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i have searced hi and lo for reasonable hop up parts for my 223. no one seems to know where to get them. i mean clifford has some neat stuff, but yikes! i can go to the junk yard, buy a long block (302) and rebuild it for the price of what just headers, intake and carb will cost me from them.
on top of that i was given a running 289 out of a friends Mustang, so now i can build that up. i was not going to do this kind of stuff to my truck, but it does not get down the highway like i expected it to...i'm comparing the 223 to the 250 Chevy p/u i had, and frankly the 250 would spank this dude.
i also have a rebuilt C6 that could live in there. i have gleaned from other posts that a C6 would require the removal of the crossmember that currently holds the bell housing. i am NOT a big fan of that. would the same thing have to be done to install a C4?
You would have to use a C4 behind a 289 to put it in the truck. The C6 wasn't used behind a 289. Why not look for a 292-312 Y block motor for your truck. It would be technically correct in there. You wouldn't have to hack up anything.
If speed is your main reason for hopping up the 223 then, as you have found, there are cheaper and probably better alternatives. The 223 was designed for farm work. Plans for my next project include a hopped up 223 but I'll be building it up to be unique. It certainly won't win any drag races.
i'm really not. i just would expect the truck to "work" as well as the 225 Dodge did and the 250 Chevy Truck i had. to be honest, i just want a truck that can get out of its own way so to speak...and since my 223 appears to be recently rebuilt (at least the head if not the whole shootin' match) i thought the expedient way to do that would be a "bolt on" hop up of the engine, but egads!!! i thought my mopar hot rods were expensive to build, but i have NEVER paid that much for an intake.
anyway, the truck is still my daily driver and will continue to serve that duty in its current state and after i do whatever i end up doing to it. i posted earlier that unless the truck is utilitarian it is not useful to me. well, at this point the truck is getting me from a-b. and i guess i shouldn't complain, but i feel like i am holding up traffic sometimes.
My 223 is an everyday driver too....all winter long and i was impress with it.
After some tuning and tweeking (points carb plugs etc) it takes me down the road trouble free and mostly at highway speeds. I am thinking that if it had one more gear it would handle the highway better. For bottom grunt it pulls the 17 foot fiberglass boat around town and up the ram okay.
A hopped up 223 would be cool, but dollar for dollar not efficient.
my 223 has a NEW carb on it, all tune up parts are relatively new (4 mos) and going down the road the truck hums along ok. but in traffic i have to hold it in 1st a looooong time to keep up and if i shift early the old girl just falls flat.
maybe i am expecting too much or the gearing is not favaorable. the 54 i had sure pulled harder than this one, but it had a 4spd. difference?
Cheque e-Bay for what you want.
Offenhauser & Fenton both make the parts you wish to have for your engine.
I should know, I own some, found them on e-Bay & for about 1/3 the normal cost.
It really looks as if your Ratio is not right.
My '58 M-100 Original Stock 223 I-6 w/ 95,876 original miles on it tore up the Hwy & your Fav's Dodge 225, Chevy 250.
Even after being my Uncle's Ranch truck for 40 years.
Red '58 Mercury M-100 w/ 223 I-6 & Merc-O-Matic
Last edited by Col Flashman; May 5, 2004 at 03:06 AM.