I recently acquired a 73 F250 w/360,C6. I bought this to be a project truck for my son and I. It has been so long since I last attempted anything close to this, so I have forgotten everything I used to know.

I have a handful of questions, and I hope one of you out there would share with me your thoughts.

First, I intend for this truck to be my daily driver, and never really pulling or hauling anything. No off-roading, or any other activity looking for shiny, sparkly, fast, or power. I want to have some power in reserve, but am more interested in just having a conservative running truck.

That being said, the 360 I have currently has an Edlebrock intake and 4bbl carb (not sure of the model). A mechanic friend has said he thinks the accelerator pump is shot. I have thought that one day, I would rebuild this as a 390, but not sure if that would lead me towards better mpg or not. I also don't know what others are running for carbs in an application such as mine. I think I would like to stick with a 4bbl, but I could be talked out of that pretty easy.

The recommendations I am looking for are:
1. What carb should I run? I have used Holleys in the past, and have Edlebrock now. I want to to right-size the carb to have the best balance between mpg and power.

2. Transmission - I know that the C6 is a solid tranny, but how does that do for mpg? Is there a conversion that I should consider in the future to bring a better balance?

I would love to hear what all of you have to say. Thanks!

Richard

 

1. Why not rebuild your Edelbrock? A rebuild kit is cheap and carbs are fairly simple once you understand how they work.

2. You could swap in a trans with overdrive from a newer truck if you plan on alot of highway driving.

You'll never get great gas mileage out of your truck. If your worried about fuel economy, you bought the wrong truck. That being said, they're great trucks and make excellent daily drivers. How many miles? Got any pics?

 

i think eddys r a good carb for a dd had better power with a holly . dont know of any stock overdrive auto tranny with the FE bellhousing though . u could find a 351w with an aod or u could put steeper gears in the rear is it a 2wd or 4x4 390/360 both r good if built right neather one will perform with 7.5 - 8 to one comp.

 

The only pics I have so far are located here.

I have thought about rebuilding the existing carb. I just don't know much about the Edlebrocks, so I was more or less just trying to decide if this is what I wanted to stick with.

As for the tranny, I have toyed with the idea of a conversion to a manual. I have heard of people doing that, but have no experience with it myself. For a number of reasons, I like the manual better, but don't know if this is the right application for one or not.

I am not worried about economy. I knew what I was getting into. But at the same time, I don't need a powerhouse sucking 6mpg when I can easily get 8 or 10 by making a couple of "minor" changes.

It is a 2wd, and sorting out what gears are there and what my future options are is definitely something I am planning on for the near future.

 

Looks like it's in good shape.