Most economic way to get more performance from a 200

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I am getting ready to have my 65 200 rebuilt and would like to enhance it's performance and gas mileage (if possible), but don't have alot of extra cash. What would be my best options to key in on?
 
8)

On a log head motor I would do the following.

1) Mill head .060"

2)Install a Clifford exhaust port divider. Porting the exhaust side will help also

3) Read up on here and find the info to put the 300cfm Carter 1 bbl on your head. It matches the heads breathing ability and will still get excellent gas mileage

4) If economy is your goal yet want better performance you could go with a 252 degree cam. A 260 deg cam would be better performance but mileage will probably not be as good.

5) Header into a good flowing 2" exhaust will be good for performance and mileage. If you dont use a header still go with a good flowing exhaust. When I went with a 2 1/4" Mustang SVO style exhaust I could tell difference in how the car ran.
 
Thanks - but you have raised two more questions for me. First, would a Auotlite 1100 carb rebuilt by PonyCarbs be equiv. to the Carter or do I need the Carter mostly for the breathing ability? Second, I've not heard good things regarding Clifford - any other options for the exhaust port divider and forgive my ignorance, I am new to this, what is a exhaust port divider?
 
8)

When you look at the exhaust side of your head after it is off you will see a large elongated hole in center. The two center ports dump into a common exhaust port. The two exhaust flows hitting each other cause turbulence which reduces exhaust flow. By installing a T-shaped exhaust port divider it seperates the two ports so that you get better flow.

IIRC Your Autolite carb flows about 180cfm. The Carter YF that is recommended is a 300cfm 1 bbl carb. The Carter is mostly for increased breathing ability.
 
Howdy All:

Anlushac11- Do you mean the YF that was used on the Ford six 300 ci engine. I'm not aware of any Carter one barrel YF rated at 300 cfm. IIRC The YF from a 300 ci Ford six is rated in the 230cfm range and has some real idle quality problems on a 200 six.

kcmustang- When you say you, "don't have a lot of cash", what kind of a budget are you talking about. If you're doing an complete rebuild, that's the time to invest in a foundation block/bottom end that will please you way on down the road.

A couple of tips that I's reccomend are-
Once you have you overbore determined and pistons selected I'd recommend that you deck, or mill the top of the block to achieve a zero (.000) deck height. That's the distance from the top of the piston to the top of the block. Even with a high lift performance cam you'll still have plenty of valve to piston clearance. The tighter squench dimension will improve turbulence and combustion efficiency. Then mill the head to achieve your compression ratio goal. I'd go with the small dish replacement pistons in as small an overbore possible and still get clean, straight bores.

If your going to run and auto trans go with the 252H-254H duration cam. If you're using a stick tranny go with the 260H. The difference in economy between these mild performance cams and a stock grind will be very small.

Have the whole rotating and reciprocating system balanced.

Spend you money on the best, most versatile bottom end you can afford. Messing with heads, carbs, exhaust is much easier and can be done later or as you can afford them.

What is your compression ratio goal?

Would you like suggestions and tips on the cylinder head at this point?

Clifford makes quality parts. Sometimes the phone advice and hype is a little overzealous, they have had periods of frustratingly slow service and pricing can a bit on the high side, but after all is said and done, where else can you go for some things. The exhaust port divider is a case in point. If you are a handy metallurgist you could probably cast up your own port divider, some have even welded them up from steel sheeting. But I'd rather spend my time fitting and shaping theirs and getting on to other things. Your choice.

Adios, David
 
I agree with David here. A good strong bottom end is the best place to put your $ now. A mild cam, a 252 / 260, will improve torque some, I don't know about mileage. I think not. The stock cam is 252, but low lift. The "performance" version by Comp, Isky and others has higher lift, which will contribute to performance. By the way, Clifford is a good source for quality product and customer service is improving. Pay by credit card and if you don't get your parts you credit card issuer will charge them back for you - no choice on their part. I pay for everything "mail ordered" this way.

Be careful about "decking" and "milling" without a plan. Know what compression ratio you are going for. You will not be happy with a compression ratio over 9:1 in a daily driver. As a matter of fact, if you want to use inexpensive fuel (87 oct regular), a little under 9 would be good advise. If you are willing to buy premium fuel and upgrade your ingition (a separate subject), a little over 9 would be a fine (note: I'm talking a range of 8.7 to 9.2 here).

Carburetion. Unless you are able to sort one out after its installed a carb off of a 300ci motor is not recommended. You can over carb the 200 quickly, and flow alone is not magic. There are no "bolt on" upgrades. After the engine is done, you can play with carbs, headers, etc. til your hearts content.

Head. Do get a "three angle" valve job. Do install adjustable rocker arms. Do get hardened seats.

Get a copy of the Ford Six Performance Handbook before you start. Look it up on the web.

Have fun with this. It's the best part.
 
I agree with building a solid botom end. If time allowed, I might do a little pocket porting on the head, especially on the exhaust side, but I wouldn't pay someone to do that.

Definitely use an aftermarket 250-254 cam. Keep the CR down to about 9:1.

Finally, install either a Duraspark or 68-up distributor w/Pertronix and a good coil.
 
Thanks to all for the advice, I will be spending some consultation time with the shop to discuss these ideas. Thanks again.

Mark
 
Your subject said the most economic way to get horsepower from a 200.

Have you checked out Mustangroo's results. Bolted on an Aussie head, carb and exhaust. Gained 40 ponies. That is probably the most bang for the buck your going to get. His Dyno results showed 105 at the rear wheels and I believe he has a power steering pump and A/C.

I know you can get an Aussie Head and intake for 500 as is. Rebuilt for 750. 2barrel 500cfm for around 200. Exhaust full system Head to tips including mufflers for around 600.

Thats a total of 1300/40 comes to about 33 bucks per horsepower. The other option would be to do what you can with what you got. Price it get an estimate on the horsepower gains and do the math and figure out which way gets you the most bang for your buck.
 
CZLN6":30wtqq52 said:
Clifford makes quality parts. Sometimes the phone advice and hype is a little overzealous, they have had periods of frustratingly slow service and pricing can a bit on the high side, but after all is said and done, where else can you go for some things. The exhaust port divider is a case in point. If you are a handy metallurgist you could probably cast up your own port divider, some have even welded them up from steel sheeting. But I'd rather spend my time fitting and shaping theirs and getting on to other things. Your choice.

A while back one of the other forum members said that autokrafters has their own port divider and here it is
http://www.autokrafters.com/tpls/Detail.tpl?command=search&db=Catalog.db&eqskudata=73-1136
for 22.95$ (USD when I posted)
the question I still have is do they "roll their own" or are the OEM(ed) from someplace else?

ron
 
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