Editor’s Note: This series counts down the Top 10 engines of all time—see how the voting was done by reading our initial post.
In a hot rodding world dominated by V8s, many of you decided to think outside the V…er, box.
At #6 on your Top 10 engines list, you’ll find the first gasoline-based inline engine of the group: the Chrysler 225 Slant Six. While it doesn’t possess the cylinders or overall displacement of the other engines, the Chrysler 225 Slant Six makes up for it by delivering gobs of torque and a cockroach-like lifespan.
You just can’t kill ’em!
History
First produced in 1960, the Chrysler 225 Slant Six replaced Mopar’s old Flathead-style engine.
The inline engine was given the Slant Six name because of its unique, 30-degree tilt toward the passenger side of the vehicle. This design was implemented for several reasons, according to Chrysler’s original 1960 press release:
- The center of gravity is much lower than in upright engines
- Increased clearance for use with the Plymouth Valiant’s low-profile hood
- Engine accessories are more accessible
The “slanted” design also allowed for the use of equal-length intake runners and header primaries. The result was improved distribution of the intake air charge and reduced airflow restriction. Combined with a unique internal cylinder design, which featured a much smaller bore than stroke, the improved airflow helped the 225 Slant Six deliver tons of torque. And when the engine’s original one-barrel carb was dumped in favor of a two-barrel carburetor (a common practice among hot rodders), the engine offered even more performance potential.
From 1960-62, Chrysler also offered a Hyper-Pak package, which included a four-barrel carburetor and numerous performance upgrades. This parts combination helped push the Chrysler 225 Slant Six’s power output to almost 200 horsepower—almost V8 range!
Still, the Chrysler 225 Slant Six became most-known for its durability during its 23-year run from 1960-83—as your fellow gearheads pointed out…
Reader Quotes
“Slant Six 225! Bulletproof! –Chris L.
“Not a Mopar guy, but I have never seen anything tougher than a Slant 6 Chrysler!”–Leonard A.
“The Chrysler 225 ci Slant 6—reasonable on fuel, never stops running or wears out, and has loads of torque. My mum had one with over 300,000 miles and it never even had the tappet cover off once!” –Jeff N.
Fun Fact
The Chrysler 225 Slant Six was not only used in cars and trucks, it also provided power for farm tractors, forklifts, and boats.
Specifications
The original Chrysler 225 Slant Six produced around 145 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 215 ft.-lbs. of torque at 2,800 rpm.
Aftermarket Upgrades: Six for the Six
Because of the durability of the 225 Slant Six, aftermarket manufacturers continue to offer upgrades and replacement/maintenance parts. According to Summit Racing, six of the more popular parts include:
- 1- and 2-Barrel Carburetors
- Camshafts
- Starters
- Mechanical Thermostats
- Engine Gasket Sets
- Ignition Coils
Editor’s Note: This series counts down the Top 10 engines of all time—see how the voting was done by reading our initial post.
I had one in a car I bought for interior, had a rod knock but decided to drive it home. through the rod out of the side of the block but kept running . figured what the hell its already shot, made it the little bit I had left and I shut it off with the key. tough little mutha
I have slant 6 ‘s i would sell? There are 3 slant 6 225 C I Industrial motors in my combines … They were Tuf , Andstill are Tuf and runnable .. They are in Massey Ferguson combines and will still run too. I just can’t farm like i used to . Call me at 812-596-4605, I am in South Central Indiana . I Am Jim
In the late-80’s, I had a 73 or 74 Valiant. There was a sticker that covered the entire air-cleaner cover, that said “Super 225.” It went on to say that the engine PRODUCED 225 FP of torque! There was a metal tag attached to the firewall that said the engine had a displacement of something like 170 c.i. NOT the 225 c.i. that is always stated as the displacement or a “Super 225!” Anyone got any insight to offer?
The ol’ leaning tower of power!!!
Here’s another fun factoid… The E49 Valiant Charger (Australian) had a hotted up version of this motor held the record for fastest quarter mile of a production car for about 30 years… And yes, that was faster than all the V8’s!!!
being a 1966 valiant owner for ten years i find the acceleration you claimed in australia hard to believe mate.
the E49 charger didn’t have a slant 6, it was a 265 c.i. 6 cylinder hemi. (only available in australia)
How much H.P. did it have
The 265 was nothing like the slant 225. It was a totally redesigned engine
The engine in the e49 was actually a 245 hemi not the 225 slant.
265 sorry the 245 was in the e38.
el mejor motor 6 cilindros de todos los tiempos!
you can gett cool parts from clifford performance and aussie Speed
And just some extra info about the legend of the slant 6 they made a alloy block version too!! Very very rare….
