Have been offered a High Dollar 300ci Ford 6cyd Drag Motor

i would have been extremely interested if i didn't spend all my money on a 302..regret not doing a 351 and i haven't even run mine yet.

 

Well...........................maybe within the next 3/4 months there may be 650hp 351w with Powerglide for sale.............................

 

Someone has some serious things to learn about serious inline six cylinder engines. Two horsepower per cubic inch in N/A form is certainly attainable with a 300"-ish Ford straight six.

Been there, done that.

 

I don't doubt you have dabbled with six's, but doubt you've worked on them for 30+ years trying different head designs, piston types, rod lengths, crank design................etc., and I have seen it run high 7sec, low 8sec in this N/A 300+ci Altered...............when was the last time you saw a six with 3 - Holley 2300's with straight linkage?
Now with that said, it certainly has to making more HP than my current motor with 15 year old heads.
Again, with that said I have no idea how much HP it is making and he is pretty tight lipped................This is kind of like saying that my Maverick
could never run 9.801 with the old 408ci because I would need 600+HP to the rear wheels to be able to run that quick given my Maverick is 3325lbs with me in it......................................we will see.

 

LOL.. @ShadowMaster.. I'm all for the schooling(if it actually comes) and I'm not so prideful as to be disappointed by seeing that engine in action or the time slip generated from it.

I liked my 300 and would love to see a drag motor like this one in olerodder's Mav. His chances of racing.. hell, even seeing.. another car with similar drivetrain would be close to nill. I've always really dig seeing unique combo's and would rather watch a 600'ish HP inline then a more powerful and much faster TT LSX car anyday of the week.

Mainly because I enjoy the creative engineering side of it more than the end result much of the time. Many LSX guys just capitalize on the design strengths and headroom of that platform, whereas the old school school stuff often needs to be drastically reengineered almost completely at times. Which ofetn adds more credibility to the builder of such a motor.

I know that I'm not alone in that mindset either and I remember seeing a slant six mid 70's Dart running nitrous about 3 years ago at the track. Talk about the crowds enthusiasm and enjoyement levels rising as word got around that it was "an old 6 banger". IIRC.. that old Dart ran around 11.50's and everyone stood up and cheered even after he lost to a 72 Camaro. Many people like "different" and even more like the underdog sometimes.

 

Well, one thing that ShadowMaster talked about was a learning curve, and I will have some learning to do..................probably on how to keep it together..................Since straying away from GM products I've had a pretty steep learning curve with 427/428FE's, SBF's, then V8Flatheads, and now Chevy six's..............................but when/if I get the six in the Maverick I think it will be a lot fun..................and ofcourse a steep learning curve to say the least.

 

I wasn't referring to you. And our sixes never had Holleys. They always had Weber 48IDA carbs. I don't doubt for a second this engine is as fast as he says. Best one we had used a hybrid aluminum head made from a set of Yates canted valve heads. We used a 300 block with a 240 crank and 300 length rods. Needed a custom piston because the oil ring ended up around the pin. Wiseco made a damn nice set of pistons for us on that one. Aluminum Superods with a Fluidampr stopped all the shaking inherit with inline sixes. Ran 8.70-8.90 in a Fairmont Futura with a clutchless Jerico. Lot of fun.

Dad got me interested in the six cylinder stuff based on his original H/MP Falcon he ran from '70-72. He pioneered the 300 block/240 crank/300 rod combo back then. Everybody else that used this setup had a two ring piston. They also had problems sealing the ring pack. That's why he insisted on a three ring piston. Back then JE built his pistons. He and Glen Self ('68 Camaro-292" Chevy six) swapped the record back and forth during the '71 season. Started at 11.35 and lowered it to 11.17 by the end of 1971. They both were the reason Bruce Sizemore gave up on Modified Production and went into the Gasser classes with the Pinto/six cylinder combo.

