Wanna help me beat some rice rockets?

[Dartanian66]

I am a seventeen year old high school mopar fan. I am the only one that I know. Other kids have Chevys or Fords or the most hated-imports. No Mopar. I have a 66 dart with a 225. I want to keep the 225 because of it's ability to--hmm---not die?
So I'm looking for a four barrel carb and manifold that are on the smallish side- from a 318 or a 225(?) I want some go fast goodies to get off a little faster. I have an exhaust going in soon. post some answers. I will pay, but donations are cool. Thanks

[DartGT66]

I don't have a lot of experience about /6 hp, but still a few. At first, you would be much better off even with a stock 318, it would be cheaper and the performance would be better. However, if you are willing to do the /6 here are some hints. First of all, it doesn't like a lot of carb. The 2 barrel out of a 318 is more than enough for a pretty mild /6, even the smallest 4 barrels are overkill. You could do it pretty cheaply with a junkyard 318 carb and carb flange welded to the /6 intake, there are instructions for this 'mod' in the MP engine book. You should port match the intake to the head and do at least a bowl port job with back cut valves. The /6 really likes bigger valves if you can afford them, but the bowl port job is important with them too. The CR is low, and you should mill the head or the block to get it up, I have milled .080" without any problems. A hotter cam and valve springs is a must. If you want power, don't waste your time for the smallest grinds, you should be able to wind that thing to at least 5000 rpm. MP has some cams, and I would use either the 268/.460 or the 276/.490 grind or equivalent. Do you have an automatic or a manual car? If it's an automatic, you need a bigger converter. Even with a stock engine the performance gets a lot better with a higher stall converter, with a bigger cam aim for about 2500-3000 stall. To make the car move you need the correct rear gear ratio, 3.55-4.10 would be nice. And every lbs you can get away from the car really help the work the powerless small engine has to do. Making a /6 car run decently is absolutely much more expensive than to swap in a V8. With about the money you can build a 15 sec. /6 you can swap in a 360 and make the car run 13's.

[Orange Bee]

Hey Dartanian!
The 225 can be a real blast. One of my cars was a 71 Demon (Duster) with a 225. In it's final stage it had an Offy 4 barrel intake, Holley 0-2818 carb (600 for a corvette with a lot of tuning time) Melling Hyper-Pak cam and oil pump, MP Windage tray, Hooker header with dual exhaust, Accel Super coil, Fairbanks shift kit and 3.91 Posi. And 180,000 miles on the engine! How does 14.90 @ 95 MPH sound? Basic bolt on stuff like this is fine if you want some cheap fun, but for the cost of all those parts new (theonly things i got that weren't used were the cam, oil pump and windage tray) you could buy a decent running 360 car with a rusted or crunched body, do the engine swap and be much better off. Even a stock 360 will do alot more than the 225 unless you spend the time and effort and $$$$$$ on the 225. By the way, there was a factory 2 barrel intake for the six that can be found in Aspen and Volare wagons and some trucks. It uses the same bolt pattern carbs as the earlier v-8's and there are also carb adapters so that you could run the Holley 350 2 barrel (part #0-7448).e-mail me if you have more questions about my old Demon, or if I can help you out with more info. cobra@perigee.net

[400Magnum]

Hey Dartanian,

Well, while I've had a few /6 cars, I've never had the chance to modify one, even though I wanted to. At the time, I simply didn't have the money for performance items.

But, I have recently modified the 3.9L V-6 that is in my truck, and I can't get over what a difference it made. A few basic modifications can go a long way.

I don't know how much money you can afford to spend, but there are a few places on the internet where you can find parts pretty cheap, well, at least cheaper than buying them new. Things like low restriction mufflers, air filters, carbs, intakes, etc.
The auction on this site occaisonally has items that you could bid on. And I've seen lots of things on Ebay, even a 2V aluminum intake, not to mention K&N air filters, Flowmaster mufflers, etc. I'll give you this piece of advice though, before you buy something on one of these auctions, make sure you contact the seller and verify that the item(s) is in good working condition, and if it arrives to you broken, that you can send it back to them for a refund. I've been screwed a couple of times now, especially on electrical items like ignitions, coils, etc. Just a word of warning.

Also, don't forget to check out the junkyards. Lots of good stuff can be found there. Even under the hoods of other makes. Things like ignition coils, air filters, mufflers, spark plug wires, etc., that can be used in different cars. Look under the hoods of the cars that typically get modified like Mustangs, Camaros, Firebirds, and even newer trucks. Just be careful and know what you're looking for. Like if you find a set of MSD spark plugs wires on a wrecked car, make sure it has the right ends to connect to your distributor cap. So far I've gotten a K&N air filter from a new Dodge Ram for $5 and a viscous fan for $15, and I know where there is an aluminum intake that I can get for $15 if I remove it myself.

Below are two links that are very friendly towards the venerable /6. The first one is run by a guy that is more than happy to talk to you about modifying the /6. I've emailed him a few times and he was very helpful, so don't be afraid to email him with any questions you have. http://sites.netscape.net/schwoch1

This second site is strictly /6 oriented, and they have a small library of articles on modifying the /6. http://www.tailfins.com/

There is also a company called Clifford Performance that specializes in engine parts for improving performance of six cylinder engines of all makes, and they carry a lot of stuff for the /6. The stuff can get expensive though. Here's the link to them... http://www.cliffordperformance.com/m...fford_home.htm

Also, you may want to invest $20 for the Mopar Engines book. Lots of helpful information in there on every engine. It can be very useful in knowing what sort of things work and don't work before you spend the money on them.

Good Luck on your car, Let us know how things go!!

Regards,
400Magnum

[This message has been edited by 400Magnum (edited October 18, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by 400Magnum (edited October 19, 1999).]