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I know I will probably get laughed at by asking but here I go.
Would a Ford 300 6cyl be worth the time to swap into my M-truck?
I can get a complete engine, wiring etc and a C4 trannie for basically free. (friend has one from a truck he is using as a donor).
I know a V8 would be better, but the $0.00 price tag entices me.
Would the effort to do the swap be worth the gain?
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FORD 300 6cyl Question
I know that a couple of people have done the Ford 300 swap...one was in a magazine and looked almost fatory...if ya didnt know better you wouldnt know...both people I know that have done it said they had good power and good mileage pickups versus stock and they seem to think it is enough to make the truck where it should have been stock....not overkill but much nicer and more balanced than stock.
I think if you arent looking for the competition level truck and arent worried about having hot rod type acceleration, it is a great choice...I have driven 350 autos in the M715 with stock gearing that were like taking a car and making it a decent hot rod...the 300 will be less than hot rod but definately a capable vehicle, like an average factory setup today, that will have more capability and ease of service, not to mention cheaper to maintain, than the stock truck.
brute4c
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as Brute said, it looks ok in there. Think of it this way, you're getting nearly 30% more cubes too. On a stock-type truck I don't see why not. Go for it.
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It's what I'm running, though toss the C4. Like Jon said, it looks like it belongs there and has just the right amount of power. Dunno about mileage, I'm running a 4 barrel and haven't made any mileage tests with the new carby. With the old superhuge Holley I was getting about 10mpg on the freeway. With a fuel infected 6 you should be in the 15 mpg range I'd think.
The 300-6 mounts are at the same angle as the Tornado so I carefully removed the frame perches from the frame and moved them around to fit the engine and welded them back up - looks almost OEM. With a T-18 tranny, I had to make an adaptor to go from the stock rubber cushion to the tranny tailhousing - took about 20 minutes to make.
My method only required a conversion U-joint to hook up to the stock jackshaft. The shifter is about 4" farther forward so you have to relocate the hole. The 300 has holes for a clutch crossshaft so I cobbled up a quick engine side pivot that took another 20 minutes.
I began the swap one late Friday morning and by Sunday afternoon I had the sheetmetal back in place and was moving the truck under its own power. Not street worthy finished mind you but good enough that I didn't have to push it around.
Chris
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What about matting the Ford to the M715 transmission? Does he need an adaptor? Or is it like a match made in heaven and it bolts right up?
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nothing bolts to that freak of a bellhousing.! would be nice though.
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Aren't T98 and T18 bolt patterns similar or at least close enough? Could I maybe use the 300, 300 bellhousing and T98?
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The T-98 differs in bolt pattern on, I think, the passenger side as the bolt holes are evenly spaced on both sides of the t18, which we can call narrow spacing, and the t98 has wide on the one side, with narrow on the other.
Maybe you would have the room to drill the new bolt hole in the t18's bellhousing but then you gonna have a bunch of input shaft problems and such.
Best bet would be to find a setup from a factory vehicle and get it all at once if possible...using the factory 300 and bellhousing and t18 would be the easiest for parts fit.
brute4c
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That is what I was thinking would be the problem. Even if it fit the shafts would be wrong.
I am going to try to put the 300 in with a T-18 and keep the NP200.
It sounds like it will be pretty straight forward or as straight forward as any swap can be.
My only other question then is for for LuckPabst. What did you do for the transfer case shift linkage? Can it bolt to the T-18 (simlar to stock) or did you fab a bracket and mount it somewhere else?
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Tcase linkage won't bolt up. I don't remember exactly what I did but it involved using 2 or 3 bolts off the tranny cover to attach a mount. With trans in hand, you'll see what I'm talking about.
Chris