My 59 ford custom 300 is my daily driver, I am trying to get my wife to drive it more often but I have two problems: First, it is very underpowered And second, the cold bloodedness of older engines turns her off when trying to start it. Currently the '59 is being powered by a 223 inline six. It runs pretty well, but I am getting some pretty big blowby due to bad valve guides/seats. Even if the engine was performing optimally, it just doesn't have the power to really push that big heavy car. As for the starting issue, It is the same as all old cars, it takes a while to get her blood pumping, especially if you don't have that special technique that is unique to every old car. The consequence is my wife will drive her little foreign car because she doesn't want the hassle of starting the 59. I was thinking about transplanting a v-8 for more power, but I definitely want to put fuel injection in for quicker starts. I don't want to put in a mod engine or a 5.0. I know there are fuel injection systems out there for y-blocks and FEs and whatnot, but they cost a fortune. I am not sure what to do.
holley with electic choke on an FE will work just fine. My 78 F-150 had a 460 with a holley 600 and electric choke and you literally just turned the key every morning. For fuel injection, sorry but I do not think there is a more cost-effective way than a 5.0L. You can get a complete car for around $500 anymore that still runs with a 5.0L/AOD combo.
sixgun, I would transplant a nice, reliable & very available, 390 with a 4bbl, with a rock-solid C6 tranny in your '59. Close the hood and drive it ! (I had a '66 T-Bird with a 428...and a '63 Galaxie 500 with a 390. Believe me, the 390 will be a bit better on gas !) Forget about FI unless you intend to make this a long-term ride that you want to invest a lot of bucks in. The above swap is affordable & available. I wish you all the best whatever your choice turns out to be. Jonnie King www.legends.thewwbc.net
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