Just had my 200 inline rebuilt with so-called cam and compression modifications...... ,but im only getting 120 hp.....my expert ford mechanic says can't do much with the ford 200's .....is this true and what can I do at reasonable price to get more pep out of it since I already put 5000 into the engine with install.
All Small Six 200 in-line 65 falcon
- Thread starter joecolosimo
- Start date
This relates to all small sixes
ActionYobbo
Well-known member
Here is my list in order of cost and gain
2v carburetor
HEI
Headers
Turbo
Aussie Xflow head
Supercharger
V8
2v carburetor
HEI
Headers
Turbo
Aussie Xflow head
Supercharger
V8
yes 1 barrel carb and a pertronix ignition upgraded my 3 on the tree to a c4 tranny
If you want 289 power out of the 200, you’ll be hard pressed.
I built a snappy little 200 last year for my 66 Mustang. It’s cammed with a Weber 38/38 carb, HEI ignition and header with 2-14” exhaust. I’m very happy with it but I took care to get the camshaft installed (degree’d) according to the cam card and I’ve got my timing dialed in and the distributor curved to work well with the cam. I also put in a 5-speed which made a massive difference.
What cam are you running, is the cam degree’d correctly, did you install stiffer valve springs (stock springs float easily), what’s your compression? Did you change the exhaust? Header? Is it running the 1 barrel and original distributor with a pertronix module?
The bottleneck is the carburetor and intake. Upgrading to a bigger carb on an adapter will make an improvement and you need to change the distributor when you do that. Beyond that, you get into milling the intake for a direct mount 2v carburetor or a tri-power setup. Beyond that, there is fuel injection Sniper 1100/2200 or exotic heads like the Argentinian or Aussi or a Vintage Inlines head and intake.
I built a snappy little 200 last year for my 66 Mustang. It’s cammed with a Weber 38/38 carb, HEI ignition and header with 2-14” exhaust. I’m very happy with it but I took care to get the camshaft installed (degree’d) according to the cam card and I’ve got my timing dialed in and the distributor curved to work well with the cam. I also put in a 5-speed which made a massive difference.
What cam are you running, is the cam degree’d correctly, did you install stiffer valve springs (stock springs float easily), what’s your compression? Did you change the exhaust? Header? Is it running the 1 barrel and original distributor with a pertronix module?
The bottleneck is the carburetor and intake. Upgrading to a bigger carb on an adapter will make an improvement and you need to change the distributor when you do that. Beyond that, you get into milling the intake for a direct mount 2v carburetor or a tri-power setup. Beyond that, there is fuel injection Sniper 1100/2200 or exotic heads like the Argentinian or Aussi or a Vintage Inlines head and intake.
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The factory quoted 120hp for a 200ci was sae gross. An inflated figure that stopped being used in 1971.
An approx equivalent to todays measuremts would be about 90hp sae net. Which equates to about 65 rwhp.( With gearbox / diff losses) On the ford six .
Read the first part of ' horsing around with the mustang six' they tell you this
We assume orig poster is quoting engine hp and not rwhp....???.
Measured on arolling road and ' calculated' for eni6ne hp
So assuming orig was 90hp eng HP he now gas 120hp -= a 30hp gain
well im just trying to get more pep from a stop I just had the 200 rebuilt with a modified cam and compression I have no idea what they did since im not a mechanic by trade. I took it to a very reputable rebuild and installation shop in San Diego. I definitely trust there work. 2" exhaust I believe no header modificatication and yes 1 barrel stock with pertronix. I think I need to start with a carb upgrade and do something with the ignition.???
Welcome to the group. . The 1 barrel carb is restricting performance. a bigger cam can't draw much more than stock when it's still pulling through a straw.
You will have a noticeable improvement with a Webber 32/36 with adapter and distributor upgrade. You have to do both at the same time. Check with Clifford Racing for the carb- tell them what you have in your engine and they will pre-tune it.
Then get with Ambler Racing in the vendor section of this blog for a distributor to suit your needs. He will set up up as well
Then get with Ambler Racing in the vendor section of this blog for a distributor to suit your needs. He will set up up as well
That’s good that you have a good shop, who rebuilt the engine to refer to. Where you go from here depends a bit on what the rebuild consisted of; especially the camshaft they chose. Did they provide you with a build sheet for the engine? You kinda want to have the card that came with the camshaft to figure out how much it was hopped up. It would be good to know the compression ratio as well but they may not have done those calculations.
The aftermarket HEI distributor I chose looks similar to the size of the original distributor and it came with a separate coil. It is fully adjustable for amount of vacuum advance (Allen key in vacuum diaphragm) and amount of mechanical advance and where that comes on (using springs and bushings). Out of the box, it’s a pretty good drop in and run unit. It comes with 10 degrees vacuum advance and I think it’s 14 degrees of mechanical which comes on somewhere between 1500-2000 RPM. All in around 3000 RPM (if I recall correctly). I bought it from an EBay Seller called SwapMeetParts. Many people here use the Ford Duraspark II electronic ignition on their 200’s and swear by them.
I’ve had really good results from the Redline/Clifford Performance Weber carburetor kit I installed. I chose the 38/38 which is a bit of a hot rod carb. It can guzzle fuel because both 38mm barrels are in play synchronously. They have a 32/36 version which is progressive; most driving around is on 32mm barrel and the 36mm barrel comes into play when you put your foot into it. I can confidently recommend them. Unbolting the factory carb and installing the Weber on the adapter it comes with is pretty much plug and play. The only trick part is that you need to figure out how to link the factory gas pedal linkage to the carb. Here’s how I did mine. I heated the throttle pedal linkage and bent it up so that it pulls the throttle shaft pivot point up and back. It works great. I’ve got my throttle return spring to a header stud.
EDIT: Get a phenolic spacer to install between the carb and the adapter. It will prevent the carb from taking all of the engine heat and in my experience, you’ll be able to get better fuel economy.
The next piece of the puzzle will be getting the timing right. The factory suggested timing won’t be optimal with a modified engine. If the camshaft has a different grind from factory or adds a bit of a bump to performance, you’ll need more timing to take advantage of it. I spent some time getting my timing right. On a stock 200 in a 1966 Mustang with manual transmission, I think the manual says +6 degrees before top dead centre. With my engine, right now, it’s happiest with +14 degrees initial advance before top dead centre.
Further performance mods would be to work the head a bit or get a large log from the late 70’s to rework for more compression and bigger flow. You will need adjustable rockers though. The large log head comes with bigger intake valves and you can put in larger exhaust valves. You can also machine the larger log intake to bolt the bigger 2 barrel carb directly to the intake log, improving flow dramatically. While you’re at it, the original valve springs are light tension and after 60 years of service they’re going to be weaker. Stiffer springs, within reason will allow you to build power higher in the rev range. People use 302 or 289 springs or your camshaft manufacturer can recommend the correct springs for that camshaft.
Just an off the wall thought. One of our members, @Wayne clark installed a Holley Sniper 2300 fuel injection kit and a Paxton supercharger. He also has a header and suitable exhaust system and probably a Ford Duraspark II distributor (I don’t recall which). His engine was not modded other than those updates. His car is everything he wants for it. here is a link to a discussion where he was in mid supercharger installation: https://fordsix.com/threads/paxton-supercharger.82045/page-2#post-688888
I did my linkage very similar, maybe not quite as much angle on the factory arm on the firewall, used a longer piece of threaded rod between the arm and the carb. Then I used a threaded nut with a jam nut on the threaded rod for a return spring mount and the other end to the carb base, a pretty straight pull and the nut can be run up or down to adjust spring tension. Works nice 
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