Just bought an inline six ford 250 out of a 71 mustang. Will be putting this into a 27 Buick. Trying to keep an original straight six look but up the horsepower. Question will I run into any problems with a c4 auto trans attached to s10 rearend? That is the game plan. Thanks first build appreciate the input.
no, shouldn't be a problem with a well and properly-made driveshaft. 250s are easy to stick trannys on, they share bells with the small block v8s. for hop-up info and parts, check out clifford performance, classicinlines.com and the fordsix.com forums
Thanks for the feedback jazz bum. I have been researching inline six dress up stuff I like the fact that it is different. Does anyone know the outside diameter of the s10 rear? The original spring clip/connectors on the 27 are in great shape looks like the orig axle is 2" in diameter so I am hoping to bolt the s10 rear on with these brackets?
not sure if your c4 needs vaccum to shift. dont know much about them. i had a friend put a c4 against a flathead v8 ( a long time ago) and if i remeber correctly he had to hide a vaccum cannister. i like those 250s. good luck with your project
Hey- that car looks familiar. glad it worked out. That's awesome you got it running. also real nice to see you doing something with it.
the small ford six is a great engine family, you'll be glad you got it. they're very popular to build in australia and they have some pretty cool parts (heads particularly) and techniques that you'll want to check out. you mean outside diameter of the axle tube, right? as far as the hardware, i don't know the exact measurements offhand, but if it was me, i'd plan on just having a set of u-bolts bent up and using new hardware. i don't think i'd trust those particular parts at that age and there are bucks to be saved better places, imo. are you planning on using the s10 springs, by the way? i think truck springs will put you sitting pretty high.
Thanks for the feedback. Actually looking to use original springs as well. All appears to be in very good condition and will retain originality while upgrading drivetrain. The springs are 2" wide most today in speedway catalog 1 3/4. Based on condition I was going to reuse them.
Yes, the C-4 will need vacuum to shift. The 250 is a great engine however it was built to be a economy engine and that is what it is. Because of the way the head with intake manifold is built, throwing $$$$ into it for performance would be better spent in a V-8. IMHO
...not entirely. in the u.s. maybe but look into how these engines are built up in australia, particularly with the aussie crossflow head. they make good power almost stock and what they lack in horses they more than make up for in torque/cubic inch. the gmc 302 was built for trucks with reliability and economy in mind too, remember, and the power capabilities of that engine are well documented.
One issue you'll have with the S10 rear is unless you've done something with the front too you'll have two different wheel bolt patterns. I suspect they're bigger around than two inches, too, but it's not hard to come up with U-bolts and bottom plates.
Don't get yr hopes up too high with the crossflow head, as they won't swap on to a non crossflow block.
it's definitely not a bolt-on deal, no, but it can be done with a few mods to the block and head (mostly a matter of sealing some of the coolant passages). different cam, exhaust manifold and distributor on us and australian engines too, but those are solvable problems.
If I was to build any inline Ford six for power, it would be the 300 hands down. Not the 250. This includes with the Australia crossflow head. Even then, I'd rather throw my $$$ into the V-8. Well, they just sound better.
All great feedback I appreciate the input as stated I am new at this. With carbody being a wood frame still in good shape and trying to do a clean upgrade of mechanicals to make ongoing maintenance much easier, I chose the six to be little different and to not over power the wood frame. What is cool (at least to me) is I think I can keep a lot of the original look of the car yet have a driver that will perform well. Thanks again.
Actualy an inline 6 was different 20 years ago but not different now. The fact that you are choosing a Ford 6 is different from the rest of the pack though. Your chassis is not wood just the frame work of the body, you would not over power the body if the chassis is up to par and even the stock chassis on the buick (without boxing) will handle the average small V-8 no problem That said the Ford six will probably make you happy if you are not dilusional about the power output. They did fine for chasing around town in the mustang, the '71 was not a light car.
absolutely. the only real advantage the small six has over the big six is that it is smaller, which makes for easier swapping. but since he picked a 250 and not a 300, i was just letting him know there are plenty of ways to soup them up. even in stock trim a 250 should move that little buick around just fine.
The Mustang had to have tipped the scales @ 3500 lbs. Likely the Buick weighed at least 500 lbs less then the mustang with that big heavy pig of a motor they had in them. It should have no problem getting around at all.
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