I have a 64 Dart GT 225 slant six, and enjoy every minute of it. Its a fun car to drive…
I have had a 65 AP6 Valiant 225 slant since new (Nov 65). After more than 48 years and over 880,000 KMS on the same engine (same crank, cam,rods and pistons) finally needed an engine rebuild. Still started easily and had plenty of power, but plugs tended to oil up. Had replaced valve seals on two occasions during life time. 30 thou wear in bore and less that 10 thou on crank. Now running it it again. Truly remarkably tough and confirms comments made by others.
I’ve seen 3 to deaths door 1 was a 66 D100 an old state truck and I was a 17 year old farm kid so ya know and when they go they just go. Next was a 77 dodge Aspen my uncle bought it used and when he got done with it he gave it to my grandma she quit driving and my then thug a*# got ahold of it then we’ll you know the rest. And finally someone gave a 82 dodge D100 because they couldn’t start it I got it to start but never easily for it was wore out and I drove it 65 miles one way to work untill it had enough. Note both the 82 and 77 died warming up in the morning never got to see them die and the 66 just didn’t start one day so you take a wore out car throw it to a kid or just run it long hard miles(Aspen made the same trip as the 82)ya know they make porcelain bullets for bulletproof glass that would be me
Funny I had aole done aspen station wagon I bought off of my ex mother inlawit looked like it had came from salt lakecity lakerusted so bad the drivers seat fell threw the floor one day going home iput a piece of plywood under it and drove it once with barely any oil on thedipstick 68 miles not caring if the old rust bucket popped the moor it made it home no problem I then used it for my old fishing wagon silicone the distributerand plug wires drove it in flood waters hooked on to a jeep that flooded out pulled the young lady out and said Lil lady don’t go that way back home tonight you’ll get stuck I slipped my fan belt off before pulling her out put it back on started up dried her distributer out with wd40 and got her back on the road water was to the bottom of my seat the thing was one tuff car I’m impressed I just bought a 86 150 se with the 727 tranny in it now its got 100 miles on the new engine I figure it will go as long as I’m alive go molars awesome
I had a 1979 Plymouth Volare 225 slant 6 that was incredibly durable. The car fell apart while the engine still hummed like new!
Were you clued in to pull the plug to the choke heater coil? That reduced stalling during warmup in cold conditions. They had a recall (among many) that included adding an extra EGR valve for a fake fix. But, yeah, the engine was the bright light in a really dismal car…unless you actually adjusted the tappets per the maintenance schedule…
Norm, I just bought a 1985 Dodge D100 with a 225 slant 6. It started having trouble starting and got bad. I did dist cap,coil,plugs,wires,battery, still nothing. Finally pulled the steering wheel and changed the ignition wiring (not the key side) Anyways, is “pulling the plug to the choke heater) something i should have/need to do?
[…] school. Strong, tough engine that powered everything from pickup trucks to Darts and Dusters. Top 10 Engines of All Time (#6): Chrysler 225 Slant Six – OnAllCylinders __________________ Once-retired oilfield trash currently living near Pittsburgh. Riding a 2013 […]
Erm…I killed mine.
How?
I killed two. First one had an oil leak and I never added the oil (my fault). The second one had an oil pump weakness, the engine got hot and caught fire. Block broke (also my fault). In both cases the engines were 25-40 years old.
I should point out that I have owned numerous Darts, and the engiones lasted fine on most of them (I killed one ’66 and one ’73), replaced the ’73 with a ’71 engine that went to the end (needed lower profile oil pan), a couple of ’74s, a ’66 that slid on ice into a police Crown Vic (Crown Vic won, engine still ran though), a ’77, and a ’68 dying from rust or were sold off.
I also killed two one a 1966 that threw a rod out the side of the block. The second a 1973 cracked head and block when the radiator failed
Just bought a 63 Valiant 200 Signet with a slant 6. Im not a mechanic or gear head. Excited to hear the history of this engine is so strong. 58k miles on my purchase. Sounds like I may be driving it awhile!
A good upgrade is the cable throttle linkage from V-8 Valiants. Installs with its metal plate screwed to the firewall in place of the existing plate. Later intakes, 1 and 2 barrel, are already made to accept the cable linkage. Aftermarket 4 barrel setups work horribly poor using the existing linkage with its twisting butterflies. Can be done but I hated it with a passion.
Brett – I have been a Mopar/Slant six fan since 1963. Check this out: http://www.allpar.com/slant6.html
I just bought a ’75 Duster with 70,000 original miles on it, had a rebuild on the original engine at 50,000 miles after sitting for 25 years, was driven another 20,000, and then I bought it. The car is a survivor and was garage stored and had regular maintinence. I look forward to having it for a long time.
My slant 6 lives under the battered hood of a ’68 Dodge D100. It is a remarkable power plant.
