Slant Six DODGE--BRING IT!

http://www.dropshots.com/Dolmetsch/date/2008-08-24/17:47:38
I was poking around and found this old short fuzzy video of the first run I ever made with the senior dragster. I was able to download it and play it on Windows Media Player despite the warning it might not work. This was with the 6 snowmobile carbs and the car had never been run anywhere before except round my yard. You see me backing up. The starter and his pals had a thing against me and the six cylinder cars and he held me at the line saying I couldn't run. So long I overflowed my puke can a bit and he waved me back. Two fellows ran back. The taller is Mike Sietsma (cowboy hat)who build the 41Willys Gasser and the old hemi rail. Same fellow who is backing me up in the video of my last run. The shorter fellow is Bob Gauley who ran a six cyl T bucket I did engines for (300 Fords.) Mike mopped up the wet and dumped my puke can while Bob walks back and tells the starter, "This is not right." Somewhere in the background there is a big tall fellow Jimmy Parkhurst who managed the track for several years and was a racer hisself . He was close enough I heard him bark into the walkie talkie to the track crew. "Quit fooling around and let that car run RIGHT NOW!" That was the end of the little conspiracy and I never had a problem again.
Unfortunately Jimmy was talked into a scope of his "central" organ to encourage others to be tested because he was a well known businessman but was accidently punctured and died about 2 months later full of poison as the doc wouldn't listen when he told them something was wrong. Bob a diabetic died about a year later of a massive heart attack a consequence of his diabetic trouble. Two lads who helped me when I needed it no longer with us. Not good.
don

 

I don't know if it's just me but unable to connect with that link get this message:

 

Well I had trouble too but hit the download arrow which points down and saved it. Somewhere I must have the original unedited version and if I can find it I will redo it for Youtube. This format is FLV whatever that means. I started off with dropshots and put many of my videos up there when I first joined up. But then I later went to you tube. I hadn't watched it years but I see on my first pass I pulled a hole shot. I uploaded it in 08 but I believe it was shot in 06. Probably late april. Sorry it didn't work for you fellows.
don
Here is a photo taken right after that run. Note the carbs

 

Curious to see how fast a supercharged slant dragster would go?

 

Side drafts!!! How well di it perform with this set up?

 

In 1971 I wrote a story for Hot Rod Mag that explained how I turbocharged a 225 slant six in my 64 Signet hardtop four speed car. The Air Research turbo from an aluminum block Olds Jet Fire was modified to put out about 10 psi. I found I could easily dust 383 Road Runners and other contemporary cars. It was a great set up for the street with only a good ignition and electric pump on a basic stock engine.

 

It worked wonderful. In fact it is how the senior dragster got to be. When I retired and sold the machine shop equipment I had a bunch of things I had not done. I had built a few slant sixes for customers over the years and had talked about installing 6 Tillotson carbs on a slant six but I could never get any of them to go for it. So this was my first project on my bucket list. With the help of a friend I located a bunch of used carbs and kits at a snowmobile wreckers he knew. I removed the pumps and chokes and began building a manifold from mild steel and exhaust tubing. I tuned it for around 5800. Long story but I got an engine I had built that had not been used and mounted the manifold. Then I needed a car so I built the sr dragster. After many tests around the yard and the occasional sneek out on the road between my two driveways. Finally I had to put up or shut up. I headed to Shannonville Motorsports park. I had many friends there, some who were running my engines so I knew I would have some support. After a gufuffle with the starter and his friends who hate 6 cyl anythings the track manager ordered them to leave me alone and let me run. I pulled to the line Nervous because I knew I was trying something few if any had tried. I was paired against a BB Nova and he was on Kill! The car launched quick and smooth and never gave a hick up on its very first pass. I was wearing goggles then and they blew up in high gear and I remember squinting through one eye to make sure I was between the poles. I beat the Nova but in all fairness he puked his trans in 3rd gear so I wouldn't really count it as beat. I went home after that one run and sat on the couch till about 2 in morning in disbelief. I ran it two years that way without any trouble. I tried running on an electric pump when I did cam change but the regulator could not control the pressure well enough. However the stock pump worked fine. Carbs need 3 psi to operate but flood at 5 psi. Also I had to squirt prime to start if I sat long so having satisfied my desire to run them I whipped a Offy four barrel set up on which I could start without help. I this point I was more interested in camshaft design and wanted a trouble free mule to test them. I was specing my own grinds by now. So yeah, they worked great and will again.

 

bobbyhstl
Love the Valiant! You said you did some mods to the turbo to get 10lbs boost. What?
I had put a corvair turbo on a 170 in the 1970s and I think the Olds turbo and the corvair were similar but I might be wrong. Anyway I was interested in what you had to say.
Again good stuff thanks
don

 

Thanks for sharing the turbo /6 picture. Looks like it could have been a factory set up.

 

Lets see some more about the turb'd Signet.

 

Maybe this will work. Sr dragsters first pass ever (with six snowmobile carbs)
don

 

Did you win in that video?

