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LIke a lot of things we find online, it's not quite accurate. I just checked the carburated 300 six outside my shop. It measures 33" from bellhousing mating face to the front of the water pump pulley bolts. 34" or so to the front of the fan. Just about equal to the measurement of a 226 flathead six. The biggest challenge would be new motor mounts as they sit back farther than those on the front-mounted flathead.
I ran a 300 six for 175,000 in a 77 F100 I bought new. Economy was always 14-17 mpg but again, you're pushing a brick thru the air. I got as high as 22 mpg once with a strong tail wind.
Most of the driving I did in our F-250 with the 300 six was in town and it got near the bottom of your estimate on mileage. It was an automatic also.
It was a decent driving truck. Had the gas mileage been better, we probably would have kept it longer.
If my truck would have had an original drivetrain, I would have been doing an original restoration instead of a restomod.
Since I did not have an original engine to work with, that was not an option. I cannot see where I could buy an original engine and have it built to new condition for less than what my Coyote cost. You certainly cannot get new, comparably equipped, crate engines for much less.
When I compared engine prices, I picked a fairly modern crate engine vs what I could get out of a wreck.
I see folks quoting prices that are extremely low. Either they did all the work themselves, including some machining, or they got an awesome deal on quality parts. The other option is they did their build several years ago when prices were not as crazy.
302 crate engines are pushing $4000 from known quality builders, and go up from there.
I like to give folks who are trying to do a build a realistic assessment of what they are up against. It is real easy to blow a budget.
Is that a Ranger V8 conversion project that was never finished? If you can get that cheap, and the engine is good, that might be a good deal. You can make it a carb'd engine by changing the intake and adding a carb, and swapping the computer distributor with an older style stand alone type. If it has a roller cam, you'll need a steel gear on the dizzy. The best way to fix that is to use a distributor from an 85 Mustang HO 5.0 5 speed application. It's the first use of a factory roller cam, and the last year of carburetors. It's a Duraspark II type set up for electronic ignition. That dizzy with an Edelbrock performer and 600 carb would work great.
Either trans would be fine. The C4 has way better packaging as it's much smaller than a C6. It also has less parasidic horsepower loss. You're fortunate that you have an F3 as it has a larger trans crossmember and the larger C6 trans should fit better. In an F1, the trans crossmember has a small opening that will fit the C4 fine, but needs to be modified heavily to fit the C6.
it is a never finished conversion from what I can tell but haven't contacted the person yet, it's been online for a while and he only wants $1500. What's a dizzy?
Is that a Ranger V8 conversion project that was never finished? If you can get that cheap, and the engine is good, that might be a good deal. You can make it a carb'd engine by changing the intake and adding a carb, and swapping the computer distributor with an older style stand alone type. If it has a roller cam, you'll need a steel gear on the dizzy. The best way to fix that is to use a distributor from an 85 Mustang HO 5.0 5 speed application. It's the first use of a factory roller cam, and the last year of carburetors. It's a Duraspark II type set up for electronic ignition. That dizzy with an Edelbrock performer and 600 carb would work great.
Either trans would be fine. The C4 has way better packaging as it's much smaller than a C6. It also has less parasidic horsepower loss. You're fortunate that you have an F3 as it has a larger trans crossmember and the larger C6 trans should fit better. In an F1, the trans crossmember has a small opening that will fit the C4 fine, but needs to be modified heavily to fit the C6.
Digging thru the archives of my memory: Ford made a baby C6 that bolted to 302? or 289 with a 5 bolt bell housing? Details are sketchy, it's been years but maybe some searching will bring some light....
That's interesting info, Tim. I wonder if this is one of those things where the tape measure doesn't tell the whole story. I will admit I have no direct experience putting a 300 into a 48-52 truck, just read the handful of accounts on this forum over the years from guys that did it and/or attempt to make the swap and gave up. A couple things I do know; to make a 302 fit into the engine compartment without hassle, the radiator and support needs to be moved forward from the V8 position the 3" that Ford setup on the chassis to use the 226/215 6 cylinder engine. There's not a lot more room to go farther forward without surgery and you're getting close to the hood latch. If the 300 is longer than the 302, that means one needs to make still more room forward, backward into the firewall, or both. Whether or not the people here that have done the deed did it the best way possible, I have no idea. Everybody's build is going to be different as it's all custom, as-built work.
