Help with choosing /6 build type for newbie

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sleeper-oem

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Hello I have 2 post valiants iam restoring and Iam new to all of this but already in love. My parents owned this car when they where first married in 1969. My other is a 1972. I love the simplicity and styling of them. While i like the cruising aspects i also love speed and street performance. I want them to remain somewhat toward sleeper but keeping them with slant six performance. I will not pretend to know much; but i know i what i want as far as performace. To cut to the chase i want fast drivers and plan on taking them on family road trip afterwards out west and back an american tour. If you where building one or two :D what would you put on them or in them as far as engine and suspension. So give me a list and how to make the most out of it. My 72 has AC and would like to keep for kids to stay cool when cruising or shut off and get that 4 120 going:burnout: to stay cool! I plan on posting my restorations here when i get further along. I am thankful for the advice i have read on hear so far and patience. I cant wait to have them done:finga: but now is getting the parts together and body work done and rust destroyed :banghead:etc almost there on one of them.
 
Injection would be good....but if you like carbys, go a 4 barrel of the spread bore kind, and a longish runner length to keep the airspeed up for the mild cam....some head work with 1.7" & 1.44" valves ( make them unleaded spec too ), bring the CR up to 9-9.5:1, HEI ignition, and some headers.....and a windage tray in the sump for the lefthand turns.......a good set of front & rear sway bars, and decent shockies, and decent bushings....should have the rock n roll under control.
It all takes $$$$.....just how far do you want to go, is the question.
 
Iam more concered with purr and consistancy than money. Not that iam wealthy i just want the car in symphony as far as operation and performace. I dont want to compromise not on these two. Not that any of us do want our cars to. I just dont want to skimp. I can do body i just want the build to flow and would like to do most of the work myself. Sorry to be redundant. Iam checking out the links above and EFI it seems the way to go looking at other threads. Thanks for the help Iam currently running manual brakes, manual steering and column shift 3 speed. If that helps.

I have lost the patriachs of my family recently and these builds are sort of avatars of them. They where fast reliable workers.
They always tought me there are 3 things a man should always have
1) a good car
2) a good pair of shoes
3) a good bed
4) and if you can a good women because if your not in one your in the other! lol
 
Wow pretty cool I just ordered the mallory HEI and coil also plug wires it was pricey but hope its good should i get that little red box to go with her. Any suggetions as far as windage trays that are high quality. I have seen Clifford valve covers on other cars didnt see it on there web site. I was on Aussie speed and they have what looks like a very nice valve cover.
 
No matter what you do, stay FAR away from Clifford Performance, and post your situation and goals here:

www.slantsix.org

Best advice I can give. Good luck!
 
If you are going to build two, I would suggest one mild and the other, not so mild. That way, you could have the best of both worlds. Maybe for the mild you could do a moderate Super Six with headers. Then for the not so mild, you could go with a four barrel and different cam. Just something to think about for starters.
 
Easiest way to make more power is to get the engine breathing better.

Install oversized valves, perform simple bowl porting, gasket match, and shave head enough to get 9:1 compression. You will need to pull the head, perform several measurements, and enter this info into a compression calculator; don’t just start hacking away, work smart.

Increase size of exhaust system to 2 ¼ inches.

Convert to Super Six; that is a factory two barrel carb set up from late seventies.

Convert from points to electronic ignition with either Mopar orange box, or GM HEI, both systems work well on a street driven car, and eliminate the constant adjustment and replacement of points.

Keep stock exhaust manifold, or Dutra duels to maintain drivability in cool weather (under 50 degrees), stay away from headers.
 
Thanks I have thought about making one mild and one wild. On the other side of performance what upgrades to stock transmissions to I just read article of transgo kit to 904 i am looking at the build sheet for the 72. I dont have it here but i believe the 69 100 has the 727. Or change them out. Any ideas and rearend setup especially if i put the supercharger in the 69. Some of the websites for these superchargers and turbos seem vague. Iam joining slant six org. Mechanics are not my strong point to say the least. I was at the Chrysler show in indy and the indy cylinder looked tempting but i want the more rare build and go supercharger possibly and learn alot more of course except advanced machine work.
 
On duetra duels are these a system you must fabricate or purchase they seem cool the concept is if i understand change them so you can run a dual exhaust of what was single?
 
Ok taking all advice. I looked at the 265 hemi a cool engine at mopar performace. However just getting all the pieces for it looks like a bear. They wanted and easy 10,000 then there is the rest. I think they would be cool but converting her over another build altogether. Better off just buying a Aussie Mopar. I say a cool pantherpink charger rt for 19,000 already set up old post photos are still up though. But the two combined original. Thanks
 
I was at the Chrysler show in indy and the indy cylinder looked tempting but i want the more rare build and go supercharger possibly and learn alot more of course except advanced machine work.[/QUOTE]

Can u elaborate on the INDY CYLINDER? I'm confused
Thanks Aaron
 
srixon4406 said:
I was at the Chrysler show in indy and the indy cylinder looked tempting but i want the more rare build and go supercharger possibly and learn alot more of course except advanced machine work.
Click to expand...

