Hey Guys,
Newbie here. I've got a 100% bone stock 84 D150. That runs like a champion I might say. But with that said it HATES my 19' Hurricane deck boat. She will pull it but 3rd gear is where we stay. My plans right now is to do away with the original pre cat exhaust and order a walker system for an older truck that doesn't have that pre cat ( the one right under the exhaust manifold). Will the older pipe bolt up to my manifold? Then install a good flowing muffler, on the new system. Also I want to do away with the rest of the smog system ( previous owner disabled the pump). Is there a block off plate available for the port in the back of the head? And I also plan to convert to an HEI set up. I'm slowly acquiring all the bits to do so. And a new clutch is in order soon also. Any other bolt ons I can do now to improve the towing ability?

Second, I'm shopping for a rebuildable engine to slowly start a torque monster build up? I want a daily driver capable torquey slant for my pickup. What year slant should I shoot for?

Thank you in advance,

Just have a muffler shop do a full 2.25" exhaust thru a flowmaster super 50 delta flow

CH-410 cap and brass tip rotor

Upgrade to the HEI/Petronix and use a Petronix 60K volt E coil

Ebay 8.5mm wires

NGK plugs (dont recall SL6Dans part number for the peanut heads)

Replace the carb for a older one or do a 2/4 barrel swap on an offy intake

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1965 Plymouth A/FX 512ci (under construction)
1968 Dodge Dart SL6 14.25 @ 91.5 1.91 60'
1973 Dodge Dart SL6 Stock
Killer Bee's Member Since 09'
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/sho ... p?t=128702
http://www.youtube.com/user/805moparkid

Any block would be fine for a rebuilder, the cast crank will allow a faster rev recovery between shifts and if you have the 11" clutch it will offset the weight of the flywheel a bit. If you have the A-833 OD then either type works fine, just price shop your rebuild kit to see if the 1968-1976 Forged Crank kit is any less expensive than the 1976-1987 cast crank kit.

For the rebuild, I would highly recommend using Ted's build as the blueprint, as that should provide a lot of good low end torque for towing and provide good even mileage. This will mean going to mechanical lifters vs. the hydraulic lifters in the 1981-1987 engines, but the extra valve lash setting is a small price to pay for the extra torque.

Check your rear end ratio, as well, you can help your towing issue by switching to some kinder gears, if you have an A-833OD the truck will respond much better to a set of 3.91's than getting shod with 3.21 or 3.55's (and maybe even 4.11's if you have large tires on it).

To get a pre-cat pipe you'd have to roll the year back to 1974 and slant trucks got noodle pipes in them days, so I suggest getting the custom 2.25" pipe and mufflers as 805 notes (it's also worth a little extra mpg and umph).

In the meantime, a tune up might help and a look at your timing (1984 does it have an ESC computer on the air cleaner, or *gulp* the ESC distributor still installed and not being advanced by the non-existant computer. SlantSix Dan's plugs are only for drool tube heads (the ZFR-5N plug), for peanut plug guys you get a coupe of NGK choices UR5 for normal use, and NGK-4 for oil burning engines or those that need a hotter plug.

Getting the timing to be rock solid and advancing will help loads. If I were persnickety and had the timing cover off to replace a sloppy chain I'd degree the stock cam in to make sure it's not retarded and then advance it 3-4 degrees for a little bump in torque sooner (if not peeling off the cover, don't worry about it it's not worth the effort for 2 more ft/lbs at 1000-2500 rpm unless every bit counts and you have the time).

Let us know on your transmission of choice, and the rear ratio, this combination and tire size can be worked to keep your new slant in it's powerband or 'sweet spot'...

-D.Idiot

I have an 84 D150 and had the same issue with the cat right against the engine. If you go to ROCK Auto and look at the 1983 D150, the downpipe can be ordered plain (w/o cat) and fits perfectly. Local exhaust shops refused to remove the cat because of WA laws that forbid it, even though the truck is no longer subject to emissions tests. IIRC the pipe is 2".

WALKER Part # 44958 Walker Front Pipe
131.0' wheelbase; W/o Mini-Ox Converter.

Part Image
$67.79

Cheers!

