I purchased a 79 or 80 station wagon today for 50.00 for a donor rig for my kids 54 f100, its supposed to run good but I got it sight unseen, its got a 267 in it supposedly and a th350, I don't want any sort of power and I suspect it don't got a th350 but thats ok to, I rather parts blow up rather than have the kid kill himself since this is his first rig and he's only 14. are them 267's a fairly reliable engine if looked after and maintained? it don't look like they were made for very long 79-83 I think if he can nurse it along and show some responsibility then we can swap in something better after a season or 2 of driving and it'll be all set up the wife is quite mad i am dragging another wreck in the yard
267 is just a smaller small block Chevy, an emissions motor. It filled the gap until they were able to develop the 4.3 for production - both of these are about the same size, CI wise, and about the same as the first SBC in '55 - should be very reliable once you ditch all the emissions garbage. The only emissions motors I would worry about reliability on are the Pontiac 301's, but that's because I blew one up.
The 267 is just a small block Chevy with an itty bitty bore! Ha Ha...it also has some smog heads on it that aren't good for much performance-wise, but from a reliability standpoint, they're as good or bad as any other small block Chevy. It'll be fine for a kid's first ride, and like you say...you can upgrade it later and it'll be a bolt-in deal to replace the 267. Rustynewyorker is right about 301 (and 267) Pontiac "smog motors"...they were lightened up Pontiac V8s that all too often came apart prematurely!
Amen to that! Hey for $50, how could you pass it up? and it sounds like it's nicely(safely) underpowered for your kid
Its just an SBC, should be as reliable as a hammer. I'm not sure that I understand the whole build a kid a whimp mobile the first time around. But think I come from a different time and a way different background than most. Wouldn't it be better to teach the kid to drive and be responsable the first time around??? Not a judgment here just showing my total lack of understanding.
Pork, the reason I want it underpowered and wimpy is cause this guy will likely drive with his foot to the floor and the other MAYBE hovering over the brake pedal, he likes to live on the edge and push things to the limit including my patience most times and he really don't listen any better than I did when I was a kid and I know what I did and how lucky I am to still be here he's getting to big to give a thrashing to so I figure this is my best alternative and I'd rather he learned something rather than buy some little pile of crap when he hits 16 he's the kind of kid you can sit down with for hours trying to explain something and he'd go right out and do exactly what you told him not to just to see if what you said would really happen!! we won't be signing for his drivers license if he don't show enough smarts for that but we all know as soon as a guy gets a new license and a couple buddies in the truck then toss in a few girls to impress common sense is gone
You have a garage of BFHs, prybars and hacksaws exactly for this time of your child's life! I believe the human race evolved into tool-users about when the first baby hit 16! "Back talk me, Grog?!" WHACK! Stun guns are also useful but not all of us have them in the garage. Tucker
I helped my son fix up his first car, It was a 1959 Buick LeSabre. It was fast after you got it moving but to get it moving took 5 miles or so. He didn't wreck it or blow it up but he sure got tired of the gas milages and the no quick start and traded it for a little Ford escort. ARRRGH. That lasted about 4 monthes until I drug home a 1968 Dodge Coronet that he just had to have. That one he wrecked and has the false teeth to prove it. Those false teeth did more to teach him than my BFH could have ever done. Now he is a pretty fair driver. I just don't like to ride with him in Downtown Seattle. Gumpa
God I'm so afraid of that happening with one of my boys. My 10 year old wants a 68 or 69 camaro, and my 5 year old wants a 50 ford pickem-up truck. I hope that stays the same and they don't trade in their rods for ninny new cars. Cup holders aren't enough anymre, they're putting fuckin ice chests in them now, dvd players, mp3, gps, god damn everything to distract you from the enjoyment of simply driving. I hear the germans know where it's at, they love just driving. Americans have bastardized the driving experience and it all started with the cup holder. One of these days I wanna check out the german scene.
Something that worked pretty well in my family: Dad & Mom will pay for your insurance until you wreck your (my) car, or you get a ticket. If either of those happen- you're on your own. I helped my kid build his 1st car. Drove it for 6 years without incident. No troubles with wrecks or the law. Sure, insurance was expensive, but it worked out WAY cheaper in the long run. Just let him know that it's for real, then stand firm. If he screws up- he walks everywhere. He'll get it.
second verse same as the first thats how i got my shoebox cdan over a year ago and i still havent herd the last of it
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