 

Yes but he lost a trans on the pass (see smoke) so I wouldn't really count it as a "win."
I was stunned I remember because it ran perfect. I drove back the return road to pits and parked it, took the photo above , had a diet pepsi with two racer friends who are diabetic then loaded it and came home. I remember sitting in the dark on the couch till about two AM grinning and mulling it over in my mind. I still pinch myself just thinking about it. T'was a great day!
I didn't want to mess up a perfect evening by making another run. I am like that a bit anyway as once I have it working how I want I am satisfied. I am really not much of a racer. I also found a video I had my wife make of the moment I first fired the engine with the six carbs. It fired right up and even would have idled much to my surprise. The dragster chassis is only partly built in the video but I had to try the motor. I may upload it as well if it will. Seems a lot more interesting now then back then. Engine short block other then 4 cam changes has remained untouched throughout its development.
don
Here I think it loaded ok.

 

Don, I found your PM from 2012 with your address. I am sending payment for the Big Block DVD. Can't wait for the /6 edition. Can i pre-pay for it? I am counting on your sense of responsibility to cause you to hurry up and release it if you have my money! Otherwise, I can try and wait patiently

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Better wait for the slant six one for now. It will take awhile as I want a lot of pics and video with it. meanwhile I am getting the other ready to ship for you.
And I don't want to feel pressured as it kills my drive.
BTW The more I dig into the slant six the more photos and video I unearth. I started the Slants six carb intake about the time the fellow (Christophe Schwartz) was here from Europe to talk to me about building the practice /driver training motor for the Nascar Returns to Lemans Project. Found the pictures of his visit here and him standing in front of my 63 Dodge Max Wedge. Lot of good memories from this part of my life including the beginning of the senior dragster project. I even found a photo I made of the six carbs after pumps were removed and the flat steel and exhaust tubing I made it from. Forgot I had documented it. My wife had told me to because she said someday you will wish you had. What a WOMAN! :>)
don

 

Brings back a lot of memories this stuff. One I remembered was Bob Gauley (the first guy back to me in the video when I am backing up) had stored his engine hoist in my shop while he moved to a new home. After bumping my head on it about 107 times I told Bob now that he was moved it had to go. He arrived the following Saturday. Now I had never driven the rail out on the road persay but had only snuck out between the two driveways of my circle drive and launched it a couple of times. Bob who ran a six Ford T bucket with power from yours truly had no such fears. I told him I had to move the car first so we could get the hoist out and opened the door of my 63 max wedge to get in. Meanwhile Bob snapped on the battery power switch on the rail and hopped over the bar and into the car in a second. I heard the slant six bark to life. He jazzed it to make sure it would stay running popped it in reverse and backed it out of the garage. I made it out of the garage just in time to see him disappearing down the road to the public school about 1/8 mile away. I heard him warming the six up in the parking lot. I managed to get to the road just in time to see him pull out on the road again, pump up the brakes and get up on the converter for a wonderful wheels up launch and a full power pass by me and both driveways as he braked hard. He pulled back in the yard grinning from ear to ear and killed it then hopped out. "You would never do that, would you," he said with a grin. I nodded and we went on about the job at hand. It was fun to watch and now that Bob is no longer among us tis a wonderful memory.
don

 

That short video of the engine firing up sounded awesome Inspires me for when I finally get to fire mine up!

 

Here I attempt the impossible. I am sure you can imagine what it feels like to be lined up for heads up run against this 427 Hilborn fueled car. This is the same run as the still photo above. Used with permission
don

 

Great picture!

 

certainly a great 'David and Goliath' type battle, great shot, and the video of the run was very inspiring.

Cheers,

Drewfus

 

Found this on the mosher site here: under odds and ends. All photo credit to them. There are a couple more there.

If you go to the site you can enlarge it to huge size that would make a great computer background shot.

http://www.moparsbymosher.com/

 

Incredible detail. Like brand spankin' new!

 

Where'd everybody go? I'm STILL not running yet but going to post this mock up pic to see if the thread can be reborn.


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I noticed that a few on here are getting some intakes from Oz.........Slant 6's were very popular to hot up here in the 60's, intakes that I am aware of included the Lynx Twin SU & Triple SU, various twin & triple single downdraft Oz Stombergs as originally used on Oz Holden 6's, single and triple Weber manifolds and Holley 350/500 cfm and Holley 4150 4 barrel intakes........there were even a couple of injected drag cars, one that comes to mind was by a guy named Jeff During from Adelaide..........never had one myself but they were/are popular.........btw sometimes here they get mixed up with the 215/245/265 Oz "Hemi" six which was about as much a hemi as my arse........and had no links to the slant 6 other than by the same company..............andyd

 

OK, latest iteration of the 'Brick.

 

I'll dredge this back up... with a short vid of my crapcan.

 

Here are some poor photos of my slant powered jalopy i'm working on. So far I've been correcting the previous owners mistakes. Plans include a new radiator in with a Dodge Brothers grill shell, relocating the battery and rewiring the car, 2 bbl intake and carb, some suspension upgrades, and would like to build headers as I don't know if the aussie speed ones will clear the way i need them to. I'd like to run the exhaust down the drivers side like an old lakester.

 

Hey, I am struggling to figure out how I want to mount a Slant 6 in a T Kit frame. Can you show me the mount setups on your car?