ford 200 vs. 300

so my 61 econoline had a 200 out of a 67 mustang swapped in by one of the guys before me. but then it sat for over 10 years in a field and isn't in the happiest condition. it seems to me an inline 6 would cool better but if someone has experiance with a 302 or 351 i've love to hear. i'm mainly debating between going through the 200 and adding a few goodies or investing the time and money into a 300 my grandpa has in a truck thats been his lawn ornament for the past 15 years.

Go for the 200. Rebuild it using Clifford Performance cam, headers, etc. and a Mallory Unilite distributor. You will be glad you did. Going with a V8 is a lot of hassle and you can get more HP and better gas mileage with the 200 than you would get with a stock 302 without the overheating problems etc.

i've heard of overheating problems and can see why with the given space i plan on doing quite a bit to this van so hassle is already involved. but what about a big six. i want something that could be a driver but still want to make hondas cower. this is all gonna be over a long period of time going off my current income but i have both engines available and both need work. it just seems like the 300 I6 has more potential.

The 300 can be built to approx 375HP and 450 pounds of torque but then you will have over heating issues to deal with. A 300 won't fit in your doghouse so you would need to get one from a 66 or 67 or get a dog house from a Chevy van . Don't know what rear end you have but with the 300 you will need a 9" rear . Plus your mileage won't be near as good. I get 26 MPG with my 200 and it has more power than a 302. I had a 347 stroker in a 66 and it required a lot of mods and a lot of money. You would need to cut the floor up to fit a 351.