If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ....

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ivaf100
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by ivaf100 »

Most of these guys are ignoring what you said about economy. If you want a economical, dependable engine, I vote for the Buick 3.8 V6. They have been around for years so they should be plentiful in the salvage yards. I sold my '99 Lesabre last year it had 278,000 miles and would still get over 30 mpg on the highway.
I have a 2011 F150 with the 3.7 V6 and 6-speed automatic. That combo is pretty strong in that 5200 lb. truck. I'll bet that would be a really good combo in my 3400 lb. 66 F100.
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luckystiff
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by luckystiff »

small block buicks can pull some impressive numbers and still have good power to. buick 350 backed by a 200-4r with low to mid 3 rear ratio is another formula thats been played with in some big buicks and are good daily drivers and knocking down high 20s.

olds 307 is another good run forever. most folks think they are underpowered but thats usually form limited exposure and then not realizing they were lazy dogs because their bases were geared for ecomony. most of the cars they came in had low 2s(i think like 2.28 was common) ditch the smog stuff and bump to a low-mid 3s rear and it wakes up a good bit and you'll only drop about 10% of your mpg rate.

theres been a few to experiment with the big block BOP/caddie with 4spd od behind them and playing with gearing. from what i've read you can play in the low 3s pretty safely and i seem to remember one guy playing with 2.88s but said it was hitting a point where it was starting to lug in od and the mileage was as good or better with 3.08 or so. i'd say if you could find the point where you kept the torque of the big block but played gearing right and got 20+ thats about as good as two worlds can be. beyond that buy a beater import that gets 30+ and offset useage where you can. i keep thinking a cheap beater 80s crx will pop up some day and i'll get me a 50mpg run around car and not car what the"fun" cars get. parking my 64 buick wildcat 8 years ago made me a sad man, but that hopped up nailhead got 8mpg if you kept your foot out of it which was hard to do so the average was closer to 6mpg.
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Mellvis
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by Mellvis »

I would opt for the 300/240/3spd. Plentiful, good after market and readily available. I have a 352 in my truck that I got for $150 complete, minus distributor and carb. I'm sure an FE and trans could be bought, ready to drop in for less than $500. You would need perches, drive shaft and trans cross member too, but that shouldn't be hard to get.
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Lowell
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by Lowell »

I also vote for the 240/300,easy to bolt in and decent mpg and power.
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BlueGhost
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by BlueGhost »

I'd go with a late 90s Explorer 5.0. They are affordable, and come with a roller cam and gt40 heads. Keep the EFI or convert to carb, then back it with an AOD or 5 speed.

My other, more exotic choice, would be a Cummins 4bt, but they are harder to find and more expensive. It's probably cheaper to hunt down an old delivery with one, than to buy the motor on it own.
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by ICEMAN6166 »

cummins 4bt from ford bread truck

spendy but all there except tranny
http://westslope.craigslist.org/pts/4657432560.html
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aarons428
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by aarons428 »

Boy if I had some extra money I would buy that in a hurry!!!! be it a 4bt or a 6bt cummins i'm all over it. You can mmake some awesome power for very little money and be bullet proof.
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Greg D
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by Greg D »

For $1000 you can probably find a good roller cam 5.0 from a Ford Explorer,
find a decent looking one in a junkyard it's likely there due to a blown $3000 tranny but otherwise in good shape.
Mate that with a good used M5OD (90-96 F 150s), you can use a stock brake master for the clutch master and it will bolt in.
It's not quite that simple but not much more complicated either.
The engine and the trans at our local pull ur own yard is around $300, that gives you plenty for the rest of the details.
You will have good power and good MPG with this combination.
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brute66
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Re: If you had about $500 and could pick any used engine ...

Post by brute66 »

Obviously the challenge here is the $500 budget. Sure the 300 six can produce some bottom end and I had one in an '85 F150 SB 4X4 with an automatic and it was not fuel efficient. I tried to squeeze fuel economy out of that 40,000+ mile motor to no avail. A modern 4.6 or Gen III Chevy swap can be a nightmare to install; all that computer related stuff will ultimately cost a lot of time and money unless you do these swaps on a regular basis.

So, a 351W might be hard to come by for 500 skins but it would offer adequate torque and the appeal of a V8. I know a 352 can be had for less than 500. It's a bit heavy for its displacement but put an aluminum intake on it and you're looking good. Look at the factory 352 offering in a '65/'66 F100: 8.9 compression ratio (i believe that's the highest comp ratio of any Ford truck until the 90's came along. I've also heard claims of 15 or more mpg's on the highway with the right gears. And, yes they can make good power and drop right in.
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