New to the group and I could really use some help!!!!!

:roll:

Hi Everyone,
I recently purchased a 1966 mustang with a 200 inline six. I want to keep the originality, but I want the most I can get out of the engine. I only say this because the engine only has 20,000 miles on it. I've seen the aussie head, but I want to keep the traditional look to the engine. I would appreciate anything that anyone could give me help with. Please don't hesitate anything would be appreciated. I'm trying to get it ready for this summer. Thank you very much for your time!!!!!!!

OK, a few ground rules. Advice is 10¢ /word, minimum charge $10. Please feed sufficient bills into the floppy drive slot at the front of your CPU and press the "POWER" key to the right of "F12"... Now, meet me below the asterisks.

>> That should test his mettle, folks! :roll:

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Welcome back.

Jack (aka Mustang Six) recently posted the results of some virtual dyno work on the small six. Some things worth knowing before you spend in the wrong direction: Headers alone will add very little power (they should save a little fuel under restrained driving). A larger carb will add a modicum of urge. Headers and a carb uprate will produce a noticeable increase, but not huge.

The bulk of the extra power comes from increased flow - portwork and valve sizing changes. Couple this with a careful, documented engine build and you have an optimised motor with decent reliability, that's tractable and economical (relatively speaking). Just how far you pursue these aims, will be influenced by your budget and enthusiasm for "hands on" work. It's a reasonable drawback that many mechanics and engine builders are not familiar with, or favourably disposed to, performance mods on these sixes. Certainly, there are no "bolt-on" mods (in the style of SBC stuff you can get) that will give you guaranteed shattering results.

Upside of this, is many mods can be "staged" at your convenience and independently of one another. As your "package" comes together in this way, the benefits start to pick up. Stick with it - there's not too much that doesn't follow logical procedure, and there's always an opinion or three available here!

Before we use up all of your first $10, I might also say "Welcome to the Forum".

Regards, Adam.

Do very prestigious named products essentially mean better or will relatively moderate products work just as well!!!!!!

Say you take something like valves. Everybody's heard of Manley. There are other makers, some of whom may produce a product totally suitable for your application. Ditto for headers, ignition coils... Be wary of things marketed at the DIY market expressly. I say wary - some may be fine products, others possibly just not as great an upgrade as the maker suggests.

So, yes, be aware when shopping; one thing I will point out is that AzCoupe barely covers costs with his "one-stop shop". There's certainly not the fat margins there of some other six cylinder specialists.

Adam.

that's the thing really... there are no prestigious companies, there is Mike aka AzCoupe (a member of this forum, www.fordsixparts.com ) and there is Clifford Performance, those are really the only two US companies that focus solely on US inline six engines
or if there are more, i don't know of 'em


but i don't think i've heard of any complaints about Mike's stuff, and what little i have heard, he's taken care of it
Clifford, on the other hand, just recently went though a while where nothing but bad things were being said (by the way, if i remember correctly, the complaints were almost completely customer service related, not problems with parts, minor griping about price, but not about the parts themselves) i believe that period is over, but i'm not sure

Howdy OcavyO:

Welcome to the Forum. This is a good place to be, but we could be more helpful if we knew more specifically what you have- coupe? tranny? And an idea of your budget range, and your goals, both short term and long term, and intended use for your car.

I gathered that you want to keep it original. Is that correct? Is stock appearing good enough, or do you want to maintain the original parts too?

To keep it original, and still get the most out of it, consider the following.

1. Upgrading to a '68 or '69 distributor that will have both centrifugal and vacuum advance- your '66 distributor only has vacuum. While this is not original, it is original appearing and very few will know the difference. You can also gain driveability by adapting a PetroniX Ignitor to the later distributor for pointless operation. Gap your plugs at .45" and increase your initial advance to about 12 to 14 degrees.

This mod and the next should go hand-in-hand as the '66 distributor and carb are designed to work together. It is called the Load-a-matic system. there is a Spark Control Valve on the carb that is designed to send the correct vacuum signal to the distributor. There is a reason FoMoCo went to another distributor design- The load-matic system never worked very well.

2. Find an Autolite 1101 carb to replace your current 1100. The 1101 was used in '69 on 250 engines. It is rated at 215 cfm as compared to 185 for the 1100. Pony Carb offers what they call their performance 1100. They use the venturi from an 1101 and make some other mods as well, but they are pricy. Either of these will maintain stock linkage and air cleaner.

3. Replace your current exhaust system with a 2" diameter header pipe, a 2" turbo type muffler and a 2" exhaust pipe. This will be only slightly loader, lighter and flow much better.

4. If your engine is in great shape and you don't anticipate a major rebuild anytime soon, you could benefit from 1.6:1 ratio rocker arms for a slight increase in valve lift. Again these rockers are pricy.

To get the most out of your engine and the above modifications, you really need to consider a performance valve job, which would include a three angle valve job, back cutting the intake valves, installing an exhaust port divider, mill the head to maintain compression (read the sticky at the top of this forum). No need for hardened inserts if this is a Sunday driver. A performance valve job will really wake up the engine and make the most of the previous modifications. This is where the flow is that Adam talked about.

