i have had a few /6 cars, small block cars and mostly big block v8s yes the 6 was mopars bread and butter in the A body cars, but most folks just like the gutteral roar of a hopped up V8. thats not to say a souped up six isnt cool, its just that you can put the same amount of money into a V8 car as you would in a six and have a faster car.
i believe a number of years ago in hot rod magazine steve magnante did an article on hopping up a / in a duster and even hooked it up with an A833 close ratio box and a geared 8-3/4 rear. the conclusion was a 14 second quarter mile car. decent time for a street car but they threw way too much money at it to get the times down. now maybe using EFI and a turbo might make a better difference plus good drivability, i really dont know.
my grandpa loved em. even had a /6 in his 69 plymouth sattelite. im willing to bet that bodacious B body couldent get out of its own way with a 225 under the hood, but it sure looked good trying to do it LOL.
what i do know is that slant sixes are super reliable as all get out (except for that nylon distributor gear), and they get really decent mileage all a plus for fleet/taxi service but stone stock they are gutless wonders. fine for joe average, but worthless for a hot rodder unless you desire spending your hard earned cash on something unusual for folks to stare at when showing your car at the occasional car show.
all i do know is the /6 lump , Kframe, tranny, and rear out of my 67 cuda coupe project car along with the other scrap metal i had from my 74 dart V8 4 door parts car was able to fetch me $220 off my trailer at the scrap metal place. the V8 out of the parts car runs pretty well and i may use as is until i can get the parts up for a stroker kit.
i tried to sell off the slant 6 parts from the cuda pretty cheap but nobody wanted any of it, nor did they want any of the parts off my parts car that i wasnt going to use so i made my money by dropping it all off at the scrap yard. out of my yard cash in pocket LOL.
my advice is buy what you want. a nicely painted up and detailed slant six is just as cool to look at as a V8 is. some folks love the /6 i neither like nor dislike them. personally i just wouldent waste my time on one when i can do a V8 just as easily.
just my .02
matt
