Regarding the sludge/ dirt issue. I wouldn´t sweat it. I have had a low mileage 80k km/ 50 k miles 350 out of a 1989 G20 that was only used on very short trips, never warmed up right and it was a mess... I put it in a 64 Buick Wildcat.Keep changing oil and filters until the oil looks clean after a few 1000 miles and you will be fine.It till runs perfectly years after... bearings, heads and bores were perfect, but man, was it dirty inside.
The OHV engine will have more performance potential, if you want to go all out. But to make a smart decision, you probably need to start listing your requirements for the truck. These can include things like "how it looks", along with the potential performance, ease of installation, total cost, etc.
I tend to agree Rusty, the moment the head comes off or pull out bottom end its in rebuild mode. NAPA golds off brand of Wix. I use another off brand of Wix from Piston Ring Stores in Manitoba
Egads! I agree, that would be a major mistake. Go ahead and wash it down, personally I'd use diesel fuel, but kerosene would be fine. Use a solvent sprayer, and compressed air, that works great, I've done it many times to engines that were far worse off. Then blow it dry, or let it air dry, and put it back together. And I'd fill it with 15W40 diesel engine oil, and run it, then change it a few times with a few thousand miles on it each time. Diesel engine oil's are fortified with much more detergents than p***enger car motor oils, they will help clean it up internally. You'd be surprised what a modern engine oil can do to clean up old deposits. Don't be surprised to see the oil turn dark quickly as it dislodges material and suspends it. Diesel engine oil has more anti-wear additives too, it will protect that old engine better. Those slant 6's can outlive all of us if given regular basic maintenance.
Hmmm, both are very reliable engines, neither is going to win many drag races. I think the slant 6 was rated about 20 hp higher than the flat head, and there were some HO models with up to 180hp. So the slant 6 has more potential.
I think the "they last forever" and "they are bullet proof" came directly from Chrysler marketing people. other than the odd configuration they are just like any other engine of the era. I have one in my 61 Dodge, it always had a vibration any time I went over 65, then either the crank broke, or mine had the rare two piece crank. the crank broke in Oakland, and I towed it home down Mission Blvd all the way to Fremont with a rope, my buddy Jim and my 62 Cadillac. about 25 miles adding to the fun the vibrating crank/flywheel damaged the trans bearings in the three speed and later that year the ****** went out about 100 miles from home. drove it home that time figuring the trans was toast anyway, and it would have cost a fortune to get it towed. after that episode I bought a regular car to drive
They were kind of tough, at least the earlier ones with a steel crank. They couldn't get going fast enough or make enough power to hurt themselves.
I had a slant powered pickup years ago. Piece of **** that I bought to drive for a winter and kept for about 3 years. Totally unknown amount of miles and no signs of it ever being cared for. And through all of that, it got the best gas mikeage of any full-sized pickup that I ever owned. I sold it to my bro who got another bunch of miles out of it. They actually may last forever....
Haha, I don't think anyone ever said every single one ever made was perfect and never had any problems. Of course, that broken crank couldn't have been caused by over revving it by 3 grand either, could it? They are in general a well made piece of machinery, and like any well made piece of machinery they can last a very long time if used within the design parameters and are well maintained. As with any piece of machinery, there are some that fail to meet design life, some will fail early, some it may take a little longer for flaws to manifest (like an inclusion in the steel of the crank).
Yes i know not a typical Slant 6 or Chrysler flathead 6. A friend in So Cal has a 66 Valiant with a heated up Slant 6 it beats up a lot of V8s
And there are a lot of heated up V8s that will beat it, too. The hopped up slant 6s didn't give them their reputation for reliability. It was the underpowered stockers that did that.
Now now Jim no point in getting too heated up. Yes a well built V8 is going to tame a well built Slant6 or Chrysler flathead 6 or most likely any old 6s. My point is they can be made to go a lot better then when they rolled off the line. At car shows a nice flathead 6 or a slant 6 or any 6 is a novelty a**** the sea of SBC V8s.
