Anybody do a dual carb setup on a 170 straight 6?

Although it is probably there, I looked for a thread on this and did not find anything. Its needless to say the stock set up always leaves you wanting more. What kind of retrofit carberator wise makes sense to maximize HP? Dual carbs, a different kind of single carb, ???? Thanks

seen some offy manifolds offered recently- for sale new in some car mags
=2 x 2 & i beliebe a 4 bbl one

so is there something that can just be put on the existing, or would an entire retro be necessary?

A friend has a 2bbl Weber and dual exhaust tube headers on his 64 Ranchero. He's just finishing it up so I don't know how much HP gain he has.

There is a Ford Six performance manual that will give you a lot of great info. I think it's available from the Falcon Club.

You cant add a car without a lot of work since the intake is integrated into the head. You might be able to add a 2bbl carb

A funny thing happened to me today! I stopped by the local "Ricer Turbo" shop because I am helping them with a few builds. Dave, the owner sees me walk up and says "Hey carb man, I have something I need your help on". It was a webber like the one they used to put on a Pinto. Like the one talked about above. I haven't seen one of those in 30 years! It is the same style carb we used to put on 170-200 E-100s but this one came new and has a jet and air bleed kit to make dial in a lot easier. These carbs respond very well because they are a progressive style carb. They have a primary and secondary side and run on one side until power is needed. We just made simple adapter plates, jetted them up a little and they worked very well.

The best little six I built was in a 64 shorty. My friend didn't want to go V8 but keep the small 6. I talked him out of the 170 in favor of a 200 mostly because the 170 only has 4 mains and the 200 has 7. I found him a good core that only needed rings and bearings and added a Clifford solid cam and tube header and Pinto 2 bll carb. I used the old head from the 170 because it had bigger valves and more compression as well as an adjustable rocker shaft for the solid cam. I made an adapter plate out of a 1" piece of aluminum and opened up the carb mounting port as much as I dared to get the best flow possible. I found a toploader 4 speed and used a bigger bell and flywheel from a later year Falcon, I think. The linkage for the 66 Mustang floor shifter was long a little clunky but it worked well. The trans mount was made from square tube and the drive shaft was made from the rear half of a HD shaft with a slip yoke for the trans end and the rear half of the stock shaft because he wanted to keep the stock 7" rear end. The carb had to have it's jets drilled out because it was way lean and it took a few tries to get it right.
We were in a rush to get his van finished because he wanted to show it off at a Van run our club was hosting at a park 50 miles from home. While I was working late on his new driveline he was still using his van to transport supplies out to the park in preperation for the big party. The road had a 5 mile uphill grade and his 170 van had to climb in 2nd gear at about 45 MPH. 3 days before the run we started the swap and I remember not getting much sleep but we got it done in time even if we were a little later getting there. He was too nervous to drive and break in his new motor so he got me to drive his van and I got one of my club buddies to drive mine. He figured that if I was driving and anything went wrong I would know how to deal with it. We had 5 people and one big dog in the van and when we got to the 5 mile grade we had about 45 miles on the engine and I asked if I could give it a good test and he agreed. I never even downshifted ,just left it in 4th and gave it gas. It pulled well and when we hit 90 I figured it had passed the test with flying colors. My friend was sqealing like a little girl.
He won the trophy for first place for paint but got second place for best engineered. My van edged him out for first because I had a V8 4speed but I had AC in my van and the judges really liked that.
So I can give a thumbs up to the Webber/Pinto carb. By itself it may not be a big power adder but it is an upgrade and it did have that extra kick when the secondary opened up similar to when a 4V kicks in.

Sounds very cool, something I would like to consider but definitely above my "skill level". Is it too much to ask for detailed info like links and part numbers for a source for the header and carb? I understand there's a modification at the base, what about all the linkage, vaccuum, and electrical connections? Are they a straight installation or is modification necessary for them too?

both langdons and summit sell a carb adapter to install a holley/webber on a single barrel intake. was $15.00 each last summer.

Clifford has a lot of stuff but I've been out of 6's for a long time. I remember that it took some time to get the webber set up. There is a lot of aftermarket now so I'm sure you can find links for whatever you want.
Don't be too fearful of "skill level"! Everything is a learning process. Find a forum member close to you or find a club ,if one exists, and get some help. There is a wealth of "how to" vids on you tube that can guide you. I'm not saying "jump in over your head". Take small steps but you need to start somewhere.
Mark and tag everything you touch and make notes as necessary so that if you can't make something work you can replace the original parts and get running again.
If you get hired help be sure you verify their area of skill. Don't go to a import tuner shop and expect them to make custom mods for you. The, local,import tuner shop calls me when they have questions and I get parts and info from them on turbos and tips for my 2.3 Ford.
There are still some old speed shops out there that can get you going. Talk is cheap, look for builds that a shop has done and go from there. Be prepaired to spend $$$$$ but get the best bang for your buck. Good luck!

66ThunderVan wrote:The best little six I built was in a 64 shorty. My friend didn't want to go V8 but keep the small 6. I talked him out of the 170 in favor of a 200 mostly because the 170 only has 4 mains and the 200 has 7. I found him a good core that only needed rings and bearings and added a Clifford solid cam and tube header and Pinto 2 bll carb. I used the old head from the 170 because it had bigger valves and more compression as well as an adjustable rocker shaft for the solid cam. I made an adapter plate out of a 1" piece of aluminum and opened up the carb mounting port as much as I dared to get the best flow possible.

So I can give a thumbs up to the Webber/Pinto carb. By itself it may not be a big power adder but it is an upgrade and it did have that extra kick when the secondary opened up similar to when a 4V kicks in.

I did the same many years ago in my Œ65. I put the Pinto/Webber/Holley 5200 on my 200-six. I found a carb adapter and had to grind it out a little to eliminate a slight mismatch.

I took off the hot-water choke and bought a choke conversion kit to use the original van choke cable.

I used the cable throttle from a Π240 rather than the long throttle rod from the original 170 engine. I had to fashion a clamp at the carburetor end.

Mine was a great carb conversion, and I plan to do the same on the next van I rebuild.

Found a neat video on this carb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4qflAXIsZE

I Got the carb rebuilt and am VERY glad I took allota pictures, made a huge difference in getting it all back together. NO extra parts left over at the end is always a good thing. However, I did NOT take a picture before I started and I need reference to re-attach the linkage!! My shop manual shows the carb itself and linkage from the pedal up to that swinging arm off the side of the carb. I have a spring that is about an 1" long I just don't recall form where it came. Anybody have a diagram or some pictures that might help?