Mine lives under a 1982 ram 150, it’s built and it sounds mean, cam, head, offenhouser intake, two piece header, the truck is a shortened single cab I’ve been building since I was 14 and it’s hell of a truck now, @moparguy4 on tiktok to check it out
[…] […]
Had a 72 Gold Duster and a 70 Scamp- After sitting outside in -20 weather (no garage) it would start no problem when the Brand New Caddy down the street wouldn’t start. Anyone remember that clasic Mopar starter sound? The engine wasn’t too fussy about being super finely tuned, had decent pick up and gas mileage. As a kid a saw a guy who made a v-8 out of two Kawasaki 1000cc motorcycle engines for use in his midget racer. I wonder if you could make a V-12 out of two slant 6’s lol
That wouldn’t work, but I have heard of someone making a slant-12 out of two slant-sixes.
I have a 69 Valiant slant six 225 that has been sitting for 23 years. My mother was original owner. My daughter and I will be restoring it in the near future. Can’t wait to drive it again
Saw your comment on 10 best engines. I too, found a 1972 Valiant in a Garage which it had sat in for 24 years. Driving now, and have put on 10,ooo miles since purchase in November 2015. Fixing the little things and enjoying it a bunch.–Bill
the low hood line of the 1960 Plymouth Valiant is erroneous; in 1960 the Valiant was introduced as a separate line and not a model of the Plymouth line. In 1961 it became a Plymouth. Typical MoPar badging. In 1962 the Desoto was dropped as a nameplate; it lived on as a new model Dodge, the 880, which looked like the classic and currently continued Chrysler much more than the all new Dodge 330/Polara. The 1961 Dodge Dart was a full size car, then the name Dart was dropped, then revived in 1963 as a rebadged Dodge Lancer.
increased clearance for use with the ….. XXXXXXXXXX … 1960 Valiant’s low hood-line. omit … “Plymouth” … no such thing that year!
As far as the production run of the slant 6 is concerned, they were used in pickups until 1987, when the v-6 came out. My first truck was an ’84 D-100 with a “leaning tower of power” and a four speed manual. Frame rotted through but still even had the original clutch. Biggest repair I ever made was a rebuilt carburetor and a new fuel pump.
Just bought a Plymouth Volare Wagon with a Slant Six. Put some new plugs and wires on her she she purrs like a kitten. Absolutely shocked at how nice the car runs.
my parents had an ol s\6 volare wagon lol…. fond memories of that ol car. would be interested in buying if ur interested in selling.
You’d been shocked at the stuff the original owner probably had to do to get it to run that well. Between the yearly recalls, and other individual fixes of production SNAFUs, it tough love that got you through. My memory of the wagon was helping a buddy to figure out a stalling problem, AFTER the obligatory pulling of the choke heater wire. It turned out they forgot to include the thingy on the air intake snorkel when routing the vacuum line. Fortunately, a sticker was under the hood showing the proper routing for customer DIY quality control.
One of the greatest engines ever built. a true shame that Chrysler will not bring it back. re done with EFI and high energy ignition it would meet all smog tests and run forever. Are you listening Chrysler?
A-men I have a 1980 dodge 2door diplomate only 62,000ths miles onthe225 engine given to myself by #1 owner great car chrysler should do better.
Had a 1970 Duster slant 6 225 cid. Drive it 12 years. Still ran great. I don’t know if u could destroy the motor, it ran and ran. Better than what they have today. Only back then when u changed the points on them, it was a little hard to get to. I always marked a place on the motor block cause i would take the distributor out to change the points. That way by marking the block where the rotary button was sitting always help me put the distributor back in the same place, so i would not get it out of time. Great Motor.
Have this in my 1966 Dodge coronet, works fine and fuel saver too.
why are superchargers so trash
I killed the engine and not the car. started it up in a blizzard pulled out didn’t let it get warm and 6 miles later blue and purple smoke filled the car. 59.995 miles on engine. called my dad… he came and got me drove the car 26 miles home and the engine locked up. 🙁 My mom’s 1972 duster bit the dust. because of my stupidity.
I had the 225 Slant Six in my 1976 Dodge Aspen 4 door sedan It was one of the best engines I had ever seen as it outlasted the body at that time I bought the car in 1981 it had 120,000 miles on it and my complaint was they should have built a better body.
Did you get the fenders replaced under the recall? [Not that the replacements would last any longer than the originals…]
Had a ’77 in PA, and everything seemed to have to be patched yearly. In ’83, moved to middle GA, and the rusting stopped. I don’t know if it was because of lack of salt on the roads, or just that the whole car was nothing but Bondo by then…
Yesterday i bought a 1974 duster, in first day after running about two hour engine fell apart and connecting rod cracked and bearing moved, and block damaged and cracked …its a record as i think
hmmm… did u even bother to check the oil??????
