Some of you may have seen the posts lately about the FE MPG etc. The purpose of all of my research is to build the ultimate cruising/towing vehicle. The wife has a 57 Ford wagon with an old tired 292/Cruisematic. I have recently purchased a 19' vintage camper that weighs around 2500#. Our goal is to spend a great amount of time cruising the backroads and visiting the National Park system, visiting hambers along the way. So, all traditions and personal preferances aside, what would you build to put in this wagon for overall reliability, efficiency, and usability? I just wanna do this once. I have pondered a 390FE with an overdrive unit, a 460, 351W and even a 500 Caddy. So pipe dream away. The car in question.
Best vehicle I ever had for towing had a 460 in it. They are easy to build with factory parts for good power/torque.
There used to be a '57 Ranch Wagon down the road here in peculiar that belonged to a fella that restored gas pumps and soda machines for a living. it was he driver/delivery vehicle. he used a 460 auto combo. No OD as I recall but it was gearded well because of the grunt he had on tap and it seems that it got good enough mileage for him to travel all over the US collecting or delivering stuff. tradition aside for pulling a trailer and reliable running I might consider a 460.
The 460 is hard to beat for cheap power and torque. Parts are easy to find and they can be found with EFI. The traditional side of me says go with a warmed over 390 and good c6 or ago overdirve tanny.
I would do a 460 for all the reasons mentioned. All they need is the timing chain replaced with an aftermarket one straight up, bump the initial timing to about 14 deg and with 3.55 gears it will pull all the trailer you can ever pull with your wagon. I have had several 70's F series trucks with 460 and they are great, reliable torque engines. With no overdrive we still managed 14-16 mpg in F150's with 3.0 gears. We pulled all kinds of travel trailers and boats with these trucks and had no problems. Even with the high gears we had plenty of trouble keeping back tires on them. The best part is short tube headers are available and with the right motor mounts it is an easy swap. FPA headers I had contacted FPA several years ago about my 56 and they had a motor mount suggestion but I can't remember the application. You might just have to call them.
Big blocks are always a good idea when towing campers or use in motorhomes. They make tons of power and torque and loaf along pulling a load. The mileage can be above 10, maybe even 15 depending on your style of driving and load.
Any of the FE or 351 combos listed above. I helped with either a 352 or 390 (can't remember which) into a 57 swap 40 years ago and it went in so easy that it was hardly a swap. when Ford built the 57 they were already planning on putting the bigger engines in the the following years. Id go with an fi engine on this one for towing to try to get a bit better fuel mileage.
460 and a 3 speed trans (manual or automatic), and you can play with the rear gearing....2.50, 2.75, 3.00, 3.25, 3.50 etc all bolt right in.
Big blocks are fun, but there are a lot more small blocks towing things out there. About 85% of both Ford and GM pickups have run small blocks for 35 years without problems. Remember that an S10, with a 4.3 V6, has a rated towing capacity of 3500lbs, and your wagon is a much better tow vehicle than that. I've run small blocks and big blocks towing, and the small blocks work a little harder with 7,000 on behind, but they still keep up, run the speed limit, and don't eat as much fuel when there isn't a trailer attached. I'd think 351W or C if it were me, but I've been towing things around for a long time and think of 2500lbs as a really light load. We all like torque and HP or we wouldn't be here, but touring on back roads really doesn't need a lot of either.
If we're pipe dreaming and IF staying "traditional" isn't part of the equation, why not a diesel? Cummins inline 6 comes to mind, with an OD trans.
I tend to be with rainh8r on this. EFI small block and AOD. Had an 89 F150 with this combo it'd pull anything I needed too including a stockcar trailer and got 20 to 22 mpg. Stock car trailer was 7500 lbs + when loaded.
That's understandable, it's not as easy as dropping a different gas engine in. Though not as much black magic as it would look on the surface, either. If you're looking for the easiest swap, a diesel ain't it. A roots blown small block might be a great way to go. Simple, instant low end torque and decent mileage if you keep your foot out of it.
If we can be forgiven for not being traditional, as Mr Sinister has already mentioned, what about a Turbo Diesel? Easy swap, loads of Power and Torque and you are going to get North of 25-30mpg, ideal if you are just going to be cruising the back roads. Or if not acceptable would it not be worth going to a dealer and driving the various truck and engine combos to see which is the nicest to drive and get the best mileage? At least in that way you will have a comparison and can copy the engine, gearbox and axle ratio. Nice project, I almost convinced my wife to have a 57 4 door which we were going to drop a BMW 3litre twin turbo Diesel. Note the use of the word almost.... P. Edit....Must type faster...
If you are going to do a lot of touring with this thing I would be most interested in mpg. Gas is not going to get less expensive. If it costs you an arm and a leg every time the camper gets hooked up it will take the fun out of it. Pretty much any v8 will have plenty of power to pull the trailer you are talking about. On the other hand, if it will mostly get used for local cruising and the trips will be 1 or 2 a yr. the hot rodder in me says a 460 set on kill hidden under the hood of that stock looking beauty would be a brutal sleeper and probably get the same mpg if there was a trailer behind it or not.
never owned a big block, but my ole man owned a 94 f250 4x4 extended cab 8ft bed with a 351 with the overdrive trans. 3.55 gears and we towed ALOT with it. heavy truck to begin with and it was never an issue. I think the 460 would DEFINITELY work well for you, but it may be more than you need.
351W w/ an RV cam and an AOD. Use the money you'll save over the 460 on brake upgrades and a load assist air spring set-up.
My friend got better mileage with his E150 after he swapped in the 460 to replace the 351. Towed better too. But your mileage may vary.
How many of you old guys remember when the hot setup for towing a T/F car was a 1961-64 Ford Ranch Wagon (with picture-o-wood on the sides) and a Mr.Ed tagalong?
How does the trailer handle? Anything from a 351W to a 460 should drag a 19' travel trailer without much problem... The trans is the biggest issue in that and I think the options suggested are good ones. If it was me, and I had visions of my girl driving the rig, I'd spend more time making sure the vintage trailer is up to being tugged around the country... Sway control... Brakes... Etc... Is it a single axle (some of the older ones were)? I have a modern 20' enclosed trailer... My 03 Sub with a 5.3 can move it along just fine up hill down hill, fully loaded whatever... But it's a big beast that you can't see around, catches the air like a sailboat, and there's a lot more to towing it around than just getting it up to speed. I imagine a 19' travel trailer is lighter but so's that wagon, and speeds on the roads today are like the Indy 500 compared to when both the trailer and that car were built... Do it... No question... It could be a blast and I would love to. But I think the motor might not be the biggest roadblock to getting you down the road relatively worry-free.
460 not the easiest fit, can be done I guess. 390FE, 351W, personally I'd do EFI, 3.50 or even 3.89 gears and a decently built 4R70W of course there's a fair amount of work in getting the electronics/wiring set up. 2500lb isn't that big. Cooling, brakes, transmission, suspension matter more than big HP.
i just got finished putting a 390/c6 in my wifes 55 fairlane. plenty of power and decent fuel millage. she drives it everyday to work and its our family car. that setup would pull a trailer just fine and can get good fuel millage out of it also with the right gear setup.
Idk what your idea of cheap is, but u could get a 5.3l chevy vortech and auto trans with od for around 2.5k with everything included on that bay aution site. Non traditional, but great mpg and 300hp and 310-320tq at the crank.
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