Okay, I've been looking through the interwebs for quite a while searching for anything possible. I'm really wanting to get my mav (250ci stock everything cept the coil) upgraded to something near the "head turner" stage. It's going to be a daily driver, but I want to have that extra giddy-up whenever. So now that you know what I want out of it, this is what I've found... Cam+C/R... I've found a site that says I have a 62cc chamber and 66 IVC (I'm looking at these values to increase dynamic compression, these numbers referenced from http://classicinlines.com/SmallSixSpecs.asp#SSgeneral ) Now, according to http://classicinlines.com/250Z.asp , if this is the case, I'm already above octane 87 standards when it comes to compression... Or so I think. I must be wrong with one of these numbers, I really want to find a good cam to pair up with my stock engine... But I don't want to get something that (because I don't know) causes me to have 10HP @ 1000RPM and 180 @ 6400 RPM. Now I know what 90% of people are saying... If you want power, get a new, ported head. That's 1400 dollars I'm not comfortable investing... Yet. This is what I'm thinking will get me up to speed: DuraSpark II ignition system with Dyna Module and Inferno coil. Headers (a bit hard to find since I have a low starter... Any leads appreciated!) with a high flow muffler (already have). And the part I'm having the most trouble with: cam and lifter kit. Lastly, I'd like to get some nice 5 spoke rims just for that classic muscle look. I don't have any current pictures (trust me, I'm saving your eyes from its atrocious macaroni "gold" color paint). If anyone could give me some ideas and even alternatives or something, I would greatly appreciate it. I don't have a bunch of money, but I also don't plan on being cheap. I understand that you get what you pay for. Thanks in advance
Just find yourself a decent parts maverick (With a V8 in it) part some of the good parts to pay for the inital cost and then keep all the V8 goodies for your car. I have two mavericks at the moment and have sold two others for scrap that I parted and I'm just breaking even on what I paid for all of them from selling parts. If you play your cards right you CAN have a very nice mav with little to no money in it and be able to help other board members out by selling them parts they need for their projects.
ive bolted on a few things to my 250 just to get it going a little quicker and it sound like your on the right track with your ideas but dollar per dollar and HP per HP i'd rather sink my performance budget into something with 2 more cylinders but there are 250 headers out there, cams and just about anything else you could want
There really aren't a lot of Mavs where I live unfortuneately. In all honesty, I didn't even know they exsited til I bought mine! I used to be a rice lover (Blasphemy I know!) but fell in love with my mav. I saw one other mav (in a junkyard) that had no apparent defects and when I went back to grab parts off it they had already crushed it! I also forgot to mention the carb is getting upgraded. I got lucky and bought mine for 300 because the guy thought it had issues when it just needed a decent tune up (100 dollars) and runs like a dream. I've also had to replace the starter, solenoid, and radiator. I figure now that I've invested easily triple what I bought it for I should keep going. They really are worth it! Like I said though, I need someone to tell me what cam they used (assuming they are using theirs for the same application as myself.) I'll keep looking for parts cars. I almost talked my buddy out of his fairlanes 289... He didn't go for it though...
Give it time, at first (5 years ago) that I would never have any luck finding mavericks but now there are more and more of them showing up. There were none in my area and now I know of at least 8 for sale that are near me. Just place an ad with your local radio station on their trading post (if they have one) and you would be surprised how many may pop up.
you'll probably want to check out fordsix.com for other peoples cam specs theres probably only 1 or 2 guys here who have upgraded their 6's that much
lot of money going into a 6 when you could've had a v8. seems i heard that somewhere before. good luck. only problem i see for putting that much into a 6 is that when you're finished and still want to go faster. you still gotta go for the 8 and start all over again.
Hello, I am not going to try and talk you into a v8 as I would like to build a 6 myself just to be different. Look for parts made by Clifford, they offer headers and intake manifolds What part of Washington are you in? if you watch Craigslist you will see Mavericks for sale quite frequently and some with some very good prices. I have some slotted mags that will fit your car and I am on the northern Oregon coast.
Another WA State I-6 Mav nut here. fordsix.com and Cliffard are best starting place. What part of the State are you in. I'm North of Spokane, just shy of B.C. Lou
I'm in central Washington, more specifically, Yakima. I really have considered the V8 route. It seems like a great idea, but it looked WAY more expensive than upgrading my six. I mean, most of the engines I've seen are running at about 1500 (302Ci) and at that price I could get a new and ported head. Seems like the head would make more difference than a used, stock 302 although I could be seriously wrong. I'm not going to try playing Mr. Mechanic, as I am a Computer Tech. I do have a fair knowledge of autos though, I have gone as far as replacing pistons, head gaskets and such myself although this was on a metro (3cyl. 1liter engine). Good advice though. I think I'll look harder for engines and parts cars and keep you folks updated
You can go to just about any junkyard and pick up a decent or good running 5.0 EFI HO with the roller cam for around $150-$350 then throw a good 4V carb and intake on it for around another $200-$250 and probably be running at least 200-230hp at the flywheel. To get a I6 to do the same you will be sinking a lot more than $600 into it. Thats just my though. I have considered giving the 250 in my mav some more pep too with maybe a set of headers and dual exhaust but for the price of a decent of headers I could just buy a 302 and put in it.
when i posted about the turbo muffler i hooked up to my 250 over on fordsix.com some one replied, why dont i just get a dual out header and dual exhaust? well because for that kinda money i can have a 302 sitting under the hood...
hoinestly... find a 302 to put in.. it is a very simple upgrade, very few parts needed, and you could find all the parts you need here or in a junkyard. there are a few people on here that live in washington state, near seattle. pound for pound a v-8 is the way to go.. you can find one in a junkyard in just about any ford car from the 80's, and some of them had roller motors and some were full injected. you can usually get a 302 for about 150 and up, and even running if you know what to look for.
You can do a lot to a six without investing a lot of money. The 250 is a great platform to begin with but you need compression or a blower to make any real hp. That's not to say that you have to spend $800 to get hp out of it. Remove the head and either replace it with a 200 head or mill .030" off the 250 head. That will give some added compression. Then a cam kit, timing gears, rework the distributor advance and some added breathing on top and you can get close to 250hp out of it for less than $500 if you know how to shop.
A bit of luck... I found a 302 (and it sounds decent at that). http://yakima.craigslist.org/pts/488493368.html with 30 over pistons. only problem is I don't have 600 bucks for it right now. More than anything, I'm trying to get an idea of what I'm getting before I get the money to do it... Impulse buying never worked out for me. So I guess I'll go with a 302 and let you guys know how it works out. If there are anymore recommendations I'll keep stopping by to check. The real question now is carb or EFI? Thanks guys