Ha d a 61 Valiant V20 tradede in on a 69 Charger RT Boy do I wish I had both
As a Dodge store employee most of us would put our teenagers in something with a slant 6.
We use to say with a slant 6 that oil and coolant was optional !
My sister had a slant 6 Valiant, she came home saying it with making banging noises. She said it was making Steam from under the hood, but then it stopped. It stopped because it didn’t have any anti freeze left in it. Fixed lowe hose, took 4 quarts of oil, and she ran it for a couple more years lol. Bulletproof for sure
Have used my 1987 W100 225/4 spd ” Dodger1 ” for hunting/fishing for 25 years… ” Creepy_Crawler_Mode ” good ‘ol 4 low… this truck will not stall no matter how steep the hill, without tending the gas pedal, the slant 6 stroke is soooo long! Pulled out more dead/stuck trucks/cars/quads than you can shake a stick at… drove over trees, through rivers, piled game in the back… finally last year the clutch disk cracked/separated… apart now, up on blocks, having a bit of trouble finding a clutch… sad to see My_Dodger1 like that… Yeseree, it’s all about forcing you to buy new these days… I’m sure if Dodge did bring the slant 6 back, it would be so over engineered you probably wouldn’t even be able to see it… 😉
Try ram clutch or center force. Either one should have it
We had hundreds of them in Dodge SixPass pickups in the USAF….and they were unbreakable. Cruised at 90 mph on the Autobahn for hours on end. Smooth, too.
But with no mention of the Buick V-6, the list is questionable. Over 25 million were built!
Yep. I have a 2002 Pontiac Firebird with the bulletproof Buick 3800 Series II V-6 engine. It has 195,000 miles on it and still runs strong.
I had a 73 Dart Sport with a slant 6. Threw a rod less than 100K.
I have bought a 1964 Plymouth Valiant 200 with the super six 225ci. When I started out as a mechanic the first tune up I did was on this same model year and the first motor I rebuilt was also a 225 slant six. 52 yrs later and this car I found in a scrap yard is also most ready to fire up. My hope is that the cold compression I found to be still in tolerance will be even better after it warms up. When I found it it only had 80,000 miles on it and had not been driven since 1980. The mice had taken up home keeping and the fuel is bad. I also had to hammer out the oil pan that was full of sludge. But after close inspection the bearing look still in good shape the cam has very little ware, and the cylinders have no scoring so with luck after I plastic gauge them and re-torque them, rebuild the carb and she should fire right up for my first road test. Replacement parts are hard to come by and I have rework what I have but it nothing I’m not used to after being in the Army for almost 18yrs. It makes me feel like that kid just starting out again.
I’ve owned 4 slant sixes, still drive one to this day. When I was a teen, our “handme down” car was a ’66 dart 4dr with a 225. It lasted through my mom, and then 3 teen agers. They are superbly tough, overdesigned is what my dad always said, and he was a mopar mechanic for 40 years. When they quit making them, he was upset. He liked the power of the new v6s when they came out, but he knew those would never last as long as the old leaning tower of power. He had a saying “when it starts ticking, you should probably put a couple quarts of oil in it, or a gallon of water”. That was the honest to god truth.
Oh forgot to mention, the combined total of miles on those 4 slant sixes I’ve owned, would be slightly more than 3/4 of a million miles. That’s low because my current has less than 100k on it, and I don’t drive as much anymore. Avg. economy was around 17 honest mpg(city/hwy combined) for all of those(2 were trucks). Yearly maintenance was less than $50 a piece. Even my current one.
You basically just got tired of driving the damn things and gave them to someone elses kid for a couple bucks, or someone Tbones you and totals them out.
What a great engine,the 225 slant six.I bought the Valiant Safari Stationwagon in 2006 and drove it on until one cylinder began to give problems but it still worked tirelessly.I had the whole engine redone in 2015 and have just done less than 2000 km since.I look foward to pull this great car to Limpopo (RSA) in June(2017).I love the power and smoothness of this car.
I had a ’66 Dodge Dart w/ a 225 slant six and a 727 Torqueflite transmission. That combination was Chrysler’s one-time claim to fame for building quality machines, a reputation long gone with the junk they’ve make recently. The 727 Torqueflite was as “bulletproof” as was the slant six. I also later had a ’73 Dodge D100 pickup truck w/ a 225 and a manual transmission. I wish I still had it instead of the miserable ’07 Dodge Dakota 3.7 L six that I own and hate today.
