Picking Through The Mystery Issues With The Sour Running Slant In Plan Z

Our last outing at the track with Plan Z left us with more questions than answers, so the only way to move forward is to go back and cover all the details and eliminate any possible issues in the ignition and fuel systems.
As it turns out, we did find a couple of possible reasons for the engine holding back the way it did, but no smoking gun just yet.
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[@EricaMTB]

I think it's running on 5 cylinders. The tell tale sign is when there's a piston on the table.

[@1991MN1]

Haha!

[@KK_on_KK]

Lolol

[@rustybritches6747]

LOL Stupid 😂

[@boobalew]

LOL

[@brocluno01]

Been down this road with a stick shift slant in E Gas Valiant back in the day. Yes, you want big bore short stroke, but you can't have that ... So it's like tuning a tractor engine. I ran advance weights with 29* at 4K and 34* at 6K on Chevron White Pump. Nowadays gas may want something different ... I always thought it wanted more sweep, but retired it for a 273 and let it go. If I was chasing this, I'd be likely to run a programmable advance curve in a black box, but I know that's not your style 😁 But I would put a wide band O2 gauge in there so I could keep track of the mixture at all RPM's and loads 😊 And, never forget the ground side. #4 crimped and soldered welding cable from the battery ( - ) to the engine block, all crimped and soldered leads in the ignition, AND a dedicated ground lead from the distributor body to the engine block. Do not depend on the timing clamp for the ground ...

[@electrix6751]

E/Gas...ah yes, good ol' Modified Eliminator cars. I really miss that era because it was SO COOL! Ninety-nine percent of the people here are wondering "What the heck is he talking about?"

[@bobjaquith2782]

Hi Tony, You may have already checked this. In my travels, I have come across a fairly rare occurrence. The low-tension wire that connects the points to the coil post sometimes has internal corrosion or an internal break can cause a poor or intermittent connection (or high resistance) under load/heat or vibration. You can verify it using a distributor machine and wiggling/twisting the wire while the distributor is in operation. Just my .02 Bob J

[@bizeerog2281]

Your on track I believe with the coil and input voltage. With no alternator run the hot straight to the coil. The ballast is there for the typical 14.4 volt input but you probably will be dipping below 11 volts so no worries about coil longevity issues. The secondary voltage of the coil is directly related to the input voltage so you definitely had weak spark with those resistors in there.

[@oldblueaccord2629]

I agree on a drag car run 12 volts to the coil. On the street I run 9 volts to the coil on what I remember is a 1 ohm resistor.

[@craighansen7594]

I wondered about simply checking voltage across the points under load, full 3 gears pass load. I'm not recommending anything illegal or dangerous but a passenger reading the volt meter during a pass could help.

[@debramaarberg5738]

Uncle Tony, I have a cord 860 tractor that I upgraded from 6 to 12 volts years ago. I found out then that there are only 2 types of coils for our vehicles, 6 volt and 12 volt, you can check with an ohm meter, one type will run around 2 ohms and the other is above 2 ohms to 4 ohms. When the auto industry switched from 6 volt to 12 volt systems they still used the 6 volt coils but had to add the resistor. If you purchase a 12 volt coil today and it says 12 volt with resister on it then it is actually a 6 volt coil that can be used on a 12 volt system with the resistor but they do make 12 volt coils that do not need a resistor. I ran into this confusion with a friends boat also, he had the resistor wire that we had to eliminate to run the new actual 12 volt coil, really like your channal, this is what I found out, hope I’m not giving bad info. Bob M.

[@donaldgilbreath4200]

I've had distributor bushings wear just enough to cause a wobble big enough to move the shaft enough to make the spark have to travel to far to properly send a spark. It would not only cause the spark to travel further under the cap. And if you have points, it could cause the cam to be off and not fire with the right timing.

[@danlindeke2561]

I had a old dual point ,engine started fine good power on street. On dragstrip,miss above 6000.Changed to new HEI, ran 11.90.

[@BackyardClunkers77]

I was thinking the same thing 😆. Both the distributor bushing, & the little distributor/ camshaft gear - ive seen vehicles where this section gets over looked & just a tiny bit of worn/ sloppiness reeks havoc on the ignition system. One question i do got- relating to that intake manifold & the four barrel sitting on top it: is that a true four barrel manifold or a traditional two barrel intake out the d-series trucks with an adapter on it? Or worse: a tiny single barrel manifold with an expansion chamber adapter for that four barrel?

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

Uncle has a proper 4-bbl manifold on there.

[@craighansen7594]

Machine the distributor housing to accept roller or sealed ball bearings.