All of the above is predicated on a well tuned, well maintained engine. Keep it light and you will be pleased with a surprizingly spritely little sleeper.

But enjoy the journey.

Adios, David

A good tool to have at your finger tips is the Ford Six Performance Handbook. If you do not allready have it GET IT!! It was a big to help to me and many others!!
Mark

Sorry to step on your post :roll:
but is there a newer head that can be used (non auzzy) that well upgrade the motor ie: better flow, better carb. ect. for the 200.
Sorry and Thanks
Tim

Also consider larger valves and an upgraded cam (or higher ratio roller tipped rockers). Those are all internal, but will help open up the engine some.

Slade

Howdy Back All:

Tim- Yes, the '78 and later heads have larger intake valves at 1.75", a 1.75" carb hole, hardened seats and larger intake tract volume. They are a better place to start for max performance, but OcavyO is talking about staying original. Since we haven't heard back from him as to how original, I made my suggestion applicable to his stock OEM head. Any head can benefit from those mods.

We have been doing some measuring of intake tract volumes on E0XX heads. It is likely they will have a larger intake tract volume then either late model hex or flat-top log heads. It is not conclusive yet.

OcavyO- We need to hear back from you. Are you planning a complete engine overhaul, or just easy upgrades? My advice might change depending on your answer.

Adios, David

OcavyO,

Welcome.

We have found that changing to a t5 transmission has been well worth the effort. More power in 1st gear lower cruising rpm in 5th. This is relatively straightforward if you alrready have a manual transmission. A stock engine with a t5 will spin the wheels in first gear. If you search the posts for t5 info and go to Al's inline pages you will find all the information required for the swap.

For engine work consider the Ford Inline Six Perfrmance book sold on this web site to be an essential starting point.

Easiest and cheapest, new distributor with Pertronixs 2 and hight voltage coil, wires, plugs. This also improves drivability, gas milage, idle, and starting.

Easy but more $, Headers, exhaust port divider, and exhaust.

Easy But $ new bigger, carburation.

Easy, but $$ 1.6 rockers.

Not so easy 260 to 270 cam.

This may sound crazy but may be easier in the long run. 1st: buy/install the bolt on items. Then if more is desired the transmission change to the modern 5 speed t5. If that is not enough and more power is desired, get a second engine and build up the block, for the chosen rpm, cam, valves, rocker arms, and compression ratio. A rebuildable second engine will not cost that much, and will enable building to a 6,000 rpm red line which will pave the way to much greater power.

If you do all of these things you will have a very unique, fun, easy to work on, drivable car, with performace on the level of a stock 302. However, be warned, to reach this level will cost more than changing to a 302.

Regards, Dave

For the bone stock look 1) get a shop manual and the Ford Performance Handbook, 2)Pertronix II unit, coil and wires, 3) port divider from Clifford. The port divider can be glued in with high heat epoxy and the stock manifold reinstalled. You will notice a difference with the ignition and the divider and you can put it all back together with no one the wiser.
Get you game on with the handbook while you are restocking you wallet or deciding what to do next. You will have to retune after installing the Pertronix, so the manual and the handbook are real helpful for that at the very minimum. Then check out the section in the handbook on staged performance upgrades - staged according to cost, starting at free and moving up to $$$$.

hey guys,

Thanks for all the input!!!! In response I'm trying not to consider price into this rebuild. If it is worth it then I will get it. I deo want to do a full engine rebuild, but I don't want to use the standard rebuild kit that everyone is pedaling, because I want to make the inline six to it's best. Not for racing, this is strictly for fun, looks, and cruising. I do not intend to use this car for races, maybetest it here and there but mostly for a decent response when I step on the pedal. It does have an automatic trans that I would like to keep for originality purposes. Originality just means that I don't mind if it changes, but I would like to make it appear to be original even if there are drastic changes.
**Someone posted about a non-aussie head that produces better can someone please tell me where I can look this up and price it. Any comments welcome on any of this. Thanks again guys!!!!!!

Howdy Back All:

OcavyO- The head to get then is a 78 - 80s, It will have a larger intake valve, bigger port volume and carb hole, Hardened valve seats. the down side is a larger combustion chamber. reread the sticky at the top of this forum for details and solutions.

You can be rebuilding it while you're still driving your car. When everything is done and ready, you can possibly make the swap in an afternoon.

If I were you I'd find a '78 junk yard donor and get a everything from the Air cleaner nut to the carb linkage and pedal assembly. This donor might be the source for your duraSpark II igntion system too. Get everything there from the plugs to the screws that hold the module to the inner fender.

Next disassemble and clean everything. Have the head rebuilt with a performance valve job including a three angle valve job, back cut the intake valves and mill to your goal CR. Install an exhaust port divider.

If you plan to use headers, Good! If you don't, Inspect your '66 exhaust manifold for cracks. If none and it is in good shape use it on the later head.

A good tune up and your good to go.

Adios, David

I see Clifford has a blueprinted head for $1095. From its discription, they make it sound like it's Jacks own design. Or is it just a log head with alot of porting?