what happens between my insurance and the lady's. So far my insurance company told me that the lady is saying I blew a red light and before hand she said she saw no one coming. so theres contradicting her previous story right there. Luckily i asked the cop for his information right there while i was neck braced and laying down in the ambulance before they left the scene. Crazy day yesterday, I thought my life was up, when she pulled in front of me, all i could think of was breaking my nose and going into my brain on the steering wheel that's all solid metal and non collapsable.
I was saying my prayers on the way to impact!! Thank God that I'm alive!! Still have some dreams and things to accomplish before I go!! Especially get back to CA to visit or at least move back and get out of this nasty cold weather!!
 
My Valiant is totalled! Front end from drivers side to middle is pushed all the way back to the front tire. Fender looks like a lasagna noodle or an accordian pushed closed. Steering column pushed to the left and the steering wheel one of the connectors is cracked by the horn! Possibly soon to be sent to the junkyard or towed to my Grandma's we'll see what we'll do. well the valiant served its purpose, got me back from CA to IL and to and from work. Hopefully i'll get something from the lady's insurance company. Time to cruise and get some sleep. later
CoreyS.
 
i had a '65 dodge truck with a /6 and in the year i drove it i never checked any fluids or changed anything. the guages did not work and it smelled like it was overheating when i was on the hiway. it never ran rough or anything. and always started. the new owner said it had a cracked head and 3 cylinders had horrible exhaust leaks lol. still ran perfect tho lol
 
tribalturntle2, One month ago to the day, I shared your pain, (well except for the physical pain) I was driving in the left hand lane of a two-lane one-way street and the lady in the right hand lane "didn't know it was a one-way" and tried to turn left onto a side street. Damage was mainly asthetic and the insurance worked out quickly and for the better all in all. But thats your baby, you hate to see it like that. I'm glad you are allright and if you do put your old slant in your next project, try the fule line mod on slantsix.org for your dying at stops problem, it helped me loads.
 
n3w6uy said:
tribalturntle2, One month ago to the day, I shared your pain, (well except for the physical pain) I was driving in the left hand lane of a two-lane one-way street and the lady in the right hand lane "didn't know it was a one-way" and tried to turn left onto a side street. Damage was mainly asthetic and the insurance worked out quickly and for the better all in all. But thats your baby, you hate to see it like that. I'm glad you are allright and if you do put your old slant in your next project, try the fule line mod on slantsix.org for your dying at stops problem, it helped me loads.
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Seen the pic in your gallery. Sorry to see that. Don't look to bad. Looks fixable.
 
Oh yeah, insurance got me a '70 and enought to get em both up n runnin, I've been very blessed.
 
I had purchased a 70 VW bug recently in SW Minnesota, just need to go and tow it back, the weather has been bad the two times i went to get it and drive it back. recently ordered a tow bar to do it. now that i don't have a car its a little hard to do so.
 
I bought my Dart Sport back in 1982 from my Mom who bought it new, it had been overheated because of a stuck thermostat, anyway it had a slight bearing knock and 30,000 miles on it, I drove it for another 100,000 miles adding a 2bbl intake to it to bump up the power a bit, anyway the bearing finally spun at 130,000 miles and I still drove it until I rebuilt a 318 to take it's place. It never blew but sure did knock hard, when I pulled the engine I looked and it was #6 rod, are the last rods starved for oil or something?
 
Anything you can do to help the #6 bearing get more oil? For that matter it seems #5 fails a lot too. Would a higher volume pump make a difference?
 
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