[@shadowpatriot1948]

Honestly Tony, isn't that where the real fun and challenge lies? The fiddling, the testing, experimenting, brainstorming and getting so frustrated you want to set the damn thing on fire! The day you reach the perfect point is in a way a bad day because you have nowhere else to go with the combination you've created. I love my Slant and every time I play with it it teaches me something new.

[@James-hd4ms]

Not really.

[@albertgaspar627]

it really depends. if you want the challenge, then the wins are fun...but the losses honestly happen so often it barely evens out (unless you're the type of person who never counts their losses). but there's a reason why folks drop in a chevy 350, and it's not just the cost of the individual parts. it's the fact anyone can pull 400 hp following known recipes and get out of the garage and driving (or "hooning"). If you love to drive, you hate the fustration. if you love to build, you probably enjoy getting one car out and the next project in. If you love to experiment and (as my late father would put it) the thrill of pushing a wet noodle up a gorilla's ass and getting away with it, then you challenge yourself over and over with the unknown combos and the underdog engines. in the end, pushing a NA "leaning tower of power" into 11's will impress those who tried, and everyone else will wonder why you didn't do a 440 swap. it's all about where exactly are you getting your thrills. those who watch KZbin videos likely get bored with yet one more : Hey kids, it's another cool car video! watch us use an LS engine to make donuts! or at least i know i do.

[@harrypalmer291]

You understand the essence of what makes "hot rodding " so much fun and a mental exercise for gearheads! 👍

[@robertwest3093]

The fiddling is 90 percent of the game 😁

[@aussiebloke609]

Tony, one thing you probably already know but I didn't hear you mention, is to check your distributor lash - both where the distributor dogs with the drive, and where the dizzy drive meshes with the camshaft. And don't forget to double check your camshaft end float. I've found weird timing issues (especially under heavy load) when these were a touch out of spec.

[@kevinmcguire3715]

If you start eating up your 904 Torqueflights when your slant 6 starts making power, buy one from a van or pickup. .They use 4 discs in both clutch packs . Valiants and Darts ,slant 6 equipped sometimes ,have as few as 2 in one clutch pak and 3 in the other. Some mid 60's pickups and some taxi cabs had a heavy cast iron adapter and a crank spacer to connect a small block 727 to the slant 6. If I remember correctly they only got 3 clutch disc packs in these units.

[@peniscaughtinzipper]

I have a slant six 727 case

[@craighansen7594]

727s are definitely strong but if a 904 can be made to hold up you aren't eating more power spinning all that extra mass. Now that I say that it would be interesting to actually weigh the internal rotating mass of a 727 vs a 904 to see how much more mass your spinning.

[@CODA-Improvements]

I like your dedication to this. Not following the herd and using unlikely engines to make power. That’s your motivation, right?

[@albertgaspar627]

i hope so. I've seen enough "cheap bastids" try to accomplish miracles with chewing gum, chicken wire and a $1.25 only to realize why everyone else spent $100 to get what they had to use to accomplish a goal. if the goal is to run 11's, then do what others running 11's do. if the goal is to see how fast a non-performance engine can go, then sure, play the "for shifts and giggles, let's try..." game. Sometimes it's fun to watch someone pull off a win through sheer dumbass luck of the moon and the planets aligning in a perfect storm. UTG could just drop a junkyard LS engine into everything, and we'd know there'd be cheap power but...how boring does that get?

[@mattgarkus2489]

​@@albertgaspar627 yeah and he could also be getting sponsor parts from lots of brands but he is loyal to the poor guy lol

[@diegomunoz6256]

yes

[@albertgaspar627]

@@mattgarkus2489 true, and that came up when he was going thru the flat tappet lifter fiasco, only to find it was the auto parts store he was using giving him his returned lifter back as new

[@brentmeredith5295]

I know what the answer to to message will be because I asked you this about 3 years ago now so this what I will say when you have finally given up on the slant just say the word and I will find you a 265 hemi and help organise it to be shipped to you and any other parts you may require such as manifolds and camshafts you say the word I will look and find you the perfect one just don't take to long to get around to it can't guarantee how many will be left later on

[@stokerdon1020]

Might be a good idea to make 2 separate ballast resistors switchable. Warm it up on one resistor, then when your staging it, switch to the other resistor. Should be pretty simple to wire up.

[@2HacksGarage]

I like what you did with the distributor. I wonder what would happen if you took out the accel coil and put in a good old fashioned Mallory coil? Direct connection made ring and pinions for the 7.25 all the way up to 5.13, but they seem to be impossible to find. You could always cheat the gear with a shorter tire

[@kelvinrf]

I think you hit the nail on the head with ignition voltage. I had a similar problem with an old Ford I drive regularly. Started good cold with choke, but wound over a bit before it fired when warm. I discovered a bad connection that allowed enough power to the starter, but not enough to the coil. I trust you will be warming the motor as you did at the track before you smoke em up.

