All Small Six Top end rebuild

This relates to all small sixes

akidwithacar

Active member
I need to get my cylinder head repaired and thus I am going to do a rebuild on the top end of my 200 ci. What would you all recommend to replace while rebuilding this? Trying to keep it budget friendly and not looking for anything beyond stock power at the moment. Thanks
 
If you want stock power just do a stock rebuild and only replace worn out parts with stock parts.
If it was mine I would have a 3 angle valve job done and open the stock carb opening to accept a larger one barrell carb.
 
I would polish the combustion chambers with Dremel sanding drums and blend the bowls behind the valves with a curved tungsten carbide Dremel bit. Just a few hours time if you have the tools.
 
while the head is off, is the only time to replace the camshaft. so a full top-end rebuild may be in your future. the lifters on most 200's can only be taken out with the head removed. so this would be the opportune time to replace a worn-out cam; and the timing chain; especially keeping in mind that if your timing chain goes on a 200, so does your camshaft, as the bottom of the con-rods pass into the camshaft's space.

since the 200's head itself is being rebuilt: using ford 305 valve springs, hardened valve seats, opening up the valve passageways a little while you are in there (read: port/polish if you want), will all increase the longevity of the engine, and you have the choice of going with a mild-performance build, or completely back to stock.

my 200 was built in April 1982; just rolled over 75K miles, (it was a garaged car, and hadn't been drive at all since 1995) and I have been seriously looking at doing a new cam, and the double roller timing chain simply for increasing the life of the engine. however, once I pull the head to get the lifters out, there really isn't much of a reason to leave the head alone, or to not replace parts that would be made with stronger alloys than they were back then.

as I currently have a carb/vac issue with my engine, I have been looking into the cost of a top-end rebuild vs just replacing with stock, and the difference is nominal. a mild build to take my (rated) 99 hp engine to 120-130hp would cost about the same as leaving everything OEM, but I would be greatly improving longevity, and increasing the range of the power-band, and bring the engine into the range of acceptable performance for a mid-sized car of today's standards; and that's all before tearing into the bottom end.

Good luck with your project!
 
Back
Top