Well she finally said ok, 12 years of practically begging. Tonight I am picking up the 240 that will need a new life breathed into it. Next month I am picking up the "65" econoline truck and will start working magic on it. I say magic because that is what it is going to take to get this truck up to my standard. I will be back here on many times over the next several months. Asking very basic questions, for example does the motor have to be pulled from under the trcuk?

 

You go Bob..
I`m just poking around the site, I was on the 73-79 truck threads,
My first car was a 62 falcon I bought from the county in `78.
I haven`t seen an Econoline truck in years, they are quite the classic, take your time and bring her back to life Bob, and post some pics, would love to see her..

 

I have never been the one to take my time in the passed, but I have never wanted something this bad either. Believe me when I say this, I will post before and how ever many months after pictures just as soon as I get started. Thanks for the reply.......

 

Bob: I just put a rebuilt 240 in my '61 Econoline. Took the old engine out and put the new one in through the passenger side door. It's a squeeze, but I got it in.

 

I was hoping for something like this, i would assume the door was off during this little task. How did you left the motor out and with what?

 

What tranny did this truck have on it? would a 2.02 tranny give me the highway speed and bring rpm down any at all. What I am looking for is turning around 2700 at 65 mph. Is that possible with a manual tranny or is this more of a differintal gear issue.

 

okay bob heres the scoop. only tranny that will help with highway speed is an overdrive. all the others have a final drive, high gear, of 1x1. rear end gears are where you get your highway speed. if you will post or send me the info from the data plate on your truck i will get it decoded for you.
the motor will have to go in from the top, easiest way to do it. does the truck already have a 240 in it?
check my gallery for a few pics of the ones i have.

 

sorry forgot about the motor lift. it is easier to put the motor in and out with the door off, but the doors can be a bear to line up sometimes. you will have to remove the seat on the passenger side. it is easier to remove both seats and the whole doghouse when pulling or installing the motor. i have even went as far as pulling the steering wheel, just to get a little extra room. cherry picker is the only way to go on the install.

 

Bob: I didn't take the door off..just held it out of the way. I opted for a C4 transmission and installed a Lokar floor shifter.

 

Bob, The usual setup causes the older I-6s to run at higher rpms just to build power. In a full size pickup, one with a big block the rear gearing would be like 3.00 or 3.25, and the 6 would have 3.75 or 4.11. The 6 has to have the rpms to to keep it going.

Have you thought about using a newer efi small v8 or v6 with automatic overdrive? If you can get the engine, tranny, & computer together, you could have a setup that could make more power, with better mpg.

I can promise you that well thought planning is cheaper than rushing along with regret.

If I was starting a new project, I would do many things differently this time.

Another thing, plan on 2 to 5 years to finish the project. There are darn few projects completed in 6 months, but a lot planned for.

John

 

John, I understand the efi 6 is absolutly the way togo. At this time have very limited funds. The motor I am getting I am swaping for a set of 72 swing arms with rotors for a 64 ford truck. Momma has agreed to this deal after a lot of begging, I mean a lot. Iam trying to get the motor ready and find the right tranny and gear ratio to keep the rpm's down, and not sacraficing to much power.

 

I have a '67 Falcon van with a C4 tranny and I put a 270 Mustang rear end gear in place of the stock 350 to get comfortable cruising speed of 65 MPH.

 

Leroy what RMP do you turn at 65? Tire size? The reason I ask is I would love to go automatic on the tranny. This truck would be in alot of traffic and I might save a knee without the clutch.

 

I have no idea what RPM because I don't have a tach, but it's not pushing it, if I had to guess I'd say no higher than 3000 RPM. I have P-205's on it, I think that's the biggest tire that will fit.

 

Thanks leroy any and all info really help me out. If there were two things you know now on the van you could have changed going it to what would they be.