78 Custom 150 engine compatibility?
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78 Custom 150 engine compatibility?
i'm getting a 78 custom 150 for free off of this guy and i was just wondering how hard of a swap it would be to put in my 3.0l v6 from an 89 aerostar that i have laying around... we have a junkyard in my area that is dirt cheap and filled with all sorts of trucks/vans, so if it mostly requires junkyard parts for the swap, then that's no problem.. i mostly just want to know if anyone has ever done it before and if not, then how hard it would be theoretically
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Moved to engine swap forum.
-But I have to ask why in the world would you want to swap in some itty bitty motor that probably would just barely move the truck? These trucks are heavy and as aerodynamic as a brick, -even a 302V8 has trouble moving one...
-But I have to ask why in the world would you want to swap in some itty bitty motor that probably would just barely move the truck? These trucks are heavy and as aerodynamic as a brick, -even a 302V8 has trouble moving one...
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the truck has a 300ci straight 6 in it right now, from what i was reading about stock power output from it, it sounds like an efi v6 would be an upgrade... and i have the rest of the van that the v6 came out of, including wiring harnesses, ecu, and an m50d manual tranny
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btw... my biggest intentions lie in gas mileage.. i mostly want the truck as a rolling toolbox with the capability of using the full size bed incase i needed to haul something big but not heavy from the hardware store or something.. i was thinking that if i could fit this v6 in without spending a huge amount of money, then hit the thing with a coat of red tractor paint, i'd have a cheap truck with a full size bed that wasnt burning my wallet for gas
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Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Seneca, SC
you're not going to get good mileage out of that truck. The v6 is gonna have trouble moving the thing, as it is heavier then it's current application, and it's a lot less aerodynamic. Put a sizeable load in there and forget it. The big six that you have in there currently is one of the most underrated motors of all time. Load that truck to the gills, put her in first, and see what the thing can do. It hits 80 oercent of its torque by 2k rpm. That's 224 ft. lbs. of break the load loose power. Plus the thing just won't die. These engines are good for at least 250k miles, mines got 329k and that's not uncommon. Properly set up with a single barrell carb you can get 16-18, for a 70's truck that's pretty good. I'm not sure you can get better with that v6 and still have any guts left in the truck.
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From: In a small Canadian town
Fuel millage won't improve AT ALL. That dinky little engine would need more power to turn the whells on a heavy old truck like that. An inline six would serve you much better. If you want fuel milage consider a 4bta cummins diesel (3.8)
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what about efi conversion for the inline 6? any other motors have parts that are even close to being compatible, or would i have to buy a kit that's worth more than the truck to do something like that?
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Seneca, SC
yeah if it's the 300 then you've got a wealth of efi stuff to go with. This will get you a couple mpg over carb, maybe two or three. It's a throttle body injection system. The 300 was run all the way up to 1996, so find one in a truck from the 92-96 era and you're set. You'd do better to just transplant the motor then swap all it's gear over. The best way to get better mileage with that truck is going to be to swap out the rear end gears for something like 2.73's or something of the like. This won't end up with much power, but you will get slightly better fuel economy. It's hard to squeeze gas mileage out of these trucks. even modern full size trucks just plain old don't get good mileage, I think the best I've seen is around 19-20.
