Parts for my 61 Econos motor.

Got everything to rebuild the 240ci 60 over from Clifford Performance today. Going all 6=8. I will be sending the headers off tomorrow to Jet Hot Coatings in Tempe, Arizona tomorrow to get their Jet Hot Sterling coating put on them. They put three layers on the inside and three on the outside. This makes the headers run 300-400 degrees cooler so I will get better performance, mileage and it won't get so hot in the dog house and the life of the headers will be many years longer than bare headers. I got an Edelbrock 500 4 barrel carb to go on the new aluminum intake. Can't wait to get started on the build. Clifford is also rebuilding the head to match the motor with larger valves etc.

Is there a reason you need to do this other than want to ? will it be a daily driver when done? How much improvement is it over what you have now and does MPG matter at all for this? Advantage between this and V8 conversion. Learning as I go for when I decide what I want to build when I find a van I want.

It will be a daily driver but will also be show quality. my Econo came without a motor and trans so it i s a big difference. Advantage over a V8 (302) is 85 more hp and a lot more torque (365 foot pounds total on the 240) with better mileage. Since the truck only weighs around 2200 pounds it should take freeway speeds easily and shouldn't have any problem with hills. I have gone the V8 path and will never do it again. I like the straight six. The reason for the Jet Hot coating is less heat in the dog house and better performance.

when you say 6 = 8 how much motor modification is needed that you are doing over stock on the 240 ci to outperform the 302 ford, and how much difference in MPG between the 2.

new cam, headers, bore the motor 60 over, new pistons, rings, 0 deck the block, shave the head 30 thousands of an inch, larger valves, port and polish etc. plus Offenhauser intake with Edelbrock 500 4 barrel carb and Mallory Unilite distributor, Mallory Hyfire ignition box and Mallory 60,000 volt coil and a cold air intake. A stock 302 puts out around 185 HP and not a whole lot of torque either but you can turn it into a 347 stroker and get 419HP and 450 pounds of torque like I did in my Vanishing breed. I have a 200 ci motor in my 65 Econo with more HP and torque than a stock 302. Cliffords 6=8 means a straight six with the power of a V8. not sure what the 302 would get as far as mileage but my 347 stroker got 4mpg and this 240 should get 18 at least.

I like your plans Mike. Yes, strokin a 302 definitely takes care of gas mileage. It seems no one really appreciates the torque that you get from an inline six. Basically you have the power of a diesel with the economy of gasoline. Right now
I am just trying to get my recently purchased Econo pickup to putter along with its 144 cu.in. Maybe this next winter I'll pull it off the road and restore the body and build a nice inline six for it and switch to an automatic. Dealing with carb. and master cylinder issues right now.