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. . . there was good sport at his making.

Thanks for the replies guys. And thank you Michael for posting that pipe info. I was looking at them and I was thinking I had the 115" WB. But I guess it doesn't matter for the front pipe.

And thanks DI for pointing me to Teds build that is exactly what I have in mind. I am going to keep my A833 OD trans. And the tag on my hood says my rear axle is a 8.25 with a 3.54 gear and I'm running 235 75 15 tires on the truck. Just need to get my sixxer to pull a little better. I don't want to sacrifice any reliability. I can handle a lash adjustment as I've gotten pretty good at that drag racing and somehow becoming the designated solid lifter adjuster guy amongst my buddies Thanks again guys, loving this site.

Yeah, that explains much, even with the granny gear 3.09 1st gear the poor slant has to get them big guys rolling (28.88" tire) and the brick of a truck along with the added weight of the boat and trailer in water it's not liking it at all and rpm probably falls off quickly (and you are challenging the input/mainshaft assembly in the tranny with the wide swing in torque just running the rpm to 3K and having to slip the clutch to get it rolling). At the same time, in OD it puts the rpm band lower than the carb is calibrated to activate the mains so you are just getting the idle and transition circuit in OD at 55 mph (it's about 1500-1600 rpm).

A better set of rear gears will help at this point (a set of 3.91's would make OD gear at 2000 rpm at 60 mph which is in the mains for the carb, 4.11's top out at about 2100 in OD), and will make it easier to get the load rolling from a stand still, and just make things much better when you drop in Ted's Build (it should haul at the point like a built 318 with the engine and gear combination).

2 cents,

-D.Idiot

DI made a good point, you will want to stay in the torque band (sweet spot) which is between 2000 and 2500 rpm to realize max torque. I would be looking for another set of gears for the rear....first. You may be surprised just making this change! Then go to 2.25" head pipe and 2.5" pipe the rest of the way back. It really helps to unload the engine and keep temps down and vacuum up!

How much initial advance do you run? Hopefully you are running at least 10 degrees.

Increasing the compression like I did really wakes up a slant.
Good free flowing exhaust like mine and a good distributor curve are very important. A little extra lift on the cam helps as well. The Delta or Oregon .435 lift cam or Doc's RV10 RDP cam.

i used to pull my 19' Reinell fishing boat with a Volvo 6 inboard just fine with a 77 Volare that had a super six. It was a nice little combination. The car would get 28 mpg on trips over the North Cascades. The boat would run all day on 10 to 12 gallons about 80 miles up to Canada and back and troll for 6 to 8 hours with out missing a beat.
Should have kept both of them!

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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

Wow, Thank ya'll so much for all the info. Ya'll covered alot of area's I didn't even think about. I'll hunt down a new gear set for the truck. Would you recommend a limited slip unit like an Eaton as well, ya know since I'll be in there . I have no idea how much advance the truck has at this point. I haven't even checked. It runs so well, its still on the lean burn computer. I'm slowly getting stuff together for the HEI swap. I read the post on the Rock Auto dizzy, but still confused on which one to pull the trigger on. I made an appt today to take the truck in Thurs. for a new exhaust system.

YEEEEEEAAAAZZZ!!! Just got back from picking up the dude from the muffler shop. I had them install a 2.25" all the way back thru a turbo muffler and turned it out behind the rear tire like the factory. Man I'm cheezin, that ole leaning tower sounds SO good! Brought back memories of how our family slant sounded spinning the jet pump in the boat. The engine definitely liked getting rid of the old double cat factory choke tube!!! Now for that HEI set up! I think I need to track down another carb for the HEI swap that has a ported vacuum to hook the vacuum advance to? Should I try to find one of those economasters you guys were talking about?

I would like to chime in here ad pick your brains. I am in a similar boat. I am looking at going up to .410 in the rear at was eyeballing jegs' more budget priced gear set. was wondering if it is any good?

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I would forget about trying to tow in OD.
3rd gear is 1:1 (or direct)
Use OD when unladen, direct when towing
Optimise your tune and all should be good with the gears and tyre size you have.
My 2 cents

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Richard (aka Fingers)