Primary reason for building a six?

Primary reason for building a six?

  • Economy-mileage

    Votes: 4 13.8%
  • Performance

    Votes: 2 6.9%
  • Appearance

    Votes: 2 6.9%
  • To be Different

    Votes: 16 55.2%
  • Other

    Votes: 5 17.2%

  • Total voters
    29

AzCoupe

1K+
Departed Member
This is a simple one, but it will help me make some decisions for future projects/parts. One of my main reasons for asking, is to find out what direction we should go when we start building crate motors. Would potential customers be more interested in performance, economy, a combination of both, simple and efficient, or just the opposite, or something with lots of eye appeal that looks totally diferent than the normal cookie cutter V8s?

There are a lot of directions we can go, but I prefer to narrow it down to two or three motors to start with. Personally I like one with a solid bottom end, aluminum head, 4V carb (or injected), and a Paxton (or Procharger) blower with 6-7 lbs of boost (no intercooler for easy of plumbing). But that may be to pricey.

Basically I'm interested in why you kept the six, and if you plan to build a motor in the near future, would it be primarily for performance, ecomomy, or ???
 
originally kept Susie a six cylinder because i didn't have the money to swap to a V8 and i enjoyed being different

got a 4.9 F-150 because i heard of how reliable they were through this site
 
Old Charlie came with a six. It was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up. Since it ain't broke, no reason to "fix" it. :D
 
Mainly performance, and if it improves mileage too that's a bonus.
I wouldn't do an upgrade just for improved economy unless the upgrades paid for themselves in about 3 years.
 
Because Dad's Ranchero had a 6 in it, and I promised him that I'd keep it stock or at least stock-appearing. Lotsa family history in the ol' yeller Ranchero, and I'm not going to screw it up if I can help it.

Different car, Different engine, Different driving experience. I love it.
 
I've seen too many falcons with v8s, just wanted to be different. ..........64 falcon 2 door sedan 200ci .040 . comp 260/ .440 D.U.I , triple webbers, dual outlet header, modified 79 log head w/c4and 3.20 rear gears. soon to add a C.I. timing set.[/quote]
 
All out performance. How can you beat a car that does 0-60 in 12 seconds and still get s 13 MPG. If I wanted fuel economy, or to be different, I would build a V-16 604 CID.
 
My 1st car came with a six(by chance) -so did my 2nd and soon a 3rd(by choice). Six will get better mielage but also "I'M SICK AND TIRED OF ALL THE STUPID PUTDOWNS ABOUT OUR SIXES JUST SO A V-8 CAN BE SWAPED IN".So many people just like lemmings-lets all do it---"NO Thanks" I liked the fact that I could do my own oil changes,spark plugs,alternator--etc. I wont deny there was 1 point when I had my 1st car I thought about a 289 swap--but it dawned on me one day that my car was just fine the way it was-and I know it would do over 120mph:):):):) interstingly enuff the cop never pulled me over just shined his light and I slowed down--lol. With the fact that we now can add performance to our cars Im happier than ever.
 
the main reason i kept mine was because it was the original engine. its been modified now, but the car came with a straight six and i wanted to keep it. i am also hoping to get better gas mileage.
 
Also: I can change the oil without getting under the car to get the plug out of the pan. Try that with anything else! 8)
 
8) i decided to keep the six in my 64 falcon to stay true to the original intent of the car. economy.
 
I'm just tired of v8's I've had and built to many. My goal is to build a fast car that still gets good mpgs. When I told a guy at work I was planning on spending about 7 grand on my six he said I was nuts, thats more than he's got in his dragcar motor, but I don't care I want my six. I got my header today a T5 is next :eek:
 
AzCoupe":38x64xjb said:
This is a simple one, but it will help me make some decisions for future projects/parts. One of my main reasons for asking, is to find out what direction we should go when we start building crate motors. Would potential customers be more interested in performance, economy, a combination of both, simple and efficient, or just the opposite, or something with lots of eye appeal that looks totally diferent than the normal cookie cutter V8s?

