So my 250 is completely stock, and I plan on beefing up the car here soon. My main plan is adding a 2 barrel carb and getting a split dual header and new exhaust. My question is, which do I do first? It would take a long time for me to acquire enough money to do both at the same time (senior in high school now, I work at a golf course which is a seasonal job really). Which one makes the most sense to do first/which one will have the most noticeable effect on performance?
Sorry I guess I should have been a little more specific. The options are: 1. New (rebuilt most likely) carb 2. New exhaust including the split header from Mustangs Unlimited Going exhaust first is what I figured would be best, because at a minimum I get good sound coming out of the car, even if the header isn't being used to its potential since the stock carb is choking it out.
First of all, are the brakes, suspension and other safety items out of the way? If not, take care of those first. second --> www.fordsix.com and www.classicinlines.com Since you have a 74, check to see what kind of ignition system you have under there. If points, switch them out for a Pertronix unit or get yourself a Duraspark setup. This would be a great first time upgrade if you need it and you will feel the difference right away. As for your ideas, I myself would go with the 2 barrel carb setup. It would increase HP by close to 20-30 depending on which carb you pick. And to be honest, building a six up is very time consuming and will cost you a lot when it comes to the money department. I would suggest to research these engines before dumping any money on them.
I have about $500 in suspension parts on its way to fix up things that are long overdue for a replacement up front. As for the issue of keeping the I6 vs. getting a V8, I am very torn as to what to do. I've tossed around ideas back and forth for what I think I want. A big part of me says keep the I6, they're only getting more uncommon and they're a cool thing to see in a car these days. With the upgrades available (although limited due to the fixed intake manifold) the engine can be beefed up considerably from its stock state. But, I do recognize the ease of upgrading a V8 and how cheap/available parts are. My concern with swapping to a V8 is the amount of money I'd be into just putting a V8 in it, not including money put into the engine before swapping. The I6 is what came in my car, and a big part of me wants to keep it just for that. It's the way I bought the car, and those engines are extremely reliable. Also, I don't want my bank account to be destroyed every time I go to the pump. My engine needs tuning, but I can go 2 weeks to school and back plus any errands I need to run as well as going to work for around 35-40 bucks. This isn't great, but I'm afraid it would be much worse with a V8.
Well, I've decided to keep my Inline since I'm not a racer or anything. Problem with the car hobby is if you live in an apartment like me. I hate the fact I had to go to Good Year to get my new front suspension on the car. In fact, I should have it tomorrow but it was way overdue. I've owned my Mav for 3 years now and I just did it now. Really took it to good year since the guys here advised to do so. But anyway, if you want a nice mild build, here's a great topic from the fordsix forums that covers some great ideas on how to easily get 150HP from the i6. http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=62655&p=479455&hilit=beefing#p479455 and if you will be sticking with the Inline 6, I strongly suggest picking up the Ford Six Handbook. It's a great read and helps a lot with what kind of i6 you are looking for.
I wouldnt waste the money on the split header. Save a ton of money and run a single outlet header and just use a dual outlet muffler.
We have plenty of room to work on the car here, and so far a shop hasn't touched it for anything. I prefer to do my own work to save the expense of a shop and it's cool to know that the end result of the car will be completely from my own sweat and probably blood somewhere along the lines. A 150hp 250 would be pretty slick, and probably sufficient for daily driving and my occasional flooring of the gas pedal on country road straightaways. As cool as it would be to have a 300 hp V8, I think it would either be the death of me, or overkill for the car's purpose which is an awesome daily driver, not a racecar. A problem I have with keeping my I6 is that we have a 289 sitting in the shop with no home unless my dad puts it in my sister's F100 project. I would love to have that engine. I could probably buy it from him for less than it would cost to acquire a 302 if he wouldn't just give it to me. If I can get the 289 then I've saved money on buying a new engine, but it can be built up outside of the car for as long as it takes until I am ready to swap.
Well now I've gotten myself worked up about that 289 in the shop, what all is required in order to put it in the car? Will it mount to the C4?
Depending on what year the 289 is 5 bolt or 6 bolt bell housing is the determining factor of if it will bolt up to the c4 or not, needs to be a 6 bolt block. If it is the 6 bolt block then c4 will bolt up. Then you would need the v8 frame stands and correct motor mounts, a set of exhaust manifolds or headers,it may or may not have the correct water pump to match up to the radiator in the Mav now. Other items you might want to consider but not needed would be a double hump transmission cross member, it helps when putting dual exhaust on, a v8 throttle cable, you can use the one thats on it now but it is too long, a transmission kickdown lever for a v8, a under motor cross member from a v8 car, many dont use one buy I would
Doh, of course it will mount up to a C4, it came with one when my dad bought my sister's truck I'll keep those things in mind, with having an engine already in possession, about how much would a swap cost if you had to guess? This clearly won't include any engine mods I do on top of it
Frame stands $50.00---- $100.00 exhaust manifolds $25.00----$50.00 double humper tranny x member $25.00----$50.00 v8 throttle cable $15.00-----$35.00 under motor x member $25.00-----$50.00 A lot of the members here could provide you with these parts, prices are just a general figure to give you some idea. All I have to offer is the exhaust manifolds and the rubber motor mounts Best if you could find a v8 donor car somewhere and get all the parts from it
Alright good to know. I took a good look around the car and I think I'm going to hold off on engine/performance upgrades until a few other things get taken care of. I desperately need a new headliner, my current one is ripped from side to side in a few places. Just so old that it has given out. I also would like seat covers and some sort of seat cover for the back seat, not sure how that will work yet though. My trunk desperately needs help, after I tig weld up some patches to stop the leaks I'll spray some bedliner in there to stop the rusting. I need to fix up the interior panels in the back (UV damage has them in a somewhat chalky state) and my stereo needs installed. Looked back at all of these things and figured I ought to fix up things that demand more immediate attention. I put those on the back burner mentally because I really wanted to get some more power out of the car. Yay to being an adult making responsible decisions now :/
You can always bump the timing up a little and get a big increase in performance. Just don't go so far it starts to ping.
