Here is the story, I am in the San Diego area, I Picked up a 73 dodge van with a 225 /6 engine about a month ago, have been slowly fixing small things/ working out the bugs, recently changed all fluids, went on a 40 mile camping trip, blew a rod and now I have a lifeless van.

Now to the question. I can pull the motor and swap it for another motor, should I try to find a motor from a junkyard? or one pulled from a running vehicle if possible? or buy a rebuilt? or buy a junkyard motor and have it rebuilt before I put it in?

I am not looking to keep the van for very long but want to get her back on the road so I can enjoy her, I already want something a little different for my next one but dont want this one to lose its life. I am looking for the most affordable/ reliable option, I have heard the stories of how bulletproof these motors are, I think I may have gotten a very well abused one.

sorry for the rant, hopefully I can get some great info from all you great folks.

Sry to hear it....Which ever way you go, the only thing I can say is buy it right or buy it twice....

What is your budget?

Wait for Reed's input if you fancy a slant 6 replacement.

Sorry to hear that

swap in a 318. It will be worth more in resale

If you're going to keep the van, go with a remanufactured engine with a warranty. Any used slant six you go with is going to be at least 25 years old (last year was 1987).

If you stay with a slant six, go with an 81-87 engine since they used hydraulic cam/lifter which means a quieter engine and less maintanence. They bolt-up the same as the older engine AND you don't have to worry about spark plug tube seals on the newer engine.

JBWELD

(1) JBWELD won't fix it
(2) I have heard bad things about the off the shelf reman motors, except for Jasper
(3) Since you are in the San Diego area, you are actually near a large number of slant six aficionados who probably have a few decent runner slants on stands in their garage they would sell, and help you install cheap.

Your fastest solution would be to head on over to www.slantsix.org , join, and post a want ad for a motor.

I agree with Nate, if you are going to go through the trouble to swap the motor out, I say stick in a 81-87 period motor. It is newer and it has hydraulic lifters. Less maintenance. However, if you are just beating the bushes for a cheap get-by motor, don't stress too much about it.

I went ahead and posted a want ad for you. See HERE We'll see if a slant turns up.

If you are already planning on getting rid of the van, I don't think a switch to a v-8 is worth the effort and resources. Actually, I usually advise against such a swap since doing it right is very time and money consuming, and then you end up with a van that uses more gas.

thanks, I just joined /6.org , and am awaiting approval, I will most likely be keeping the van as its only main issues were within the motor, and whomever put it in last, did kind of a jokey job on it. Thanks for the ad on slant 6, would like to get things goin so I can get some camping done in this thing. I liked the slantys power so I am not sure if i even want to think about a v8. we shall see how this goes.