Hello, my name is Arthur and I have been watching this board for some time now. I can say that you have all been a real big help. even though I have never asked a question. lol. Let me tell you a little about my self. I am a Iraq war veteran that has been medically discharged from the military in Dec/06. I have 4 children and a wonderful wife that "lets me stay home with the kids" so I guess I'm a S.A.H.D. The Stay at home Dad.

In Jan 08 I bought a 1971 Plymouth Duster with a slant 6. When I bought the car it wouldn't even start. I paid 2K for it. I thought that since the body was in real good condition and the engine was not frozen that was a good price. I towed it home and to my surprise all it needed was some T.L.C. and a battery and she fired right up after some tuning she was able to stay running.

Now that she was running I soon found out why this guy wanted to sell me the car......Blown head gasket. Guess he did not want to hassle with it.
Oil was every were. no problem. I figured I could handle the situation. so I looked online for some advice and found www.slantsix.org You guys and gals have a very wide range of information. Thank you so much.

For the most part I was able to rebuild the head and up by just searching for my problems. I figured that you didn't want any repeat questions. As I know that could start to get old.

I did buy the books that have been advertised so much on this site. Thanks Dan for the advice. Stockel auto mechanics fundamentals, the Perterson automotive troubleshooting and repair manual, and the shop manual. man the shop manual set me back 90 bucks. These three books have been a tremendous help.

Here are some pictures of the car and the rebuild.

Arthur,

Well done! That's the way to do it.
A little research and some time and your back in business.

What are your plans for the car?
Did you mill the head while it was off?

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

Well i bought the car for my daily driver. I sold my last car to get my wife a blazer. But she let me buy the duster so i can't be mad at her.

As far as the head. No I did not get it milled. several reasons for that one is that I figured that if it keeps leaking then it would only set me back the price of the gaskets and the milling. Plus I was not to sure about the milling process and what all is needed to do that. do to buy any thing else? as far as parts will every thing still fit the same? as far as parts. I am no mechanic but I am learning little at a time. I was really not that confident in myself until after I put this engine back together again and it did not explode.

The other reason is if I have to do allot of work on it then I would either buy another 225 and rebuild it while this one is still it it and do a swap later. Or just pull this 225 and do a complete rebuild on this one.

So far the gaskets are sealing great no leaks. around the head and the block. I was scared for a while when she was blowing white smoke Antifreeze!!! But it soon stopped. I called my father and he said it was probably just burning off some of the old junk left inside.

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If it runs ok and doesn't blow another head gasket, then you may be fine without milling.

But there is also the possibility that the head surface is not flat... which can cause the head gasket to blow.

Milling is not a big deal. You can go as much as .100" if you want to raise the compression that much, but probably a little less is better for you.

For now, keep it the way you've got it, and start thinking about the other things it might need (for instance, do you have drum brakes on the front?).

-Mac

Is the car a daily driver? Or suppose to be? If it's running and you need to drive it, you can easily find another slant six to rebuild why you drove this one. However, if you can rebuild this one that will put you $200 closer to a nice rebuild engine. Search "Engine Matrix" to get some ideas from mild to wild.
Milling isn't a big problem cause I did the .1 cut on my build so it's a win-win either way.

well it is nice to have you here and i salute you and pray for all our troops

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1972 Plymouth Duster 225 Super Six Slant

Ever since I replaced the head gasket the engine has been driving fine. Like I said before no leaks. So in answer to your question yes this is my daily driver. I even have a car seat in the back for my youngest daughter. Boy does she like the car.

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Well, sounds like your set! There is some basic tune-up things you can do on the car for relatively cheap. You probably don't need to do anything major, cause even though my engine is quite the jalapeno now.... probably wasn't worth it to have the car down for that long. So: recurving, HEI, MSD, super six, valve lash. All stuff that will make you ride smoother and gas better.
Hope you enjoy, and a salute for Iraq. I had some good friends in that mess and glad God brought them back home.

Glad to here youre alright. My brother got a medical discharge in december.

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Ronnie
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2714941

My son does too (and he grew up in the back of my '74 duster...)

Glad you made it back from the sandbox, a few of us on here have been there and did that...

One thing to mention is making sure that if using the car seat, put your kid in the middle rear seat position, the belt is 'static'. The 'weak link' in the duster's body is right behind the door (behind the front seat)... I've seen quite a few that got smacked in that position and the person riding there will not be in good shape... (it usually breaks the rear wing window and folds the panel under the window into the passenger compartment)...

Cool ride, man!

-D.Idiot

Nice work!

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Probably not the right place to post this but wondering,why are we there? and what do the troops think about being there.curious to hear something from someone who has been there,Mark

Not that I don't have an opinion, but let's keep politics to the Social section and not hyjack this thread. Sorry to be abrupt, but politics and techincal information rarely go hand in hand. If Arthur needs help with his slant let's keep that the topic of this thread.

Well I have a 72 Plymouth Duster and if there is anything you need to know about a duster maybe I can help you out

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1972 Plymouth Duster 225 Super Six Slant

Welcome to the forum Arthur, and thank you for your service and sacrifice!

Good job on doing your homework and getting your resources up front. We all look forward to your participation here!

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Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser