Sunday morning motherlode

I made the mistake of getting the Valiant running today. It was just a matter of dealing with ancient fuel, reinstalling the distributor and timing it. The valve cover was still off, and the previous owner told me it wasn't getting oil up to the top so I left it off to observe for myself. I added some fresh fuel to the tank, and ran it off a squirt bottle full of good fuel for awhile. Once I got the crappy gas in the bowl and lines burned off, it ran like an absolute champ, solid lifter valvetrain happily clattering away. I'm going to change the oil tomorrow, simply because there's a Fram filter on it. That's never good. I took a video during this time, but I've got no way to load it to the site.

So I put it in gear. Bad idea. After sitting for so long, it went into gear like it was driven yesterday. I tried reverse and it was just as good. I knew the brakes worked, but I exercised them a little rolling it back and forth in the yard. Then the alley. Then around the block... missing valve cover and all. It drove, turned and stopped very well, and the little 225 (I was wrong about it being a 170) is surprisingly sprightly.

Damn it, I really like this little peckerhead now. The thought of selling it is suddenly a lot less appealing. Damn.

Oh, and as far as the oil not getting to the top? Apparently he meant the top of the car, by the roof. All those little polka dots are Something-W-Something, flung from the valvetrain as I revved it.

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Ha ha! Sucker! Now all you need is the smallest justification to sneak into your brain when you're least expecting it
 
Yah, those 225's can be quite snappy with a lite A-body. How's the prospectus of getting your license back looking? It would be great if that comes thru and you could use this as a daily driver while getting the Challenger done. It would be nice to see you with total freedom back.
 
TheIronSausage said:
Ha ha! Sucker! Now all you need is the smallest justification to sneak into your brain when you're least expecting it
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Talking to Diplomat_Wagon last night, I found that justification. See, a little over six years ago I went to look at a litter of puppies. I walked in, and told my friends, "I'm not taking the white one. No way. All my work shirts are black and I have dark furniture." The white one was a bossy, mean-spirited (borderline vicious, even at 5 weeks) female that was lying by herself in the kennel while the other seven avoided her like the plague. She was sleeping--bonus. I didn't have to bother holding her. I'd held all the others, and even picked one out, then the little white ice queen woke up and came stomping out and walked over to me. Aw, hell, I at least had to hold her. She wouldn't be cradled--a sure sign of a difficult pup--but while I was trying to force her to allow it, she scrambled up my chest, wrapped her head around the back of my neck, and immediately fell asleep. My friend said, "I think you've got yourself a dog." Shit. I took the obnoxious white one, much to the relief of the owners of the litter.

There's a point here, I promise.

So, I had no idea what to name this little asshole puppy. Mopar names were all ruled out (done to death), though I briefly considered "Fratzog" and deemed it too male-sounding. About three hours into our time together, she laid down and for the first time I noticed the brown spot near her tail was almost perfectly heart-shaped. I named her "Valentine" (yes, I realize that's also a male name but I don't like the sound of "Valentina"). She was a bear to train, murder on the house in general (ate a hole in a wall in a perfectly flat area, multiple times breaking the logging chain to which she's tied, etc.) and generally the world's biggest shit for several months. It was a lot of work, but now I can't imagine my life without her around. She's a great dog, possibly the best one I've ever had.

Rather than type out "Valentine" every time I refer to her, I started referring to her as "Large V", "Ms. V", "Big V" and that took on a life of its own (Magnanimous V is the current fave). The "V" thing is sorta key in this justification.

Here we are, six years later, and I've got another "little white V" I really didn't want that is melting its way into my heart. It's a Slant Six, so realistically it's pretty much a dog. As I told DippyWag last night, "Aw, fuck it. I should just go paint a brown heart on the trunklid and be done with it." :D

Little White V, canine and automotive. The resemblance is uncanny. :D

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you gotta admit..at the end of the day that lil valiant is clean as hell tho...even for out here its a fairly clean one..and 2dr valiant DONT come along..they just dont exist...now..the bigger question..do you swap out the brakes and rearend?...if the slanty is spunky i see no reason not to keep it for now..but..we all know that 71/4 out back wont live
 
Well, as we discussed in a different thread awhile back, I know where there's an almost-complete K-H four-piston brake setup on a '66 Formula S. The car came with a complete 8.75", so there's any and all brake system and/or strength problems (aside from the smallish wheels) handled cheaply and easily. With the Slant in it, they'd be more than enough, and they'd probably be OK with a bunch more engine later, but again--the wheel size is the trick on the BVD bolt pattern.

