Ok, I've taken complete leave of my senses, decided to postpone the EFI 302 swap into my '64 Ford Tudor and decided to hop up it's 42 year old 223. For those not in the know, these things have 4 intake ports, a lousy ignition system and have little going for them as a performance mill. So of course those things give me a BUNCH of desire to build one... This has little to do with nostalgia. I just want to see what I can do and if I bring the stock horsepower up from 115 to 150-175 or so, I'll be a happy camper. I've been to fordsix.com, read fiddy four's plus other's posts and have some ideas of how to build one on a budget. So far, I've bought one set (6) of NOS Barker High Lift rocker arms and will win another in 2 days. But I want to know MORE! I'm certain that some of you other guys built 215-223s back in the day or are doing so now and want to know everything that you do! Did I mention that this is a budget build? My bux are limited as I have other cars to build. Once I satisfy my curiousity as to how this motor will run in my 3500 lb. Custom streeter, the 223 will likely go in my nostalgic Late model stocker or a coupe project. Thanks! Jan
I had a '55 Mainline 2dr post when I was in college. 223/3spd. I put a swap meet Offy dual intake on with 2 gl*** bowl Holleys, built my own split manifold. I must have gotten lucky with the carbs, 'cause I put kits in 'em and ran 'em no problems. Everybody else talks about how much of a pain they are.
Nothing works better than deeper breathing and higher compression. And better spark to light it off. So a good start would be dual exhaust, you can modify the stock manifold for two dumps, You can grab an 2bbl to 1bbl adapter from Langdon's stove bolt, and he will sell you and or tell you about carburetor choices. He can also set up a holley webber 2 bbl for your application. Also might want to look for a dual carb intake manifold ( check Vintage Speed or Clifford 6=8) I have heard you can take about .080 off the head and or bolck and still run regular gas. You should be able to find an electronic ign from a later model, or check out Pertronix for a point less conversion. Get some good spark plug wires. And crank in a little advance to account for todays slower burning gas, 3 to 8 degrees or so. Remove the fan and go to electric. Of course larger pipes and less restrictive mufflers help also. I have a buddy running dual exhaust with resonators only on a jeep 6, runs nice and sound great when he gets into but not too loud while cruising. I am getting about 145 to 150 HP out of a Plymouth 230 flat 6 rated at 125 stock with dual intake, and milling plus .030 over pistons. no cam or ignition changes yet.
Thanks, guys. I can't find any Ford stuff on Langdon's website, but I'm going to order his catalogue. There's an Offy 2 X1 intake with linkage on eBay right now that I'm thinking of bidding on. A friend of mine is trying to convince me to build my own, but I'm not sure that I'm up to it. But I think I can build a header which should be better than a split manifold. Just need to find some flanges. The rockers I just won will add some extra cam lift, but I'm not sure how much. Hopefully the direction will give me the actual ratios and I can do some calculation. A head shave of about .080 might fit my budget too. But I'll bet that someone here who raced 223s back in the day and will come up with a trick or two peculiar to these motors we don't know. BTW, I find it cool that both of you who have helped are obviously Mopar guys. I hereby take back anything bad I've ever said about Chrysler stuff.... Jan
I have a 1959 Ford 300 2 door. It has an inline 6 223 ci. I have always kept 1bbl...... but I want to do a 2bbl this time around. Any advice or suggestions? The air cleaner is mounted on the drivers side of the engine (therefore I am limited on space, from the top of the carb to the hood).....
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