********************************************************************************* Really!? I have little experience with Chrysler's flatties, and just ***umed there was very little made for them. Maybe I need to start looking for an early 50's truck for a cruiser. If you're looking to build a "surprise!" motor, you might want to look into the "long rod" build recipe over on the slant6.org board. From my understanding, it's a heck of a performance build, using mostly stock parts, (if you can find the 198 con rods). My only beef with the slant is that it's tilted the wrong way. The engineers back then layed it over 30* on the primary service side. You have to reach down into tight spots to change oil filter, tune-up service, and plugs. To my thinking, it should have been tilted the other way. The normal service areas would have had much better access, and the intake and exhaust paths would have had been much straighter into and out of the cylinders. Roger
Well yes and no. Flatties and i go back a while. The mid 50s 265 truck version was rated at 136 hp 230 ft lbs of torque at 1600 rpm The 1959 230 was rated as high as 136 hp also with its higher compression and 2 bbl carb and intake. These are all factory engines. Not wicked powerhouses but can be made to be quite peppy and handle modern day speeds. The slant 6 can get 200 hp a lot easier than an lhead 6. At any rate gonna to run this engine and see whats what. Not sure what vehicle its going in yet...
I'm not getting heated up. Just pointing out that maybe the reason they live so long, is because they can't work real hard
the machinist that fixed me up with a fresh crank thought it was likely from years of lugging it with the non sychro first gear 3 speed. the car belonged to the original owner well into the 1980's, so he was probably an old fart who didn't like shifting as much as you are supposed to. high revs, low revs or a casting problem that took 75,000 miles to fail. take your pick.
At any rate thanx to you all for your comments I think.it was Smokey Yunick who exclaimed the Slant 6 was the engine that responded the best to some simple bolt on hi perf mods hands down. Now it's all relative, you take a 85 hp 170 slant 6 and boost hp to 150, thats huge. In comparison take a 250 hp SBC bolt on the mods to get 450 hp. At this point I need to get a bell, flywheel and starter. Then this little puppy will ge fired up on the floor and see whats what. Im going to clean out the oil pan tomorrow and clean up the pickup and screen and install a fresh gasket..
My dad asked a friend who worked in an engine rebuilding plant what he thought of the slant six before he bought one. The friend said "I don't know, we've never had to rebuild one". This was in 1967 so they had been on the market 7 years at the time. So he bought a 67 Dart sedan the first of seven or 8 slant six cars we had in the family. All perfectly reliable until 1976 when Chrysler was going through a bad spell of building **** and my brother got a real lemon of an Aspen station wagon. So, they did let the occasional dud slip through but in the main they were about the most reliable longest lived engine you could get. Mate up that slant six with the 4 speed and drop it in a Duster, Valiant or other light weight car and have some fun. 2 points about /sixes you probably already know. The manifold bolts must be torqued to 12 foot pounds only. Do not tighten them too much or the exhaust manifold will break in two. The manifold has to be able to expand with heat. If the gasket leaks put in a new gasket, they are cheap and easy to replace. This may be why you have a mismatched set of manifolds, if the exhaust manifold cracks it is easier to replace intake and exhaust together as an ***embly. Second point is you need to adjust the valves from time to time. They are about the last American car with solid valve lifters. This would account for the intake gasket being new.
Kind of what i was thinking too. I also have to pick up 2 more IND 265s this spring. Both on running combines rebuilt according to owner .. 265s can make good power and huge torque. But why wouldn't a 225 slant 6 and A833 trans not be as good as the 265 flattie. The slant has 6 intake ports higher compression and breaths better. The 265 with its 4 3/4 stroke has torque but can it compete wit a more modern engine design. I will say this my 228 is a very slow powerplant, albeit shes tired but is a dog.. She looks ver kool though.
Hey Rusty now look at my 265 ive sitting in my shop. Inside the lifter chamber vlean as can be Some carbon on valves as usual. Oil pan clean enough. But all cyls have the slightest of ridge. Cyl 6 had a tiny moisture rust spot. Ive been tempted to run this as is but should no better.
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