Can u elaborate on the INDY CYLINDER? I'm confused
Thanks Aaron[/QUOTE]


He probably just inadvertantly left out the word "HEAD" when he typed that.

:eek:ops:

That would be my guess,

Happens all the time... folks don't proof-read their posts.

I HAVE to, I make so many typos (ten thumbs, here,) mine would be virtually un-readable if I didn't....
 
Sorry yes its Indy Cylinder Head. They seem to make great product and are close by seeing i live in Indy. However, i dont believe they build sixes just V8s. Its tempting to buy a crate system and there you go. However i would like to take the slant six mod route. I will learn more and get a bigger adventure in the build.
 
Bill it looks like you have put alot of time in on these slants. As far as transmission any suggestions. Also the suspension seems a paradox. The cars seem to ride so low as it is i couldnt image the car dropping 2 inches. I have looked at Hotchikiss TVS and simple mods from PST. I want to leave the factory 14s on her to keep the year look. Dont want to clutter thread il just pm you if thats alright. Thanks
 
FYI,here's a list of some parts I have acquired for my build !! I've got 3 different setups for Headers and Intakes,but my Heart likes my Hyper Pak set up w/Clifford headers,unless my Hookers fit with the HP intake ! !!

Aussie 4 barrel intake
Holley 600cfm carb
Aussie 6 into 2 headers
High Volume Oil Pump
Cylinder Head (waiting on Frank)
Head Gasket
Intake/Exhaust (Romac)
Offy Polished Valve Cover
K1 Forged Rods and Pistons
ARP Main,Head Studs
Oil Pan and Valve Cover Studs
Double Roller Timing Chain
Romac SFI Dampner
MSD6a
Mallory Unilite Distributor
Offenhauser 4bl
Hooker SC Headers
 
sleeper-oem said:
Bill it looks like you have put alot of time in on these slants. As far as transmission any suggestions. Also the suspension seems a paradox. The cars seem to ride so low as it is i couldnt image the car dropping 2 inches. I have looked at Hotchikiss TVS and simple mods from PST. I want to leave the factory 14s on her to keep the year look. Dont want to clutter thread il just pm you if thats alright. Thanks
Click to expand...


Sleeper; don't believe everything you read... LOL!

I have been around hot rodding since 1955 (born in 1938... the dark ages) and have built and raced a lot of different cars, and still love it. Right now, my racing partner (he's a year older than I am) and I are embarking on an adventure that is getting more interesting by the day: Neither of us has ANY hands-on experience with sixes of any kind, OR turbochargers.

We are slow learners, so it's taking a long time to get this thing together, but we're making progress. We (hopefully) learn as we go....

So, if you need advice about anything pertaining to slant sixes OR turbocharging, you'd do very well to ask someone who's ACTUALLY WORKED ON ONE... instead of relying on a newbie like me.

We have gotten tons of great advice from experienced turbo and/or slant six guys on FABO and over on the Slant Six.org forum, and there are lots of people here who can help you...

MUCH better than ~I~ can...

Our car will be operational in the Spring, we hope... been at it nearly three years.

I can't answer your suspension question, either; going around curves is not my forte'... LOL!

Here are a couple of recent photos of OUR bucket of bolts...
:wack:
 

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I am in the same boat, having recently gotten a slant six, after a BB and SB. It is a convertible so smooth driving is primary. So far, I have converted to HEI ignition (GM 8-pin module & coil). I would like EFI, but no factory solution since the slant ended before that (as did BB), but I have ideas towards that. I think was Bill Dedman and earlier guys are doing with superchargers is amazing, but a high threshold.
 
HAHA thats no sleeper. Thats like a well dressed women you can tell they got the heat but are covered modestly with good lines . Nice ride Bill. I will take your advice. Just saw your info on other threads trying to avoid headaches. I just want everything under the hood no cleavage just the rumble of rumors. I enjoy the factory look

Almost anything worth building takes time and you two are almost there. Cant wait to see a video of that six on the strip. I cant weld and fab as good as my dad so the mock up will take several mistakes to get right.

Thanks 6pakattack. I have come to the resultion of one wild and one mild so differant setups are good to hear. The TBI and multiport thing is driving mad.. Hard to find dirrect answers from companies on multiport. TBI seems half the price of the Multi but i have read that TBI is a dying tech however it seems alot are still bieng made??
I am putting a carb on my 72 for the more mild setup.
 
sleeper-oem said:
As far as transmission any suggestions.
Click to expand...