I had a slant-6 for 14 years and 168,000 miles. The car rotted but the engine was always solid
I owned a 1979 dodge Aspen bought brand new in the middle of the might be going out of business days, and it was a great car. It was a two door sport model with a 225 super six engine. There was no blind spot in the rearview, and it was a really good looking car. I got it for a song. The fools at brake check did a brake job . On the way home after leaving the shop my brakes failed and the best car I’ve ever had got totaled. She was silver and black with a rear spoiler I ordered. Damn fine car. I sure don’t know why Chrysler won’t bring it back after the success of the 4 liter AMC fuel injected straight six engine. That could be the shot in the arm Mopar is looking for. Just saying.
Contact their headquarters; do you speak French?
BTW, did the car still have the “plastic” front disk brake pistons, and if so, did Brake Check (?) replace them? Those things should have been recalled with everything else, and probably contributed to your accident!
I love the 2 barrel carburetor in the SUPER Slant 6 cylinder engine in a 1976 Plymouth Fury salon 4 door.
my work truck was a 1983 ram 1500 slant six 727 torqflight.drove it 17 years everyday.very little maintance.
I had an 80 Aspen wagon and couldn’t wait to get rid of it as it couldn’t get out of it’s own way.
Have the slant six in my RHD Barracuda 1966 great car.
I have a barn find 40000 mile original 68 Plymouth Valiant Signet with the Super 225 Slant Six, what a smooth running motor at 50 years
I have an 81 Dodge Ram d250 3/4 ton pick up it’s white and it’s got a 225 slant 6 single barrel carb four on the floor and it only has 26,045 original miles on it my grandfather bought it new back in 1981 with a thousand miles on it and he drove it back and forth to work for 11 years and then used it to haul water for the garden and salt for the road and it still looks great he passed away 5 years ago and my aunt said that she is going to scrap it and I told her know that I want the truck I’ll give you $500 for it and bought the truck put a starter solenoid in and a new battery and it started up with 5 year old gas and now with a few maintenance things done it purrs and runs like new
By the way if you guys want to check out the truck go on YouTube and search Mopar man and is a white 81 Dodge Ram you’ll see a picture of me sitting in the truck
I drove a slant 6 225!on full heat from sydnyto Noosa Queensland
And back then change racists do not a valve out of place
Radiator I mean and currently restoring 1963 valiant Australia Production what a car reco motor and push button auto 904 torque flite
Go Chrysler
My first car was a 1965 Dodge coronet sedan that I bought in 1969 and it had the 225 slant 6. Loved it.
I had three 225’s 1974 Dart 4 door, 1973 Demon, 1973 Valiant they were all easy to maintain and just two weeks ago I was driving an old country road and what did I find 1968 Dart 4 door for sale cancelled my flight home and drove home 1400 miles and not a hitch (90000 miles on it now) just broke in these are great cars.
I raced a 225 slant six at a small dirt track in south alabama for a couple of seasons. The locals still talk about that little blue dodge dart that could outrun those chevy v8’s. the local track changed the rules that allowed sixes to run virtually unlimited against stock v8’s. there were a couple of 250-292 chevies, a 300 ford, an OHC pontiac and my slant six. The v8’s could not keep up. I bored the block .060, ported and polished the head, cut the head .060, installed bigger valves, had a custom Kay Sissell cam ground,bigger valve springs, titanium valve retainers, installed a set of Jahns 12:1 pistons, an offy intake with a 500cfm two barrel(rule max allowed) and custom headers. That 4 1/4 inch stroke came off the corners like a rocket ship and sounded like a homelite chain saw on steroids. I did not win every week but I never finished out of the top 5.the track abolished the sixes after a couple of seasons. seemed like the v8’s had had enough. I built several cars after that and went on to run short tracks around the south but NEVER…..EVER…had more fun than I did with that slant six.
Great story!
If I had moved to GA sooner, I’d probably have kept my Volare (at least I would have bought it with AC!) It’s crazy when not only do the bodies last forever without salt, so do shocks and exhaust systems! But I would never have raced it either! Even if it could stand the torque of your modified engine, they had completely screwed up the suspension when transistioning between valients/darts to volare/aspens.
But you have a great story to tell!
I have a 1962 Dodge Dart police cruiser. ran it for show and parades for several years…finally bit the dust…anyone know where i can get a replacement engine? I live in central calif.
I loved my 225 in my 75 D100 with a three on the tree. When it got rearended and shot the engine out the front! Only to have the engine continue to run through it all. I rebuilt it later, only to sell it because the body fell apart. To this day I love that engine. It’s True oil and water was always only an option. I never had any trouble with this awsome motor.
