Yo quiero torque-o-bell!

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Wedge

Wedge

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Here's the heavy...I have a 225 and I want more torque out of it. I don't expect to get 440 reaction time but enough power to outrun an old lady or heck even do a burn-out would be awesome! I don't have a lot of cash/income so more torque for less money would be prefered.
 
To be honest with you a V8 swap is the easy and cheep way to get more torque. Even a 318 has 93 more cubs than a 225 and cubs are good for torque.
 
Open up the exhaust as much as you can (2 1/2 with a turbo muffler makes a big difference) and get at least a 2bbl on it even with a 2 to 1 adapter is better than stock. Adjust the advance curve on your distributor to get as much initial as it will take and not be hard to start hot and not over advance at cruise. These are the cheap easy things to do first. Next would be to lower your gear ratio a bit.
 
Well I tryed. LOL You just need some good old hotroding then. Carb, intake, cam, headers and you need to above all get that compression ratio up some how. Either buy changing pistons or decking the head. Slant preformanc parts are few I think but they are around. I have hered there is a site for slants slantsix.org I think. Some one here will be able to go into more detail but not me. The first thing I do when I get a car is yank the 6 out and give it away.
 
When you suggest timing "Adjust the advance curve on your distributor to get as much initial as it will take"

Do you mean before top dead center?

I dont mean to steal the thread, I just happen to have a rebuilt 225 with 2 brrl that the timing is set to stock, but I cant burn the tires on dry pavement.

Will advancing timing to fire earlier help? (along as I dont get any pinging)

Thanks
 
Wedge said:
Here's the heavy...I have a 225 and I want more torque out of it.
Click to expand...

That's entirely reasonable and quite possible. Start from the start: What is the year and model of the vehicle you're working on? How many miles are on it, has it got the original engine, what carburetor is presently on it, and what kind of emission tests (if any) do you have to pass?

More specific advice once you've told us what exactly you're starting with, but no, a 2½" exhaust is not a wise choice, no, headers are not necessarily a wise pick, and no, a 2-onto-1 carburetor adaptor is not better than a stock 1bbl (and there's no reason to use those dumb adaptors; a 2bbl intake for a slant-6 is easy to buy or make).
 
1970, 225 slant six Plymouth Duster with original motor and a 1bbl. It has around 300,000 miles on it but runs like a charm. Idk about emissions.
 
Okeh, start with the basics. With 300k miles, it's likely your timing chain has some stretch, which will have retarded the cam, taking a big bite out of torque. Remove the distributor cap and turn the engine manually with the fan and belt in one direction until you see the distributor rotor begin to move. Then turn it the other direction and watch the rotor; if there's any discernible lag between your moving the engine and the rotor turning, the timing chain is slack and will want replacement. It makes sense at that time to do a super-careful job of getting the camshaft timed precisely to optimise your engine's operation for economy. Details are in multiple threads and you can be pointed at one if your engines appear to need this sort of attention.

Next, do a good tune-up. Tune-up parts and technique suggestions in this thread, carburetor operation and repair manuals and links to training movies and carb repair/modification threads are posted here for free download, and if you haven't done it in recent memory, it's time for a valve adjustment.

Next, turn your attention to the ignition system; see here (pay particular attention to the part about the source for new distributors with good advance curves). Until you gather up the $ and parts to do this, make sure your existing ignition system is in tip-top shape; remember breaker points start deteriorating the instant you first start the engine after replacing them. Try an initial timing setting of 5° to 7° BTDC.

Next upgrade to go for is a 2bbl setup. See here and here and here.

Dutra Duals are a terrific and very streetable upgrade, but it sounds like you're trying to contain costs, so those are probably not on your shopping list right now. So as long as the factory exhaust manifold is in good shape, wait til it comes time to put a new exhaust system in the car, then upgrade to a 2¼" headpipe at least. You can also run a 2¼" system all the way back. No need to buy an exotic muffler; just use a larger-than-stock, stock-type muffler (or something else, depending on how loud an exhaust you want).

This should be enough to get you started!
 
Right now I'm in the middle of giving it a tune-up so as soon as that's done I'll get crackin' on the rest of that!
 
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