300 CI motor HP ratings

This info is off of wikipedia, what is the difference between the 67 to 72 170 HP motors and the rest that decrease HP to as low as 117 HP in the 1980 engine? and how hard or what needs to be done to make any of these engines equal in HP, or do you only look for certain year engines and stay away from the rest ? researching for a torque motor with good drive-ability and good MPG, that is reliable, for auto overdrive trans and transfercase to put into 4X4 van and tow small pickup truck bed trailer behind it. Do not want to have to put a bunch of after market hi po parts into it to make it perform. Want to use as many swappable parts for performance as possible, 240 head, efi header exhaust,,cam, later maybe throttle body injection, stuff like that. Do not want to bore out big, hi compression pistons and rods or porting heads, if can get away with it. A cruiser not a racer, I am easy on the throttle control don't need to tear the drive-train up. Or is the 240 the way to go? Thanks

300 CID Straight-6 1967–72 170 hp (130 kW

300 CID Straight-6 1980 117 hp (87 kW) 227 lb·ft (308 N·m) 1bbl
300 CID† Straight-6 1980 120 hp (89 kW) 229 lb·ft (310 N·m) 1bbl
300 CID Straight-6 1981–86 122 hp (91 kW) 255 lb·ft (346 N·m) 1bbl

4.9 L I6 1987–91 165 hp (123 kW) 275 lb·ft (373 N·m) EFI

4.9 L I6 1992–93 145 hp (108 kW) 265 lb·ft (359 N·m)
4.9 L I6 1994–96 150 hp (110 kW) 260 lb·ft (350 N·m)

240 CID Straight-6 1965–66 150 hp (110 kW)

240 CID Straight-6 1967–72 150 hp (110 kW


240 CID Straight-6 1973–77 no ratings
300 CID I6 1973–79 no ratings

Hi Bumpbug,

There are two reasons for the drop in HP. Ford changed the way they measure the horsepower, I believe they included the driveline or transmission parasitic drag. The other factor is the emissions equipment such as the air pump and the early exhaust gas recirculation valve.

I am currently building a straight six with Torque in mind- especially the torque just off idle. One of the things which I was surprised to find affected low rpm torque were the choices in cam shaft. Even "mileage" cams and "torque" cams were not as good for low rpm torque as the stock cam.

In fact, one of my projects right now is finding a good low rpm torque cam.
Once I have the cam I can calculate my dynamic compression ratio, then I will be able to mill the head and deck the block for optimum compression ratio with the octane I want to run.

You can get a lot of information from two sources. The "Ford Six Performance Handbook" is available online at places like E-Bay, Amazon, etc.
Looks like this: http://www.falcon6handbook.com/

The other source is "Classic Inlines" website which has a "Tech Section" which will take about a week to read, ha ha.
Here it is: http://www.classicinlines.com/ (not affiliated)

Lastly, I was wondering why you are going with a 300? Getting it to fit is a lot of effort (can be done though) because of the intake. The stock 240 is a de-stroked 300, so that is an option. Both are pretty heavy powerplants. The 200 is very popular as it is a direct bolt-in and is available. With a few mods it pumps out the torque pretty good, it's almost as light as the 144!

Even better is the 250 if you can find one, look for Grandadas, Fairmonts and Mavericks. That is what I am building right now and with a few mods fits almost like the 200, but the torque can be made to PULL. Numbers a little better than a stock/mild 302 V8 w/o heating issues.

The big bonus with the 250 is it has the small-block Ford bell pattern so it can take a modern overdrive transmission (I got a pretty cool set-up, another topic). There is a 200 which has the SBF pattern, 1980 only I believe...

Hope all these words help more than confuse! (I'm excited about this stuff!)

George

Thanks for the info, I have to be careful of what OD trans I use remember I still need to put a transfer case behind it so length will be a problem. Just looking at all the options and info before I start collecting parts. Am leaning towards the AOD because it is just a little longer than a c4 from one site I read, If you know of a better choice with overdrive ( remember Tcase ) let me know please.

You'll be removing the 2WD tailshaft and replacing with the 4WD transfer case adapter. No way you can do a divorced transfer case. I don't recommend the AOD, too many problems. I am using the "improved" version of the AOD, the 4R70W which is electronically controlled (already have a stand-alone controller). You can look for a good OD transmission from an 4x4 Ford Ranger with auto. Most will be electronic.

Another way to go is GM's 700R4, but I'm not sure how you are about non-Ford. That has a mechanical connection (TV cable) for the shift points sensing.

If you stick with the AOD, there are mods online you can do to upgrade it to be pretty good. You should have plenty of room to make it work, of course the Driveshafts will have to be customized to fit.

Is your front axle a driver's side drop?

ive never heard anything bad about the aod, my dad had 150k miles on his in his towncar shifting mint until somone plowed into him totaling it. my first lincoln mark Vii had 168k original miles which alse performed flawlessly until i swaped a stick into it. i do know that if the tv cable is not adjusted properly it will slip and aventually blow and i also know that if built properly they can hold decent hp too.

i think the aod is a good od trans that you can easily find on craigslist for cheap!

There is plenty of good and bad on the net about the AOD and a lot has to do with the pump tearing the case up when it gets worn. How much do you spend to build a good trans as just starting out with a stock proven one. Don't know. My biggest problem will be space for a OD trans and transfer case with enough room for the rear drive line.

I should have qualified what I said, the later version of the AOD were pretty solid. The earlier ones gave it a bad rap. The successor, AODE has all the problems corrected by Ford engineers. You can literally pull the guts out of the AODE and put them into the AOD case. Aftermarket upgrades also exist. My father had a Lincoln MKVII and it too performed flawlessly. The latest version of the AOD is the 4R70W and it has a very wide gear range, it is used in everything from F-150's to the Mustang... That's why I say start with the 4R70W, but you got to like electronics.