The 300 measurements found in the link I provided above was a factory Ford document, so those are Ford's measurements.
We're saying the same thing. Fords dimension of 28.56 is to the front of the block. That link referred to a measurement to the front of the water pump pulley behind the fan which is where I got 33"
Bottom line - I think the 300 would fit in a 48-52 if the radiator is moved to the forward 6 cyl position.
Is that a Ranger V8 conversion project that was never finished? If you can get that cheap, and the engine is good, that might be a good deal. You can make it a carb'd engine by changing the intake and adding a carb, and swapping the computer distributor with an older style stand alone type. If it has a roller cam, you'll need a steel gear on the dizzy. The best way to fix that is to use a distributor from an 85 Mustang HO 5.0 5 speed application. It's the first use of a factory roller cam, and the last year of carburetors. It's a Duraspark II type set up for electronic ignition. That dizzy with an Edelbrock performer and 600 carb would work great.
Either trans would be fine. The C4 has way better packaging as it's much smaller than a C6. It also has less parasidic horsepower loss. You're fortunate that you have an F3 as it has a larger trans crossmember and the larger C6 trans should fit better. In an F1, the trans crossmember has a small opening that will fit the C4 fine, but needs to be modified heavily to fit the C6.
so far what I know about about the engine is it came out of a 1988 mustang and apparently only has 88,000km on it, any specific questions I should ask or what i should look for? Is there anything other than distributor, intake and carb I would need to carb that engine? Is there any electronics going to the transmission?
Last edited by Donpettipas; Nov 29, 2023 at 04:36 PM.
...just to clarify, my engine rebuild cost $2,300 in 2017. Not included was getting the engine in and out of the truck. I also did some of the (non-technical) engine assembly and disassembly. Reboring from the stock 215 cid to the more common 223 cid saved money on new pistons and rings.
...just to clarify, my engine rebuild cost $2,300 in 2017. Not included was getting the engine in and out of the truck. I also did some of the (non-technical) engine assembly and disassembly. Reboring from the stock 215 cid to the more common 223 cid saved money on new pistons and rings.
Jim
I would be happy to bring it back to original but I don't think I'm going to find a good 289 flathead i can afford anytime soon although I have found 2 different trucks with seized ones.
I don't have any personal experience tracking down 70 year old plus replacement engines, but some people do. It seems like I remember a guy posting here that found a whole stash of old flathead motors. If memory serves, he posted a picture of a trailer piled high with old engines he was taking home. I think old stock engines are out there. I broke a glass bowl for my stock Holley 1904 carburetor. I went to our local junkyard, and much to my surprise, found 3 replacements. That was about 6 years ago. In my area, I know of at least three junkyards that still have rows and rows of old vehicles slowly rotting away.
Good Luck. Keep your options open. The "hunt" is all part of the fun.
...just to clarify, my engine rebuild cost $2,300 in 2017. Not included was getting the engine in and out of the truck. I also did some of the (non-technical) engine assembly and disassembly. Reboring from the stock 215 cid to the more common 223 cid saved money on new pistons and rings.
Jim
That was a decent price for the rebuild.
Using the CPI calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that would be $2914 in today’s dollars. Add the price of an engine that can be rebuilt and you will probably add at least $500 to that. Add rebuilding accessories such as a generator or alternator etc. and you will be pushing $4000 if nothing goes wrong.
Since the OP does not have an engine then his most logical choice is to find a more modern engine at a reasonable price.
The frames on these early F-1 and F-100 trucks are not strong enough for a Coyote engine or a high output modern engine without some reinforcement. That is just something to consider when doing a build.
If someone is going to change the engine and they are doing a frame off restoration, these modifications are not that hard. Doing them without stripping the truck down to the frame is not easy.
