[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Mar-02 AT 11:34 AM (EST)]It bugs me to no end to see a beautifully restored 49 F-1 in a truck show with a 350 in it. :-X23 Why do people do this?????
If you want to build a shevalay, BUILD A DERN SHEVALAY!! I have no respect these people and their machines or (freaks) they build. I should not let it bother me but it seems to be getting worse. Just pick up the latest issue of truckin, nice F-1s with chromed out rats in them. I'm sorry but i can not see beauty in a Ford truck contaminated with that filth.


Ok take a deep breath and count to 10.

 

My personal opinion......I don't like to see it either. especially when there are plenty of great Ford power plants to choose from. I've heard some say they do it because those engines are a dime a dozen, or cheaper to rebuild, and easier to get parts for? I don't know how true any of this is.
I still do respect all other's projects however. Just because it's not my "cup of tea" doesn't mean it can't be theirs.

Discussions on installing "Brand X" engines are not supposed to take place on these forums.
This has been a very touchy subject here in the past. I think we need to respect the opinion of anyone who replies to this thread, and flame wars should be avoided at all costs or this thread will be locked.

 

Price, availability and parts costs are the key to the Chebby.

You just cant find similar for a Ford. Finding a 292/312 Y Block is like pulling teeth and then the goodies are 2-3 times a Chebby.
A 406/427 Ford is going to cost a 2nd mortgage just for a rebuilder. The 429/460 have very limited parts availability.

So what is left in something with low end torque? The 351W or a 400 if you can find one and the 352/390 FE. Personally I think the 352 is a nice reliable engine as compared to the 390 but with limited years of production they are disappearing rapidly.

What are your thoughts about the MEL engines? Fodder for discussion or verbotten?

I have a 396 and a built 454 in Chebbys so walk both sides of the street.

 

I am currently restoring a 50 F-1 and dropping in the all mighty 460 with 429 CJ heads. Sure it cost more to build but you don't sink 40+ Gs in a antique ford pickup and say " I think i'm going to put in a cheap ole 350". It boggles the mind on how some people think.

It makes me want to ask the guy "so you couldn't afford the Ford motor after spending 9 Grand on a paint job huh."

I know ford motors are too complicated for the average shevalay mechanic but thats why you stick to shevalays and don't build mixed breeds.

 

Just my opinion, and just for the record I put a 302/AOD in a 50 F1. I HATE headers-they always leak and I had to bash the collector to fit the drivers side Toyota steering box. The SB Chev rams horn manifolds would have been a much cleaner installation. There is no center-dump manifold that I could find for a SB Ford.

 

I hate Chevrolets. Period. They don't put any nickel in their tin, so after ten years in the Rust Belt, there isn't anything left but an engine and a set of frame rails. Due to generous use of plastic and cheap, junk Delco electrics, their interiors are ugly when new and hideous after a few miles. The engineering and design is unimaginative. Look at 73-87 and 88-98. Can you tell the difference without looking at the grille? The new ones are worse yet. They look like imports. But the worst is when some weak-kneed soul pulls the worn-out powerplant out of one of these scrap heaps and dumps it in a Ford. These guys haven't given me a reason yet that holds water. The only lame excuse that I haven't seen listed in this thread so far is that "Duh, well, Ford parts don't interchange." Yeah, right. Whatever you say, Bozo. You don't think that they interchange because you can't read an interchange manual. Take a peak under the hood of my truck. '68 302 short block, '70 351W heads, '90 F-150 EFI, and it's all bolted to a 4 speed I scrounged out of the bone yard hanging off the back of a 240 6 cyl. Go sing that song somewhere else. I don't CARE how nice a truck is at a car show. If it's got a Bowtie powerplant, I walk away. Not even worth looking at. I just bought my first ever Chevrolet last week. It's a '57 8-ton grain truck. Know what the first thing I'm going to do is? Scrap the smoky, no-lobes-left-on-my-typical-Chevrolet-camshaft small-block and give it a 351W. Revenge is sweet. I could have just bought a Ford, but why? Might as well haul junk with junk!

 

Anytime that I am at a car type event and a Ford shows up with a Che** motor in it, I am GONE. I won't give them the time of day. Fords in Fords and Junk in Che**s. I drive a Ford because I want to get where I'm going. Anyone who cannot build a Ford to run is not a Mechanic. I'm biased, but that is my choice.

 

Isnt this against the law?

 

I have to admit feeling a twinge of regret when seeing ANY valve covers on trucks older than 1954 - even those wearing a blue oval. I can understand that tho, given availability af good engines and youth's (even old youths) desire for more power.
But bellybutton motors in old Fords..........well, I was taught that if you can't say somethin' good, don't say nothin' at all.

 

I'm with Ken. It's A Ford board so lets keep it Ford.
But I'm like 286 Merc and walk both sides. I enjoy seeing whatever
a person has done to keep the old iron running. Our likes and
dislikes can clash at times. The ultimate no-no for some is
a chebbie eng in a ford but other changes are ok such as chebbie
rearends,chebbie ignitions on the old flatties, Toyota steering
boxes, etc,etc. You'll say this is comparing apples and oranges but the p-51 Mustang fighter plane was a dog until someone who didn't
care about looks or emblems had an idea and dropped a British
Rolls-Royce Merlin engine in it. Then it became a falcon.

 

>Why do people do this?????
I think it's the herd mentality. Ever since the first tape measure was put up to a SBC it's been the knee-jerk reaction swap. Once upon a time everybody did all their own work. Times change, the whole aftermarket industry has standardized on a 'modular' approach, and everything is farmed out due to time constraints. Being a hot-rodder at heart I have no prejudices. But in the bigger picture I think we all need to concentrate on helping each other out, as opposed to knit-picking. Everyday legislators and councilmen enact laws speeding up the natural process of old iron going to the crusher. So, take a second look at that engine in your '57 Chev 8-ton grain truck. In the rare event that it's the original 322, there's probably some rabid nailhead fan out there that would part with money to have it. Find it a new home and you will both be happier for it.
Adios,
Brett

 

As the owner of a '51 F-1 with one of those bow ties in it I would like to give a perspective on the subject. I bought my truck as a started project. I bought it because it had a solid and complete body. Yeah, somebody before me put the bow tie & powerglide in it. Since they work, I'm going to concentrate on the rest of the truck. Last part of my project will be to purify it's power-maker. In the meantime, scoff at my hybrid if you want, but with four of six kids still at home and a wife that stays at home and home-schools, my monetary resources are limited.

 

It's mentallity, the parts are cheap and a dime a dozen, because the vehicles last about six minutes, and any MORON can make a Chevy go fast. But it takes true skill and perseverence to get the finest piece of Michigan Blue Oval iron to blow the doors off a Detroit scrap heap.

 

People do it because it is far easier and cheaper. This is a fact that can not be refuted. Before anyone flames me, my 53 F100 was purchased with a 305/TH350 combo which I immediately pulled. There are days I regret it. My 302 did not have any accessory brackets or pulleys when I bought it. 6 months later I am still trying to put a combo together that works and doesn't look bad. I have scoured the junkyards but the 80s setups look awful. Fords habit of re-engineering the external accessories every 18 months is causing me great grief. OK, I suppose it will be worth it in the end. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Dewayne
http://www.clubfte.com/users/fatfenders/index.html