Hi All, I saw a 59 Ford barn find two door for sale that has a 6 in it. Ideally I would like a V8 as I would love to tow a canned ham with it. But then again, you don't see too many 6's out there so it would kind of unique. Question is this, what is the performance like on these cars with a 6 under the hood? It says Auto in the ad so I am guessing with a heavy car like this the performance and MPG are sluggish to say the least. Is it possible to do an easy engine swap later on down the line if I want to oomph it up a bit? What is entailed with a swap (rad, brakes, suspension etc.)? Thank you, Mike
@1930artdeco ..... snag a 300 cu in Ford truck six and a C6 Cruise-O-Matic and add big thick radiator with a transmission cooler, 3.90 rear gears, bigger brakes and tow away!
When I was a kid our family car was a 57 Ford 300 sedan with six and 3 speed manual. We tried to tow a 15 foot trailer and it was awful. And that was by the standards of the early sixties. Without the trailer it was adequate but far from exciting. With the trailer it was a road block that required second gear at 30MPH to climb a hill. If you want a cool looking car or custom and are not into performance the six will be fine, but don't expect it to tow a trailer. If you like the car you might consider swapping in a 4.6 V8 out of a Crown Vic or Lincoln Town Car, or a 351 or 400 with matching automatic. Any of these will handle a canned ham trailer. If you do this you will probably want better brakes, such as a front disc conversion. Better radiator, rebuild the stock front end.Stock rear axle is probably a 9 inch which will handle the load and the low gearing will work well for towing. An FE 390 to 428 will fit but require more work as it is heavier and more powerful, requiring new springs and other work. The smaller V8s are not much heavier than the six.
Thanks, I had totally forgotten about the big 6. The 300 with a C6 will have plenty of oomph to tow a small trailer. I don’t speed anyways (well not much). I am not expecting much out of the that six cylinder, I figure in that configuration it is just a grocery getter type car. I also k is there is a speed shop somewhere in L.A. that does nothing but six cyl. Speed equipment. So that is an option as well. Mike
That 59 has a 223 cu inch six. For towing, displacement is your friend. The 300 six swap would work well, or the V8 swaps. Sent from my SM-G950U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
With Feds raising the gas tax and the 300” being a gas hog you’ll have the worst of both worlds..... welcome to the hot rod world..
I'm working on putting a 300 6 in a '58 Ford. Totally under-rated engine. The biggest issue I am having is getting it mounted low enough in the frame (I think,) and making motor-mounts. The rear-sump oil pan hits the steering linkage, and the mid-sump hits the cross-member. The bellhousing on this engine is huge, and you will probably have to hack-up your floor & use a different trans mount- As for the big 6 "being a gas hog", they came from the factory with inefficient carbs and poor exhaust systems, and when you address these 2 things they tend to be way friendlier in the performance & economy departments.
'59 Ford with a 6 is a damned sluggish pig. With or without a trailer. Fuel milage is going to be in the toilet but even with a V8 mileage is not going to be too impressive. You can bolt a Y block in or an FE using stock off the shelf Ford parts. Or if you want to play with it a little bit a later small block Ford will work or a GM motor is a shoe in too. OMG not a big block chebby I am not near the dreamer that I once was I would scrap the 6 cylinder idea from the git. V8s are cheap and make more torque stock that most of your high dollar 6 cylinder swaps are going to make.
An OD transmission is a must if you want better fuel economy when you're not towing regardless of the engine. I had a an '85 F150 with the 300 and 4 speed OD that I bought new. It averaged in the mid to upper teens and it was geared just right to haul stuff. I never towed anything with it ever. It wasn't particularly fast but it was actually quite decent.
A few years ago a hot-rodder I know resurrected an early 60's Ford wagon powered by the six-cylinder engine. He wanted to keep the drive train somewhat original, having the six rebuilt but adding a bunch of expensive go-fast goodies to the mix. After a few months of driving he came to the unavoidable conclusion that not only was that six a gas sucking pig but the car didn't have the power to get out of it's own way, the cure being a big-inch V-8 replacement engine.
Those 223s do have some torque,worked on a 60 Edsel with a 223 that someone had put 3.70 gears in place of the original 3.56s that were toast and replaced them with 3.10s and that six could not tell any difference but towing a trailer would be a different story.
Thanks to those who have replied to my post. However, I ended up getting a different car-57 station wagon with a 312 waiting to go in in a few months. Mike
My Dodge 6 is the proverbial "all dressed up and no where to go" scenario... I arranged for a life long pal to get this wonderful mill, then after a number of years he went and died on me..... I ended up with it back, which is okay. He was one of my oldest and most cherished friends, and his passing was a huge loss..... This little flattie ran 3 times in the Carrera Panamericana, stuffed into a '48 Dodge coupe. I am looking for something to plant it in that is very light and bare bones. Worthy of note is the tranny. A keen eye will recognize it as a 440HP/Hemi unit.... Head is a tattersfied....Headers are Phillips Performance, as are the side covers. Intake is an early Edmunds, and it runs Chrysler carbs...
I have a 235 in my 37 Chevy p/u and it moves it down the road just fine,I have played with the gearing and now has a trans with o/d.
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