[@Bbbbad724]

I agree, it will sound like it’s hitting a rev limiter. My Duraspark did that because the car had a resistance wire. I put a ballast on it like the factory loom has. I have to use an RFI suppressor and the ballast before the pickup. I cut the resistor wire out, a 1965 Galaxie. Something that took a lot of work was making relay circuits to get the load off of the headlight switch. The bane of 60s Fords!

[@tonenuff]

You handled the comments expertly, well done 🤗

[@davidclark7584]

This is where the voodoo comes in. Uncle tony the mopar medicine man. I love this series. I got a slant in the wings that Im eventually gonna build. This knowledge is gold.

[@55gaser26]

2 ballasts antique coil and a hacked up point dist with no alt for proper voltage, I dig it.

[@James-hd4ms]

I thought it might be a phasing issue. Very common in Star Trek.

[@gibbsey9579]

That's what I was thinking... They have to be set to "stun"

[@jamesadams4304]

I had the exact same experience with my 440 years ago like your having Tony. Went through everything just like your doing. It just ran flat no power from 4,000 to 6,000 ... well it turned out being the dang aftermarket tach! It was a fluke of finding that issue. It felt like a 100hp gain when i disconnected !!

[@grannysgarage8101]

Are you saying the tach readings were off or the actual tach was robbing power off the coil?

[@jamesadams4304]

The tach had a slow-ish sweep from 4000 and up. I figured it was the engine loosing power. It felt like it also. But the tach was actually shorting out the coil some how.

[@grannysgarage8101]

@@jamesadams4304 thanks, my engine seems to be sluggish above 4k in high gear I'm gonna try disconnecting my tach to see what happens

[@100amps]

So, I'm an electronics guy, just learning engines. 2 things caught my ear. 1.The ballast resister not being temperature stable. You can easily get power resisters in aluminum casing with bolt holes so you can mount them to a heatsink -- like any large metal surface such as the firewall. You need really good metal-metal contact to transfer the heat away. You just need to know the resistance value and wattage rating of your resistor. Measure the ohms then 12v/ohms = amps. Amps x 12v = watts. Double or triple that wattage rating. Nice stable resistance. 2. You're using an old capacitor (condenser). They knew relatively nothing about making good capacitors back in the the 60s (I'm old, I fix tube guitar amps full of them). They didn't last long or work well. Use a new, good one from Mopar or whoever you trust. They aren't easy to test properly. Hope that helps. See yah tomorrow.

[@AtZero138]

The Quest for Perfection.. The Way of the GEARHEAD MONK

[@yodawunn6700]

We used to mount those ballast resistors on an 'L' bracket inside the cowl to keep them away from underhood heat and being on an 'L' bracket helped them dissipate heat better.

[@gregpratt1007]

Can't have too much converter. 4500 stall for that sits on her sounds like a lot of converter to me Uncle Tony either I have some really twisted sitting somewhere way up there to make that converter lockup makes power that you need run the numbers that you want to run you might be better to drop back down to say 3500 or 3000 just my two cents. Greg GT Speed Shop

[@terratorre]

Uncle Tony: please check while idling with misting spray bottle that your wires aren’t jumping spark on to the block. I do it at night in the darkest area. I’m sure you know what I mean.

[@James-hd4ms]

I was thinking not enough resistance in the coil. Glad you confirmed it.

[@rickmaynard1419]

Have you thought about wiring a bypass switch to one of the ballast resistors? That way you can warm up the car with both and run the car with one.

[@rodney1818]

I'm pretty sure he has one of them set up for the nitrous system and the other for driving it or it was that way at one point I don't know why I think that

[@craighansen7594]

That's a unique idea!

[@TaekwondoFitForLife]

“I knew it!” You just fixed it UTG! absolutely the phase was out, and along with the more precise alignment FULL energy is there, sounded like it was out and you the guru found-it Sir! I know the next run those tires will not stop because of lack of energy provided by the power plant now! Perfect and you have “Jedi like Powers” ha ha, we old mechanics have a “feel” for things which others can’t see. My brothers newer Ford with a hot V-8 died on him in the lane I asked him the following question. “Did it die like you turned off the key or did it sputter at all? “And from the hip I said since you indicate that it shut down like you had turned off the ignition key it is the ignition control module more than likely. From the hip= fixed, because I knew just like your “Jedi Powers” I’ve got some, ha ha.. Great job Sir! You fixed the issue, with this, I know it says my “Mo-Jo-Mechanic-Feel”…😂 Y’all laugh, it’s fixed watch, get back with me.. I’ll laugh-it up if I’m wrong, means my mo-jo failed.. ha ha😂

[@stevenmcinnis8105]

I don't think you're utilizing the torque from the engine. Your stall is too high. As soon as you hit the gas, your tack said 4000 rpm. I watched an older vid from you show casing a guy with a fast slant he used a 2700 stall

[@oldschoolmotorsickle]

I admire Uncle’s diagnostics plan; he knows you can’t jet an engine if the ignition system isn’t doing its part. A bunk ignition will make an engine run not its best. Stick with it, Tony!

