Hey guys, I’m fairly new to slant sixes and have been researching away trying to educate myself as best as possible. I just picked up an 83 dodge d150 with A833-O tranny. I was doing some digging last night going through it and found out I have an aluminum intake with carter 2bbl carb and I’m planning on doing an HEI swap very soon as well. I was planning on doing an aussiespeed 2bbl or 4bbl I take a set of Dutra Duals down the road, but if I already have a 2bbl manifold, I might just replace it with a 2bbl carb in the meantime until I have a chance to completely rebuild the slant down the road. Right now I’d like to get it running reliably. I see people going Weber 38/38 carbs or Holley carbs. Ideally I’d love to find something I don’t have to rebuild as I’m not 100% carb savvy. What would be a good carb for a mildly warmed over six to get it running decent with easy tune ability? Right now it’s running rough and needs some tuning up all over.

Also, on a side note for anyone reading, the clutch pedal seems to only grab wayyyy up off the floor even after adjustment from down below. Seems almost too high and makes it fairly difficult to drive without stalling. Is that normal or does that indicate a different problem (maybe needing new clutch, etc)

Welcome to the Slant-6 world. You're thinking along smart lines doing the HEI upgrade and keeping your existing 2bbl intake. What's the status of your present carburetor? Is it in basically good shape, or is it a piece of abused/worn-out junk? Also, where is this vehicle registered, and what kind of emission tests does it have to pass?

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

I’m in Maryland and the vehicle is registered historic so no need for emissions testing ever so the lean burn system is going to come off and maybe the smog pump because currently it’s not hooked up at all so it’s just taking up room under the hood. I have everything I need for the HEI swap currently. Just need a distributor O-ring and gasket as the one from OPW didn’t come with one. The carb might be alright in there but it definitely needs possibly rebuilt or some major adjustments needed. Could be the choke stove or who knows. It’s possible it could be rebuilt I’m sure because the truck will run and drive after warming up after a significant amount of time, so I’m sure the choke needs adjusted or fixed for sure. I’m sure vacuum lines and all that needs gone through as well. It’s got 130k miles on it and I don’t believe much has been done other than oil changes over the years. I’d like to pull the valve cover and replace the PCV grommets and clean it up and paint it as well. The exhaust manifold is showing some some rust as well, but as to be expected.

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. If the primary running problem with the carb is poor driveability when cold, you're on the right track looking at the choke. The factory units don't work well and are not adjustable. Do yourself a large favour and get the № 1232 Electric choke kit, which is adjustable and will work better.

If you're no longer subject to emission tests, go ahead and finish removing them: disable the EGR by removing and plugging the vacuum line to the valve (or remove the valve and install a blockoff plate instead, or remove the valve and flip it 180° and reinstall it); then you can remove the vacuum amplifier (hockey puck lookin' thing between the air cleaner and the valve cover) and associated hoses and wires. If the air pump is on the chopping block, the catalytic converter should go, too, or it'll melt down internally sooner than later. You mentioned thinking about exhaust upgrades. Good idea. Dutra Duals are terrific. With or without them, rest of exhaust system as described here.

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

Dan's right, it's good advice, and it's exactly what I did on my 84 D-100 starting with the carburetor, then the distributor, then removing 8 miles of hoses and wires. The catalytic converter was already hollowed out on mine. But the best bang for the buck was the HEI conversion.

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If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

Just be sure not to go overboard; don't go ripping stuff out just because it's an emission control. You definitely should keep the PCV system intact, and the thermostatic air cleaner system, and the vapour canister; if these systems are hacked or broken or incomplete, it's worth your effort to put them back together and get them working.

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

The Pcv valve and all that I was planning on keeping, but is there any advantage to the other stuff in a non-emissions vehicle that’s only driven occasionally? Just seems like more things to go wrong and have to maintain over time. Replacing canisters and vacuum lines and things as they get old and worn seems excessive for an occasionally driven truck. Especially if the cat is going to go eventually and headers and all that will be put on. Maybe I’m wrong, but older vehicles prior to the 70’s ran perfectly fine without these and they seem superfluous and what could be potentially more issues down the road when having to trace vacuum leaks, issues, etc. ideally I’d like to get it down to as simple as possible.

Also, any recommendation on the breather to use and the grommet for that? And also, a replacement aftermarket air cleaner for the Carter 2bbl that would have a breather tube attachment to replace the lean burn air cleaner? I’m making a shopping list of all these little bits and pieces to add to my cart

Why are you replacing the lean burn air cleaner? You can use an air cleaner off of any two barrel 318. Be sure to get one with clearance for an AC compressor if your truck has AC.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Breather is linked in the tune-up parts thread. No need to replace the air cleaner; you can just leave it in place. The Lean Burn box can sit there doing nothing, or you can remove it and fashion a sheetmetal patch.

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

Howdy, I'm new here but not new to working on old cars and trucks.
Recently picked up a 1984 Ram D150 with a 225 ci and a 4 speed manual at ~80,000 miles.
It's been mostly gone through by others, but I will ditch the lean burn for HEI, as per threads here.
Thanks for all the great info, so far.
Consider this thread tagged!