Introducing myself with our new project

Hello, I just purchased a 1964 A100 for my 14 year old son. We are going to restore it and hopefully have it driveable by the time he's 16. (I'm going to attempt to post a picture).
I had offered my son to find a Mopar-car such as a Charger, Challenger or Dart; but he wanted something he'd be able to drive his friends around in. So I found this van and saved it from the PO sending it to the wrecking yard. All the glass is intact and the body is straight with only surface rust. The slant six is blown but i'd like to put in a 318. I'm really glad to be a part of this forum and can't wait to gain knowledge from you all. I'd like to ask my first question if I may and forgive me if it's been posted (my searches turned up nothing). How do I fit a 318 where the slant 6 is? Is there a kit? The doghouse is wide at the bottom and narrow on top; will a 318 fit in there and will it bolt up to the automatic tranny? lastly, will the kickdown lever be able to be modified? OK, i'm off to post the picture.
Thanks,
Danny
PS: I live in El Dorado County, CA. (30miles east of Sacramento). If there are any members near me, let me know. I'd like to network with any locals to me.

[img][/img]

Here it is. just learned how to post the photo....

I know nothing much about Dodge /conversions but WELCOME!

Welcome to the site Danny

Great looking project for a 14 yo to start with. I can tell you the 318 will fit nicely, but the others need to chime in with availability of conversion mounts etc. Mine is a '68 Pickup with a 360 retro fitted, and auto. You should be able to pickup a kickdown linkage without much trouble.

I forsee lots of late nights, and plenty of time on the innernet

Welcome to the site!!! I can there you that 318's were one of the stock motors in Dodge A100's. Pretty sure you need different motor mounts and brackets

welcome to the site Equium the 318 was a option. in the dodge. there is a lot parts to find thou. find a engine as complete as you can. most of the old parts will not work. the tranny will. you need Gas pedel linkage Tranny linkage. Motor mounts also the Motor mount bracket on the drivers side. Starter. Alt. Raditor . Rad hoses Exaust. Fan & Pulleys Tourque converter. you need almost everything. If you can find a donor van that would make it a lot easier. Or buy a rebuilt engine and spend the money on paint/weather stripes . Brakes & drums and odd and ends. . the /6 will help keep the young blood out of trouble and save some gas money. keep us informed as to what you are going to do and we will help you along the way...

Easiest and cheapest thing to do is find a donor van. There are lots to be had for under $1000 and you will spend a lot more than that running down the right parts. Radiator, engine mounts, throttle linkage etc. Just watch the vans for sale on this site. I got a 69 sportsman 318/3sp that runs great for $700 last year. Don

Welcome to the site!
First remove the gas tank and have it cleaned and checked.
Inspect the wiring and figure out if it's going to be savable or if you will have to replace.
Check out the suspension bushings and kingpins.
Check out the brakes.
The engine brackets are different, but the doghouse is the same.
An early one like a 64 should have the automatic with the adapter, so removing the adapter should make the V8 bolt up.
They are worth some money, so don't toss it.
That trans should be the 2 cable type, they are rare and hard to find so make sure you have a reliable place go through it. A parts van is a good idea, it can save you money over the restoration.
Get a manual and take lots of pictures.

Thanks for all the welcome posts. Swapping in a V8 is starting to look like more than I bargained for.
I was originally thinking of leaving the slant 6, but a friend of mine said the v8 swap should be easy. i agree that a slant 6 will keep my kid out of trouble. lol. I am intrigued, however, about building a slant 6. Perhaps we'll "keep it simple" for now and if he wants a v8 in the future, we can do it. We may be delayed in getting the project started as my wife and I just decided to move, but i'll be sure to find a place with lots of room and a big garage. Thanks again everyone. I'll keep ya'll posted and start a gallery when work begins.

There are HP parts for slant 6's that improve the HP

slantsix.org

welcome equium, I'm working on a '65 with my 6 year old son myself.

I find that going to rockauto.com and looking up parts is a good start on what's available and often the best price.
Plenty of stuff on EBay too, but you will see a pattern develop on the sellers.
Grab a manual, lots of info there. I prefer a book, others like a CD. There is one posted here too.
Looks like you have a pretty good complete van. Often a parts vehicle will help, but it may not be needed if you have all the stuff.
This site is a great resource too, be sure to search the older posts.

I just purchased a shop manual on ebay. I'm pretty sure it's the right one; it's for the 64-65 A100. I will check out slantsix.org. I try to read the older posts when I can. definetately lots of good info there.

equium wrote:I just purchased a shop manual on ebay. I'm pretty sure it's the right one; it's for the 64-65 A100. I will check out slantsix.org. I try to read the older posts when I can. definetately lots of good info there.

