just throwing out an idea. the early hot rodders built with whatever they had laying around. we still do that,but now we are called rat rodders. i have a 51 f1 that needs a drive line. i have a 64 falcon 170 six and a c-4 that are rebuilt. i get alot of grief for putting a 350 in my '50 f1. it runs great but a gas hog. the falcon and the f1 both weigh about 3,000 lbs. i know it would be an easy install. i want your opinion. the six the truck had made a hundred horse. the 170 six makes a hundred horsepower. i love running down the freeway more than burning the tires. is this a good idea or did i just drink too much beer?
it's not Horsepower that will be lacking but TORQUE> Falcons barely get out of their own way with the 170, i can't imagine an F-1 with one. Early falcons weighed about 22-2,300 lbs F-1's were over 3,000 lbs.
Too much beer. Sell the six and C4, then use that money to re-gear for highway speeds. If you have a 4 barrell, swap to a 2 barrell. There are lots of things you can do to improve your MPG. And who cares what others think of your truck?
no six. i got a 289 and a c-4 out of a '67 cougar. thanks for letting me pick your brains. time to make some engine mounts. now where's that beer.
Not nessesarily, if you aren't stomping on it all the time a 4 bl can give better MPG, especially a spread bore style. How sensitive the rear is to opening makes a difference also. I remember reading about the carb for a Corvette will get get worse MPG than the same carb for the Chevelle because the Vette opens the rear earlier, they were talking about a late 60s engine. As was mentioned you have to have enough grunt to get moving. Got a lot better milage from a '69 Charger with a 383/727/3.23s than I did with a '69 Plym S/W with 318/904/2.76. Too little engine for the car.
I had a 53 Ford truck when i was young that had the 223 six, i swapped it for a used 302 with a manual 3 speed. The swap gave me about 40% more power and 6 miles more per gallon. There are so many variables to consider, but i wouldn't swap the Falcon six, the 289...yes.
Cue typical Texas opening..."You're not going to believe this..." I actually did this with a 55 F100. Banged a rod out of the original 232 6 cyl, and went to the wrecking yard to buy a Y-block to replace it. Didn't find any Y-blocks, but ran across a fresh 200" 6 out of a Mustang. Had a C4 on the end of it, and the price was way right. I went home and did my research. I decided the two 6's put out about the same numbers, so I did the swap. Motor mounts were simple, and exhaust was no problem. The 200 would haul the truck around OK, but didn't have anywhere near the torque the 232 had. Gas mileage sucked. What I didn't think of at the time was that the little 200 was using up a lot of it's moxie just churning the automatic. Do a gear change. There is no money you can spend at this point that will pay you back better than a taller final drive.
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