IM KEEPING THE DODGE

"Slant6" (slant-6) 05/04/2014 at 20:03 • Filed to: None

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Now what. I think suspension. New shocks should do good, right? We're on the original ones and handling is boaty. Should I go for stiffer ones?

Im also trying to get some new tires. Anything good for my 14s? New wheels aren't an option because I have a funny bolt pattern and don't have the money to do a disc swap, although that should happen eventually.

Any good mods to make a 5o year old car better to drive? Smaller steering wheel maybe?

Brian Silvestro > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:05

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Suspension, brakes, tires, RACING SEATS AND ROLL CAGE

Blondude > Brian Silvestro 05/04/2014 at 20:08

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AND NOS!

Brian Silvestro > Blondude 05/04/2014 at 20:09

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Twin turbos bruh!

PS9 > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:09

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NEVERMIND NEW SHOCKS, SAVE UP AND PUT THIS IN IT

Slant6 > Brian Silvestro 05/04/2014 at 20:09

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Brakes were redone in 2010. We could use another master cylinder though, we only have one. And maybe a booster of sorts. I'm down for bucket seats.

Blondude > Brian Silvestro 05/04/2014 at 20:10

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But make sure to watch those manifolds bro!

Brian Silvestro > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:15

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Coilovers, Pirelli P-Zero Corzas, strip the interior and throw in racecar stuff. And when they make the Ford 1.0L ecoboost as a crate motor, put two of them in there.

signintoburnerlol > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:15

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Honestly, i'd just run a good size turbo through that slant six. Slant sixes love turbos, also it would be pretty cheap to piece together. Most difficult part would be tuning, but it would be an experience you wouldn't forget and knowledge as well.

Brian Silvestro > Blondude 05/04/2014 at 20:16

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Slant6 > PS9 05/04/2014 at 20:16

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But everyone does v8 swaps. My name is Slant6. Maybe Slant6T someday.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:18

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Don't go for the obvious big stuff. I know the feeling and you want to buy coilovers, bigger brakes, etc. Check and replace bushings, mounts, and other vital, yet cheap things. Also work on getting the play out of the steering. That's important. When you do shocks might as well do sway bars. With a few minor replacements and adjustments, the car could handle very nicely.

George McNally > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:18

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New shocks, some decent tires...get the biggest tire that will fit your wheels without rubbing somewhere.

Did these have torsion bar suspension in front?

I was thinking new springs but have someone cut them down so you lower the car by an inch or two.

Sway bars front and rear would help, but I have no idea where you would source those.....

Slant6 > signintoburnerlol 05/04/2014 at 20:18

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That's the plan. But if I were to get 250 horses out of nowhere (making about 100 right now) the car wouldn't know how to handle it. I just want to modernize a little first. Make everything tight then go faster.

Dunnik > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:18

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Glad you've decided to keep it!

I think a smaller wheel would remove some of the car's originality.

Do upgrade the suspension, and obviously discs front and rear (or at least front) should be on your list when you can afford it.

Not sure if power steering or even power brakes came standard from the factory on this car, but if not, that's something to add. Same with A/C.

If you're still running the original sealed beam headlights see about replacing it with a more modern unit (while obviously keeping to the stock look, no HID's or LED's here). You may also want to add a third brake light: doesn't improve the looks and it isn't original, but it may help prevent somebody from rear-ending your Doge .

Bandit > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:19

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Remove hub caps and paint the steelies black (or buy a cheap set of 15" magnum 500 rims). Lower car 1.5" - 2" using new springs and shocks and stuff for a stiffer ride. Replace all the front end bushings (steering, ball joints, etc) with new urethane ones to get better response and increased safety. They're wear parts anyway. Install period bucket seats, paint or plastidip the grill inserts black, polish that chrome

PS9 > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:19

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1. Change Name To slant10
2. Mount engine at angle
3. Win.

Slant6 > Bandit 05/04/2014 at 20:26

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That's an old picture. Hub caps have been off for years. a 4x5 bolt pattern isn't common at all so Im just going to repaint the steelies and maybe get some chrome center caps. I like the springs idea. You're saying good things. Everyone else seems to want to make her into a track monster while all I really want is a cool nice handling cruiser that could do autocross someday.

Slant6 > Dunnik 05/04/2014 at 20:28

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Thanks. That's a good idea. Cyclops lights are going to the top of the list. Maybe I can keep the stock lights and get some driving lights behind the grill?

Bandit > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:31

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You're basically what I'm doing with my Trans Am. I want to make it a good DD that could occasionally drive on a track. My future plans are: lower the car while rebuilding front and rear suspension, new wheels and rubber, and replace all wear parts. You might want to think about throwing a new cam, exhaust, or other performance goodies at the engine too. Pretty much get look good and drive good.

Dunnik > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:34

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Nah, I'd say that grill and headlamp layout is too clean and classic to mess up with driving lights.

Slant6 > Bandit 05/04/2014 at 20:35

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The thing with the slant 6 is that no one ever made go fast parts for it. There is a good cam outthere but they don't make them anymore. I could have someone machine one but I don't have the money for that. My only options are bore (The reason these things last so long is because they have about an inch and a half between cylinders) and turbo. I could also put on a 4 barrel carb. that might be my first engine performance thing. I need to do something to make it run better on unleaded though first.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:35

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Make it an autoX ready slant six. I have never seen one, but it would be awesome.

