Hello

If I could only find a cheap Lincoln Continental that is 96' or newer would be great. The DOHC 4.6 has good power and the car weighs nearly as much as a 1965 ford. The fuel economy would be around 14L/100kms. But finding a car like that would be quite difficult and the price is im guessing would be pretty high. What do you guys think that would cost for a car like that? I'm thinking around 3000$ and finding a wrecker with one in it would be nearly impossible. But a good ol' 352 still sounds good. What do you think?

 

Ok..I have to throw my 2 cents worth in. I have been into these old Fords for over 20 years now and currently run an original 292 with large valve heads, Sanderson headers, original 4barrel intake with a 500cfm Edelbrock and petronix electronic ignition. Damn strong with the 3.89 gears. And if I stay out of the secondarys, under 3000 rpms...and no head wind.....I can manage 14 mpg. I agree tho...a 302 with an AOD makes a nice street truck.....keep the gears you have tho! Another option is to build that little six into a powerhouse by adding an Offy or Clifford intake and running a 390cfm or smaller 4barrel and dual outlet header with electronic ignition. You can make that inline six a pretty snappy motor and get some pretty good fuel economy. Makes those V-8 guess scratch there heads when you pull away from them! Just something else to consider.

 

Something to consider. FE engines are cheap, and you can get 10 to 12 mpg out of one. put one behind a manual for the best economy and you get it all done for not much money. 302s and 351s are not nearly as cheap, and they don't have nearly the tire spinning torque that the FE blocks do. They will get better milage, but they cost more. so lets do some math.

390, 12 mpg. $2 per gallon of gass, and 40 miles to school each week day for a year ((40 X 5) X 52) %12)x $2 = $1,733 in gas

Now figure a 302 at 15 mpg, same thing,((40 X 5) X 52) %15)x $2 and you spend $1,387.

a savings of 346 bucks. thats it. that ain't much over the corse of a year.

now start comparing the cost of putting the engines in. If the 302, its transmission, and the fabrication of the new mounts costs more than $346, then you loose all advantage of better milage

 

Try 22+ mpg for a 65 F100 with a slightly built 302 with an AOD and 3.50 gears. It did even better when I had the 3.70 gears and T5 in it. I'm sure my horsepower is close if not better then a stock 390 also. I've been able to beat nearly any stock truck made, excluding the Lightning and SRT10 of course. Many cars have fallen to the old 65 besides. Some AOD's have better gear ratio's then others. Mine is from a 90 Towncar, but the T-Bird Super Coupe AOD is stronger, and has a little better ratio. Having a lower first gear makes up for the loss of torque compared to what a 390 puts out, as does having lower rear gears. I've owned 390's before, so I can make a fair comparison. My engine mounts came from a 71 F100 that came stock with a 302, and my driveshaft came from a salvage yard. I had to go through a bunch to find the correct length and u-joint type. The conversion cost me about $50 with brand new u-joints. Well worth the cost. I've done several of these swaps, and it's very easy.

 

Hello

Well I went ahead and bought a nice little 302. It is a 1976 302 with the good heads. Anyways my dad said he will split me the cost of Performer RPM Pro-Flo® EFI System. It's very expensive but looks like an sweet thing to do. Here take a look http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/index.html. I think will go with the mildest cam edelbrock has to offer. Take a look here top of the graph. http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/index.html. Is this cam good and how mild would you rate it from a 1-10 scale? Will my heads need screw in studs and guide plates for this cam? I do not want to stick screw in studs and guide plates because of the work involved. I'm planning to stick larger valves in the intake which are 1.90" inches. Now about the larger valves I need to keep the idle decent because I want something for a semi-daily driver. So if I put in a milder cam with larger valves I will get the same performance just better reliability and idle right? I want around 300 hp and need to keep the comp. ratio below 9.0:1 because I will be running 87 octane fuel. So I will put in a nice set of hypernuetic pistion that are dished. My heads are the early 58cc style. Thank you and sorry for the long post. I just realized the links don't work sorry could you please look anyways. P.S if you were me and in my situation what kind of cam would you purchase and maker. I don't know what to look for in a camshaft any advise aprreciated.

 

When I drove my 1965 cc, sb 352 stroked to 371 preformer intake, edelbrock carb. automatic, 3.54 gears ,driving from , Burmingham, Ala. - to Manassas,Va. up I-85 to I-95 I got 15-17 MPG .

Don

 

The 302, or 351 windsor would make great choices. For more torque, and the ability to raise the compression ratios, I would rebuild the engines using the longest possible rods you can fit in them. This doesn't mean to stroke the engine for more dispacement, but by going to a longer rod you increase the engines physical dwell time allowing for a more complete fuel burn. I,ve had a couple of mid 70's ford trucks with 302s that were capable of 20mpg on the HWy without using an overdrive.