This seemed like the best place for this topic since it is not necessarily wagon only and is does touch on technical aspects (at least I hope it will). I dearly love my Colony Park with the 302W but I have always had a thing for inlines. Given that I am pretty sure there is not a Dusenberg Straight Eight in my future and that I am a big blue oval fan I thought it would be fun to muse on the various straight six possibilities from Dearborn. So lets try to get enough Ford inline fans here to have a go at an interesting and useful thread. If we fail I will slink away quietly. As near as I can tell there are four basic families from which to chose not counting the non-US models. 1) Flat heads. One of these would be excedingly cool to own but given the age of the cars involved I am guessing that a collector of these needs to be well heeled. The quoted power and torque numbers that I have seen are (surprisingly) not far off of those claimed for the later Falcon sixes. I would guess these must be pretty durable engines given the simplicity. 2) Mileage Maker. These are interesting engines but apparently had oil delivery issues that could make them less reliable. As far as I can tell they were all four main bearing as well. 3) Thrift power. These are the famous Falcon engines used also in other models throughout the sixties and seventies. Later versions were seven main bearing designs and should be extremely reliable. Most had integral intakes but I think that possibly the 250 might have had separate units. There are performance parts available now days so it would be possible to have some fun with them. 4) Big Six. Perhaps the ultimate Ford sixes the 240 and 300 used largely in trucks but also in some mid sixties full size cars as well. It seems like these have the most power and torque potential and probably are the toughest as they used (IIRC) timing gears rather than chains or (God forbid) belts. Physical dimensions can be a problem though in many cars. So how about the cars? I suppose the Holy Grail might be the 1966 Galaxie 240 I6. Beautiful styling but with taller hood than the early sixties models which I think would be required for the installation of these big sixes. The prices on these seem to be pretty dear though. So maybe one should consider their mid size contemporary the Fairlane. I have seen pretty reasonable prices on the 1965s. Not as attractive as the 1966 I suppose but it still has a certain charm. Interestingly the 1966 looks like it has a higher hood line (might a big six be fitted after the fact???) but apparently it was not significantly heavier than the 1965. Weights I have seen quoted for both are right around 3,000#. Not bad for a mid size. After 1967 they seem to get a bit heavier and have what appears to be a lower (though wider) hood line making a switch to a big six seem more questionable. That said I could probably be convinced to try a 1972 Torino. The Falcons and Rancheros are quite nice but prices on those seem to reflect a good deal of collector interest. Still if one could find one in their price range they would make very nice rides I think. Of course the 200ci was ubiquitous in the Fox bodies like the Fairmont and Zephyr but a lot of those have been converted to V-8 by hot rodders. From what I can tell conversion to a big six would be a major project on these. Never the less if you can find one for decent coin I think it would be worth having one. There are always the after market heads and other induction mods that can be brought to bear. Finally there are some less well known options such as the first generation Granada (and the badge engineered Monarch of the same era) from the mid 1970s. The Lincoln Versailles was essentially the same car but I don't think it was offered with the six. IIRC these as well as the Maverick/Comet were available with both the 200 and the 250. Might be some advantage there if you can find a 250. One real advantage to the budget minded is that these cars are not much loved and that might make for kinder gentler prices. To my eye it looks like the hood line on the Granada is higher than on the later Fairmont and might make a big six conversion more feasible. Mustangs? Nice but spendy. Maybe the Fox bodied Stangs and Capris might be in the more reasonable price range. So would love to hear from other six lovers and see pics of your Ford inlines. mike
You'd have to get more info on your Colony Park, first. The engine mount crossmember probably wasn't designed for an I6, and I doubt any company made adapters for it, for your year and model. I'm sure you get a pair made up. Next is the tranny crossmember. Not a big issue, really, except that whatever I6 you get in there will need a different transmission, and your crossmember will need to be modified. If your I6 'Upgrade' will include a turbo or header setup, the tranny crossmember may need modifications. That said, the 200 and 250 I6 both had 7 Main Bearings. One of the issues I'm discovering is that the standard transmissions, especially the T5, are only capable of handling up to 310 lbs of torque. In your big wagon, that could be an issue. If you stay with a C6 automatic or an AOD, you'd likely do fine. So that would mean a 240 or 300. The truck transmissions (Standards) were tougher. I'd guess that the Mercury C6s from the I6 days (up to 1983-ish for cars, maybe 1985-isd for pickups), would be pretty tough too. The guys that really know all the ins and outs are on the FordSix.com site for those big sixes. Inline Sixes are strong, and they can dish it out. But getting 500 HP out of one can make a huge dent in your wallet(s). But the torque will save you money at the chiropractor. Classic Inlines and Clifford Performance probably have the best range of Ford I6 performance parts. Classic Inlines' owner is always pushing the tech envelope for the I6s, and does a professional job getting new tech made, like the Aluminum Australian Cylinder head, and manifolds. http://www.classicinlines.com/ http://www.cliffordperformance.net/index.html http://www.cliffordperformance.net/...?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=CP&Category_Code=F300 http://fordsix.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=57&sid=df367bd82069f80ad7b12d3604399951 I can't recall when Ford/Mercury stopped putting I6s into their full-sized cars. Maybe the mid 1960s? So if you go down I6 Adventure Road, I'd leave your Colony Park out of it, and look for a more vintage model to keep one wallet closed.
