200 or 250?

[InlineUK]

Hi Guys and Gals
I bought a 68 Mustang with a 200 engine last december and am currently restoring it in my own way! There is a servere lack of knowledge on these engines over here in the UK as everyone wants a V8! (Except me of course!)
I am looking at getting a second engine to rebuild and then swap it with the one in the car. This way i can still drive my car and rebuild the engine at the same time! Genius!
My question is what engine to go for? I was going to aquire and rebuild a 200, hopefully with the FSPP head and all the extras, but have come across a 71 250 engine. I'm now unsure which to go for. I'm aiming for a high performance engine, im more interested in acceleration than top speed. I want to show all the V8 boys over here you can go just as fast with 2 less cylinders!
I did a search on this forum for any clues, but couldn't find any definative answers. I also know that ill get half of you saying the 200 and the other half saying the 250! But here goes.....
So people, which is going to be best for a high performance six? What are the pros and cons of each engine? Is bigger really better?
I hope some of you can help me out
Thanks
Nathan

 

[Anonymous]

In the end the Ford sixes are normally limited by the size of the ports and valves in the head. The air speeds get very high and the flow losses stack up pretty quickly.

Compare the ports in a 250 to a modern jap 4 cylinder engine like an SR20 and the ford engines ports are tiny.

The 200 and 250 will both make similar power but the 250 will make it at lower revs with more torque.

If you are going to build a drag car with a high stall auto either one will work as long as you design your stall converter to suit once the engine is tuned and sorted out.

200ci engine has some advantages in that the crank is stronger and the rod to stroke ratio is better. You will also get a wider available rev range which makes your converter work better, especially in a turbo or NOS application where you want a converter to be loose down low but tighten right up in the deep end of the 1/4 mile.

Engine revs really help stall converter lock up in the deep.

The real tuff engines are the ones where guys seem to be able to get the 250's to rev! most of my experience is with aussie crossflows but there are some speedway racers over here in Oz who are revving the 250 engine to 7500 rpm on methanol. I hear they are hogging their ports right out into the water jackets and sleeving them back up and welding inserts in etc. Way too much work for and old pushrod engine!

 

[lyonsy]

hey
you forgot they are also cuting the manifolds in half porting to paper thin then welding back together (stock manifolds)
the speedway 250 that revs goes really ahrd when running but they are allways braking down as well.
drift

 

[69Falcon]

I'd recommend the 250. First off, I believe it was an option on your Mustang, so you can get the correct motor mounts. Second, more cubes is always better. Third, it provides you with more options for transmissions as the bell pattern is the same as a small block ford. And last, but certainly not least, Mikes head will also bolt up to the 250.

 

[64.5 TX Stang]

250

A: It's available
B: More cubes
C: More Torque, faster off the line.
D: Lots of transmission/clutch options because of bell pattern.

 

[Anonymous]

More engine torque doesn't mean faster off the line at all.

if you have more revs available you can run lower diff gears which means you get just the same amount of torque at the rear wheels. You also have less tailshaft torque which means your not twisting the chassis as much and trying to twist the diff out of the car.

 

[InlineUK]

Thanks for the replies guys. Looks like the 250 is the favourite, which is the direction i was starting to lean anyway. Ill go take a look at the engine at the weekend and then i can decide for sure.
No doubt ill be back asking lots of stupid questions when im rebuilding it!
Thanks again.
Nathan

 

[80Stang]

And welcome to the forum, fellow European.

200 is a nice one to build up, and it'll fit in right away. If you are learning and want to keep your work just with the engine, it is your way to go. It gives you weight advantage over SBF but of course makes it more difficult to get SBF class HP out of it.

250 was not for '68, so there may be some adoptation required. Otherwise, "nothing beats cubic inches", but with a 250 you'll end up changing your powertrain to SBF specs, so lay +£1300 more on the table for a SBF bell and a T5.

Neither way, keep the six and your attitude.