phobos0001

Greetings everyone,

a mate of mine has just got his liscence and his grandfather gave him a slant six....VC i think. anyways he wants to do it up a bit, you know the usual, fresh paint, clean up the interior and what-not, your usual restors/upgrade. i know nothing about valiants but im about the most mechanicaly minded person he knows (and im no mechanic) he's after some advice on getting some more ponies under the hood and was going to dosh out cash on extractors and a new exhaust, but i told him to hold up untill i get some more info for him....so here i am. whats the best way to get better power out of the stock slant 6's? better carby? new cam? mabey even convert to an 8?

i had a talk with a mechanic mate of mine, and he thinks that a hemi would not fit because apparently they are longer or something and he'll have to re-do his radiator or something.

any advice is always welcome though, so ill take any advice you guys/gals are willing to give

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

wabbit

good to see the old vals are still alive

a set of extracters and decent ehxhaust, a 2 barrel manifold and 2 barrell carter/stromberg/350 holly and a quick shave of the head will give a lazy 180 horses. cam changes won't give the power increases you're looking for. the slants have a huge stroke compared to the bore ( 4.125"v 3.4" from memory)

keep in mind that the slants were a truck motor and built for torque and not high revs. they redline at about 4500 rpm but will pull from walking pace in top gear.

the mechanic you talked to has never worked on valiants, i'm assuming.
a hemi is shorter and will bolt straight in with a hemi crossmember. the crossmembers were interchangeable up until at least VG and i'm pretty certain right up to CM.

the slants and hemis were completely different motors- power wise.
if you can find a donor car with a hemi and 4 speed, i'd snatch it quick. the hemis are a brilliant motor, but only good for about 100,000 k in a streeter without a rebuild. but well worth the rebuild.

that said, you can't go past a lumpy 8. 318s and 360s are the easiest to find, but a 360 is externally balanced.
either is good and there's plenty of parts available locally and in the states.


keep us posted

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Move along, please

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phobos0001

cheers wabbit,

well the mech i talk to is funny....he is smart as and has helped me out heaps, unfortunately he crapps on too so its hars to seporate fact from s*it.

sorry for the dumb questions but as i said, me and valiants arent very close....
why do hemi's only last 100k? do they go through head gaskets or something?never new the slants where truck motors... well you learn every day i guess.... so unless i can find a donor car im best off with leaving the slant and improveing the intake and exhaust. i have a rebuilt WW stromberg carb lying around should i give that to him for a start? no-one seems to want them. i rang my mate up and apparently it has a "dual throat webber" thats all he knew, but he's not very mech minded... ill have to go take a look and get some hard facts before i start planning what he should buy. its fun building a classic on someone elses money

is there any particular reason why you reccomend a donor car? hard to get crossmembers? i suppose it never goes astray for all those little bits that end up costing a fortune.
cheers wabs, ill go check out the car and do some reading and let ya know what the go is

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

wabbit

phobos,

the 100k remark of mine is only referring to the fact that they are older motors, and with an oversquare bore, the rings wear out quicker than usual. this may also have something to do with the fact that a hemi is essentially a race motor and is driven like one whether you mean to or not. holden and ford sixes weren't good for more than 150k at the time, either.
the motors aren't stuffed at those k's. they just need a freshen up.

the slant motoor in the early vals was the same 225ci donk as they used in the old dodge trucks. nothing wrong with them if used properly. i just wouldn't be dropping a set of 4.11s in the diff.

you don't really NEED a donor car, as the clutch linkages and stuff are the same. most times, it would be cheaper to get one, though.

the hemis came in 215, 245 and 265ci. don't take a 215 even if they pay you to cart it away. 245s are pretty common, but a 265 is a killer. they can be found cheap if you are prepared to look.
the hemis have a huge diference in power between the different capacities. the difference between a 215 and 245 is a lot more than a ford 200 and 250.