I have a 65′ valiant with a super 225 3.7 in it. It had 56,000 miles on it and it’d say for ten years when I got it. I have over time finally got her running. Still with the single barrel carb. No upgrades. But I’m female. No willing mechanic to keep her up. But I’ve ran up 800 back fees on it. I’m scared to get it impounded. But long story short I put it up for $2000 and after they find out the back fees only offer me $1500. Anyway after reading this blog , I figure best to keep it. Cuz I know I’m gonna hate myself for getting rid of her even if I got 2ooo cuz honestly I luv that car and she’s so cute. But boy I wish I had a willing soul who would help me with her. But question is , $2000 is stilltoo little of a price to sell her for ain’t it. And if it is what do u think it should go for .? And if anyone is near Lodi California, possibly would u like to help me with her. ?
I live in madera, what do u need done to it?
My first car – 1962 Plymouth Valiant with slant 6 and 3 speed on the column. Loved that car, sleek lines, and lots of torque.
Iam presently 61 years old. I have been working on cars since my teenage years and still work as a mechanic or as they say today an auto tech. Back in the day I owned a Duster with a 225 slant 6. It was a very durable eng.I use to work on lots of them , not much use to go wrong with them but I use to replace the ignition points (not many techs even know what points are today) lol and replace fuel and air filters , spark plugs pcv and that sort of thing, Not much went wrong with these eng. The one defect that the slant 6 had was that the fuel pumps would leak oil and the oil wound eat disinergrate the motor mount that sat below the pump as a result of this I replaced my share of fuel pumps and mounts.The way I remembered the firing order was 15/too young 36/too old 24 just right. I would buy 1 in a heartbeat if 1 would come my way.
Loved that firing order! Hadn’t heard it before but apparently it’s a common firing order for sixes.
When I was 18, living on my own, my father picked up a 72 four door dart with a bad engine. Picked up a junkyard slant six and with the help of a tree and a come a long I put the engine in. That was the best damn car I ever owned. One morning I got up at 6am to go to work and it was 48 below zero and I never thought that car would start. It cranked ever so slow: I just kept pumping her and it fired once and that was enough to get the old girl going. All of the belts squeeled until everything broke free and that old girl never let me down. That was 35 years ago. The only thing that will kill any engine is not changing the oil. I ended up putting a 2 barrel intake and carb on her and she ran even harder!
l enjoyed all of the stories
l have a slant 6 in a massey
combine
my question is did they make a slant 6 industrial engine that was bigger than a 225???
My grandfather bought a 1976 Dodge van with a slant 6 (225). That engine survived the body NO PROBLEM. We replaced the timing chain once, but that was it. The van had the floor boards completely rusted through in the front, …to the point I was terrified to even sit in the seat without ending-up with my butt on the street! 🙂 The body was AWFUL… rusted through in SO many places (before adequate rust-proofing, obviously). He finally “traded it in” (LOL!) for $100 for a newer van. Grandpa lived in Michigan, having to survive with salted roads, etc. To say the least, HE GOT HIS MONEY’S WORTH out of it! LOL! Had the floor boards not rusted completely through (could’ve done a bona fide Flintstone’s stop! LOL!), he would’ve probably kept it a lot longer!!! The slant 6 was great! The alignment of the engine with the rest of the drive train was, TO BE SURE, a little askew! It required NO FEWER than 17 universal joints. (NOT KIDDING!) My grandfather took my brother and me ALL OVER Michigan – and Canada – in that van. He bought it “stock” with NOTHING inside save the front seats. Decked it out with a full sized (sideways) bed on a plywood platform, with storage underneath for luggage or whatever. Assembled a make-shift closet right behind the driver’s seat. Fashioned an outlet for a TV opposite it to go behind the passenger seat for a TV and/or small refrigerator, coffee maker, etc. Went all over the USA in it with my grandmother, staying in KOA and other type parks.
I HAVE AN ALUMINUM SLANT SIX ’62-CIRCA. I NEED THE ALUMINUM PILLOWS THAT THE CRANK BEARS UPON.
A BLOWN APART Al. ENGINE WILL SUFFICE.
STATE $$$$ REQUIREMENTS. 425806520NINE
In the summer of 1980 I saved enough to buy a 1972 Dodge Dart for $950. It had 95,000 miles on it and I was terrified it wouldn’t last. Lucky for me it did. There was a thing called the Dodge Dart fan club whose president called me nearly 10 years later when I sold the car for $250 to ask if I had any “Dart stories”. I had two. One was that the Dart began to lose power over time and one day just barely made it over the hill to where I lived and I assumed that its time had finally come. So the old Dart sat in the driveway for a few days as I worried how to get around without it and without any money to fix it or replace it. My roommate, who was getting annoyed about driving me to school everyday, asked me if I had ever changed the sparkplugs. I realized I hadn’t (this was ~3 years into my ownership). So I bought a set and found that 5 of those 6 sparkplugs from the old indestructible 225 slant-6 engine had gaps completely filled with carbon, which meant, improbably, that the car got over that last hill on one cylinder. Once I put in the new plugs, the engine purred like a kitten – all the power returned. The second Dart story was that the engine was running so well on the day I sold it that I could feel no vibration at all at the last stop light before I turned the car over to the new owner – I couldn’t tell if the engine was on until I pressed the accelerator.
