I subcribe to Classic Trucks magazine and hope to have my own Effie one day. The last issue I got had two great looking '56's, one with a fairly stock 351 W and the other had a Chevy 305 but with the Ford "Y" decal on the valve covers. Maybe this is a subjuct not worth discussing, but whether it be a stock or crate motor installed, a Ford motor in a Ford truck just seems right. Many times the builders put chevy small and big blocks in their Fords but never have I seen them put a Ford motor in a chevy. Maybe it's the pocket book, maybe it's the availibility of motors and parts, but if it's a performance thing, no one can convince me that I can get more performance from a 4 bolt main 350 short-block versus a 351 Cleveland 4V. Any comments?

 

i am not a ford or chevy man. i just like cool hot rods, and right now i happenend to be building a 53 ford. i have a 350 in my truck,why,price is the main reason. i got the motor free. machine work and rebuild kit was alot cheaper than a ford motor. the truck is nowhere near original so a chevy motor was my way. i dont think chevy motors are better than fords i really dont care, i'm a firefighter and get what i can afford. didnt mean to offend anyone.

 

fords should be kept as fords no matter what!!!!!!
if you're gonna do it do it right
dr jag

 

i agree 100%....i get that magazine too, and to me, there is nothing more appalling than seein a pickup, such as a 53-4-5-6 ford, all decked out and turned into a real cool hot rod, then readin the specs and seein that it has a 350 in it..... one step worse is when the one that redid the pickup is too embarrassed to admit its a chevy motor and puts "ford racing" or "ford motorsports" valve covers on it....one that i saw that really made me shake my head was a 350 with "power by ford" valve covers on it...

in my mind, if ur redoing a ford, make it a ford....u can make the exception of puttin a volare front end under it, because so many people do, but ford makes many totally reliable, dependable, even high performance-if thats what your heart desires- engines, and therefore i believe a ford should be a "purebred" ford, or a chevy a "purebred" chevy

just my opinion....

 

It does seem a little wrong to most people to put Chevy engines in non-Chevy vehicles. It's not like Ford engines are incredibly difficult to come by. I have 2 AMC's which ceased to exist 20 years ago and an old International which got out of the light truck biz 25 years ago and I never would consider putting another brand engine in any of these. These engines are still easily obtainable. That's my opinion anyways. Not that I haven't seen some nice Effies that were Chevy powered, but In a perfect world they'd all be Ford powered. But hey to each his own, right?

Ron

 

I am a Ford guy and I agree, a Ford should stay a Ford, a Chevy a Chevy. I own/drive a Chevy stock car. THE reason I run a chevy at the track is economics. If a guy has to choose between chevy power or no power, go with the chevy. Enjoying the truck is main object isn't it?

 

I would rather keep a Ford in a Ford and a Chevy in a Chevy, but sometimes practicality prevails. My 55 Ford F100 has a 69 LT1 Chevy 350 in it. If I had my choice it would have a 5.0 Ford in it, but I am not willing to spend the extra cash to make that happen. I also have AMC's (65 Rambler Marlin) and Internationals (69 Aristocrat 800 and 64 80 Scout's) and I find I enjoy just having some good old vehicles.

 

There was a time when I thought one should burn in hell for eternity for stuffing a Chebby motor in an Effie. I've softened my stance since though. Eternity seems a little too long.

Just kidding. While I don't care for it at all, it's a bit hypocritical unless you stay all Ford on the entire vehicle. Real tough to build a rod without some crossover. Many aftermarket parts are built on GM standards, from wiring harness to steering columns.

I don't buy the Chevy motor is a lot cheaper than a Ford to build. Not when you are talking smallblocks anyway. A little cheaper perhaps but not much. Difference between a 350 engine kit and a 302 is minimal. Machine work should be identically priced. If you got a free Chevy motor or live overseas, I can understand why it would be awful tempting to mouse it.

 

Gracie has a 400 CSB, and you won't see any other emblems or ? on the engine. It has that engine in it because that's what was in it when I bought it, and because it backed with the T56 6 speed transmission is ideal for our intended use, a tow vehicle for our enclosed race car trailer with either our Celica or Miata inside.
The Chevy smallblock is the engine of choice in many engine swaps because it very available in a number of sizes since it's been basically the same configuration starting in 1955, it's both compact and light weight and has a rear oilpan sump in most cases aleviating the clearance issues a front sump presents. The engine has had a wealth of hop up engineering, and responds well to almost any/all mod that's made to it. Inexpensive performance parts are available at any chevy dealer's parts counter or by shopping junkyards and swapmeets.

A true hotrodder uses the best parts that are available to him that do the job regardless of brand.

 

Ford in a Ford is the only way I would ever do it. If it an`t Ford it an`t to me. Nothing spoils a nice older Ford then a non Ford engine that belongs in something else. Many years ago there was a some what limited choice for rodding and some seem to be living in the past. If you want a quick, cheap and fast power plant it is hard to beat a stock 5.0 like in my 88 Cobra. Not hard to turn up the heat with a few speed parts.

 

Living in the Northern Tier of the United States I have found that a Chevy engine in a Ford Pickup is the way to go.
Place one in the rear of the bed, tie it down and it will increase your winter traction greatly. A side benifit is that I get enjoyment from watching it slowly rust away.

 

A friend off mine works in a machine shop rebuilding motors. Mostly SB 350s. Hes a Ford guy though. And he is working on a truck for 2wd truck pulling. An 80s model Ford. Rebulding an old 302. Does that tell you something. Hes not putting a Chevy in there and he knows them inside and out. Geez if your putting a Chevy in there it might as well be a Chevy. A Ford motor in a Ford truck thats the way it should be. North off me in Ford Country that would never happen. They might think you are on something if you said that. What would the Chevy guys say if you were going to put a Ford in there Chevy. You might not want to here that. Same way here.

 

Each to their own. That's what hot rodding is about, building and customizing a vehicle to suit your individual vision, taste and desires. If the most important thing to me was that all the parts came from the same manufacturer (an oxymoron in these days of global production and multi-brand ownership) I would have simply gone to the dealer of that brand and bought a new truck. YMMV
Peace!

150, I'd suspect the competition rules just might have some influence on your guy's engine choice.

 

AX is right about one thing, to each his own. I removed the SB Chevy my truck came with because it bothered me a lot. He can do what he wants with his truck too.

FTE is a "Blue Oval Love-fest" site. Not streetrod.com. And I like it that way. FTE posting guidelines protect us here from non-Ford engine discussion, and that's all we need. I know for sure we've run a few guys out of here in the past with threads like these. Bringing up the subject just invites discussion of what is already against the "RULES". We do this at least annually, and no good ever comes from it. Sorry I let myself get sucked into yet another thread on the subject.

I'm done now and Outta here.

 

It doesn't take all that much to "sucker" our Iowegian pal into a discussion. Trouble is, he is usually right. Rules is rules. Although I find absolutely nothing useful in brand loyalty, I abide by the rules. lawfully, himmelberg