Doing up a tri-power

[60s Refugee]

Hi All!

This is my first post. My intention is to get an objective thread started about the pro's and cons of a tri power on a 200 cid six.

What got my attention was when I was at Dragway 42 in '06 and watched a classic Mustang turning 1/4 mile et's in the low 15's with a six banger! Hell, back in the day the best et my 69 Mach 1 ever pulled was 16 flat. 351 2bbl. Naturally, I looked the driver up in the pit and asked him "What the...?" He proudly popped open the hood and revealed a 200 cid, tri-power with three Autolite 1100's, head milled .60, ported, polished, larger valves, adjustable rockers, dual outlet header, GT style dual exhaust, mild cam (264), Mallory ignition, C4 tranny with high stall converter and a shift kit. He was running a 3.00 rear end. There was more I'm sure and a lot of cast dress up parts. He claimed the the engine was cranking about 200 horse. It was a big WOW! He claimed he hit a 14.9 et the summer before.

After I completed the restoration of my '65 Mustang coupe I began to look into available info about how I'd do all this to my six. I had built up 289's back in the day, but never a six...so this was all new. I have already began to gather up parts.

Then I called Pony Carbs for info about the new 1100 they offer. The guy there started busting my bubble. He said that tri-powers are a waste of time and don't work well. Says that everyone is exaggerating their performance claims. That it causes nothing but problems and that their support line won't help me. Said that nobody he ever had experiance with was happy with the results.

So...Here I am asking you folks. Were my eyes decieving me at the strip? Is everyone lying about their tri power results? Am I about to open a giant can of worm's?

I have a set up head already. Milled .60, polished, ported, larger valves, hardened seats, magnafluxed, tri-powered with two Holley 1921 s and one Holley 1940. Using a modified Offy #5970 manifold. Did I just blow my $$$$?

Thanks,
Harry

 

[Asa]

KaStang did one
he did a writeup about it, pros and cons
http://kastang.tripod.com/kastang.html

wander around there and you should find it
use the search button above, we've got plenty of threads with 'em

i believe we have about half a dozen active members right now that are running a 3x1, and one of them even did a 1bbl-2bbl-1bbl install

takes a fair bit of maintenance to keep 'em all balanced, and i believe that the linkage is a bit hard to find, but the performance gains can't be argued against, and plenty of people love 'em

just depends on how much work you like to do on yours

 

[rbohm]

8) like any multi carb system, there are pro's and con's. you do gain power, especially in the top end, how much though depends on other factors like cam, header, etc. you do have the issue of keeping multi carbs properly balanced, and that can be a problem if you dont have the required patience.

 

[ludwig]

Lotta talk here about Tri-Powers. Some guys do them for looks and some for go. One fellow here has three glass fuel bowl carbs. There's a killer look. Another guy just runs on the center carb but he gets prizes in the beauty contest for the 3/1 groove. Go through the 'search' field and you will find more than enough to encourage and/or discourage you.

As for Pony Carbs, you went to the wrong place for info on a modded engine. I am very fond of Pony. I may get their new annular discharge 1100 but you can forget them for any kind of advice on non-stock applications. They will always discourage you from doing anything other than the best of all STOCK applications. Hang around here long enough, troll the past threads going back three or four years and you will have enough to get you started.

 

[Geezer 300]

One minor correction... when you "relieve" an engine, it only applies to a flat head. It's the process of removing the ridge between the valves for better flow. Alex.

 

[HighVolkage]

top end power is a big plus. i'm running a tri with weber 34 series carbs. i have hit 5500 rpms before and that drops it right about into the peak of the torque band at the shift. i think people exaggerate the difficulties of tuning the trips, i think it was much of an issue at all. i will post more later if you want more opinion.

 

[60s Refugee]

Oops! You're right! I was referencing the larger valves.
Harry

 

[60s Refugee]

High Volkage,
Yep. Keep those opinions coming!
Thanks,
Harry

 

[bigcatchdaniel555]

I havent run the setup personally but people tend to favor the weber 34 cuz they available and a set it and forget it carb.