[@slantzilla4962]

Good morning. I’m John with Slantzilla. I’ve had my car since high school, been doing everything you have been doing, pretty much, but once I got things getting crazy I started to find out,, and it took me a few years,, then I realized intake needed heat in it a lot. I took a heating pad to the bottom of the intake preheated it before I ran it. It worked,, so I had a buddy make me a heating block and put it on the bottom of the intake and run the heater core lines through it, working pretty good. Thanks for your Chanel.

[@mostlymoparih5682]

One if my first cars was a 68 Dart slant six. I picked it up cheap because the previous owner never checked the oil. I put a rebuilt 170 in and made one modification that worked out well for me, I had the head cut ninety thousands and bumped up the compression. I did have a problem with installing it to the trans as the hub of the torque converter was too big to fit into the back of the crank. Changing a converter to fit meant I had to change the input shaft which meant taking the trans apart. It was pretty healthy for a 170 slant. Good video. Happy Motoring.

[@robertbriggs4176]

When you welded the advance weights in the full advance position you threw the phasing way off. By changing the tang you undid your screwup. You arrived at the same place just took the long road. Start over, weld the weights in idle position and go back to old tang.

[@sum-tingwong9936]

This reminds me of an issue my uncle had with an early 70s dodge truck. It ran great until it warmed up then went to sh!t, never over heated, and he never could figure it out. He ended up going to an msd system and it resolved it but we never really figured out exactly why lol. At the time ballast resisters were like mopars use were something I had never dealt with.

[@MCNicholasR]

Yay mystery issues! Those are the most fun

[@Bbbbad724]

I am still an FE guy. ❤. I don’t care that my wife’s 2022 Edge ST with a twin turbo 2.7V6 will blow my 65 Galaxie away. I love the FE, it is bulletproof and I can rev to 7500 on stock 390 parts I have optimized.

[@oops1952]

Thanks for taking us on this ride Unk👍 I like this better than going to the track. I expect you've already got this.....The later 904 has a 2.77 first gear instead of the 2.45.....

[@pameladutton9076]

The AMC Eagle and Jeeps used the 999 which had the lower 1st gear also

[@oops1952]

@@pameladutton9076 That's the one with OD isn't it

[@74charger44]

Thanks for the explanation of the ballast resistor. I think now I see what I am doing wrong.

[@Anthony-vq1wn]

It would be cool if Edelbrock came up with a flow-through design cylinder head for the slant-6.

[@DrewLSsix]

The issue with that is, you can't just make a cross flow head, you have to make a complete top end. New intake new exhaust, new valvetrain. Your new exhaust needs to fit the cars a slant is going to be found in, and since they tended to be economy cars designed for the slant as it was there's no accommodations for a passenger side exhaust manifold, and now you are looking at the stock and stock style exhaust not fitting the new manifold. A retail solution that accomplishes all that will be several thousand dollars at least, and not include the rebuild itself. Failing to offer all these solutions alongside the head means the head is less appealing to most people, and by allowing the few interested buyers to come up with their own often hack solutions you are now on the line for any issues they have down the road. Someone can't break a hundred HP with this fancy new head of yours, you know the forums and various groups on line are going to hear about it, and before you can respond with the observation that the dipshit built his own manifold out of 1/2" black pipe welded at 90 degree angles your reputation is sunk. And it'll never recover.

[@James-hd4ms]

That would be so worth😢

[@theinsaneshecklador6598]

How many could they actually sell? a few dozen? A few hundred? I really doubt most slant owners are looking to spend that kind of money when swapping a V8 has more HP upside.

[@mikekokomomike]

Guys made special crossflow heads for Ford 300 straight 6 using Cleveland or Chevy LS heads cut up and welded together. Not for the faint of heart.

[@americanpatrol4603]

They'd only cost about $8000 a piece due to the low and ever-decreasing market share of this engine.

[@michaellewis767]

If you're having trouble with the ballast resistor heating up during warm-up why don't you have one for when it's warm. That you can switch to

[@petermontagnon4440]

Years ago Bob Wright up here in Winnipeg.Did amazing things to his 6. Dodge even came up here and tried to pick his brain to find out what he was doing to get to run so fast. He said sorry boys, can't tell you. Or should I say won't!! LMAO

[@BurchellAtTheWharf]

If you can't find the 4:30+ gear reduction, what about a smaller diameter tire?

