my first 6. what are the "must do's" on an engine

[falconizer_62]

i want as good as i can get on the gas mileage.
i have built fours and plenty of v8s from most american manufacturers, but no sixes...yet. what breaks? what's the best spark curve?
i have a '62 falcon wagon with a 170 in it. what is the best carb that fits. headers or no headers? i will use arp rod bolts and balance it, but other than that i will trust your experience with these little beasts.

 

[jahearne]

A good rule of thumb is to start out with a copy of the Falcon Performance Handbook. The only thing that breaks is my wallet buying high performance parts. You can also check out the Hardcore Tech forum where I read a few members are going for max fuel economy. Search the forum for spark curves, etc. If you do the research on this forum and still have questions just post your questions.

Good luck,

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy:

John- Thanks for the endorsement.

Falconizer_

More details! Is the wagon a standard or auto trans? You said that your goal is economy. Is that city or highway driving? or both? Is this a daily driver, or a sunny day cruizer?

Are you doing a complete rebuild? Since you said this 170 is in a '62 wagon, I'm assuming that it is the OEM C1XX or C2XX block?

How OEM do you want to stay? Bone stock? stock appearing? Resto mod? From the picture in your signature I'm assuming you have a good sense of style. Use it to visualize a picture of what your goal will be. Then share that goal for more focused advice from this forum. Clearly, you have many options.

'62 to '63 was a big change year for the little Ford six. The '63 model year went to the Autolite 1100 carb, replacing the sweet little glass bowled Holley. They also upgraded the exhaust manifold to a 2" outlet and a donut/firewall connection between the head pipe and the manifold. Neither of these changes will greatly effect your mileage goal, but are examples of details that are good to know before you make your choices. As always, the devil is in the details.

Keep it coming.

Adios, David

 

[LaGrasta]

Mine is set-up for mpg. I've done everything I can think of with the exception of a T5 and keeping my foot out of it.

Rear gears and wheel size will help and of course a well tuned engine, I love my Pertronix. The T5 would be a huge improvement, but as you well know, living in SoCal traffic makes it tough on the shins. I get about 20-25 mpg. I drive from MV to Anaheim for work, about 300 miles a week.