I hate rice grinders and most of the people who drive them and put on there 18 inch. rims w/ 2 inchs of tire, accent lights with there $200 performance exhaust (me and my brother stuck an old radiator hose behind the glass pack on my old 4 cyl. ranger and it sounds the same, free to), now seeing an old caddy pimped out is something, but a eclipse? No thank you. Anyway I'd love a 69 Charger or 67 Couger, but these cars, even rusted out, are way to pricey, so I'll have to keep my F-150 for a while longer. On another note, what's with all the darn valves now a-days, half these cars got 3 times as many valves as cylinders, can't they just make the valves they have bigger? I never opened up any of these engines, but that has to be quite the cam.

Redneck-Cowboy

 

Let's bash Ricers! Really, those guys get on my nerves too, and not because I hate the cars. The Acura Integra i used to own was a great car all around, mileage, performance and dependability, so I have nothing against them. I don't even have a problem with people spending ridiculous amounts of money to make them really fast. I just hate the posers with the big wings and loud mufflers on an otherwise stock car, acting like it means something.
I guess it boils down to: I have no RESPECT for that. And speaking of old, low tech, don't forget they had straight eights too. A friend in high school (20 yrs ago) had a 51 pontiac with one that he drove to school every day - all original! BTW, been thinking about something like this http://www.nitrostreet.com/current.html
for my '85 Sunbird to keep those riceboys guessing (after I build both of my trucks' engines of course).

 

When you have a small bore diameter you can stick two large valves in there. More smaller valves have the effect of larger singles. There is a little more to it then that, like velocity through the smaller ports for each smaller valve and the ability to produce a broader power curve with different tuning through the different ports. Think how a 4 bbl carb works, you run normally on the primaries then when needed for more power at higher rpm the secondaries open up. Especially if you have my favorite carb..the Q-jet with its small very efficent primaries and mondo secondaries.
BTW 200000+F150, what intake are you using on that 351 Quadrajet combo? Did you just use an adaptor to mate the carb?
Jeff

 

I would buy any thing with a I6 in it without worry in a second.

Use to have a 72 Pontiac Tempest with the I6 (was it a 289?) in it that I bought for $300 and that engine ran forever.

Now my F150 with I6 is at 170k and going strong.

What is it about the I6 engines that makes them so long lasting?

 

I6 and 60 degree V12's are naturally balanced. That means there are no wieghted flywheels or harmonic balancer spacers needed. This helps them live along time.

 

Another thing about the 300 and 240, while all the v8's had 5 mains, these six cylinder engines had 7 mains! This must somewhat reduce any torsional stress on the crank and bottom end.

Hopefully this chevy will continue the 300's legacy! Too bad the famous ford six is gone from the pickups.

I did notice how the new trucks could probably accomidate a straight six of old, but it just wouldn't make sense.

I'm not a fan of the 4.2L at all, but think about it, if they put a 4.9L six in the pickups, and still offer a 4.6L v-8....

If ford developed a better head, fuel delivery, and valve train on the 300, they could pump out a lot more hp to satisfy the consumers, even more low end torque that we've grown to love, and better fuel efficiency! That would be awesome, but i really doubt it'll ever happen.

I guess the best thing about the 300 was that it was the baseline engine.

I was thinking about how the old engines lasted so long, but the bodies seemed to fall apart. The new trucks have really nice frames, suspension and body components, but it seems like the engines are lacking. That's what the Power stroke is for! Too bad they don't offer a small diesel in the F-150

 

When they make trucks now a days they only test them up to a 100,000 miles and if they break after that, Ford, Chevy, and Dodge expect you to buy a new one. The 300 would last to long and kill Fords new truck sales, but leave them w/ a good name, but that's their choice. After you buy a new truck and drive it for a weeek you've lost about 4000 bucks of the resale vaule because of a 100 miles.

Redneck-Cowboy

 

You are right on those points, Redneck Cowboy. However, the reason engines are not lasting beyond 100,000 miles is actually simple. They run too hot stock. I have proved this over and over.

I used to own a 1985 GMC S-15, 2.8 V-6, 5 speed. Very famous engine for blown head gaskets at about 60,000 miles. Very weak for towing or heavy use. Use it one time loaded = blown head gasket.

Knowing this- I checked engine compression before i bought the truck- it was still factory stock and good so i went to work: put in a radiator that was much larger- from a 4.3 V-6. 160 stat. The truck ran, from then on, about 175 degrees. Also flex a lite electric fan, K & N air filter.

I bought the truck cheap with 50,000 miles- sold it at 130,000 miles and checked the compression- STILL FACTORY STOCK!! I am convinced that truck would of run much farther- i sold it for other reasons- mostly quality control, such as it leaked water into the cab when it rained.

So- newer vehicles WILL last far longer then 100,000 miles- esp inline engines- which are tougher then V-type. They just need a little "modifying" when you buy them. j.d.

 

Nothing lasts like an inline. One thing is that the big six doesn't turn that many RPMs either. Heat IS a big concern on late models, but they do that for emissions reasons. I'd love to see the 300 come back with a few revisions. If Ford used the same shortblock assembly but designed a new head/intake/exhaust assembly for emissions/performance/mileage then it would be around another 30 years. (and we'd have a supply of cool parts for our older ones too!)
BTW, FuelieGalaxy, the Q-Jet is on an adaptor plate. I don't realy like using them much, but I don't think there is any such thing as a spreadbore 351 intake. It works MUCH better than the Holley, although the trans kickdown was a pain and still gives me an occasional fit, but it'll do till I can go EFI.

 

I think Ford made the fronts longer on the new F150 so that a V10 will fit (some performance trucks coming down the pike that I will never be able to afford).

Ford basically threw away 30+ years of engineering when they dropped all the push rod V8s for the Triton engine line. I don't think they gained a thing. The 4.6 is basicly a higher reving 302 with a little more hp and less torque, the 5.4 vs a 351 is hardly comparable, a 5.4 in a SD is a waste of time and money, a 351 in a SD is a nice set up. Neither gets any better mileage and both had their problems starting out. The 5.4 when worked stills blows head gaskets. The V10 might be a better engine then a 460 but you would never get it in a half ton and it costs a pile of money.

 

Pretty much any engine will last a long time if well cared for.
I used to work for a trucking/messenger company in the Chicago area. We had one driver with a mid '80's S-10 or S-15 with the 2.8 V6. He replaced the trans twice (forgot which one but it was an automatic), the rear end bearings once and finally retired the truck when the motoer started failing. He hit 520,000+ miles at that point. That was all put on within 6-7 years. We averaged 70-80k per year, some times hitting over 120k.