Daily Driver Motor
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Daily Driver Motor
So long story short, my motor for my 76 F250 is at the shop and I was advised that the 390 that I have wouldn't be a great motor for a daily driver.
My mechanic was telling me he recommends that I find a donor vehicle with EFI and swap that into my truck. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the idea, I love the simplicity and all the room I have in the engine bay with my 390.
But what do ya'll think?
The truck will be my DD and occasionally do some towing.
My mechanic was telling me he recommends that I find a donor vehicle with EFI and swap that into my truck. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the idea, I love the simplicity and all the room I have in the engine bay with my 390.
But what do ya'll think?
The truck will be my DD and occasionally do some towing.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 858
Likes: 118
From: Buffalo NY
The 390 is a good ,strong, reliable engine. Ford used them for 15 years in all kinds of vehicles,from station wagons to trucks to Hi-Performance cars.(The 68 Mustang GT that Steve McQueen drove in "Bullitt" had a 390 in it.) Plenty of torque for towing. I would stick with it.
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
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From: Waterloo, Iowa
Sharpen your pencil and do some figurin'. What condition is the current motor in? If compression is acceptable, bounce that against what would an engine swap cost? Ask yourself Is the mechanic's advice based upon familiarity (or lack thereof) with the FE? Do what you want, not what somebody thinks you should want here.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 878
Likes: 3
From: british columbia, canada
Your mechanic thinks you should find a efi vehicle and swap that in. That's tooo funny. I guess he believes he will be getting the job to do the swap. Stick with the 390 and put a new carb on it and as long as its not worn out it should run fine as a DD.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 2,600
Likes: 64
From: Billings, MT
How much gas mileage U gonna save with a different engine? The engine you have now is free. If you spend thousands on an engine swap figure out how long it will take to make your money back in gas savings.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2009
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From: NorCal
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Apr 2012
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From: Apollo Beach Florida
This is excellent advice!
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New User
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Sharpen your pencil and do some figurin'. What condition is the current motor in? If compression is acceptable, bounce that against what would an engine swap cost? Ask yourself Is the mechanic's advice based upon familiarity (or lack thereof) with the FE? Do what you want, not what somebody thinks you should want here.
He's not familiar with FE motors but I think his opinion might be influenced by the guys at the machine shop. I could be wrong about that though.
The do what you want idea is great but for arguments sake, lets say he's right and the motor just isn't cut out to be a daily driver. Then even if I want to keep the motor, the obvious choice is to swap the motor.
And I'll be spending thousands either way...
Lol
According to my step dad he's the best Ford mechanic he knows and I trust him and my step dad.
Edit: So I shouldn't have any worries about the truck bein my DD? Even if I drive it a few hours, if not more, one way?
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 1,276
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From: KY
If you want to repair the 390 it is a fine motor,,I would only swap if I had to ,If change motor keep in mind to use your transmission you would still need a big block to fit tranny, now if you have a small block tranny then you could put in a 302 or 351 sb and have plenty of power an better gas milage,,swapping in an EFI system requires more work an money an electric fuel pump an computer an whatever it requires to convert
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
Or, WTF is he talking about? Did Ford advertise the FE as something only "meant" to be driven at low speed on Sundays in the summer? Now it is true that older V8 designs need overhaul sooner, after 100,000 miles say. To tell you the truth the trucks were "meant" to have the **** beat out of 'em every day, and that's what usually happened. That they are still around today is pretty good evidence of their design.
There are a number of people - not huge numbers, still they are out there - are using older cars as daily drivers, all the way back to the Model T, older Flatheads, 1940s cars w/ 6 volt generators and points and condensers, the whole nine yards. Vintage station wagons are pretty hot right now if you can believe that. They were all back to the T designed to be daily family drivers, and they were, because they didn't have anything else.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,343
Likes: 12
From: Wichita Falls TX
Nothing against your mechanic, but there is no good reason not to rebuild your 390 FE. I don't know where your are in Pennsylvania, but a quick scan of the Philly craigslist ads shows lots of FE parts, heads etc. If your mechanic doesn't like working on FE's, find one that does.
David
David
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,553
Likes: 10
An couple of observations and a couple of questions... just for fun!
Dent's were built as DD's and can certainly take it. Fuel consumption is not the best... in part because of powertrains (engine/transmission) and in part because of aerodynamics.
Now the questions...
What is the issue with your current engine?
Why is the mechanic recommending engine change?
If you want to drive daily a priority (I think) is in getting all systems in good shape for reliability. This is probably easier with the original engine vs transplant.
Dent's were built as DD's and can certainly take it. Fuel consumption is not the best... in part because of powertrains (engine/transmission) and in part because of aerodynamics.
Now the questions...
What is the issue with your current engine?
Why is the mechanic recommending engine change?
If you want to drive daily a priority (I think) is in getting all systems in good shape for reliability. This is probably easier with the original engine vs transplant.
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 2,595
Likes: 5
From: Pasadena, Ca
I wouldnt drive it as a daily driver, no, especially a couple hours. The gas mileage is not these truck's best feature. Now, if your trusted mechanic is saying that you shouldn't, it probably means that he sees the years and mileage on your truck. 2 hours away from home, the water pump goes out, a costly tow. 2 weeks later, wheel bearing, etc. You can always rebuild it for $3-$4k, then redo the drive train for a couple more $k, might as well just do a frame off restoration though, right? Ask how many guys here have there truck's parked out back o' the barn in pieces, and for how long.
My recommendation is get you a daily driver and drive this when you want. The gas savings alone, in a year of driving a couple hours per day, will buy you a small used Ranger that you can fix or throw away as you want.
Or, buy a Ferrari for a DD, that seems to fit on the option list somewhere...
My recommendation is get you a daily driver and drive this when you want. The gas savings alone, in a year of driving a couple hours per day, will buy you a small used Ranger that you can fix or throw away as you want.
Or, buy a Ferrari for a DD, that seems to fit on the option list somewhere...