300 inline 6 Anyone have experience with theses engines?

I don't want to spend a lot of money on this engine but it needs a little more power for towing. It still has the factory cast iron single barrel intake and standard exhaust manifold. I have a HD exhaust manifold that has larger passages. I don't know what intake manifold to use and what carburetor I should use. They make a twin webber intake manifold thats the most expensive route. The they have intake manifolds that will fit a 4150 holley. Should I use a two barrel, single webber or 500cfm holley 4 barrel?

I need to remove the intake and exhaust to replace the gasket as it's leaking. If you have a intake let me know f your willing to sell cheap?

Theres a lot of power to be made in the head. With valves larger than a standard 351W they will flow pretty decent. If your wanting to not get into it that far the intake Offenhauser intake for a 4150 with about a 600 maybe 650 cfm carb should wake it up considerably. There are some cams available also to help in the torque dept if you wanted to go that route.

The engine has 89000 miles and I'm pretty sure the internals have never been touched.

It smokes a little coming off the throttle so I'm sure it could use a rebuild with new bearings, rings and valves. It also needs a new clutch but I don't want to get that deep into this engine right now.. The truck runs down the road great but it could use more towing power. When I haul my side by side it slows way down to 50mph pulling hills due to the wind load.

Have a Turbonetics turbocharger that I bought years ago to put on the engine but I never found a cheap way to fuel inject the motor. I had a lot of people suggest mega squirt but I'm afraid that I wouldn't know how to tune it.

I bought a complete efi intake manifold I planned on using with it but.....

The Mega Squirt can be pretty simple actually I had it on my 347 with a 76 mm I just sold. I am NOT a computer or tuning expert and had a friend close by that was so he helped me a lot but I could still maneuver around in the program and make adjustments. The big thing is the ability to drive the vehicle and it learn itself. That really helped after small changes were made. Don't let that deter you, if you want turbo efi go for it. Just have to get a few of the sensor to go along with things.

Dave, that is what I had in mind but everyone keeps telling me that the 300 log style intake would be horrible for driveability. (I'd prefer a blow thru myself.)

I bought the turbo thru Treadstone Performance and they said I wouldn't need a blowoff valve just a waste-gate, hat and carb.

Back to right now,
Right now it needs a clutch. I want a clutch that can take a lot off abuse. I'm always driving thru cut-overs, and a lot slipping the clutch. So I don't want a clutch that gets smoked once and done. I've been told that a kevlar / sintered iron clutch is what I want. I just have to find one that is made for this engine and transmission combo. (I tend to drive a lot slower off road since my last back injury. I crawl over trees rather than bounce over them. Plus when I am in my swamp I try not to spin the tires or else it goes straight to china!) It currently has more than enough power as it sits for what I use it for off-road, but really stinks at towing.

PS. My wish is that one of you good people will chime in and say, "Josh, I just so happen to have this old aluminum intake manifold for a 300 and I'll sell it to you for $50.00!" LoL!!!!!

picture of the HD exhaust manifold and turbo. The EFI exhaust manifold are two pieces three cylinders each.


Old under hood picture.

This is today's choir for the 84. This was an easy load, most of the time we are in cut overs or woods pulling through mud and hills!

The frame could use boxing and some more cross members.

jones wrote:


This is today's choir for the 84. This was an easy load, most of the time we are in cut overs or woods pulling through mud and hills!

The frame could use boxing and some more cross members.

A load equalizing hitch looks to be in order too...almost on the wheelie bars

Everyone loves pictures. Here is a current picture of the 300 inline 6.

dfree383 wrote:IMO the blow thru would be fine for something mild like your looking at, sure it's not the best bud damn the thousand of dollars for the electronic crap really destroys the project.

at that point your better off just swapping in a 351

Do you know anyone in the blow thru carb community like you do in our world? I'm just like you about this, I don't want to put a lot of money in the project. It's not going to get biller rods, custom pistons etc. These inline 6's are super strong pieces like they are.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5493782-A-cheap-10-second-300-(4.9)-inline-six-Ford.-Yes-that-s-the-old-145-hp-van-truck-engine Pretty cool little 300, Chevy valvesprings and all. Thought it might give you some ideas.

supervel45 wrote:http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5493782-A-cheap-10-second-300-(4.9)-inline-six-Ford.-Yes-that-s-the-old-145-hp-van-truck-engine           Pretty cool little 300, Chevy valvesprings and all. Thought it might give you some ideas.

Thanks, I use to search youtube for 300 turbo builds but the whit few videos there is ain't the best. I'd like to see under the hood and how they did a couple of things.

supervel45 wrote:http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5493782-A-cheap-10-second-300-(4.9)-inline-six-Ford.-Yes-that-s-the-old-145-hp-van-truck-engine           Pretty cool little 300, Chevy valvesprings and all. Thought it might give you some ideas.

Mike Robinson is no amateur when it comes to Mavericks, or Ford engines.. He put together a turbo 460 Zephyr before this Maverick that had us all in stitches.. junkyard motor that could muster 10's twisting the torque up..

And his former shop car, 466 & 5-speed Maverick, was the most fun I've ever had as a passenger on the street.. 9.32 @ 149

I would say he has his act together. That 6 is impressive as close to stock as it is taking 25lbs of boost.

i had a 300 six in my falcon it was basic build , ran 13.00 with it, i used 351w dome pistons to get compression up

Every 80's era I-6 powered pickup I ever drove was handicapped with a long-legged rearend gear. If you're doing a lot of clutch slipping, I bet that's your deal, too. Pulling a trailer while lugging the engine....hmmm.....I bet a gear swap would pay off big.