Found an unusual powder blue factory paint '93 FORD E-150 Club Wagon today. Was owned by UF. Straight Six w/power window & high cap AC packages, otherwise Plain Jane vinyl seats/floor/steel whl. Has remarkably straight rust free body & 97,000 miles. Although roof edge needs attention from 20 years of FL exposure. If it had a sliding side door I might have wanted to buy it, except for the $3950 price.

Recently called about a '96 XLT Club Wagon 300/6 that "needed a timing belt" but it didn't sound interesting enough to go see.

Still haven't landed an '04-'07 loaded Club Wagon, w/sliding door, or even a '97-'03. So reviving my enthusiasm for FORD Straight Six. Driven FI 300/6 plenty of miles, but never owned one, or gotten a good bead on MPG.

By most accounts the V6 MPG was a disappointment. Rumored at best only 1-2 MPG better & in some well loaded situations actually less MPG than the 4.6L V8!

How does the '92-'97 300 Straight Six w/Auto OD compare w/the similarly equipped 302 in cruising at 70-75 carrying modest load?

 

I researched vans earlier this year before finding the Chateau we have now. I'm drawn to smaller engines but anecdotal evidence and the Ford/EPA ratings (e.g., Gas Mileage of 1994 Ford Econoline) suggest 4.9 highway fuel economy isn't anything to write home about. In fact it seems the benefit is realized puttering around town. I fuel economy is more dependent on the diff than the engine for anything besides running at or above GVW. The decision point for us was - will we benefit more from ease of maintenance or an available burst of power? I don't know why power won when I spend more time under the hood than on the pedal

Sixto
'93 E150 Chateau 5.8 185K miles

 

I would take a straight-six over a 302 any day, purely from the engine's perspective, now in 2012/2013. That's simply due to the fact the inline sixes tend to be the most stable platform.

But of course, condition would play the deciding factor here. Yet, for comparable service, staight-six should be in better condition that the V-8, and MPG should benefit too. Again, if everything else is equal, which it isn't.

In our theoretical discussion (all things equal), I would expect the 4.9 to return a 1-2 mpg better on highway than the 5.0

I would be more concerned about the E4ODs at their tails. If not rebuilt, the early 90s should be on their last legs now.