All Small Six 170- Build or Not?

[bubba22349]

Thanks for those pictures "powerband"! There was a late 170 log head casting (somewhere in the1969 to 1972 years) that was a very sot after Head for it's excellent flow and smaller combustion chamber’s for a higher C. R. yours looks just like it. I believe that Ak Miller talked about using them on some of his six builds. I can’t remember the casting numbers right now though. I am also still looking for a copy of the Hot Rod? Magazine Article I remember seeing way back in I think was 1970 or so on an early Maverick build up that Ak Miller did.

 

[drag-200stang]

That 170 DODE is the head...Faron and I both went 14 sec 1/4 mile times using one, with tri power setup...I think that it is very close to the hex head in performance, to close to call...Thanks' to PB for putting up pics.

 

[Rev.LowBuck]

OK guys, thanks for all your help on this so far. I was able to get the 170 to my garage today and took some measurements and pics.
The carb bore in the head is indeed 1.75". The bathtub chambers are roughly 3.5" wide by 2.25" deep. Pistons are flat top. I included casting numbers of the head and block. I'll know more and will include pics of the bottom end when I start taking it apart.
Looks like someone just taped off the valve springs when they painted the head. Still curios about the red/orange color of the springs themselves. Hopefully this will clean up and make a decent running heard for my Falcon.

 

[bubba22349]

Hard for me to see tonight but it sure looks like you have the best of the 170 heads a D0DE-6090-A that “Drag200-Stang” was talking about and that powerband posted pictures of. A great score!

I am seeing the head casting much better this morning and corrected the casting numbers above, yes indeed you did very well. Edited

 

[drag-200stang]

Yes, it is, and the orange /red springs are stock ford.

 

[bubba22349]

Hi Rev.LowBuck, in the interest of documenting some accurate data on these later model 170’s and clearing up some misconceptions would you measure the piston top to block deck height at TDC before you disassemble your block? Also if you can CC your head too. Thank you

 

[drag-200stang]

Be careful with any machined surfaces, duct tape is your friend.

 

[Rev.LowBuck]

So, this chapter of our story comes to a close. The deck of my Case of Beer 170 had been covered with masking tape long ago, presumably for the sake of painting the engine block. When I removed the tape, I found the deck badly corroded behind #6 and in need of machining if a gasket were to ever seal (thought I might get away with it... but it ain't gonna happen). My initial post said that if the block required machine work, I'd go on a hunt for a 200 rather than spend $ on making the 170 viable.

I was able to score a freshly rebuilt '66 .030 over 200 for considerably less than I'd have in machine and rebuild work on that 170.

In the end, I wound up with a DODE-6090-A head to go on the 200 and a C4 to go behind it. I'll put a cam in the 200 before I drop it in the car adding headers and HEI (yes, I'll defeat the SCV) and drive it while I gather resources to freshen up the head. YES- the head will be CC'd before any machine work happens. I've got adjustable rockers to swap on there, will add a 2 barrel and pretend I have a BMW killer.

Every Hot Rod has a story

Sorry Bubba, I didn't take any significant measurements of that 170 block and it's gone.