From about 1962-1988 my family only bought cars with the slant-6. When I was little I thought every car engine looked like that.
My father had a basement and shed full of slant-6 parts. I was encouraged to do my own work, and hopped up my 1963 dodge 330 with the 4-bbl hyperpak kit. I’d pull strongly up hills and other “experts” asked me what v-8 was under the hood. They wouldn’t believe me until I opened the hood and told them to count. Those 4-bbl slant-6’s had so much torque.
Since my dad and I, and even my mother, simply replaced everything, these cars ran until rust killed the floorboards or frame. Time to get another car for like $200 when the seat started sagging toward the ground or when you saw the road under the floor.
Now I just heard that Fiat Chrysler has a secret project to bring the slant-6 back. I haven’t bought Mopar in many decades. But I’ll be lining up for a new one if they bring back a reasonable new version of it.
I use to have a 1967 D100 pickup with the 225CI. The engine and truck were both amazing. I used the truck to haul firewood from my dad’s farm to my home, about 65 miles apart. We would put about 1 1/2 ricks of wood on that truck (WAY over loaded). The engine had enough torque in 2nd gear to pull that load up a steep hill. Got 18mpg highway (empty). Very impressive truck.
All the above, are a joke, right? Unfortunately, the italians and germans would not understand english,because they would otherwise enjoy a good joke!!!!
I’ve owned a few slants over the years. I bought a 68′ Dart that was a one owner car all its life. Old man that owned it had a horse track obsession. Glove box was stuffed full (literally) with parking passes from Del Mar and Hollywood Park race tracks that went back decades. The guy who hauled it out of California flipped it to me cheap, he told me it “needed a valve job pretty bad.”
I was told it was at just over 200,000 miles. It was running on 5 cyl and had leaves, pine needles and crud caked all over the motor. I hauled it home, replaced all the rotted vacuum lines, hoses and belts. Fresh oil and filters, new plugs. It fired right up and ran as smooth as a sewing machine. Lifters clattered a little but adjusting them cleared that up.
It was my plan to swap in a stout smallblock but it ran so well that I just cleaned it up and brought the paint back with compound and wax. I used it as a commuter and put another 100k on it. Still ran great when I sold it for 12 times what i paid for it. New owner was going to build it into an SS/AA Hemi Dart clone.
The Slant 6 was so overbuilt that it will take close to 20lb of turbo boost. Lots of features, forums and sites showing how folks did theirs…most of them totally on the cheap. One of the Mopar mags did a feature on a homebuilt, low buck turbo equipped Plymouth savoy thats turning consistent 12 second timeslips at the tracks. The venerable /6 earned its legendary reputation. Funny how the BMW built their own slant 6 motor.
In 1967 my best friend’s father made us get rid of 8 junk cars in the yard..or else! , so we decided to have fun and blow the engines first. So we held the peddles down in neutral till all the engines failed… pretty darn soon, except one..yep a chrysler built slant six. We both took turns holding the peddle down till we tired, so we got a brick and let it do the work, after a while we got tired of waiting and towed the others cars away and when we got back,hours later, the damn thing was still running. We looked at each other and said “Damn, we should of kept that car!”
I hve a /6 in my 1974 Ply Duster. Old gear heads love seeing
it at kar shows, they just appreciate seeing a /6 still preserved & still running in a classic old kar. This my 3rd Chrysler product with a /6, I love them!!…..PS, I hve headers & a 2bbl set up on my kar, it runs great!!…
This was a great motor and was in Australian Valiants from 1962 until 1970. Durable, and more powerful than GM-Holden or Ford of Australia.
In 1970 Chrysler Australia replaced this motor with the locally developed ‘Hemi 6’ (yes, a Hemi 6, available in 215ci, 245ci and 265ci). The 265 with triple Weber carbs in the E38 and E49 Chargers were Australia’s fastest production car for a while and managed a 2nd place at Bathurst iirc.
The Hemi 6 was powerful, reliable, breezed through the emissions requirements of the 1970s, but was a little rough in its running. I had a 245 single barrel when younger and it would easily beat the GM-H 253 V8.
I sold my 68 dart with 262k miles on it to a buddy a worked with. He drove it back and forth to work every day and lived over 70 miles away. Before he died the old Dart had over 340k on it and had never been rebuilt. I lost track of it after that. That was 1991. The Slant is a tank!
Forgot to mention, I bought that car for $50 bucks in 1986. Sold it for $250 in 1989.
Actually 1983 was the last year of the slant six for cars. Trucks was 1987 and boats was 1991.