There are a lot of directions we can go, but I prefer to narrow it down to two or three motors to start with. Personally I like one with a solid bottom end, aluminum head, 4V carb (or injected), and a Paxton (or Procharger) blower with 6-7 lbs of boost (no intercooler for easy of plumbing). But that may be to pricey.

Basically I'm interested in why you kept the six, and if you plan to build a motor in the near future, would it be primarily for performance, ecomomy, or ???

If your going to go with 3 motors then Build one that is improvement over original with economy 1st a slight performance upgrade(true 120-140hp)--build one that is mid performance upgrade(150-200hp)--build one that is high performance 200 or 250 with 200 hp ++++.

But if you build only 2 then make 1st one economy/performance upgrade then the 2nd one go with higher end performance but not maxed out but offer upgrade parts to max it out.
 
it was there when i got it so im just gonna do what i can with her. if ever wanted to go for some real hi-po id probably swap in something with more cylinders just because its cheaper to build one of those up. you just dont get the bang for the buck with a 6 so i cant really see myself throwing alot of green at it
 
(Common) V8's are boring, No imagination or inventiveness there. Been there done that, had fun at the time...

But got sick of keeping up with the jonses (someone is always faster), so now I just diverge. Way more fun and way less money. (and w/ the turbo, I'm keeping up ok despite my best efforts). If you build a V8 car, there is always another V8 car that is faster, better, and cooler that someone will compare it to. With the 6, you are the king of your castle... very rarely is there someone around with a 6 that you can compare to, and if there is - it's usually someone from this forum and you know them already.

So it takes the &^&* measuring out of the car hobby. No one will try to compare you to the multitude of better funded cars out there 'cause you're "just a six". - That's fine by me... and then when people see that you have done some unique, inspirational, and EFFECTIVE things to your six, they really get stoked, and really are willing to dish out the praise - It let's you run in your own class as opposed to trying to run w/ the herd.

My car is way cooler than some gay bellybutton V8 muscle car anyways. At least I think so - and that's all that matters. Instead of sitting here browsing through summit trying to decide which cookie-cutter bolt-on to add next (which of these 5000 different intake manifolds should I use?), I am constantly using my brain (and this forum) to devise solutions to the problems the car gives me, because the off-the-shelf solution to those problems doesn't exist. If I had a V8 car right now, I would just throw dollars at it and have it working perfect. No thinking needed. Where is the fun in that? I've done that before, but it was more fun 'cause I had less dollars, and that dictated more thinking. Now that I am fortunate enough to have a little more money for the hobby, having a bastard-child of a motor forces me to use my brain, and not just my wallet. (Where's the forged stroker rotating assembly for 1800 bucks Mike, cmon... )
 
It's the same old saying, " swap that chitty 6 for a V8!" I got tired of hearing it and told I was keeping the six. "You won't make any power with that!"
Well you can figure how far their jaws dropped when I had beaten 12 V8 broncos in the sand drags and won the competition for standard tranny class. Enough said.

Kirk
 
When I was in my early twenties, my mates were buying muscle cars with V8s while I was playing with a 1600 in a H^&%$ Gemini (rebadged Isuzu). This was before 4 cylinders and turbos became the "in" thing. I was different then 8) and I'm different now :) . When all my mates and brothers are putting SBC and big blocks into rods and american cruisers, i'm still there playing with something different only this time its got 2 more cylinders but its still inline. Whats even better is that the I6 I play with is a classic 8) 8)
 
I picked "other". It came with the car.

I had never seen one before, but thought that since I had a fox-body I could buy a 302 and Bob's yer uncle.

But after realizing how basic and easy and cheap to work on and maintain it was love. :oops: :LOL: "I" can work on this car without having to go to a mechanic to change the spark plugs. I'm new to the "car" hobby so it's been a great learning platform.

Kind of like you found a stray dog, and it wants to be your best friend. And if you don't take care of it, it's going to the pound. :cry:
Yes, it's almost like a responsibility now. :LOL:

However, if I had not found a site like this it would be extremely difficult.
This site was probably the most compelling reason for me to pursue this obsession.
Without this place there would be a deep void in the access to information.
 
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