I have a "63" Ford P 500 with a 223 six. Can I put a bigger engine in this truck? Seems like plenty o room but I aint sure. Any step van fans have experience with this? Thanks, D.O.G.
this same basic step van chassis was built clear into the late 70's and post-'65 models came with the 300 six
Well, interesting you should say that, the pink slip says it's a "63" P 500 and the vin says "56" P 350. But I don't think the P 350 came with dualies. It's all very confusing! Sounds like all you fellers say "Git er done"! A 300 eh? Thanks, D.O.G.
thats not a 223 as they had the hold down bolts going through top of valve cover and that engine has 4 bolts not 2. breather is on wrong end of valve cover for 223.
Not sure how big of an engine you could sqeeze in the box. Here is a good intake I have that I'll sell you. You could start with this and build around it?
55 Dude, Holy crap! Well what do I have? I went back and checked photos of 223's and yep you be right. Now I'm all confused, is this why a push rod I ordered aint right? This truck is a real mystery. Thanks for the info! D.O.G.
Dreddy, Dude, no way! That's cool. Whatcha got under the hood on that thing? as you may have noticed I'm having a little trouble identifying my engine and my truck. Is that a P 500/400/350? My pink slip and VIN# say different things. Have you decoded your VIN and whatnot? Good luck with the burger truck, Hope the regs are more reasonable than here. D.O.G.
Buy a old beater with a good 289,302,351, and auto trans, Should be farily simple and you will still be able to use your pedals.
You should be able to find a Ford 300 six cheaply. They made gazzilions of them, and it would probably be the easiest swap. There is also alot of aftermarket speed parts for the 300, so you should be able to build one into a very strong motor.
You can't go wrong with the old work horse 300 straight six. Bore it out a bit, put some nice 390 flat top pistons in it, a clifford manifold with a small 4 barrel and a mild cam with roller rockers. She'll pull a load that would make a 460 sweat.
Nothin for now, I'm lookin for a 300" around here. I'm pretty sure it's a p400. I cant' wait to drive this monster. I think its a '58. I haven't messed with it for a while..
Just grab an old ElDorado front drive system with the 500 and put it in the back of your truck. Yank the rear axle, lower the truck over the Caddy set-up and cut away anything that gets in the way. Now yer talking....
On a vehicle that big, torque is your friend. You need a combination that will pull from just off idle to maybe 4000 rpm. The above advice about the 300 six is well-considered. A five speed transmission from a later truck would probably be a good thing to consider, to keep the cruise rpm reasonable while still having enough gear down low.
These were work trucks meant to be driven around town. Economy was king. The sixer got it done. Less gas and cheaper to maintain. No need for the big V-8 when you were haulin' plumbing parts and tools to the next job. Same today. Unless you are planning on driving the beast cross country Ford 300 six is the best.
Well that tears it, I'm going with the 300. I just need to be able to merge onto a freeway or make it up a hill at a reasonable speed. I will be hauling over a thousand pounds of kitchen around and a fair amount of hot dogs and sausages. Thanks everybody! Free D.O.G.'s for all the H.A.M.B.ers!
Take a good picture of drivers side of engine and post it up. What you are looking for is a horizontal rib on the engine just above the dipstick. If no rib above dipstick it's a 223, the later ones had side bolts holding down the valve covers, early ones had the bolts though top of cover. If its a 262 don't scrap it, they are hard to find, there are F100 guys looking for them.
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