[@SweatyFatGuy]

I stopped using those super coils way back in the early 90s, they start great, run good driving around, but over 4500rpm I would get strange issues like surging, missing, no power, etc. I stopped using Accel stuff entirely in the 90s because I had issues with the wires, HEI coil, and pretty much everything of theirs I tried. I'm not saying their parts are bad or junk, just that I had problems with them running my Pontiacs. The way I tune stuff is different because of where my engines make power. You could go to a coil that doesn't require a resistor other than what the car has... and throw some jet at the carb, because the surging tells me ignition timing and lean. I would have put the locked advance in the middle of its range, get more of the distributor pin in proximity when the points do their thing... but I rarely lock out timing, because my junk likes to hard start when its hot, and I tend to run lots of advance early (before 3000rpm), but not at idle. Like I said, the way I do things is different because my engines make the most power from idle to 5000, rather than 4000 to 7000. I know that doesn't make sense to small engine and high rpm guys.

[@jasonrackawack9369]

Thought it was just me with Accel issues on a 455 4 speed Pontiac in the 90s LOL....I had all 100% accell ignition parts coil brown cap the u groove plugs and 8mm wires.....switched to ac plugs taylor wires and a MSD 6AL box, coil, cap and rotor and its been way better since.

[@eightball941]

I have seen a very similar condition before. Friend has a race boat that had a super built LS that would just bounce and surge at 4500 RPM every time. He went through everything only to find out it was the ignition system losing voltage at high rpm. He had to move the coil power feed to a dedicated circuit to resolve the issue and then it was pulling hard past 6000. Try isolating the coil power feed direct from battery, and for shits and giggles try the ignition without any resistors. Keep it up Tony you got 11s in your future for sure!

[@driedbrainfreeze2149]

That gd ballast resistor left me stranded after a fill up! I had plans

[@charlesheltyskeltymanson]

ROTOR PHASING! My 318 would randomly misfire and generally had a weak ignition. I tracked it down to the distributor. The cap and rotor were out of phase with each other. A huge gap underneath the cap could also cause the ballast resistors to run hotter, no?

[@zappa3543]

I enjoyed every minute of what you were explaining that was awesome

[@danieldimitri6133]

Advance weights don't affect phasing as the points cam or trigger move with the rotor. It's the vacuum advance actuator position that would mess with that. We used to drill a hole in the cap so we could see the rotor on number 1 with a timing light.

[@Channelscruf]

Love your persistence. Says a lot about your character.

[@ercost60]

Just plug in the OBD2 Bluetooth Scanner Code Reader and it will fix itself, Tony!

[@SPH56]

or.... you could run either one or both ballast resistors in a small cool box on the firewall - keep 'em cool and put some heat in that Slanty.

[@randymack2222]

If you are letting it warm up before your runs, have you considered adding a "Cool-Can" before the carburetor inlet? Cold fuel will cool the intake temperature allowing a density increase.

[@ronnieb7408]

A change in tire diameter up or down is an easy way to see how a gear change would react

[@DuckyHunter812]

At lower voltage I think it'll draw more current. That might contribute to the hot ballast resistor as well. I'd be running a small alternator or even an old generator BUT I'll be the first to admit you're a FAR more experienced drag racer than I am so I'll defer to your experience.

[@meep2059]

Nice Tony you will get it where you want it to be! It will be worth it at the end and you know it and thats why your building this slant 6 naturally aspirated. Lol at all the comments saying to build a entirely different motor.

[@Dick_Gozinya]

If I remember correctly, you've got a 904 tranny in that car. Pre- 1981 it had a 2.45/1 first gear ratio, which comes out to a final drive in first gear of 10.045/1 with the 4.10/1 diff. A post-1981 904 tranny will have a 2.74/1 first gear, so it would make your final drive in first gear 11.234/1 It might fall on its face hitting second gear, but it'll get you out of the hole like an older 904 with a 4.56 diff gear.

[@evanblack7543]

If it's not too late, install solid wire spark plug cables and confirm there is no back pressure in the exhaust system. These two items brought my TR7 to life.

[@theclubhouse1209]

Uncle Tony you could run a 4" pc fan to help cool the ballast resistors, they draw very little energy and they are dc voltage.

[@waynepaul9276]

Tony. I’m sure I know the answer to this question but I’ll ask it anyway…. Is the throttle opening all the way? Sounds dumb but I can’t remember the number of times I’ve seen this, even with experienced mechanics and drivers.