I like automatics. Back in the late '50s, I had a '35 Pontiac coupe with a 345 cubic inch Olds in it with a Hydra-Matic (a 4-speed automatic) and raced it for several years with zero transmission problems, and it had great off-the-line performance (with a locked 4:56 gear and slicks.)

Every true race car I have ever had anything to do with, had an automatic.

Back in 1972, I had a '64 Valiant with a 1971 340 (slightly warmed over) for the street for several years, and it had the original 4-speed manual, with a Hayes 3,000-pound clutch with the centrifugal weights removed for a clean release at high rpm's. It shifted beautifully (power shifts) but I just hated it. I didn't have any money for a 904 at the time, so I used it, but I didn't like it at all. Never missed a gear with it, but I really didn't like it... guess it's just a personal thing... It was just a street car, but I did a lot of drag racing on the street with it (stupid.):angry2:

So, it seems that turbo cars like the idea of staying spooled during gear changes, so a 904 was our only real choice. The 727 is overkill for anything but a 440... and, just wastes power (parasitic loss.)

That's MY 2-cents on transmission for slants... Take it for what it's worth (about two cents...)

That's me and my 93-pound driver in 1959... (They didn't used to weigh the cars with the driver in them, so a lightweight driver was a bonus...) I look like such a dork...
 

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Be very careful before you decide to spend any money with Clifford. They have a long and ugly reputation for being a bunch of clowns; see for example here, here, here, here, and here. Much of what they sell is inaccurately described, and a lot of it is not even slightly cost-effective. The good news is that you don't need to go to Clifford to get hot rod parts for slant-6s; there are lots of other, better options. See for example Dutra Duals and header options discussed in this thread and this one, Erson custom cams, HEI ignition upgrade, Mike Jeffreys windage trays, Hurricane intakes, other exotic intakes. Hi-perf engine buildup here, high-perf parts and build info here.

Safety upgrades are important.
Safety is next up. I'd put in proper seat belts. Involved but not impossible in a car like yours. If you're not keeping the original seats, the easiest and best way forward is a set of Chrysler Sebring convertible seats with their built-in 3-point belts. Putting these in requires some electrical work; see here. If keeping the original seats, I recommend these up-to-date, reputable-brand ECE-approved 3-point seat belts (linked vendor is reliable; I've been buying there for a decade; their eBay store is here). More info on belt selection and mounting is at the maker's website. If I needed mounting hardware, I'd buy it again from Wesco (and their page has good illustrated write-ups on how to install belts in pillarless cars like yours here ), but the Securon belts are a much better-designed product than anything Wesco carries.

There are also bench- and bucket-seat 3-point belt setups available from XV Motorsports, but I am hesitant to recommend or use them until I have more than a one-line say-so from the company that their belts actually meet the relevant safety standards; discussion on that matter is here.

Unless the brakes are newly (or almost newly) redone, I'd put them near the top of the list for upgrade. 9" drums at all four corners were adequate for the original lightweight '60-'62 Valiant and Lancer, really not adequate in today's traffic on the heavier '63-up cars. LOTS of options for disc brake upgrades; ask for advice as a separate thread.

Good shocks (at least Edelbrock IAS, preferably Bilstein) and good tires (not from China) go without saying.

Of course, being me, I would put in better headlamps (Cibie H4s if you want good but costly, GE Night Hawk H6024NH if you want decent and cheap but not very long lived) fed by relays, and would also upgrade the car's other exterior lights (see here).

Then after making the car much less inadequate to drive in today's traffic, I'd then turn my attention to more extensive performance upgrades. Perhaps a 2bbl intake and carb either with factory parts or with a home-modified manifold; see the parallel 2bbl setup article -- photo documentation of a very well done such conversion is '62 Super Six - a set on Flickr. And a nicer exhaust system with 2¼" headpipe. Stock manifold is fine, Dutra Duals are better.
 
Thanks Dan I see alot of people using original belts and while it seems fine easpecially in a full factory restoration. I am a climber and the webbing for anchors should not be used after several years especially when exposed to uv. I do believe in saftey and 3 points of contact at the minimal. So dying the old factory belts where out of the question. Its funny you posted that becuase its been on my mind and was an info search for me tonight. I have somone doing the interiors seeing the foam needs replaced as well as vinyl (and thats out of my comfort zone and time). Currently i have the bench setup in both and will probably stay with it. Thanks for the info i really appreciate your time and knowledge. So off to search those links. Need to get them in before headliner. I am sure i will find out in search if i will have to relocate any anchor points; however if i dont any tips especially with the Sebring set up. Thanks
 
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