Technical Help me decide between 226 flattie six & Mustang 200 six?

I've heard the 2 engines were very comparable in performance. The V8 has a more enjoyable exhaust note IMO, but not sure it really has any performance advantage over the flat 6.

 

I am a great fan of the 300 but it is 36" long

 

I've never been much of a fan of the 200 or other small sixes. As far as a swap the 240/300 makes the most sense simply because of the ease of parts availability and your options for transmissions aren't limited to just what fits the 200. . Plus they have the power with the right gears to wheel down the road with the big dogs. As others said, reliability, they don't give much trouble if you take care of them.

My mom has a 78 I think F250 with a 300 and 4 speed and I have driven that truck all over the place including towing a trailer to Portland with a Model A on it. It has camper hauling stump pulling gears but has never given any problems in the last 20 years.

My daughter had a 79 Monarch with a 250 in it that I bought for her when she was in Highschool that she put a ton of miles on and beat on pretty hard and that bugger stood up to what ever she threw at it. The car was tough as all get out too.

 

Our pulpmill and woodlands had a fleet of Ford pick up trucks with the 300 sixes forever. The explanation was that the trucks had lots of power for their purpose, tough and were better on gas. The mill would put the pick ups up for bids after they had a life so guys bought them cheap then drove them till they died. My friend bought a couple of the mill's retired trucks. The retired trucks lasted for years until the cabs were too rotted out to be roadworthy or not worth fixing.

 

If your happy with the cruising ability of the flathead 6,if parts are available a rebuild will be the simplest way,if you spend the money for a rotating assembly balance it should be plenty smooth,vibration can usually be traced back to some sort of imbalance such as a chunk of piston skirt breaking off or a weak or dead hole from low or no compression,or a combination of both,which would be addressed by a rebuild.

 

To answer you first question the 226 Flattie , in good shape should be smooth as silk! But power…..not so much.
I had a 300 six in an off topic square Ford pick up with the four speed overdrive! That truck would run 80 mph all day , drove like a dream and got over 18 mpg doing it! We drove it many times from Muskogee to Fort Hood, Texas! I know your truck is more areodymanic that a 79 model and would venture to say lighter! So you could get similar results!
This combo would be as different as night and day compared to your 226/3 speed! Just be sure and use forged pistons in the 300.
And there are many speed parts for the 300, if desired! Just my thoughts!

Edit: I just checked and your truck weighs around 3025 lbs. The truck I had weighed around 4500 lbs! With that 300, your truck would be a rocket, compared to mine!


Bones

 

I would keep the flattie, especially if you are more or less happy with it's performance.
I would diagnose what it's issue is, maybe you can get by with a heavy tune up.
If you end up rebuilding, maybe consider doing a milled head, some minor port work, a good balance job, mild reground cam and split exhaust for a little more hot rod pep. While not regarded as much of a hot rod mill, I don't think those old sixes were known to be particular noisy or rough running.

As far as noise at speed, what is your rear gear? Some of those trucks have pretty steep rear ratios. Maybe you can mellow it out with something more highway friendly.
As others have said, overdrive transmissions help a ton also. Lots of early '50s Ford Borg Warner units around, it seems. I don't know how well they fit in trucks though.
You said you did the floor in dynomat, but did you do inside the doors and the inside of the roof too? Got full upholstery? How are all the window and door seals? These can make a big difference.

 

i went up a step from the 200 and put a 250 in a 1st-gen econoline. lots of torque (looong stroke) and they were plentiful and cheap back in the day...

 

I’m in the put a 300 in it camp. Absolute best gasoline light truck engine ever built. If I were doing it, I’d get an M5OD transmission from a 87-96 F-150. It uses a nice, internal hydraulic clutch, and they are very plentiful. I would build it with an RV type cam, aluminum 4 barrel intake with a Motorcraft 2100 series 2 barrel carb and a late model EFI split exhaust manifold.

 

I agree with most of your idea except for the repurposed Mazda trans I would go with a Mustang world class T5

 

There is really nothing wrong with the Mazda trans. I can't remember the exact #, but I think it is M5R2. That's what I have in my 56 F100 along with the 300. It drives great and all fits. This trans was out of a beat 92 F150 with 200,000 miles. I put it in as-is and all good.

