170ci Mods for a 68 Falcon

[nudge68]

Hi all,

I have a stock 170ci in my Aussie 68 XP Falcon and want to try a few bolt on bits to get a bit more power out of it.
Firstly the motor is strong (good compression), doesn't blow smoke or use oil or leak oil and is still good for 100mph.

What I am thinking is:
1. A DurasparkII dizzy and hi power coil
2. Pacemaker headers
3. A single barrel Stomberg carby off a 200 or 250 motor.

At this point the only other upgrade I would consider is a mild cam and new timing chain

My aim is to increase the horse power from the stock 110hp up to the 140 to 150 range.
Would these mods I have mentioned put it near the 140hp mark or do I need more serious upgrades to achieve this.

At the moment I dont want to go the 200ci motor because the one I've got is OK, but how much more extra power can the 170 motor handle. The car will be a daily driver so I dont want any thing to wild in the motor dept.

If any one has any thoughts on this I would be glad to hear fro you.

Nudge68

 

[Lazy JW]

....... is still good for 100mph.....

Not sure I'd want to do ANYTHING to a 170 "is still good for 100 mph", but you are on the right track. It will be tough to increase horsepower that much without a cam change.
Joe

 

[early ford fan]

maybe a later head with the bigger ports and valves.....thats what i have on my 170...a 1978 250 head shaved to restore the compression.

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy Nudge68:

Where are you? Australia or USA? What is the stock OEM carb on this engine. You mentioned a Stromberg upgrade- which confused me. A US '68 170 would most likely have a Carter YF, while the 200s of that year would have a downsized Autolite 1100 with no SCV. What's the story where you are? In my estimation the three upgrades you've listed will not increase gross HP more than about 10%, so maybe 110 gross HP. A header exhaust will not be cost effective without stepping up compression and cam. It is very unlikely that you will be able to meet your goal without, at least, doing some head work and a performance valve job. What is the stock CR for your 170?

Adios, David

 

[69.5Mav]

What I would do if I were you.

Get a baseline dyno run,

1) A DurasparkII dizzy and hi power coil

2) upgrade to a Holly/Weber 5200 two barrell carb. You flow more and won't bog as easily increasing your drivability.
A) Do you have a head with a removeable intake manifold, if so go dirrect mount, if not either use an adapter or have the head modded for dirrect mount. Modding the head will cost more but you can also get a performance valve job done at the same time.
B) Dirrect mounting will get you more horsepower.

3) Upgade cam.
A) You can get a mild boast with a roller rocker set with a 1.65 ratio. You don't need to remove the cam for this but your gains will be limitted.
B) Change the cam. More work but more gain. If you need to change the timing chain any way and you are already planing to pull the head you should consider this as you will need to remove the head to replace the cam.
C) If you remove the head be sure to get it cut to adjust your compression ratio for the thickness of the new head gasket.

4) If you remove the head try to get at least 9:1 compression ration but depending on the octain of the fuel you use no more then 9.5 to 10:1. You don't want detonation to eat up your "new" engine.

5) I would say do not spend money on a header unless you realy like the sound but do upgrade the exhaust system to 2" pipe and some sort of free flowing muffler, My prefferance is a flowmaster hushpower II but others have other preffences. Find what you like and stick with it.

That being said I don't think your getting a real 110 HP. 140 would be hard to reach normally aspirated with out nitros and you would want forged pistons for that anyway(more cost, work and time).

If you do a final dyno run you should see about a 25 % increase in real HP at the drive wheels. This should increase you driving enjoyment a lot. Couple that with a change to a T5 or similar transmission with proper rear end gearing(3.50 or so depending on your driving style and mix) and the car should be quite lively.

 

[gb500]

nudge 68 :
read this link: aussie XP falcon with 170 gained 33% at wheels ( up to 58 hp!)

http://earlyfalconnsw.blogspot.com/sear ... /Technical

one other thing - dont take the 110hp as gospel:
in the 60'sand early 70's the industry used GROSS hp ratings for the engines.

gross has no ancilairies ie aletrnator, aircleaner? etc etc (google for exact specs) so inflates the figures.
then in 1971/1972 changed to NET rating which reflected how the engine was installed in the car.

i do know the 200 was rated at 120hp GROSS which equalled about 65rwhp ( manual gearbox) which is probably about 85-95 NET hp (assuming 30hp loss in box,/ diff etc)

for step by step on what the various mods will give you read this :
horsing about with the mustang six part 1 and 2 ( for a 200 engine - but all applicable to the 170)
http://www.cometcentral.com/tech/

brett

 

[rocklord]

A rule of thumb that I use is 1.4HP Gross = 1HP Net

An engine rated at 100HP Gross would have 71HP Net.