.040 over on my 200?

[Anonymous]

I've recently found a decent '66 200 as a condidate for my rebuild. It's been bored .030 over already. Have any of you guys gone .040 in this situation, as opposed to the common .060? I'm concerned about the inherent overheating problem resulting from taking things to the limit. Any recommendations here? Thanks, Norm

 

[Anonymous]

The guy who helps me a lot with mine has a 200 that he has gone .040 over .030 with flat top pistons with great results. Runs like a champ, and with his 3 row rad. and 160 thermostat he doesn't have any heating problems.

 

[Anonymous]

Mine was .030 over already when we pulled it apart...
based on my machinist recommendation we went .040 over....
.060 was too much for us....

Jimbo

 

[Anlushac11]

8)

There should be no problem going to .040" overbore.

The experts say you can go to a .060" overbore with no problem but before I would go that far I would have the block sonic checked for core shifting to make sure you have enough meat in the cylinders.

There are several guys that have bored .060" over with no problems, But .060" is considered the max.

 

[Anonymous]

I have rebuilt many many 200's and have gone .040 over without a problem. I have also gone .060 over with a few problems. most of the time it is ok but just last week i had a 200 in my shop on my boring machine and on #1 cylinder when the cut was finished i had little black pock marks on the cylinder wall. This was the water jacket just starting to come through. This is my third or fourth block like this in a few years.
just a little food for thought


Todd

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the thumbs up from all of you...I think I'm going to proceed with the consensus that .040 is fine. I love the hi-po treatment on your blue ride, Levi...not to mention the Prarie Bronze resto. I have a '65 Falcon 2-door wagon, original V8 car, that I'm restoring to its original Code-P Prairie Bronze color, with Palamino interior. Just home from the body shop, and it's gorgeous! Thanks, again, Norm

 

[Anonymous]

Sixes have thicker walls than V8s too. Also, sixes have more problems with air flow more than water flow. Especialy in traffic. Get rid of the four bladed fan and put a stock V8 five bladed fan or a good stiff flex fan, and install a fan shroud to direct air to the motor. Get the molded shroud not the one used on the stock V8. There too thin and not much of a shroud. The sixes do not have the same surface area as the V8s do, so the cool air blows past the engine. Scott Drake carries that shroud. And like what others have said, a 3 or a 4 row radiator is good. I also use synthetic oil in my engine, and I notice about a 1/4 drop in temp. Less friction, less heat. But, you have to have at least 10,000 miles on the motor before using it. The engine will not break in properly on synthetic. Its ok on roller cam motors, but not on others.

David 8)

 

[Anlushac11]

8)

I have never heard of having to wait 10,000 miles to use synthetic oil. You only need to run regular oil til the rings and some of the other parts seat, and that is usually well done by 500 miles.

And the Fox body Mustang has many cooling options like aluminum extra HD radiators, large electric cooling fans, and Fox body Mustangs have many options like cowl induction hoods which help promote airflow in the engine compartment.

 

[Anonymous]

Anlushac11,


Neither of us are wrong. What I suggested is one of many ways to overcome cooling problems. At the shop that I work for, we build mostly performance motors and sometimes stock motors for classic cars. We do not use synthetics in any of our performance motors until after 10,000 unless its a roller cam. On stock motors its ok to wait 500, but we feel it is better to wait untill 10,000. Its a better break-in period, and it does not take long to put that many miles on it. As far as your suggestions regarding radiators and fans, your suggestions are good too, but alot of my customers like to keep it fairly stock, but better cooling. I like alot of options when it comes to fixing things, and I just try to tailor them to each of the customers needs.

David

 

[Anonymous]

I respect where both of you guys are coming from, and I didn't think "presentation" was an issue at the onset, but allow me to clarify. This rebuild is, in fact, for my '63 Falcon Deluxe Station Wagon, a ground up restoration which has taken top honors at the National level, in the factory stock class. This car is now beginning to function more as a driver, and I'm looking to upgrade the motor without digressing from "original" presentation. Hence, I'd move more towards Dave's suggestions here but only because, like many of his own customers, I like to keep to factory stock in appearance. The other-mentioned mod's, however, are ingenious and, if the factory look weren't critical, I'd probably go for it. Thanks, again, both of you.

 

[Anonymous]

my mustang is .040 over and it runs like a beast. we did have to upgrade to a 3 row radiator but other than that still runs nice and cool.

I also installed a 5 blade flex fan and it did wonders without a shroud. I picked it up at autozone and had to modify it a little to clear the radiator hoses and didn't want to hide it with a shroud. it was chrome and blue like my engine.

have fun,
mike

 

[MustangSix]

There are a couple of other tricks that will maintaing the factory look and still give you some more pep.

A little more cam won't hurt. Using a 250 cam will give you just a tad more duration and lift and will still work well with the stock induction.

Pocket porting the head and a good 4 angle valve job will allow it to breathe better even thru the single exhaust.

Ignition is critical. Pertronix hides well under the stock cap, or the Duraspark I with a hidden GM module would provide more fire.

Finally, balance the reciprocating assembly. Inine sixes are VERY smooth when done right. Just ask any Jag or BMW owner.

 

[Anonymous]

Regarding all this talk about fans and shrouds...
Will putting a '75 250 head on a '66 200 block help reduce temp? I have an overheat problem with the stock 200 (without a thermostat- Hey I'm in So Cal) and I'd like to solve it before I put on the cool fans and shroud. Or am I looking at a problem that is common to the I6?