[@waddney4121]

the rear wheel arch looks great

[@danaglass5394]

Dana "60" Glass. Old rule of thumb, each degree of dwell equals 1 degree of timing. As far as heating up ballast resisters, have you tried pushing it up to the burnout area while motor has heat soaked and at maybe 170°? Fire it up, and do your burn out and stage. Just a thought since your not running an alternator, and your ultilizing as much power just running off the battery.

[@318Magnum]

I love this channel. Thank you for doing all the things for me that I don't have time to do myself

[@ccpgmike620]

Watching original video I thought it was ignition related from the start. Seemed to me like above a certain rpm system was braking down and weakening the spark. 11:1 CR will snuff out a weak spark. I think U R on to it w phasing, primary voltage (2nd resister), etc. I'm no electrical engineer but I know coils can be designed for either fast voltage recovery... for hi rpm Or lower recovery rate but more amps per fire for longer duration spark at modest rpm

[@chrisprice4420]

Well first off Uncle Tony back in the late 80s I bought a super coil just like the one you have there and I set it up just the way you said to and there was not enough spark to get any power. My brother in law said take that resistor off and run it! He was right, that car was a whole different animal. What a difference! Leave the resistor off. My thoughts

[@Bbbbad724]

I have never got away with two ballasts. The coil has to fully saturate to have depth to pull up there. JMO.

[@benjamintresham9649]

Here in Australia we use to bore out the 265 hemi six to 4 inch bore and run a chevy piston. They went like stink and the torque was awesome. So you are locked in to small bores and that sucks, well they suck less 😅

[@andrewstoffel1170]

If your theory is right fit a charging system or a 16V battery. Love the search for the problem.

[@popatop6657]

Ran about how I expected it for a slant 6 Maybe play with the cam or cam timing. BTW it sure looked dry under the valve cover. I don't buy voltage or spark issue and think if that were the case it would be hard starting especially when the engine had heat in it. However do yourself a favor and throw them junk out dated points in the trash and put in a Pertronix, Mallory Unilite or something electronic and remove all doubt.

[@josephnowak]

Thank you for the run down on this one. Spark phasing is something not thought about by a lot of people until you start playing with external crank triggers.

[@kyleperkins7125]

Probably nothing to do with over all power output but I would do one step up on the plug heat range. 1st thread and a half of the plug should be closer to the tan color in my opinion. Maybe to much timing dialed in.

[@The_Mental_Christian]

I know you feel confident with the torque converter, but shifting with a manual transmission is ideal at about 2000 rpm; something to consider. if you can find an 8.25 rearend, then you can fit better gears in the pumpkin, as far as having space for the ring gear. My 82 D150 has the stock 8.25 rear, and I used an Auborn carrier with 4.55:1 pinion and ring gear set; now it nails the speed on the street.

[@jeremylastname873]

As for ballast resistors, their sole job is to limit primary current to below saturation. If you have an oscilloscope with a current probe, you can look for a near-vertical, extreme primary current spike some amount of time after circuit closure. It’s at low RPM where this will show up. As long as you run enough resistance to help keep the primary cool, you’re doing fine.

[@jeremylastname873]

Good call to check phasing.

[@jeremylastname873]

Do you have a lift pump for the fuel? I tend to place electric fuel pumps as low as I can.

[@mromatic17]

This is why I have so much respect for you and kathy you guys take the normal bread and butter engines and make power with them. plus you share the knowledge to the masses who want to do the same but they have limited financial means. you will get it where you want it to be!

[@paulrichardson1594]

Not sure if it was mentioned, check the power valve in the carb. I had one dumping to much fuel in when the vacuum dropped with a fairly radical cam. Good Luck

[@dannovello1577]

I guess electronic ignition would be cheating, 😆 I get it though, I'm hard headed too. I wonder if a lower stall converter would help? 3000-3500 stall. To get what little power you have to th ground. Will be interesting to see what works Unc. T.

[@johnandrews6872]

Dwell time and capacitors working together are critical to some issues as the cap. stores energy and at the opening of the points discharges that pumping up stored energy into the coil, the term dwell shows the time the cap. has to build that charge. these things at high RPM's get very critical, in the old days duel point system tried to address these issues until electronics kind of solved the problem

[@Ecosse57]

"this thing will yield to my will... or maybe not." 😆😆

[@alexlandsberger1423]

On my slant I had high resistance from the negative battery to the distributor and that was my problem. Another rear end option is a 7.5 ford they have 4.56 available one from an 80s ranger should be really close width wise.

[@firstielasty1162]

If you suspect low voltage due to the ballast resistors, just measure it. At the coil + terminal,, during a run. Why guess? Run one wire to the voltmeter laying on console, or taped to dash..other clipped to ground, drive it.