Oh, I intend to leave the CP stock. I am just thinking along the lines of what second and third cars to look for if I ever get lucky enough to be able to indulge. mike
Panther wagons weighed in anywhere from 3800 to 4400 depending on the year and trim. Probably a bit much for a 200 or 250, but a 240 or 300 would work well if it fits under the beltline. I just don't see it as an easy proposition. But if you'll remember, the Fairmonts and Granadas and Thunderbirds and Mustangs in the Fox body platform were available with Lima fours, 200cid sixes, and 255/302 V8's. So you would think if the 302 and 200 were both available in the Fairmont, then the motor mounts and such that fit those could be adapted for use in the Panther which was available with the 302 for sure. I would very much like to build something efficient and strong that no one expects. The Spanish Inquisition of station wagons, if you will. A lightweight car would be a must, and it would need an overdrive transmission and a fuel injected engine. The 1968-1969 Fairlanes and Torinos would be a great base and they came with the 200cid six in 1968 at least. That 1968 Fairlane wagon weighed 3373 pounds with the six and C4 automatic. Take that wagon, swap in an AOD automatic, install a divorced header and dual exhaust, take off the intake manifold and plumb in six injector bungs, wire up a MegaSquirt harness and control box, block off the mechanical fuel pump, run a vapor return line and charcoal canister, and swap out the fuel sending unit in the tank for an electric fuel pump. Voila, you have a fuel injected, overdrive geared, six passenger wagon that looks sweet but still gets mid 20s or better for mileage. That's enough to beat most compact and all midsize SUV's (except maybe that boring lifeless vanilla Lexus RX hybrid). If the single barrel carbureted non lockup non overdrive stock wagon could get high teens and low 20s when new on skinny wavy bias ply tires and grooved Eisenhower Interstate System pavement, anything will help.
Here's a fellow that's taking a serious shot a putting a turbocharged 300 in a fox-body: http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56067 That being said, as a wagon owner I wouldn't mind seeing that engine in a Torino wagon.
The 65 and 66 Fairlanes should come in about 1000lbs lighter than the Panther and even the 1st generation Granada should be about 500-600lbs lighter. If it will fit I think the 300 should do fine with either of those platforms. mike
Mike, this site has most of the original brochures for most car brands: http://www.lov2xlr8.no/index.html The US brand brochures are here: http://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html And his collection of car club links is nice too: http://www.lov2xlr8.no/links.html If you check the brochures, say from 1975, going toward the 1960s, you should nail down when the last full-sized Ford/Mercury came with a SIX. I just did that with Fords and found a 1970 page showing the base engines across the models: http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/70wagon/bilder/9.jpg The 1969 Ford had the 240 I6: http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/69fw/bilder/7.jpg According to this, the 300 will fit where a 240 CID does (bottom of the page): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Straight-6_engine Nice thing about the I6, is you only have to tussle with new Headers on one side, and lots of room for twin turbos on the other!
Well I just found another one for ya! https://www.youtube.com/user/AutoRestoMod/videos?shelf_id=1&view=0&sort=dd And their main site: http://www.autorestomod.com/ The videos cover all kinds of topics, including T5 tranny rebuilds, dashpads, heatproofing the interior, wiring harnesses, and on and on!
