The machinist and main driving force behind the aluminum head project, "Azcoupe", sadly passed away before a marketable version was completed. He was a frequent contributor here and he had a vast amount of knowledge which he shared freely. His footprint is all over this forum.
I'd like to think that I would be lucky enough to have one sitting on my block by now had things worked out differently.

 

I was driving the other day, about 75 and my rig let off a couple of backfires it sounded like, and i had a massive loss in power. pulled over, checked my fluids, seemed regular, went to get back on the freeway, and she died. changed my coil, checked my timing gears, havent replaced the carb yet. any suggestions?

 

Welcome to the forum, runsright93! Sorry to hear of your problems. My experience with sudden backfires followed by the engine shuting down is that it likely is based on an electrical issue. Remove one of the sparkplug wires from one of the sparkplugs and attach to a spare "good" sparkplug and ground the spare sparkplug against the block [use insulated pliers]. While someone cranks the engine, look for a good blue spark.

If your 1986 is still original, the ignition and carburetor are controlled by a computer. This system was referred to as the feedback system and for the 50 state models was in use from 1984 - 1986. There is a port by the battery which can be used to see what codes are stored in the computer. This is a good place to start your diagnosis. ctubutis gave me the following link: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...ry/OBD_I.shtml

 

Manfred no longer owns a 300...Manfred has found real power...that of a BIG BLOCK FORD BABY!! WOOO MURICA!

 

Problems I have encountered, close to 300,000 miles on my 1985 f150 the interstate( down hill) Truck just cut off , threw the distributor side ways saving engine (pin came out) , faulty problematic engine module (would heat up and cut truck off) I was always told ignition module goes out your stuck Wrong !!!!!, exhaust manifold leaks ,stinking computer codes with the feedback loop system , yes did I say computer , carb wore out 400000, rebuild no , new one, , problematic oil leaks (engine )just check it and fill and finally at 613000 the top chain pulley just stripped , machine shop and computer gone in 2013 ,still drives great . Sure I missed some small things , yearly I check fluids in axles , I have dropped xfer case and checked it but being a manual 4x4 4 speed , still a pleasure to own and drive !!TR

 

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Lol , My bad , timing chain sprocket , an hour ago I called the John Deere dealer to see if they had a pulley ( 72 inch mower ) in stock .TR

 

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Rotflol ok Gear , it shall get better this week I hope 👍🏿. TR

 

Saw this last week. Yeah I know it's 2 years old, but maybe they got the bugs worked out.

BangShift.com LS1 head on inline six

 

Worst was the PIP module in my 1986 F250. I bought the rig for 300 bucks with bad gas, horrible exhaust leaks, but a ton of new parts. The dizzy was bench tested. After fixing the leaks and replacing some sensors it ran perfect, for about ten minutes and then shutoff. After cooling off it would start right back up. Sounds like a Jeep 4.0L with a bad cam position sensor ( or maybe crank position sensor) right? Well there was no cam position in the 300-6 that I found. Except the PIP module is used as the cam position sensor. The dizzy was cold tested not hot tested lol. I had to relearn the saying about when you assume..... lol

 

As long as you keep up with routine maintenance, it'll last forever. The only problem I've had so far is the head gasket, but that's normal for an engine with 200k+ miles.

 

1. Trying to get to the #1 spark plug with A/C compressor right in the way

2. Waiting on Offy to keep up with demands to produce more parts for the 300

3. Chinese crap at parts store to keep these things going. Sucks!

 

I have a '72' F250 300 I6 with 160000+ miles on it. Have had to change the exhaust manifold 3 times due to loosened bolts which allowed the manifold to warp. It didn't leak till it warped. This last time, (last year) I replaced it with dual manifolds from a 1991 300 I6. They bolted right on, and I used the stock collector from the '91'. Also last year I had a worn distributor cam which I couldn't replace (distributor out of stock everywhere ) so I put replaced the points with a Pertronix Igniter which corrected the timing problem and improved the performance greatly. I've also had to rebuild the Carter YF regularly over the years, they are VERY sensitive to any wear.

 

these engines were clearly made with ease of maintenance and longevity in mind. they do have their own quirks about them that require so creative thinking. I'd argue that the shortage of aftermarket parts is an advantage of sorts. This forum wouldn't be the same if we could just bolt on stuff and go. Do things tend to get more expensive for go-fast parts? yes. Plenty of trips to the hardware store? you bet! i'll admit, I like it that way though. All the more reason to be proud of what you accomplished at the end of the weekend...and drive it around.
Back to the meat and potatoes...
I'd say stock cam gear (enough said,) cast piston skirt design (breaking off,) log manifolds (int and exh,) pushrod cover material/design, and the weird valve cover profile. I appreciate that its unique, and a BB6 signature, but its a PITA to fab a custom valve cover for it haha!