MRJLB84D":pp5d2zsm said:
Yeh, ill admit $15g could be gone in a day, but id rather spend 15g on my xa then spend $40g on a new falcon or commodore and 2yrs later its only worth 20g..... You do the sums
That is the reason there will always be people like us learning everything about old Fords.
When you factor in depreciation, redoing an old car with a great engine and keeping it is the way.
I delight in the new cars. They are hot. But reworking an old machine is great if you do the sums.
My first ride of a decent XY 351 got me hooked. My mate Blair followed Bob Pinnels 375 hp 357 rebuild. It was just a Strip Dominator intaked 2V 302 headed +30 Clevo with a Crower cam.
The car did 16 mpg around town, sub 14 second quarters, 20 mpg on the open road with a Toploader and 2.92:1 BW diff.
8 months, 8 grand New Zealand in 1988, and then 8 weeks later, the NASCAR block got pulled because the bores weren't sized for the TRW forged pistons. He rebuilt it with a stock Aussie 302C block, and ran it as mine manager at Wihi until it got stollen in 1997.
To me, a propane 4.1 sounds great becasue my LPG Falcon was the nicest thing around. Cheap, utterly reliable, and if anything broke, it could be replaced by the engine found in 80% of every Falcon ever made.
I'm not knocking V8's, but if your gonna get one, don't be afraid to spend.
Bob Pinnell felt, way back in 88, that the best bang for the buck was the 460.
I agree. The big block isn't much heavier than the Aussie Clevleand block, and on propane, it would last for ever.
My mate has an FE 390 in his 4x4 80 series chassied Land Rover. On propane, it was a delight. Big blocks are more expensive to do in NZ and Aussie, but they hold there value, and are always wanted for boats and drag cars. 8.8 " diffs and good autos are still around for them. You can't loose!
Be a good steward of the resources of the earth, and make certain any engine you build is still driving around in 20 years time!
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