 

That was the reaction the first time I took the Futura to the track. First time around I did an iron 300 head with porting and aftermarket valvetrain goodies. I had about 200 hours in porting that head. With a standard Toploader and slicks (in street trim) the car went 11.38. People were standing around with that "WTF JUST HAPPENED" look on their faces. My friends were dumbstruck. They were all betting 12.60 or so.

It's not a difficult engine to figure out. You just can't approach it with conventional V8 thinking. Similar to a Ford modular engine.....if you build it like a pushrod engine it will be a turd.

 

You come in here and throw up the BS flag, then brag about all your motor projects. Kind of says "hey I know everything....but I've never heard of the most common mod to a drag Maverick or Comet".

I do have a question. Do you have any experience high end circle track stuff? Engines specifically.

When I saw the BS flag it got under my skin. For someone to get on the board & tell an old timer that kind of crap doesn't set right. That bigsix can easily make enormous power if the head will move the air to support it. Keeping crankshaft twist under control would be the challenge-one which still challenges even the V12's and inlines to this day. It's 300" (or started that way). A 302 can make close to 700 NA IF IT'S DONE RIGHT, so I see absolutely no reason that bigsix can't do it. You do know that Supras are easily making 12-1500 HP now right? Sure...turbocharged, but gives you an idea what an inline can do if it's built properly.

I always imagined what a turbocharged full tilt Ford bigsix would do.

 

Don't tempt me.....I'm kinda bored right now and might try something silly. I've seen me do it.

Turbo big six.......think TORQUE. Lots of it too. Saw a couple of those mudbog racers using turbo 300 engines. Damn thing went right through the "sippi hole" section of the course like it wasn't there. The V8 buggies were bogging down like hell in that part of the course.

In a street/strip application I'd use a three speed automatic like a TH400 along with a 72 or 76mm turbo with a .84-ish A/R. With 3.50 gears that thing would probably run low 9's with around 16 psi. Blow thru or EFI.

 

get offended and protective of the "old guy" all you want. Seems very unlikely that he needs any help from you when it comes to engine building theory though.

And regardless of what you think of my skill level?.. my motors are dollar for dollar some of the best around because I try to reengineer out the weakest points and capitalize on the corner cutting techniques that were used in production(which applies to nearly everything that isn't custom/purpose built these days). The only real validation I need is to get paid and see the car on the street or turning a timeslip.

And.. "hey I know everything....but I've never heard of the most common mod to a drag Maverick or Comet"??... ummm.. might want to reread that question again since I used to word "notch".. not "remove".

In the end.. my cars overall build quality and discreet engineering tricks will be my biggest "clout" around here. Not that I'm petty enough to really care about such things anyways.

 

Ok, I dare you.....................how is that for a challange?
Although I want this six so bad I can taste it.......................I am starting to search for a 300 six locally. I think I could hook it up to my Powerslide.
I've also have been putting some pencil to the paper............and although I realize the the six cylinder head is the key to making HP.....I'd like to try and do a low budget six and get the Maverick into the 11's...........think that can be done............on carbs, no EFI or Turbo? How about a budget of less than $3k?

 

WOW, have no doubt you have some awesome numbers to share with us. Like dyno results, HP, Torque and longevity of your builds etc. By the way, how do you get all that power to the ground? Stock chassis or other? Notching the shock towers has been discussed here for so many years, is a common procedure that even the seniors like me, can do it in our sleep. Just sayin that I once told an ancient welder that was instructing me on the fine points of the procedure, that I knew all about welding. He lit up his well used pipe and told me he had done this for 45 yrs and was still learning how. By damn he was right and I have never tooted my own horn since.

 

Bellhousing is the same pattern as a small block Ford so hooking it to your transmission is easy. $3K huh? Interesting.........

 

What flywheel would be applicable if using a T5 (if possible, for a street app.).

Also, what diameter clutch and input shaft lenght?

And, while I have the experience here, what combo would be good for approx. 300-325 hp (Carbureted, no FI) at the flywheel?

Thanks! You guys have me excited about this engine.

Jim P.