[@bobsmith-mh7xz]

I commend you for being different .. I tried getting power out of a 1981 kawasaki kdx 175.. I tried loving that bike because it was a bike from my past when I was a kid. I dumped $3,000 into the bike and tried loving it. It ran awesome for a kdx 175. In the end ….. I couldn’t wait to unload it.. it was a gutless wonder. It was a woods bike.. however it only made “ power” at 10,000 rpm.. try that in tight woods. Plus the suspension was such that it really couldn’t be “ upgraded” and it was pretty bad.. it the end.. I got my $3,000 back by selling the bike and selling a bunch of parts… I got out from under it unscathed.. with lots of knowledge… don’t expect an old small bore air cooled enduro bike to fulfill my needs ever again… no replacement for displacement…….

[@charleselertii6187]

Thx Uncle Tony. Good Job! As an engineer for GE Power Systems, we would troubleshoot Engine issues, (well all issues really) by starting with the Problem Statement (what are you trying to fix) then brainstorming by considering EVERYTHING and making a "Fishbone" diagram, like what you did with all comments, etc. No suggestion was disregarded. The branches off the spine of the diagram would be one for each main item, for example: Ignition, Compression, Fuel, Transmission, Brakes, Valves, Cam, Driver Error, External, etc. Then each branch would have sub-branches pertinent to their branch or "bone". For example, Ignition would have sub-bones like, coil, points, plugs, condensor, wires, etc. Then you bird-dog all of the items in the Ignition main bone Exactly like you are doing. Even ridiculous suggestions offered, say, for the External Cause bone, like Weather, Color of T-shirt you are wearing, etc. were wrote down on the fishbone diagram during brainstorm session. This is to create an environment where NO suggestion is thrown to the side during brainstorm session. Then prioritize which bones to focus your efforts for first pass. Just what you are doing. Weeding down to find the root cause(s). Eventually exhausting all items to check. Never assume it is a one-issue causal event. The amateurs are the ones to be quick to proclaim ""Aha! I found it."" Most problems are compound problems. You are innately doing this process. Good work. Chuck in Florida.

[@960wattoffgridrv]

to find a 4.56 4.88 or 5.13 gears you gotta look for old dually trucks, motorhomes or an old 3 ton in a junk yard or look for an old farm relic sitting in a field.

[@inthegaragejoe]

Tony, I know you're wise and all-knowing and rarely would ever question your mind. Concerning the ballast resistor I was told many years ago back in the 90's by a speedshop I frequent as a teenager to not use the extra ballast resistor that comes with that coil and to remove the factory resistor that came on my 75 dodge truck running a mild 360. I had bought that accell supercoil and was having issues with performance and when talking with the shop owner who was also a local racer at the time he told me get rid of them ballast resistor. Make sure those coils get a full 12 volts at all times or you'll never get the 50,000 voltage output they advertised. I don't know how true this ever was but I removed the resistor and it ran better. I've never used a resistor since paul told me that . If it's a coil rated for 12 volts I never use a resistor. Only use a resistor if it's a coil rated for less than 12 volts and it's a 12 volt system.

[@stealthsf]

I know this won't fix your immediate problem, the static condition, but I would like to see a launch from idle to take advantage of the torque multiplication factor in the converter.

[@rescuedandrestoredgarage]

Great work, brother.

[@scottpartee7722]

Hope you'll come see us, Southeast Gassers Association SEGA in Knoxville next month, we have several inline sixes running in H/Gas.

[@MrJayrock620]

Check the baffles in your tank, if you were only running a partial tank there’s a chance it could be sloshing away from the pickup on a hard launch and creating air bubbles in the line and lean out. It would explain why it’s fine at a standstill and fine on a non prepped surface because it’s not booking hard enough to pull the fuel away

[@daveprotech3637]

