big engine or daily economical?

I've had a 390 ready to go in my shoebox,but today i was offered a complete ford 2.5l truck setup from pcm to rear axle and i can't decide what to do. the little devil on my left shoulder tells me go big or go home,and god on my right shoulder tells me to be smart with my money and be economical.what would you guys do with gas prices the way they are ?

 

Definitely the 390.....In a shoebox.
It would be so humiliating to have to lock the hood so folks couldn't see the 4[or 6] LOST down in there.......

Id be willing to bet the 390 coupled to a hi ratio in rear end like 2:50-2:73 would come damn close to same mileage that the 2.5 could generate.

Now in a T or Modified, I WOULD, lean towards the 2.5.

 

I don`t think the 2.5 will have any 'umph' in a shoebox! You`ll have to ask yourself if you can be happy with the 0 to 60 time of 2.9 MINUTES! I hate to admit this but my little 92 Ranger has a 4 cyl that takes forever to get to 70mph. It does get 25mpg and that`s the only reason that its still around! I would go with the powerhouse and enjoy!

 

You'll be working the 2.5 so hard, it won't get great mileage either in that big of a car. Just my .02

 

390!!

 

390!...If it were me and I went with the little guy, I'd regret it every time I started it up....
2.5=
390=
-Joyo

 

30 years ago I bought a '32 5w coupe. Due to life getting in the way I've never finished the car. I bought a then fresh 435hp 427c.i. Chevy for it and over the years aquired a new Doug Nash 5 speed and a new Franklin Quick Change rear. Gas was less than $0.30/gal when I bought the car and you know what the current price is. I'm now in the process of digging the old girl out and planning the attack for putting it together. You can bet your *** it will still get the 427 with those 3 2bbl Holleys and 5spd and I don't care how much the gas costs. I might play with the quick change ratios a little to tweek the highway milage but not much. "Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead"

Frank

 

ditch the 390, find a cad 500. do it right!

 

How often do you plan to drive it, and if often, what are your driving conditions like?

If you answer "not that often" go with the 390.

If you answered "it's my only car" and I drive in "stop and go traffic to get to work" go with the whimpy motor.

Case closed.

 

yup...seriously, if you want a little ****box motor, buy a little ****box car cheap and drive it to work most of the time. Put a real motor in the neat old car!

 

**** yeah

 

when gas prices spiked over $3.00 this p*** summer someone asked me if i was still going to drive 300 plus miles to a car show i had plan to go to. i told them HELLLLLL YESSS i'm going & i dont care if gas cost $5.00 a gallon i was still going. hell its only $$$$$$$$$$ & ya can't take it w/ya..
use the 390 & enjoy ur cruz'n alot better. no worrying about getting ran over when pulling out in traffic PLUS no one will have to get out & push when ur going up hill....joe

 

my truck has a 429 thunder jet in it, i drive it everyday year round, my dad had a 6 cyl in his truck, same trucks, different motors, mine cost about 25 bucks a month more to drive, i'd pay 25 bucks a month to have a big block. If you keep your foot out of it it and idle along down the road it will get great fuel milage

 

This is one of those no-****, I ain't lyin' storys. I can remember when I paid less than a dollar for a 6-pack of Fallstaff, (or 3 one-quart bottles sold at piggly-wigglyfor a buck), 1.25 for a gallon of gas and .75 for a gallon of milk, and a nickle apiece for rubbers. So who's convinced you that gas prices are high, compared to other things in life. Gas has gone down. Watch the gas gauge, fill it up before it's below 1/2 a tank, that way it'll cost less to fill it up, and enjoy that 390.

 

Please install the 2.5 in your shoebox, i need something that i can smoke off the line in my MG!!

 

390 all the way with open pipes yelling **** you geenpeace

 

Go with the 390. What money you would save in the beginning with the 2.5 could quickly be spent and thensome if you have problems with sensors and injectors and having to do an exhaust with oxygen sensors and catalytic converters. Plus the 390 would sound alot better.

 

Save the 390 for a Fairlane or something...a 2.5 is all a shoebox needs!!!

 

If it were a fibergl*** T bucket, I'd say 2.5, but an overworked engine is never the efficient way to go. Years ago, two different guys I knew both had big heavy '73 Olds convertibles, and the one with the 455 got better mileage than the one with the 350/2bbl., because the big torque motor was better suited to hauling 5000 lbs down the road.

 

390!

I'm going to throw an ecomnomic term at you, opportunity cost, That is the cost of having the 390 in relation to what you need to give up, Start liking Milwaukee's Best and you should have no problem keeping gas in the thing

 

Keep the 390, and spend a few more bucks on an overdrive ****** with a decent rear gear, and it wont be so bad. If you go with the smaller motor you'll regret it and hate yourself every time you have to so much as pull away from a stoplight.

 

Let's put it this way:

My ****** gets 30mpg (probably could do better with a little tweaking), but driving it is such a dull task (emphasis on task, and taking it on the freeways a****st the SUVs gets a little frightening) that I dread leaving the house.

In the summer, when my hot rod is out, I get 10 or 15 mpg. Do I care? Not in the least, driving is fun again.

I have seriously considered cutting the ****** up to fit a 302 or something equally ridiculous, just because driving would then be fun year 'round.

 

[the little devil on my left shoulder tells me go big or go home
I cant believe I'm saying this but listen to the devil ,Happiness is measured in C.I.

 

You might want to rethink your Bio...


"I'm cool,therfore I build hotrods..."


...if you have to ask a question like that.



Mutt

 

I must have missed something! I only see one option listed. my first thought was 390 till you can afford a 427-428,
I've tried to instill one thought in my children (all three are nearly 40)
"THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN MILES PER GALLON!"

Are you building something that you to want drive and enjoy, or something that will (barely) move under its own power that will get you to a show and shine and a trophy if you keep the hood shut.
If your answer is the later YOU ARE ON THE BOARD

 

when i read this post i wondered if this guy was related to u , &&&&& knowing what u've done in the past i can see u trying this ....joe

 

Heck, it'd be EASY...just plop the ****box body on a four banger Ranger ch***is! Add a lowering kit if that's your thang! Instant Hickabilly Hot Rod!!

 

If you go with the 390 be sure to post plenty of pictures... I have a 390 sitting on the engine stand waiting to go into my shoebox but that is still quite a few months down the road.

 

When you're an old man, do you want to proudly show your grandkids pictures of your FE'd shoebox, or explain to them why you dumped a turd under the hood?

 

This is a trick question, right?