big block caddy or slant six mopar??

hi all -

my t project is about done and i've started scrounging parts for my next.. I plan on doing a 30's ford pickup, super low, super low buck...

after months of getting little in terms of engines into the junkie we just got in two good runners and i'm having trouble making the decision. The first car is a old sedan deville with a 472 and a 400 short-tail. The other is a 70's valiant with a chrysler slant six and an auto. Both aren't really "traditional" in the pure sense but could be cool and best of all - THEY'RE FREEBIES

Anyone have cool or not-so-cool experiences with these mills? Although the caddie would be the trick for power, the slant is definitely different and would give the truck lenght since i plan on running a cab only with no bed.

 

I'd go with the caddy mill. And I am a proclaimed mopar guy. But also power comes first in my book. Slant will never keep up with it. Although I have seen a wicked ol turbo setup for them. . . . Na I would still go with the caddy.

 

yeah... that's what i was leanin toward tooo.. although having a single punk-rock looking lake pipe shooting up over the rear tire would be pretty cool too.. as i said.. it's a tough call..

and then the question is, how fast do i really wanna go in this thing.. My T is scares me with a bone stock 350...

 

Like he said, go with the caddy motor, 'Shraders' in Cali make adapters to retrofit the early scripted cadillac valve covers onto the big caddy mill.They also have a 3x2 intake in the works.Sanderson also make limefire headers for them.So you can definately make that caddy motor look traditional.

 

Go with the Caddy for power, or the Mopar for looks. The sound of one of those little 6's screaming is pretty ****ing cool.

 

OK I will be alone- I like the slant 6!! there are a lot of options for it and the 'hyper pak' stuff is cool. there were aluminum heads and blocks available and some still there. i see an intake with side drafts (3 of em) and exhaust stuff can be fun too. clifford research (6=8) can show you that the slanty will be quicker and faster than the 700 lb anchor caddy. besides its all about 'different'... "build it not Billit"

 

I'm leaning toward the slant six. As you said; how much power do you need in a T? Plus the weight of the caddy would make it handle worse. Plus you can (or could) get all kinds of hop-up goodies for the mopar. (I once knew of a guy with a shortened '61 Valiant that had a 225 built to somewhere around 400 HP. It would do wheelies.) Plus it would look cool. Plus you can't beat a slant six for dependability. And I really like the idea of a six-into-one pipe like you said.... Yeah; I'd go with the Mopar. :-D
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Bush is on a tour of the east; he's visiting American jobs...(my best friend's included).

 

OK - so I posted it wrong- its my first day- so gimme a break...........

Go with the Slant 6!!!!!!!! you can still find 'hyper pak' aluminum heads and even blocks-- clifford research (6=8) can make the slant come alive, and it will look way cool as well as being 400 lbs lighter than the anchor- I mean caddy.
and if your running an auto trans -how can you beat a mopar automatic??
just my thoughts remember- "build it -not Billit"

 

Slant would look good in my book.

 

big caddy If your are trying to go cheap any of the cool parts for the slant 6 will cost. I had a 70 caddy flower car with a worked 472 turbo 400 with shift kit and a posi . thing screamed and use to beat mustang gt's street racing for extra cash.

 

Big Block Caddy for enough torque to turn the earth on it's axis. Since we're talking looks, isn't having an ***load of power on tap cool looking?

 

Well put. I've got a similar thread going between putting a 350 Chevy or a 390 Caddy in a '50 Merc. Put the 500 in it...

 

OK heres my dumb*** idea 472 caddy engine and trans into the valiant with a strait axle up front there was one running around here like this in the early 70s but i think it was a smallblock mopar mill .

 

The slant six gets my vote. V8s are dime a dozen, how many sixes do ya see? Ther's a mountain of goodies out there for slanters.

 

DO THE CAD MOTOR !

 

With one side of your engine compartment empty there's lots of possibilities

go for it!

 

i like them both. but i would go with the six!!!!!!!!! i'm doing a rpu with a flathead six. i just like six bangers. all of them. i came close to putting a toyota land cruiser six in mine!

 

I have owned several of each variety over the years, First of all don't buy into the ridiculous engine weights being that were mentioned, if you look at http://www.team.net/sol/tech/engine.html you will find the stock big block Cad weighs in at 625 lbs (other sources usually say 600 lbs.) and the Mopar slant 6 at 475 lbs, so the stock weight difference is about 150 lbs, the employment of aluminum aftermarket parts could significantly reduce this difference.
Performance wise there is no comparison, as the Caddy mill in an equal weight vehicle will smoke that 6 so bad that it wouldn't even be a race.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE them slant sixes for their durability and economy, but for acceleration and "bang for the buck" almost any popular V-8 will beat them hands down. Your choice, you can be "different" by running a slant six, but don't be surprised when your finished creation has a disappointing resale value.

