I recently bought an 84 Dodge with a slant 6 automatic with 87000 miles on it, the truck had a way to small battery on it when I bought it that I'm replacing tomarrow but it still starts and drives fine, idles a little fast when you first start it but I tap the gas and it slows down and idles good, the truck runs and drives very smoothly shifts smoothly all round decent ride, Until you come to a hill, the steeper the incline the less power it has, it struggles to keep a 35 mph pace on hills that aren't to steep, if I floor it you feel the truck try and kick in some power but it really does nothing, it has no power going uphill whatsoever but drives great on flat ground form what I can tell I have no clue what's going on, I'm gonna start with replacing the battery with the recommended battery for the truck, and I have a full tuneup scheduled on the 16th, the previous owner replaced the wiring and feel regulator shortly before I bought it as far as I know, other small symptoms with the truck are sometimes it jerks really hard when I'm shifting from park to reverse or drive etc and sometimes it does not, the rotors are also crap not sure if that would have anything to do with it not climbing hills but I'm also replacing those as well, I'm welcoming any and all opinions as I am not mechanically inclined but have the money to have it done professionally hopefully around 400$ I hope

Welcome to the site.
The size of the battery will have no effect on the amount of apparent power you see. Do you have enough experiance to determine if the truck has the "Lean burn" still installed and operating? This could be your problem. If it is still there but not working properly, or been incorrectly bypassed, which is very common.
As for the rotors, if the brakes are dragging, that will have a large effect on the apparent power.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

The rotors on your truck are indeed crap! Mopar had a recall on your truck (I have the same one) and the calipers, especially the passenger side front, would lock and not unlock, causing the rotor to warp and the bearing to fail. Mine is the same year and had that problem. Nearly caused an accident. But I doubt that is causing your problem going up hill; you'd know right away if your brakes were dragging that much because of the smell and glowing red rotor.

Like yours mine was a low mile (29K) 1984 slant six truck, and one night after work it would struggle to maintain 45 MPH. I took it to a muffler shop and the catalytic converters were both clogged up. Just another thing to check.

Like mentioned above, the battery should have no effect on speed. I've seen people put a lawn tractor battery in their car, roll it down the hill, and pop the clutch to get it going. And it lasted long enough to get to the parts store to buy a battery. So I doubt that has any effect.

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If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

I'm gonna go some research on lean burn systems and see how to tell if I have one, the breaks are dragging I believe but they just started riding that and weren't when I realized I couldn't climb hills, I parked it and am not driving until the rotors are replaced,

That's interesting that probablynexplains the popping noise I hear on the passenger floorboard area sometimes I didn't know there was a recall is it on the truck completely or just the rotors and calipers? And your truck also didn't climb hills? And the problem was the catalytic converter? I'm sorry guys I'm 21 and don't really know crap about working on cars just the basics I'm just trying to understand, I need this truck to pull a trailer with some weight and doubt it will if it can't even barley climb a hill, appreciate your guy's input

We're happy to help! The recall was on the calipers only, but is long since the time frame where you could get the dealership to fix it for free. I don't think they even make these calipers any more. They aren't terribly difficult to rebuild or replace with some new ones. The popping in the floor could be worn out suspension pieces, a loose hose, a stick jammed underneath, or any number of things. But you're smart to get the brakes sorted out before driving it regularly.

The easiest way to determine if you have Lean Bum is to look at the air filter housing. In 1984 the Lean Bum was attached to that. Also, the distributor had no vacuum pod. Plus there will be a million wires and hoses all over the engine.

As for my truck, the Lean Bum was present but disconnected when I got it. But the converters were clogged up. The muffler shop said it had 7 PSI of back pressure at the manifold / converter junction. But it idled fine and ran normally around town, but on the interstate would surge and rattle.

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If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

If you can post some pictures of your distributor and your carburetor we can tell you if your engine was equipped with a lean burn system.

