I am looking at tring something new with my time. I have a 1960 F100 short bed pickup that is all original. the engine needs a rebuild it has a smoking problem which i assume is from worn rings. My question is do you knowledgable fella's think it would be wise to put a new engine in it or should i rebuild it to keep it all original. The truck is in good condition. I personally would like to keep it original but i have never worked on an engine before and have not been able to sell the truck so i bought a service manual for the truck and rebuilding the motor looks like a project that i could tackle and do. Any help or idea's would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Chris

 

Is the motor original? In a real restoration, it is better and worth more if all the date,casting numbers match. In a driver, numbers are not so important and cost, reliability and up-grading for driveability on todays roads is more important. And what engine do you have? Tear into it and find out how worn out it is...and what you actually have.

 

The motor is a inline 6 223 and i believe it is the original motor. How do i determine if it is the original motor that was in the truck.

 

anyone have any suggestions

 

Definately rebuild it. It's a great economy motor than runs for a long time. The rebuild will be easy and straightforward, especially if it is your first build. It's perfect to cut your teeth on.

Have fun.

 

Chris, a little more info would be helpful. How many miles on the engine? Has it had the bejeebers driven out of it, or has it sat for a long time? Does it smoke constantly (use lots of oil/loss of power) or does it blow a little oil past the rings @ start-up and then taper of on the smoke? Has it always been on the road, or did it sit for a few years? Its POSSIBLE that the head could just need some work.

 

Chris, imho, a vehicle that age that is still in original, unmolested shape should be kept stock, or close to it. I'd rebuild the stock motor, maybe alittle period hop up, but it'd be a shame to swap drive trains on something so original.

 

fiddysixf it has been driven alot and has a lot of miles i am not really sure how many because when i recieved it the odometer no longer worked. Thanks guys for all your suggestions now i just need to get it in the garage so that i can start looking at what i need to do to it.

 

Here is some quick and dirty instructions:

Get a shop manual, they are readily available on Ebay. It goes through the rebuild process. There may be other books also, I am not real familiar with this engine.

Start taking it apart and put the bolts and other small parts in zip lock bags that you have clearly labeled with a sharpy, this is really important for re-assembly. Take it down to the block and take the block, crank shaft and the head into a machine shop for inspection. They can tell you if the motor can be bored out, .020", .040" or .060" and tell if the crank shaft can be machined also.

The block needs to be inspected first so you know the block can be bored out and is not egg shaped beyond repair. I would be really surprised if the block is not salvageable. If the block is no good, you are back to square one (very low probability IMHO). They also check for cracks in the crank, block and head.

Assuming everything passes inspection, they can bore out the block and machine the crank. The head will need to be rebuilt, new valves and seats. I would put harden seats in the exhaust so you can burn unleaded with no worries. They can also inspect it to see if it needs planed. All of this machine work will cost about $500-1000. The machine shop can usually help you with getting the oversized pistons and bearings for the crank as well as other parts. Have them put new freeze plugs in.

You will need a complete gasket set and a good torque wrench. I would buy a new "street" camshaft, new oil pump, valve lifters and a modern carburetor. Use a good assembly lubricant and make sure you follow the instructions in the shop manual to "plasti-gauge" the parts during assembly.

I would also install a new water pump and a 1 wire alternator.

I would guess that the total cost will be between $1800 and $2500.

Good Luck

 

walston thanks for the information that is what i need some info on where to start. Thanks to everyone for all their input i greatly appreciate it and will hope to hear some more ideas from all you fella's.

thanks again

 

I'd do a leakdown test before pulling the engine apart. That motor will smoke if the valve stem seals have gotten hard and are no longer sealing (very likely given the age). A set of Perfect Circle valve seals are a lot cheaper than a rebuild (don't put a stock set back on they weren't very good to begin with) Another issue with all the 6's of the 50s-80s were the return oil passages were small and would sludge up easily holding oil under the valve covers. Pull the valve cover, if there is a thick layer of sludge buildup, go ahead and pull the engine out and rebuild it. Have the head and block boiled clean put in new bearings, rings, have the valves ground and new PC seals put in while the shop has the head. Make sure you keep the lifters in the same order they came out if you aren't going to replace the cam. Never mix the lifters once they have been run, or use used lifters with a new cam or vice versa, replace both as a set. Replace the timing chain and gears, and the oil pump. That engine is easy to work on, and a good one for a first rebuild. Buy yourself an engine stand and a good torque wrench for reassembly.

 

tring to upload some pictures of the truck in the current condition in a gallery

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...?albumid=25929

 

That is a great looking 60!

 

Just putting my .02 worth in here, as I'm in the middle of restoring my '53 with a 215-6 (basically the same as your 223). I have benefited greatly from relatives/friends with good expertise and have learned a lot. This is a nice little engine, keep it. Do it nice and it'll stand out in a world of cookie cutter V-8's. Parts are a little hard to find, but they're around. Egge's at www.egge.com seems to be the best for the "meat and potato" parts. Cams are nearly impossible to find, you're probably better off getting yours reground if it needs it. Highly recommend Elgin Cams at elgincams.com. Overall, follow the manual and tear it down. Then, get a very trustworthy machine shop to check the clearances/etc and get you set up with what you need. With mine, we've raised the compression up to 9:1, and bored it up to fit 223 pistons. New oil pump, pistons, rings, bearings, etc., is running me around $1500 with parts/labor. Let me know if you need more details, I am really pleased with what I've learned with mine.

 

thanks for everyone's input and advice.

Chris