I had two 1980 Volare’s with the leaning tower of power under the hood, they were great, loved dragging v8 Camaro’s, and getting to show them under the hood after beating them, lots of head shakes. Ran one of my engines dry of oil to the point it stalled, add some more and it didn’t skip a beat. Also ran the same one so hard it had oil bubbling out from the valve covers, again didn’t skip a beat and work perfectly many years after. All the ones I had survived my teen torcher years and well beyond. My father had a 1ton 4×4 power wagon for logging with the slant, crazy torque, reliable too. Very flexible powerplant. Good times.
the baddest slant 6 I ever had the pleasure of knowing was one built by a crew from a drag racing crew that bored it to take 383 parts had a loopy cam ground for it and stroked the dog shit out of it . the damn thing sounded like a big block dodge and would beat the same in the 1/4 mile. the wife of one of them owned the dart it was in for about 3 years before selling it to a friend of mine. he raced the damn thing tell the ring fell out how do you kill a slant 6 mod the shit out of it .I have owned 4 of them and never had one wear out in 40 years of driving them so to see how this one ended up was a shame but my god was it a bad ass little motor
My slant 6 lives under the battered hood of a ’68 Dodge D100. It is a remarkable power plant.
I have two Chrysler 225HP motors I’m thinking about selling. They are in working condition. Coming out of a 1969 River Queen houseboat.
Those marine engines had a nice cam in them.
I owned 3 slant sixes – 2 225 inchers and a 170. The first was a 63 170 in a valliant – tuned to the nines – 160FT Lbs of torque up to 6500RPM (That’s 206HP) with PB automatic. Second was 69 225 dart I sold with 240,000 miles on it – the last was a ’75 Dart Sport 225. I worked on a lot of Aspen /Volare 225 super six’s and had a fix for the driveability problems that also helped mileage (at a small cost to emissions) Would love to have another one – I’d definitely put EFI on it
Bought a 64 Valiant V200 S/6 conv. For daughter for high school. P/B trans. Red in and out with white top, even Mopar aftermarket A/C. Was private school so classmates had the BMWs, Volvo’s, various GTs but they always wanted to ride with her. She says she would love to have another to park next to her Porsche.
I have a ‘68 D100 I bought in 1977. The 225 has over 500,000 miles with one overhaul, needs another now. It’s been abused, overworked, overheated, you name it. It’s been virtually indestructible in 45 years of use. Truck is in process of being restored and my grandson has dibs on it!
I had a few AP5/ AP6 / VC and VE’s growing up in the late 70’s and put them through all types of punishment and i have a AP5 daily driver still today also we used old valiants for demolition derby’s back in the 80’s and have seen slant 6’s run out of water and completely seize up but later when engine is cold able to start again and driven on to a trailer truly a remarkable and no doubt deserves the title of legendary engine
I’ve had many Mopar vehicles with slant 6 225 power plants. My father owned a collision shop so I had my pic of cars that he purchased. One was a early 70’s Duster with over 100k miles. I wanted to swap out the 6 with a V8 from another wreck he had in inventory.
My father told me when the 6 gave out only then could I have the V8 to swap out. Being the ingenious teen I was, I drained oil from the old slant 6, drove it around town for a few days without so much as a knock.
Finally I gave up and put the old used oil back in and drove the car with the slant 6 225 for months more.
They are almost indestructible, my uncle owned a farm and what do you think powered the combine? A Chrysler Slant 6 of course.
In the early eighties I bought a rusted out Plymouth Valiant which ran beautifully. I had a fiend with a Dodge Dart in great condition but the engine froze up because it had been sitting for 3 years never being started. I bought her car and put the Plymouth Valiant with 225 Slant 6 engine into the Dart. About three years later something went wrong with the front end and it wouldn’t have been worth the cost to fix. To make a long story short that engine outlasted two cars and still ran like new. In my opinion this engine isn’t number 6th but is the best engine ever built until Toyota’s came on the scene. That 1.3 liter engine Toyota uses for their Yaris is almost as good.
In 1964, I was 16 and got my Dad’s 62 Lancer, 4 door w/ a 225 aluminum block slant six. I make a cold air, ram induction and replaced the carter 1 barrel with a Stromberg 97. Then I would look for 260 Mustangs and Falcons. No one could believe I wasn’t running a V-8. Later in the Navy I would drive each weekend from San Diego to Phx. In my 64 Valiant w/ another 225. Most of the time 100 degree’s and still getting 20 mpg.
I did eventually spin a rod bearing, low on oil and not changing the oil for who knows when. But how many trips I made and one time a guy in a 396 Chevelle followed me up the mountains outside of San Diego, pulled behind me at the gas station I stopped at, and was amazed at a stock slant six. He said he hardly could keep up on the way from Yuma to there behind me!