if you're looking at late model gear, the late 90's jeeps had a fuel injected 245 hemi in them. worth a thought

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Nothing to see, here


Move along, please

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phobos0001

thanks yet again. i guess im realy asking what you or someone else would do in my position, i know holdens and thats all..... not that there's anything wrong with the valiants, just where never available to me untill now. all i know is that he wants something that is a comfortable cruiser, but can still do some nice standstills and such. theres nothing quite like the sound of an 8 and the hemi's are awsome motors from what i have seen/read. ill have to get something of a budjet in order before i go getting an FI 245 or something but from past experiance this will be a slow build

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

phobos0001

just had a chat with my mate and he's quite keen o looking into a hemi conversion, the 8's are quite seductive arent they, hard to pass up. wonder if an elephant would fit under there? those 426's have some nice numbers!!

i want to get some prices on motors, gearboxes, interior, ect is there any good places in australia, primarly victoria or south australia? i know theres some pretty comprehansive sites for the states, but it sucks not beying able to look at what your buying before you buy. i had the same thing when i was looking for parts for my uncle's XY, theres specialty stores for them, just never happen to be within driving distance

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

phobos0001

well this whole project is put on hold for a bit now, my mate thought id'd be a good idea to go for a holiday, damn him and his girlfriend! so he'll have to start saving from scratch again, all because they wanted to go to vietnam of all places.... bugger

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

NOS440

"a hemi is shorter and will bolt straight in with a hemi crossmember. the crossmembers were interchangeable up until at least VG and i'm pretty certain right up to CM."


**correction**

the hemi 6 is a longer engine than the slant. to put a hemi in a vc u would need to modify the engine mounts. when the hemi is in the engine bay you will also have less than 1 inch distance between the water pump housing and the radiator, this would then necessitate in an electric fan instead of the old pump driven fan.
it is abit of a stuff around but when done properly you will have yourself a very nice and quick car.
the slant can make power easy with extractors 2 1/2 inch exhaust and 350 2 barrell holley. if a rebuild is on the cards then i recommend balancing and blueprinting with mild cam and porting.
from the r series up to the vg model, cross members (k frames in val speak) are all the same. vh - cm are different to the earlier models, being that they are a wider car.
a hemi can last for years more than 100000 klms. best bet and cheapest is to rebuild, balance, e49 cam, porting the head and either a 450 - 500 4 barrell or triple webers. nice easy 300 hp at the flywheel. be aware that if you do use an e49 cam and it has an auto you will need a stall convertor.
plenty of places out there who supply chrysler stuff, just google and you will find.

CK_318

i was told by my bro hu was told by a bloke hu works at Mopar Performance that it was only the six packs that last the 100000 k's b4 needing a rebuild, something to do with being lighter for racing or woteva

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phobos0001

thanks guys, so what kind of price would i be looking at for say 300@ the fly, just a ballpark figure so i can give him an idea

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

NOS440

between $2000 - $3500 depending on parts used and work done could go alot more but budget for that. ring around a few chrysler car clubs and ask them who they would recommend for an engine build in your state. there would be an unbelievable font of knowledge there

phobos0001

cheers nos,
i can do most of the work between me and the old man, just a couple things like i dont have a cam bearing tool and i'll need to get the rods pressed on the pistons, i think thats it, i got a valve spring compressor, ring compressor, soft hammers, plenty of the usual tools of the trade, so i think i can do most of the work, just as i mentioned plus the hot tanking, head and block decking, ect. ill have a chat with my mate and see what he thinks of the price hopefully i can convince him to put some extra cash away and get this old girl back on the road

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

NOS440

cool, got some pics of the val?

phobos0001

im about a 2.5-3 hourd drive away, its at my mate's mothers house, ill get him to take some pics of it next time he visits though, im keen to get some pics myself, i havent seen it in the flesh either

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"He who ignores history is doomed to repeat it"

NOS440

oh well post em up when u can