Ask around here before you buy parts! You can download a shop manual here for free. If you need parts, need to know a part number, or need to make something work in place of a part you cant get, ask here, someone has probably already found it. Part prices vary widely and Ive saved a lot of money by just doing some research before I bought the first one I found.

I got popout window gasket last week from an industrial supply house for $1.70 a foot

slowflapper wrote:

equium wrote:I just purchased a shop manual on ebay. I'm pretty sure it's the right one; it's for the 64-65 A100. I will check out slantsix.org. I try to read the older posts when I can. definetately lots of good info there.

Ask around here before you buy parts! You can download a shop manual here for free. If you need parts, need to know a part number, or need to make something work in place of a part you cant get, ask here, someone has probably already found it. Part prices vary widely and Ive saved a lot of money by just doing some research before I bought the first one I found.

I got popout window gasket last week from an industrial supply house for $1.70 a foot

Good advice. thanks. I like having the books as opposed to an electronic copy; but I will look for the copy online as a back up.
thanks

Welcome to the board. 99% of the parts from a 64-69 will interchange with each other, so no real need just trying to nail down something for a 64. As for the engine swap, it just seems to make more sense to keep the motor you have than doing all the grunt work of a swap, JMO. The slant 6 is a simple motor that easy to work on that with little work will be a good economical motor that's really bullet proof, and the parts for a rebuild are alot cheaper than dealing with a V8. Have fun and enjoy

Welcome.... The guys are right on... Check your /6 over and see if it is a simple fix or major work. If it is major I would check around for a rebuilt engine online and find a local supplier so you can get a warranty. One of the places I have dealt with is http://www.hiperformer.com/ (no afffilation) they are real helpful on the phone and will do extra machine work on request.

Thats funny actually, Equium, because I myself am a 14 year old who is getting this van passed down to me from my father I love this van more than any other car I've heard of and I'm sure your son will enjoy it as well! My van came with a 170 slant six originally as well, but a previous owner put in a 318 so I promise you a conversion will indeed work, and I have the stock auto transmission as well, so it will work. If you need pics or have any questions, feel free to ask! Welcome!

A100Sportsman wrote:Thats funny actually, Equium, because I myself am a 14 year old who is getting this van passed down to me from my father I love this van more than any other car I've heard of and I'm sure your son will enjoy it as well! My van came with a 170 slant six originally as well, but a previous owner put in a 318 so I promise you a conversion will indeed work, and I have the stock auto transmission as well, so it will work. If you need pics or have any questions, feel free to ask! Welcome!

I hope you're having as much fun working on your van as I hope to have with my son. That's great news about the V8. I'm going to check out your van pictures when I get home (our work computers are don't let us browse too much,lol).
My son is very excited to start driving it. I might just keep a slant 6 in there for now to keep a swap simple and let him decided if dropping a V8 is what he wants. My son is not a gear head like me, so he'll just be happy if it runs and doesn't break down. lol.
thanks for introducing yourself. I'm sure we'll talk more in the future.

I think that is the wise move . this way like rod said you can take your time finding the parts on your list and pay a good price instead of over paying cuz you need it to move on..... there is a few guys on e-bay that will rip you off. a person from Hollywood is 1 of them

dix wrote:................ a person from Hollywood is 1 of them

I wish I'd known that 2 years ago

Another reason to keep the 6 is young people just don't make enough money in starter jobs to keep gas in a V8. The van will be cool enough that they won't even notice it doesn't have a V8. Plus the slant 6's aren't seen much in cool rides and the slant 6 is a cool looking motor

G-Man wrote:Another reason to keep the 6 is young people just don't make enough money in starter jobs to keep gas in a V8. The van will be cool enough that they won't even notice it doesn't have a V8. Plus the slant 6's aren't seen much in cool rides and the slant 6 is a cool looking motor

Yeah tell me about it, G-Man. Saw on the news last week prices here are going to jump again so pulled it out of the garage and filled up. I am an entreprenour, so between my ebay business, my lawn care business and whatever job I decide to apply for, its gonna be tough paying for gas for the 318. I love the power of the V8, but in these economic times I'm starting to wish it still had the /6 in it. Fortunately, the van is only my weekend vehicle, I have a 1990 Montero for school, but even it costs alot to fill up.

Equius, I don't think I have pics of the engine itself uploaded, but I can take reference pics of whatever you need. I am young but I maintain my own vehicles and enjoy working on my dad's with him. We have quite a collection....lol