190e30-Now with COSWORTH > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:36

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All I'm saying is a Turbo, super small displacement I4 would be a lot of fun. Keep the weight low, save some cash (both in purchasing cost and in gas money), and do things right, and you've got a semi-efficient, boosted (i.e. easy to tweak and get more power out of with little effort), reliable, lightweight, sporty, good-handling, rear driven toy. Basically, what the Toyobaru could have been if it was 50 years old, turbocharged, and a bit bigger.

Far-fetched, but come on.

Slant6 > 190e30-Now with COSWORTH 05/04/2014 at 20:39

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I like it. Except then I'd need a computer. And the Slants are dying out. And I don't need a CAT.

Bandit > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 20:51

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Head job. Get hardened seats to run unleaded then port and polish to gain power.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 21:00

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Anti roll bars.

Merkin Muffley > Slant6 05/04/2014 at 21:14

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work with the car instead of fighting it's nature. A slant six dart isn't a speed demon. It is, however, a good looking car. It is asking for the style and comfort cruiser treatment. Do a top end job on the motor for a little more pep and to make it happier running unleaded. Replace the suspension bushings with new polyurethane pieces to make it less floaty. If you lower it, only go an inch or two and don't make it firm. Check out a company called wheel vintiques, they might have some larger steelies in your size. Summit racing carries them. Look around to see what kind of vintage accessories you can scare up- sunvisors, ladder racks, extra chrome bits, whatever. If the interior or paint are rough, get them sorted. It's never going to be a muscle car, but there is a lot you could do to make it very interesting and unique.

Justin is driven > Slant6 05/05/2014 at 08:31

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Can you find another set of stock steel wheels? Send them off to be widened. then do springs/ shocks/ sways. I'm sure someone's done a first-gen dart that handles, look for that and do what they did. :)

Alternatively, just do everything on this page: http://www.hotchkis.net/search.html?Ma…

Andrew Nier > Slant6 05/05/2014 at 16:13

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I didn't see which engine it is, but Clifford sells a few Mopar 6 performance parts.

http://www.cliffordperformance.net/Merchant2/merc…

Does your car have manual steering or power? If it's manual steering, the smaller steering may get tiresome at low speeds.

Steve in Manhattan > Slant6 05/05/2014 at 16:34

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My mom had your engine in an Aspen - the only part that worked.

Nedus > Slant6 05/05/2014 at 16:42

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It all depends on what you want out of the car. From reading some comments, looks like you want a nice cruiser that can handle a turn or two, but nothing crazy. Which is great, I'm doing exactly that with my '67 Mustang.

Suspension and brakes first. New shocks all the way around, new leaf springs, control arms, bushings, etc. If you want to go a bit further, maybe a nice anti-roll bar, and stiffen up your front end with an export brace and monte carlo bar. While you're at it, you can lower the car, maybe an inch or two. You might want to wait to get bigger tires before lowering the car to avoid any rubbing issues in the future. Power steering is great to have for simple cruising.

Brakes next, get yourself a booster and a dual-bowl master cylinder if you don't have that already. Again, power brakes are great, I highly recommend it.

For simple comfort, the suspension should be enough. If you're planning on doing the interior, I'd recommend getting some insulation in there, like Dynamat. Can be expensive, but there are lots of guides out there to getting it done cheap. Keep the original steering wheel, don't go with those ugly aftermarket ones that everyone uses. They're boring and takes away from the character of your car, in my opinion. New seats would be nice, but I personally would just re-upholster the originals and put new foam and make them more comfy.

Once you're done with that...Crossram 426 or GTFO.

BoulderZ > Slant6 05/05/2014 at 18:40

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Tires, shocks, springs, for sure. Add in suspension bushings and swaybar(s). Not sure what year you have, but a couple quick searches makes it look like you have at least some options for parts suppliers. As others have mentioned, getting wheels shouldn't be bad either, just need to find the right vendors to drill appropriate width/offset models for you. Bonus: get every suspension bit blasted and powder coated "while you're at it". I was pleasantly surprised how cheap that was on my car, how much better it looked, and how much easier re-assembly was. Nice ride, enjoy!

KarmannA > Slant6 05/05/2014 at 20:24

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Having several vintage cars, I would say clean, update the shocks and go through the bushings. Replace fluids, and then see if there are options to hop up your car from factory parts. (IE- larger brakes from a different model, better carb, better head etc.) To me, unless the replacement motor is really fantastic, a hop-up of an original engine is far cooler.

Slant6 > KarmannA 05/05/2014 at 20:41

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I'm keeping the 6. People always get rid of them and they can be rather torquey. I also don't feel like shoehorning a v8 in there. This was considered a compact when new. I don't want to have to deal with finding a trans and rear that fit while the /6 works just fine.

Philbert/Phartnagle > Slant6 05/06/2014 at 09:48

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What exactly are your future plans/uses for the car?

That would determine what kind of mods you need to start with to keep from having to redo something later.

boobytrapsandtreasure > Slant6 05/07/2014 at 12:11

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Keep the Slant 6. It will run forever and will keep you from looking like a V8 swapping hose bag. I would upgrade the suspension without dropping it too much. And as far as 14" tires go I think this may work on your car:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js…