Rebuild an inline-6 instead of a V8?!
 

I just watched a show about building up an inline-6 for a project instead of a V8. I'm looking to get a late 60s to late 70s 2wd short bed. I've always preferred V8s for power, sound, etc. Does anyone have any thoughts about going with the inline-6 for something unique? If so, what C.I. is best to work with? I'm no expert on any engines, but I really don't know much about what Ford offers for the inline-6.

Go with the 300 C.I. -straight six ford, although it depends on what you really want to use the truck for.

Work? play? all out race truck?

Considering you're on the straight six forum, you'll most likely be getting a biased opinion. :rolleyes:

There are quite a few options for the later year trucks, but probably the most common engine is the 300 I6 due to it's size, reputation, availability, ease of service, and aftermarket.

I know I enjoy mine because it is unique. Of course, it'll never have the sound of a V8, but it sounds great and often turns heads simply because it doesn't sound like a V8. Everyone has a V8. Everyone and their brother has a V8. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but they're a dime a dozen in a truck. Whenever I bring my Bronco to a mechanic, I usually come back to find all of them huddled around the engine bay just to check it out because they want to see something new.

Seconly, with a couple mods and some work, they can be made to put out some pretty nice numbers. A 4bbl, intake, and a nice exhaust makes my 300 perform pretty nice, and I get way better gas mileage than most V8s do.

But, as said, it's all in what you want to do with the truck. Have fun!

I agree the 300 six is the best engine Ford ever built. There are ones that have more horsepower, and ones that have more torque, but if you want good torque, good horsepower, and longevity, the 300 six is the way to go. I just bought a 66 shorty F100 with a 240. It hasn't ran since the late 90's and I got it running in 2 hours. It may not last long, but I will just replace it with a 300. The 240 is a direct swap for a 300. I have even toyed with building my own combo of the 2. Use the crank and rods from a 240, and the pistons from a 300. It would make a 329, and a torque monster.

On the subject of mileage I have spoken to people who claim they get up to 20 mpg from 240s and 300s.

It took me 6 months to find mine. Decide the things you will not sacrifice, and wait for your truck to pop up. I found mine within 3 miles of my home.

hey i like the sounds of this, is this discussed in more detail anywhere? i want to rebuil my 300 one day and id like to beef it up without going insane and keeping it more stock looking, know what i mean? lol, let me know if there is a thread or soemthing about doing a combination 240/300 build


anyway i am one of the many guys who believes the 300 is the best ford motor out there and i believe as far as gasser its probably THE best motor anywhere...they are easy to maintain, will see more miles than anything else if properly maintined from the start, they are tough as nails and can take one hell of a beating, ive heard many stories of these engines running without oil in them and not dieing, and despite what some say aftermarket is there and is getting better and these engines can be built to do anything you want them too just takes ca$h...ive seent these thing built for racing and they blow away similar sized v8 engines due to the low end grunt

6 IN A ROW MAKES ER GO!:-dancing1

I just wanted to chime in and show you what is possible with some photos. The black 300 with dual intake is from WWW.Cliffordperformance.com, and puts out about 320 hp.

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/bobby/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]<a href="http://s659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/?action=view&current=clifford2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/clifford2.jpg" border="0" alt="320 hp"></a>

<a href="http://s659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/?action=view&current=clifford1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/clifford1.jpg" border="0" alt="nice"></a>

And of course I couldn't resist posting my project photo.

<a href="http://s659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/?action=view&current=P1010174.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/P1010174.jpg" border="0" alt="last details getting sorted out"></a>

<a href="http://s659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/?action=view&current=hotFord300.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu316/bobbyrogue/hotFord300.jpg" border="0" alt="smoking"></a>

The sky is the limit. I just finished reading about two brothers in Arizona who have a Falcon with a inline 6 that turns 10s in the quarter.

There is also a cross flow head being made in Australia that is supposed to be stunning with performance and mpg. Some guys bore the 300s out .050 over, and install 390 forged pistons. You can also install larger valves, like I did in mine, and have your U head ported & polished, and the list goes on. It is all relative to the depth of your pockets and your goal.

If you google ford 300 cam, it will link you to youtube, of an early 70's pu with all the work done, large valves and all. It sounds pretty mean.

Thanks all for the info- when I do find the truck I want, I will seriously consider a 300. Especially after seeing the pictures! I want a truck just for cruising around. A short bed 2wd with a mild drop is my goal.

the 300 is a great motor and a great place to start. You will be setting yourself up for disappointment, however, if you think youll be able to keep it mostly stock and have a real barnstormer on your hands. if you want 250-300 flywheel hp, itll take a decent sized wad of cash to get you there. theyre not the most bang for your buck motors in the world, but thats not to say they dont respond very well to mods. Quite the contrary, because the stock top end is so restrictive, they respond very well to mods. The money issue comes from the lack of aftermarket support, which makes what aftermarket parts that are available very desirable and therefor valuable.

I dont mean to sound condescending though. Theres always a bigger fish in the sea, and at some point youve gotta just pick one and roll with it. I would recommend test driving a few different motor/transmission combos, if at all possible. the V8s are not popular because the general public is blind or stupid. Their success has been earned. What many modded 300s put out, many V8s put out stock and have huge potential to tap into later.

Being kind of new, i would highly recommend you increase your knowledge on all things 300/351/460/350/302/etc and make your decision from there. Building something unique is very fun, but can be a headache if you dont know what youre getting yourself into. Plan ahead.