As you are undoubtedly aware, no matter what motor, there is a couple of things which seem to be common problems with distributors as they age. First, the engine oil, upon which the distributor depends not just for shaft rotation but the smooth operation of the mechanical advance, tends to "coke" or become tar like. Many is the mechanical advance which simply froze in place, usually in some degree of advance if not fully advanced. You then set your idle initial advance, but there is very limited if not zero additional advance because the mechanism is frozen in place. Many is the hot rodder who installs lighter advance springs, which, if the mechanism WAS still working, no longer works for the lack of enough spring to overcome the drag. This requires a full field strip and scotchbrite or wire wheeling the shaft to rid it of the built up plaque/tar to restore smooth action of the advance mechanism when reassembled. Giving those lighter advance springs the chance to actually do their job. I wouldn't expect you to use the vacuum advance on a track car, but on the street it can cause headaches in two ways if the diaphragm fails, and old ones often do. First, there's no vacuum advance. Second, there is a vacuum leak. You discussed indexing. I've found it helpful to keep the old cap when doing a tune up for the purpose of drilling a hole (about a half inch diameter) through the top in between the coil in and essentially anywhere inside of the circle of high voltage outs. Using it in place while the engine is running, you can then observe the "arc" as it leaves the rotor on its way to each of the cylinder outs. The distributor is best indexed when the "arc" is smallest. Preferably, just a tiny blue seed, as opposed to a lengthy yellow jump with a severe angle. Folks tend to get themselves in trouble when deviating from the original orientation of the distributor, usually in engine swap situations for firewall clearance or some other non original obstruction. By factory original I mean where the body of the distributor AND the rotor were supposed to be in relation to number one cylinder at TDC as per manual. One last thing. Point gap is a unreliable means of establishing correct dwell. Reason? The breaker plate is rarely square in relation to the shaft causing the points to operate at an angle such that the contact surfaces do not squarely collide. The plate itself is not concentric with the shaft. Bearing slop. All of which should be corrected, but, in the mean time, the best way to get the best "average" is to use a dwell meter, which is the most relevant measure to ensure the coil reaches as close as possible full saturation prior to each discharge. There CAN be problems with worn drive gears, but typically not unless you are running a roller cam where a material mismatch between the cam and the distributor drive gear causes excessive wear. All this you know, I just threw it up there as additional FYI for your followers.

[@oldblueaccord2629]

Advance is locked out in video he explains why...

[@d.noneyabusiness8523]

I was thinking maybe it's just too high of a stall converter that little slant doesn't have enough power to power through the converter You should match the converter stall To the sweet spot On that slant.!!

[@RobertBeck-pp2ru]

@ UT: I bought a new Slanty Duster in 1973. I loved the car. Wish I still had it. But it was obvious the engine was designed by a great Chrysler engineer to be a people mover, boat engine, saw mill power source, remote generator power source. When you look at that head and intake manifold, the long stroke, only 3 main bearings, it screams to you: near constant torque thru a modest RPM range. NEVER intended for racing!!! See if you can entice an after-market company to machine you a new billet aluminum cross flow head. Have a new intake manifold tig welded out moly tubing to mount 3 two bbl carbs. Coil on plug ignition, etc...Then start finessing stuff. I love your channel!!

[@chriscadman6379]

Dotting the tee's and crossing your eyes, Uncle Tony.

[@nicksnarski5973]

I think you are on to something about the double register deal ,my understanding is points should run around 9 ish volts primary side on coil positive side.Doubling the resistance will drop it lower.

[@markbarber7839]

Great job Tony. Keep up the good work!

[@bobtherocker4598]

My 74 Scamp had a one barrel Carter carb and would only rev to 5,200rpm foot to the floor. I know they had a 2 bbl for the ram trucks and there's an Ofenhouser Intake for a 4 bbl but it's still a long stroke small bore six banger. Maybe you just got too much fuel? Idk I just want to see this badass A-body scoot down the track on /6 power!!! 🤘✊👍

[@Stephen-xy4zb]

Check the crankshaft pull they can cause an issue also

[@rbarker4426]

Rev it up in the dark and look for any sparks flying/shorting through the lenght of the plug wires. Like a crossfire those Axcell wires short out to one another

[@chrisharper2658]

Put the alternator back on it, add an MSD ignition which works off the points, and get yourself some dyno time, otherwise your just guessing. If your going lean, maybe a power valve, considering the plug color looks okay.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

Yeah it's like the horsepower you maintain by having an alternator is worth the few hp it takes to run it. It's not something for free, but it's a good return so to speak. So it takes 3hp to maintain 10 more than no alternator let's say, you're still 7 ahead.

[@grizzly766]

You do such a good job of managing your A.D.D. I'm jealous.

[@mikew6765]

I really enjoy your content but I've been out of the game so long my suggestion may not be feasible. Can you get your hands on a slant 6 magneto? If so it would be a good way to simplify any ignition issues.

[@kevinesteb4139]

It is most likely insufficient fuel volume to the carburetor. This can show up as a lean condition. Run an alternator and you won't have electrical problems. Points? Really. If you want a fixed ignition, you should update to a lean burn distributor from a '80s on pickup, use a 4 pin HEI to trigger it and a TFI coil from a mid '90s Ford Ranger. Much better then the what you are running now. Good luck, racing slants is fun.

[@brealistic3542]

How about using a electronic capacitive Ignition ? Just a thought. Older cars seem to be helped a lot by using them. Maybe look into different spark plugs too ?🤔

[@user-wu8pb5tk8s]

Old timer's thoughts. Do you check points spring tension? You welded distributor advance weights at full wide. An ice skater spins faster and easier with arms in close. Just old timer's thoughts.