 

My thoughts: I was never much of a flattie six fan until my neighbor pulled a 49 or 59 sedan out of a field and got it running.. that was the smoothest running engine! If yours is rebuildable, that would be my first choice.

The 300 is obviously popular here. I had one and it was still going strong when the van it came with rusted away. Top loader overdrive and 3.50 gear was a nice setup. I wouldn’t jump into that swap without looking at the overall length, though. If it’s too long for your truck, I would reconsider.

The 250 is a raised deck version of the 200, and would be a good choice. My grandpa had a Comet and my cousin had a Torino with 250s. Lots more torque than the 20, and shorter than the 300. I saw one in a 51 F1, and it looked good. Owner said it was an easy swap and performed well.

 

Thanks, fellas, for all the help and advice.
I’ve found a cheap and solid 226 replacement engine nearby from a guy who rebuilds flathead eights for a living, so I trust the engine is what he says.
I’m gonna give that a try as an somewhat inexpensive way to answer many of my questions about how a 226 can run.
I’ll check back in with the results!
Scott

 

Also known as the M5R2. I have one of these transmissions behind an off-topic Cummins 4 cylinder diesel, in an off-topic F150. Transmission is holding up OK (37 states so far) - BUT - the internal hydraulic slave cylinder starts leaking every 3 to 5 years. This internal hydraulic slave cylinder is concentric to the transmission input shaft - the transmission has to be removed in order to replace the slave cylinder - I was 76 years old the last time...

Russ

 

Sounds like you are more annoyed with the whining crash box transmission.

Why don't you keep the flathead 6 [for now] and use a 84-87 6 cylinder F150 T170 transmission . Its fully synchronized, 3 speed with overdrive.
The shifter is also top mount.

You will need to make a new crossmember and driveshaft anyway.
If you don't like it, you can hang a 300 in front of it later.

 

My experience the M5OD was fine for the Ranger but had issues behind the 300,

 

Lots of info online ...this red truck is on u tube lots of pics.
Also some engine ideas ...the Wild one is 625 hp.
Also check trans adapt universal engine and trans mounts and cross members
I believe the small v-8 ,ford, mounting kit would be adaptable to the 300 ?

 

Ok then ....disregard any information that was obtained for the post that I made to this thread ,as the info I posted offers no help to your final decision, which sounds to be a good one.
At least it keeps you on the road and keep gathering info and parts for a engine swap later on.
Have fun and enjoy the trip.

 

Hi again everyone.

After a weeklong driveway and garage thrash each day after work, I got the replacement 226 painted, gaskets replaced, clutch transferred over, etc., etc., etc., and in to the truck.

The moment I started it, it was a revelation!

So much smoother, quieter, with a better exhaust sound, and better power.

And, so far, no leaks!

Thanks for all the help and advice!


Scott

 

Stock for stock. These would outrun a V8.

 

Nice truck.
The new engine looks great!

 

Cool.
I’d drive it

 

Looks good! I seem to remember reading that Ford actually advertised the HP and torque of the 6 a lot lower that they really were, because they were better in both categories than the V8, and Ford didn't want to hurt those sales. Overall, the flathead 6 was a better engine than the V8, and easier to work on.
Glad you're happy with the way it turned out!

 

Thanks for the update, and you got 'er done in a couple weeks. Looks good, glad it's all smooth and quiet, enjoy it.

 

The whole inspiration for this thread was wondering if I should swap in a 200 six Mustang engine like I admired in my wife’s Falcon.
After giving it a big handful of ignition advance and driving my new 226 for a tank of gas, it murders my wife’s 200 Mustang engine.
I couldn’t be happier!

Scott

 

we put a 200 six and a c-4 in a '51 f1. it fit with room to spare and it made plenty of power and drank little fuel and never got hot. the 200 weighs so much less than a flathead. we liked it so much we put a 200 in our 49 plymouth with a c-4 and its our go to car. the steering was lighter on both vehicles.

 

Other than....'the uniqueness ' of a 6 cylinder flathead engine it really has out lived its usefulness as a daily driver.(unless you seldom drive over 45/50 mph any length of time!)
A 300 (with a 5 speed) could almost idle as fast as a flattie 6 engine runs.
They just don't compare for DD use. IMO
6sally6

Oh well........that's what I get for not reading the entire post!!! OOPPPS!!!

 

The 200 just isnt the best motor for a truck, Id say go 300 all the way and love the torque it will produce.