Excellently said.

I would say: The first ~100hp of mods is quite easy. Stock, the 300 puts out about 120 for a carb motor. A performance exhaust, 4bbl intake, head port and polish, and a cam can easily put you around 200 or so. ((A stock 351H.O. comes with 200hp for comparison)).
From there, that's when it starts to get expensive.

For me though, 200hp is plenty, offers a nice, drivable, potent and fun I6 that no one else has. That, and as said, better gas mileage.

However, as 5.0Torx said, it will take some work, and if gas mileage and uniqueness aren't your concern, a V8 is an easier route.

Plenty of help on this site if it's what you want to do though!

I agree, AB. The first 100 hp on most engines is usually fairly easy because most engines are restricted from the factory. the 300 is no different.


I disagree. I dont believe that there is such a thing as a one and only quantifiable, undeniable, mathematically BEST engine. Everything is application dependant. All engines have pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses. I wont, but i could easily point out many of the 300s weaknesses. Just dont get the new guy thinking that the 300 is infallible. He needs to read unbiassed, factual information on the 300 and whatever other engines he's considering to make the choice for himself.

yes all do have strengths and weaknesses, but i said IN MY OPINION it is the best motor out there, simple easy to work on, very tough engine (7 main bearings vs. 5 in the v8s) easy to make gains on (really restricted from factory) they make their torque at half the RPMs and they are different, i know of a few built 300s that SMOKE v8s in racing so it goes to show that it can and has been done

the big rigs that to upwards of 100000 lbs have inline 6 engines for a reason, most of them are in the 550 hp range, but at the hp the engine puts out 1850 lbs-ft. of torque

this is a silly argument, but you asked for it. Best for your application? sure. You like it? absolutely.

There are plenty "simple, easy to work on" V8s. I can have the headers off of my 5.0 in like 30 minutes. Try that with your intake and smog crap all in your way.

There are also plenty of tough V8s. At least on this one you provided some factual info like 7 main bearings vs 5, but it doesnt help that the rotating assembly is heavy and not as strong as many V8s'. The Chevy LS7 has a 4.125 inch bore and a 4 inch stroke and puts out 470 lb-ft of torque and repeatedly ran to 8000 rpm in its prototype phase. Stock the redline is 7k. Jeremy Clarkson took a Z06 from a standstill to 170 mph using fifth gear and fifth gear only. Low end torque, anyone? There are plenty of guys that would bust a nut if their twin turbo, worked over 300 put out even 370 lb-ft, let alone 470. There would be non-stop smack talk on V8s. And Chevys got it all beat. STOCK. Now go ahead and throw the old vs. new argument at me if you wish, Im just using this as a point of referance. Dont even get me started on the 5.4 4v fords. Oh, mod motors, by the way, are completely internally balanced, and do not need an inbalanced flywheel like the 5.0s or 5.8s. Sound familiar?

make their torque at half the rpms? Translation: most V8s can hold their torque twice as long as the 300. Getting the load moving is great. Keeping it moving is better.

different i will give you. Its one of the reasons i like the 300. I find myself wondering if you all think im some ******* coming in here and raining on your parade, so i'd like to remind you that i do own one...

300s "SMOKING" V8s....lets see...some guy you know pumped a bunch of money into a 300 and beat a few V8s, therefor 300s are "better" than any V8. Ever. Right...lets pass the entire design and history of V8s off as inferior because someone with your favorite engine beat some dude with a V8 in a dragrace. the logic here is astounding. Dude, there are civics running 6's. You can build any motor to do anything you want, if youre stubborn enough to pump the money into it to make it do things its not designed to do.

All i want you to do is realize that theres always a bigger fish. We could go til we're blue in the face and not come to any sort of agreement. You like 300s because you like 300s. Its as simple as that, and im not here to try and talk you out of that. Just dont tell me that your #1 piston is actually jesus' left nut.

You know I find this to be a very passionate subject, but I find it interesting that there is an obvious V8 fan hanging out with a bunch of 6 hole fans. To his credit he is correct, that any amount of money can make almost any engine beat any other, but I would also note that most of those engines will die soon after.

When people here say that the Big 6's (240-300) engines are the best all around engine I think what we are trying to say is you can make them power houses, or economical, and they both still have decent torque, horsepower, and will last a long time. Most V8's don't have that range. They can be made into power houses, but economy is an issue even with the smallest of V8's.

The economy/power is why I have a I6. I can get all the power I need, and still be able to get more mileage than any V8 can claim.

This is why I like mine as well. I'm not looking to get my front tires to lift off the ground. I'm just looking for a good amount of power to get my truck moving and do the things I want. I'm closing in on the hp/tq numbers of my brother's Bronco with a 351, but while he's doing everything he can to get his gas mileage to tip over 11, I'm frustrated because my 4bbl conversion's dropped me down to 16.

With that in mind, he, of course, could just build his motor up and leave me in the dust, but I'm not interested in huge numbers. Just nice ones. :-partybud

all very nice points, guys. and again, not trying to bust anyones chops, just trying to remain factual. Dont get me wrong, everytime i fire up my 300 im going to do something that i cant do in my mustang, and it is therefor saving me multiple trips/tearing up my interior/whatever, which i boil down to saving me money. The truck has also paid for itself in the time ive owned it just through saving on insurance.

300 for work. 302 for the dd and playtime.