 

thanks for the posts, keep the opinions and ideas comming..

i'm gonna end up saving em both. good hot rod motors don't grow on trees anymore... i can't tell you the last time we got in a salvageble 350 (well acutally i can, the one that's in my T)..

I'm really interested in the 3x2 setup for the cad!.. Tha's pretty f'n cool... ALthough it wouldn't be to hard to build a 2x2 or 3x2 for the l slant six since i don't have to worry about stretching across a lifter valley... be a good excuse to put my bridgeport to work...

now i just need to find a truck cab!! .. and convince the wife we need ANOTHER hotrod..

 

A slant six, or 472 cube caddy motor?

Are you kidding?

RUN THE CADDY!!!!

 

I love sixers

 

Huh? What enthusiast builds cars to resell? Is your name Boyd? :-D
I'm thinking in the future (when you can afford it/get time RodWerkz) it would be easy to make an intake for triple sidedraft webbers. Couple that with a hot cam, big valves, & that header you mentioned & I'm betting it will move the lighter T as well if not better than the caddy. Remember (everyone); you have more weight with the caddy & you have to get that power to the ground in a 1200# car.... Imagine the looks on folks' faces when you smoke their big-block caddy Ts with your slant six!
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Bush is on a tour of the east; he's visiting American jobs...(my best friend's included).

 

I love the Cad motors and the six both...

but I say stick the caddy motor in it

 

Slants can make power! Mines going into my 51 Plymouth.

 

It has been my observation that most rodders eventually move on to their next project, selling or trading off the old one no matter how successful or well completed, or end up leaving the vehicle as part of their estate to their loved ones, at that point 'resale value' becomes one important indicator of how successful/desirable the effort was, some vehicle combinations gain in value above the investment, and some other 'unusual' combinations lose badly.
The difference could be a rod with a ending value of 30k rather than of 3k, but I do recognize that for some money and time are of no object, and the reward of being "different" is preferable at any cost, just wanted to point out one of the downsides to being so far "different".
As for the rest, slant sixes have been 'built up" and rodded practically since the first one rolled out of the factory, they never set the world on fire in all of these years, and no streetable one is likely to have any significant success beyond what has already been achieved, you can throw scads of money and time at it, just to get smoked by most any unmodified V-8 in a similar vehicle.
Build that six to produce 350-400 hp and it will be unstreetable, while the Caddy in stock trim will deliver 375 hp and 500 ft.lbs. of torque and still idle like a Cadillac, and in a "T" with the engine sitting well behind the front axle, most of that weight will be so far back in the ch***is that it will aid in weight transfer and traction.
Tens of thousands of rods have been built, driven and raced, How many successful slant six powered ones come to mind? I could locate a 100 slant six powered rods, but not one of them would have acceleration as a significant factor, cheap, dependable, economical, yes, but fast? you gotta be kidding.
BTW I was around when the XR-6 was still being planned.

 

Go for the Slant. It's different. There's power options, if you know where to look. You can get a number of setups thru Clifford Research; also, Doug Dutra makes cast iron dual exhaust manifolds for the Slant (Dutra Duals: http://www.dutra.org/doug/doug-sl6-exhaust/dutra-duals.htm). If you scour ebay you might also find an old Offy 2x1 intake... The same intake this dude used to remachine to fit dual webers a few years ago...

 

Put a Caddy valve cover on the Slant 6....

 

I'll swap 350 4bolt main stock runnung for 472-500 cady by the way I too was around for the planning /building of xr6 and know the current owner that six was an fx engine that Tex got from Chrysler it wasen't a production mill the car is/was in a private collection here in Ct.but may be at the peterson museum on loan as part of the AMBR display.The fella who drove it claims it is the worst handling car in their collection sorry I can't name the owners as they don't open it to the public but do occasionaly invite someone to a private tour and I'm one of the luckyones

 

When I see this thread, 2 cars comes to mind

1-some guy up the street from me which a 67 Dart with a slanty in it. 400K+, daily driven, car rotting out around a good running engine and trans.

2-A mutual friend's 86 Monte SS with a 512ci Caddy/th400. Worked heads, MTS valvetrain. high compression, single Holley 4 bbl on a edelbrock intake. Motor redlines at 4800, sounds like a ******** tugboat, and ran a 10.8.

I still vote for the Caddy. That sounds more exciting