 

[Patrick66]

i posted something like this, ive decided to go with the weber 34s. http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... sc&start=0

 

[JOHN G]

if ya ever get in the Cleveland area, I'd be glad to let you inspect my setup. I don't know how fast the car is officially, but it is way quicker than stock setup was. With some gears and a converter, I think there will be a marked improvement as well. I knew I wasn't building the fastest thing on the block when I started, but for a cruiser, it's reliable,fairly quick, and draws attention when the hood is up like you can't believe. I get people all the time asking "why a six" at which point I respond"made you look, didn't it?"

 

[60s Refugee]

COOL! I get to Cleveland often. I'm a disabled Nam vet and I visit the Wade Park VA facility about every month. Send me your phone# and address on a seperate eMail and we can swap notes.

Did you cam yours up? Header?

Harry

 

[Asa]

looks like he has a 264 cam, and dual outlet headers

66 COMET 2 DR,200 W/3 WEBERS,OFFY INTAKE,264 CAM,DUAL OUTLET HEADER,3.00 DIFF

what branch were you? i'm currently USAF Reserve
got a pretty high amount of active and former military members around here


BTW - have you looked at Mike's website (i mean besides this one, the one where he sells stuff)
www.classicinlines.com
he just developed an aluminum head that, if i remember correctly, flows better than the stock 302 GT40 heads

 

[60s Refugee]

Army, grunt, Chu Lai, Duc Pho, 1970. It sucked.

 

[rbohm]

One minor correction... when you "relieve" an engine, it only applies to a flat head. It's the process of removing the ridge between the valves for better flow. Alex.

8) not true. while that was where the term originated, you can relieve the area around the head of the valve in the combustion chamber in any engine to allow for maximum airflow into the chamber.

 

[CobraSix]

Harry,

I'm chiming in late, but asa linked you my website. However, the updated version is here:

www.kastang.us

Someone sniped my old domain name when I let it lapse for 3 weeks. Oh well.

Anyways, here is the link to my review:

http://www.kastang.us/offenhauserreview.html

I liked it, once I got the problems settled out, but took a good couple of weeks to get it all sorted out. For performance, I can honestly say I think it pulls more top end then my current Aussie 250/2V head with a 390 4V Holley hooked to it. When you jumped on it, it pulled like a V-8 and sounded like a banshee under the hood.

Downside, if you plan to drive it daily like I did, bring extra O rings or sealant. I had my engine backfire once and it blew out the O-ring on the way home from work.

As far as the comment from Pony, you saw it with your own eyes...a 6 pulling times that your 69 was doing...

Is 6 cylinder performance cheap? No. Cheaper way to get lots of HP is a V-8, hands down. 6 Cylinder performance is about style and something different. I loved opening up my hood with my Offy at car shows and people just skipping the SHelby 500 beside me and staring at my little 6.

One thing I did like about the Offy was the ability of it to retain near normal fuel economy when you weren't on the throttle heavy. My current 4V set up sucks down about 2-3 more MPG cruising around then my Offy did, but the highway mileage seems about the same.

 

[60s Refugee]

It looks like three Autolite 1100's. How do they work for you?
Harry

 

[Jett's_Pony]

Jessica runs a D7 head with the later style Offy with 3 autolites. Runs great and is amazingly reliable. Took a little while to get the jetting right and have not touched it since. Pulls incredibly strong, no times from a dragstrip since she is afraid to blow up the 6 cyl rear end. She halved the 0 to 60 time with the tripower set up. Originally was a C4 automatic and now has a T5 5 speed.
If you have any questions let us know.
Jett's Dad
Greg

 

[kspageddie]

It has been a long time since i posted. I had a 200 with 3 Autolite 1100 carbs and it worked out great. The motor ran like a top and sounded great. I had built a adjustable linkage, the end carbs started to open when the center carb reached 1/4 throttle. Stay with it and you will love the looks and power of the tri-power set up.

 

[Anonymous]

Installed the triple Offy last year on a complete rebuild and it did take some time and patience to get it setup it has been running great ever since.