So I have my truck at the scrap yard last week. you KNOW the scales are correct. My 86 F-150 weighed in at just under 4000 lbs. It has a L6 300 in it. I do have the 4 speed NP435. That said, the 1 BBL carb on top of the 300 isn't breaking any land speed records, but it will HAUL anything. I had overloaded the bed with wood and the engine did not even realize the weight difference. I have seen the 300 with 1987 and up EFI exhaust manifolds to true dual exhaust. Topped with an Offenhauser 4 bbl intake. You would have no trouble getting CLOSE to 300 hp. 250-275, no sweat. But the TQ would be impressive. Like I said, I have revved mine to 4K, but there is really no reason to. The engine make peak HP and TQ at like 3000 RPMS. So dual exhaust, 4 bbl intake and a great camshaft and you'll have a nice revving torque BEAST!!! Plus, on the truck forum, guys are reporting 400,000 miles on some L6 300's properly taken care of. Parts list. Im sure you can find them cheaper... Long Block http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-9-L-Longb...iter_Display:4.9L&hash=item4d0370a43b&vxp=mtr Intake http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ofy-6019dp My Choice for Carb http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hly-0-83570/overview/ EFI Exhaust Front http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dorman-674-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item51aac7a6a4&vxp=mtr Rear http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dorman-674-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item51aac7a660&vxp=mtr Camshaft http://iskycams.com/timingchart.php?product_number=CL-331256 This would already be done on my truck if I did not have to go through emissions...
Almost hit a snag over the flywheel for a 200 CID six. I found a 1980 Fairmont 200 I6 4-speed trans about 600 miles west of here, complete with shifter and bellhousing. Yeah, its SROD that the V8 and I4 owners run down. Only I know how to keep them in good shape, after I rebuild mine. The flywheels are hard to find. To swap it in on my C4 auto wagon, I need the clutch type flywheel. I found 4 used sets locally, which are in good shape, and at least will give me cores for exchanges later on. These are 9" clutch flywheels, that I can get reground locally. Trying to find new ones is a major PITA! Everybody seems to want the T5 trannies from Mustangs with 10" and 10.5 inch clutch sets. And those complete sets can run up to over $1,000! Not including bolts. None of the Mustang sites, not even RockAuto carry 200 I6 flywheels. Not even Falconparts.com! Tried SummitRacing, Macs, DennisCarpenter, etc. Nada! Checked out FourEyedPride.com, FordSix.com, ClassicInlines.com, FordTruckEnthusiasts.com. Even tried this with some results for used ones and got my 4 hits for under $150: http://car-part.com/noninterchange.htm http://www.automotix.com/ And then I tried this too. Also, so-so. http://valeoclutches.com/product/0/52542003/_/OE_Replacement_Clutch_Kit Kinda sad to see how the industry is ignoring old faithfuls.
Since Foxes are lighter than Grenada/Monarch and more common they seem like a very good option. As I understand it the 200 and 250 are externally identical (different connecting rods) it seems like installing a 250 from the earlier cars would be a simple bolt in job and converting a 200 to 250 very straight forward as part of a build. Aussie head, 2bbl carb and some exhaust work... yum. Given that the fox weighs in about the same as a Volvo 164 and the 3 liter 145HP B30 engine performed quite nicely in the Swede a mild build one of the small Ford I6s to similar output should be fine and anything approaching 200 HP should be quite sporty. Even the 200 (3.3L) is slightly larger than the Volvo engine so should be quite capable of producing a bit more torque than the Volvo. mike
Actually the 1980-ish Volvo weighed up to 600 lbs more than the Fox bodied sedans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_200_Series http://www.lov2xlr8.no/brochures/ford/82fair/bilder/9.jpg The other issue is that the Ford 250 is too tall to fit under a Fox hood. But people can make or buy custom oil pans and make other mods to get them in. The 240 and 300 Ford sixes need a lot more mods, costing a lot more. http://www.fordsix.com/ http://fordsix.com/forum/index.php Hopping up a small six or the larger ones is not a low budget project, but for a decent performer, keeping its nice fuel economy, isn't much more than rebuilding a 302 V8.
Just going over my posts, I should mention that I did get the right flywheel, pressure plate and clutch kit (10" diameter). Also got all the gaskets and rear trans seal. I've been too busy to open it up with building the headers and cleaning up de-rusting parts, but now that our flood watches are ending, and the rain season is ending, I should be able to get down to the nuts and bolts. One more piece of great news, for me, is that my rear axle is in fact a DANA 44. Trac-loc (Positrac) is now a real option. Its an 8.5" ring gear, not the stock 7.5 Ford setup. I'll try the car with the current axle, after I get it all restored, and see if I like the performance or should move up to a 3.23:1 ratio. I'm aiming for 140 HP, instead of its current 85 HP. That's what the old 302 had, and it held its own.