I have three 340s now, including the one that came with the car--that 340, coincidentally, is also a '69 model--as well as a passle of 360s, once of which simply needs to be assembled at this point.

It's almost too easy, really. :doh:
 
Well, now that you are keeping it, (Was there ever really any doubt) I would totally leave the 6 in it.

Think about it: Modern fuel injection & ignition, highway gears and a clean up you have one hell of a daily driver/grocery getter.

BTW: Yer puppy dawg is awesome. Let no-one suggest differently.
 
Not A Duster said:
Well, now that you are keeping it, (Was there ever really any doubt) I would totally leave the 6 in it.

Think about it: Modern fuel injection & ignition, highway gears and a clean up you have one hell of a daily driver/grocery getter.

BTW: Yer puppy dawg is awesome. Let no-one suggest differently.
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I've got one guy on the hook at the moment who's not even questioning the asking price. He's pretty rabid. If he doesn't come through, though, it probably stays. :doh: I can't have four cars. I just can't. That shit ain't right.

On the subject of the EFI, I know where there's an aluminum Super Six intake that would be very easy to modify for port injection and I'm very well-versed in the Ford EDIS distributorless ignition system. Either or both of those swaps would be cake on this engine--as long as I didn't stray into forced induction.

Yeah, Queen V is pretty great. If someone doesn't like my dog, or vise-versa, then I don't want to be around them. :)
 
I'd still sell it. The automotive V, not the canine one... she's a keeper.
Only now that you've driven it and know it's a good little car, I'd be real firm on the asking price.
 
I've got all of the injectors and sensors on a manifold out of a Cherokee.. I figured that with only .3 liters difference and a similar layout, I'd be able to adapt EFI to a slant manifold. I just need to figure out a crank angle sensor, o2 sensor, score a brainbox and do a whole bunch of wiring.. Basically..

Why can't you have four cars? You have more fingers than that, you won't lose track too easily.. Although, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that sometimes I'll search for the wrong car in a big parking lot, and almost pass over the one I did drive.
 
I can't say I'm terribly familiar, but it seems to me that Jeep swap ain't as straightforward as it seems. Then again, you're on the Slant Six site so you'd know more about it that I would. For tuning purposes, I'd probably just use a MegaSquirt since I already have a licensed copy of TunerStudioMS and am very familiar with the layout of both that and the hardware itself. I also thought maybe just keep the carb and give a MegaJolt Lite Jr. a shot, which is something I'd also considered for my Challenger, which I'd briefly considered equipping with a Six Pack setup. I'm over that now... I can't justify what Six Pack shit costs these days. Its idiotic. :doh:

I can't have four cars because I have a 75' x 125' lot. There's literally nowhere to keep them all, and I'm already having difficulty keeping all the parts straight. I have to mark all the boxes with a Sharpie as it is, so that in the event of my death Stretch and my friend Kevin can figure out how the hell to finish all these projects. :D
 
restoman said:
I'd still sell it. The automotive V, not the canine one... she's a keeper.
Only now that you've driven it and know it's a good little car, I'd be real firm on the asking price.
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Your wisdom belies your years. My immaturity has a hard time listening to it, though. :D
 
Dr.Jass said:
I have to mark all the boxes with a Sharpie as it is, so that in the event of my death Stretch and my friend Kevin can figure out how the hell to finish all these projects. :D
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Don't make a project of this. Make it reliable, make it clean and make it your car.

(I'm told that I'm a terrible influence.... Just trying to live up to that.) :giggedy:
 
Judging by the way the little prick started this morning, it already is reliable. Did you watch the video on FB? I tagged you in on it.
 
Make it someone else'e reliable little car, then.
Sell it, collect the money, watch it leave - wave goodbye if you've grown attached to it - and then get your ass back in the garage and finish the Challenger.
:)
 
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