A lack of power going up a hill can be caused by a large number of things. The first thing you need to do is figure out if you have a lean burn system. That answer will guide what you do next.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

I'm trying to upload pics but I believe this site is designed for computers and I'm on my phone it won't let me upload, I found the distributor on the bottom left of the engine IDK what a carberateour looks like but I think it may be the thing on the back left of the engine? It has all kinds of wires running from it, the distributor is on the bottom left of the engine and has the 6 wires to the sparks and two sets of wires running from the left of it and the top of it, hopefully that tells you guys something,

Let's say I did have a lean burn system, would they eliminate that when I get my tuneup and whatnot I think there replacing the ignition and wires and stuff

OK, stop. Right now just stop. You really need to spend some time learning some basic information before you go any further on this truck. I am not being a jerk or overly negative. If you don't know what a carburetor is then you don't know enough to be trying to use this truck as a daily driver. If you are willing to park it for a while and do some reading and learning, there is no reason why it cannot someday be your daily driver and pull trailers, but if you try and get it to be your daily driver car right now you are going to end up spending far more money than is necessary and go through a great deal of frustration and disappointment. You need to spend some time learning how old cars work before you start in on a project like this.

For example, you say the truck idles fast when you start it but the idle slows down when you tap the gas. That is normal. That is how a carburetor is supposed to function. It is called "fast idle" and helps the engine stay running when the engine is cold. Fuel injected cars do this too, but the computer controls the idle speed.
Yes. the "two sets of wires" going to the distributor strongly suggests that the truck has a lean burn system, but doesn't guarantee it. Is there a silver pod with a vacuum hose going to it at about the 4 o'clock position on the side of the distributor?
No, a tuneup will not remove the lean burn system. Chances are any shop you take it to won't even know what a lean burn system is.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Yes ik I don't know anything about these trucks I have very little little mechanical skills and this trucks different from any other car I've ever worked on, this is my first truck, I am going to be educating myself on it but I've only use it for a week and haven't gotten around to messing with it to much but yes I am not doing anything to it myself as of right now only a mechanic will be touching it I'm just trying to get some opinions sorry! But as for the distributor I don't see any silver pods or vacuum lines near the distributor and ik the idles supposed to be fast but it seems a bit too fast and drops significantly with a tap,

I also wasn't expecting a project either, I drove the truck a good half hour before purchasing it and everything was great but I never thought about taking it up a hill, all this is unexpected to me and I was expecting a very healthy low mile truck that would be dependable, which it very much is that, I just need it to pull it's weight and a little more up a hill, it's the only thing that I'm not satisfied with

Until I have everything squared away it's not driving anywhere but the mechanics about 2 miles away

Yup, you're getting solid advice here: pay careful attention to the brakes.

Yes, your truck has the Lean Burn system and you'll be very much happier with how the truck runs once that is replaced, preferably with an HEI upgrade. And clogged catalytic converter(s) and muffler are very highly likely as well. See here for specific muffler and general cat (meow!) info. Specific cat (meow!) info on request.

Also, don't neglect the basics. Tune-up parts and technique suggestions in this post. Carburetor operation and repair manuals and links to training movies and carb repair/modification threads are posted here for free download.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

where are you located?

perhaps someone on this forum is around the corner and could take a look at the motor with you,,,,

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Doo Ron Ron and the Duke of Earl are friends of mine.....
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I'm I'm Rainier Oregon about an hour north of Portland, directly across the Lewis and Clark bridge from longview WA,

And yes I appreciate all the good advice that's why I came to this specific forum and have already gotten the best advice I've gotten from here thank you all, I'm not doing anything with it as of now until the sixteenth to get the full tuneup I'm also gonna fonder about getting new rotors for it today but will have a mechanic do all the work, in the meantime I'm going to try and brushed on my knowledge and understanding of this truck and it's components so maybe I won't need help in the future, it at the very least could help you guys help me! Once again I appreciate everyone's input

My sugestion is: If necessary have a good mechanic do the brakes, if you are not capable. As for the motor, Most mechanics, today, have no idea what they are doing around a vehicle with a carb, and know even less about a lean burn system. Your bet bet is to go slow on the engine work. See if you can find an old timer, that has a knowledge of these vehicles, or you stand a good chance of your truck not running better, and having a much lighter wallet. Your best option would be to get a factory service manual, and read it. Then ask questions here, before throwing parts at it.

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225