New here with my first econoline pickup

Donn wrote: I would go with the 302 or any other v8, no disrespect to Mike, but no matter what you do to a six it's still a six!Put the same amount of money into the 302 and you will get more horse power, better feel, sound, smell, more weight,better look, better resale value, etc..better gas mileage really should not be and issue when building a custom truck. I know for me it's not. I am building my pick up for fun not commuting.
I have never heard a six come close to the sound of a nice v8 with a cam

Donn you have not heard my 200. People swear it sounds like a V8. You can build a 240 to have 800 pounds of torque which is more than a built 302 and up to 500hp. The folks at classic inline sixes and Clifford Performance would tell you the same thing. Clifford races their 240 against 302s all of the time and they generally win by more than two lengths.

Welcome to the site. A lot of folks on here are glad to help all who ask. Vanishingbreed ( Mike Cook ) has a vast knowledge of these trucks and vans. Anything he tells you he has probably tried it, and he is correct about the 200 engine being able to be built and have more HP and torque than a 302.

No disrespect to anyone, heck, different strokes is what makes the world go round........I wouldn't think twice about dropping a 302, in fact I didn't! These things are really mod happy and the V8 swap was very easy. Consider it, V8's rock!

kgdb

I don't think that parts truck is a factory 240 truck. It has the 7.25 rear in it from the picture. If it is an Airforce truck it probably came with a 170-three speed as most of them did. If you can post info from the data plates I can find out exactly what they came with. If you are uneasy about posting this info then just PM me.

Duane in Tennessee

econopoor wrote:I don't think that parts truck is a factory 240 truck. It has the 7.25 rear in it from the picture. If it is an Airforce truck it probably came with a 170-three speed as most of them did. If you can post info from the data plates I can find out exactly what they came with. If you are uneasy about posting this info then just PM me.

Duane in Tennessee

i have no idea what engine came in the parts truck..right now the 240 that is in it is mounted sideways up against the back of the cab held there with a ratchet strap haha....the original truck i bought was the one that was supposed to be an air force truck, i decoded the vin and it is a factory 170 with a 3 speed. i like the idea of a straight six for a while so ill probably just leave the 170 in there till i finish up on all the body work and get bored. im sure the 170 or 240 could be great bulletproof motors but how much would it cost me to get it to sound and preform like a v8? this is my budget "show car" haha

here it is the first day i drove it home 150 miles! a little scared about that.



here it is with a set of 17 inch mustang wheels i had laying around..i think i like the small wheel look on these trucks though




this is what i hope to get to one day..i found this pic on the internet, exactly the look im going for.

parts for the motor rebuild from Clifford is around $1100.00. Then you can get a Offy intake if you want and a 4barrel carb, headers and exhaust at your leisure. Let me know when you decide and I can help you out with finding those parts. Figure $1800.00-$2000.00 total depending on how far you want to go.

Nice econo PU - U scored on that one -clean too. Happy Vannin[i]

Twinpilot001 wrote:Nice econo PU - U scored on that one -clean too. Happy Vannin[i]

thanks..so far im really happy with it. it reminds me of when i was a kid riding around with my grandfather in an old impala with a 3 speed on the column..it even smells like an old car. my wife asked me what that smell was and i said proudly "thats old car smell".

I call it "a broken in smell".

Heck, if an old car or truck didn't have that "old smell" I wouldn't buy it. LOL

twday wrote:Heck, if an old car or truck didn't have that "old smell" I wouldn't buy it. LOL

haha yeah i hear ya...im just glad i finally got something to haul my big wagon around in! haha

Wow, is that a "barn find" wagon!? What a hoot! Keep the pics coming as you do your resto. I like your idea for what you want it to look like when you're done. Less is more. Under stated cool.

put on some new shoes today....

WOW, same tires and rims I have on my 61 Econo Pickup. They look great. Mine a not as wide though.

haha yeah i picked these up on craigslist...i spend too much time and money on there...i was worried the tires would be too big but after a quick trip down the road so far no rubbing..i did do a little pre-clearance hammering on the inside of the front wheel wells though

Like the moons.