Technical Shop Truck engine choice

One of the shops I worked at early on took a '56 ford grain truck ,shortened the frame , put a 364 nailhead mated to the stock ( huge) manual box . built a wrecker out of it , wasn't very fast but in gramma gear it would pull anything ! Even houses , farmer jacked up his small hired mans house , put it on 8 hayrack gears & the boss had me hookup to it & tow it 1/2 mile to its knew site , about 1967 .

 

In the late '60's ear!y 70's the hot ford engine that was talked about was the 351 Cleveland , everybody wanted a Cleveland , then in the last 20? Odd years nobody wanted a Cleveland ,it was a 351W. What happened ?

 

Well, this thread is closed then. I'll take it. Hey, anyone on here need a kidney?

 

if you scrounged well you could build a 427 Chevy big block for $1,750. At least I could.

 

My '56 F100 will be HAMB friendly on the exterior but OT underneath... Turbo 5.3/4L80E/8.8". The intention is reliability, fuel economy, power on tap, and easy to find parts in a truck I can swap wheel & tire combinations out depending on what I'm doing with it.

 

I used the 8.8 under my wife's 55. I wonder how it would fit under the 56?

 

I would look into a 460 Ford platform. Not real sure how they do for mileage though.

 

The "go to" "default" motor.
Black & Decker aquarium pump.

 

I have had the same mileage results on an FE in a truck, loaded or empty they like fuel. I did have a 65 T-Bird and a 63 Mercury that would get around 15 on the highway, both 390's.

 

Forgot about the 455 Olds. In 1969 I bought a wrecked low mileage 455 with turbo 400 trans out of I believe a 65-66 Olds 98? I put the engine and trans in my really cherry 55-56 short box Chevy pickup. It was wicked fast and would pull whatever I put behind it back in the day. Drove it couple years, sold it and a few months later the new owner last control and drilled a tree.

 

The issue with the 460 and the 390 is no hyd roller provisions. In this day and age for something to live a full life, the flat tappets are probably a deal breaker for me. The Windsor had a roller option in the late 90's, but the 460 was always a flat tappet. My old 460 averaged about 6, but gas was cheap back then.

 

I’d go with a 351W of at least 427”, a mild build will make 500hp with plenty of tq for pulling the boat after hours.

 

I looked into that. Where are they cracking? I heard in the lifter valley area? That's the later Windsor blocks that are hyd roller equipped.

 

Mctim built Y Block or Studebaker....NO Wait CADILLAC 331-390..........this is the HAMB right

 

Hey, root;
I was going to suggest an old-time mill, that stock, had ~450-500lb/ft from 1500->3900 rpm(& foot-to-the-floor-fully-loaded-all-day-long-ability). But rollers n fuel economy wants killed that. The mill would benefit from headwork, proper quench, compression, better valve springs & a rebuild + good manifolding w/either new carb or fi - but you were going to do that anyways - right? Most looked the same from the 50's -> late 70's end. Used in the Light-Line trucks, 2.5T trucks, school buses, combines, among others. The IH 345 or 392. Was available in 266/304/345/392/392IC. Loads of different adaptors(truck-speak for bellhousing) for sticks, & Chrys 727 auto. Doesn't matter really, I guess.
Marcus...

 

I’ve never heard of a oem 429-460 having a cam go flat, normally the timing chain will wear out before any other valve train issues come up.
It sounds like your decision was made at the very beginning anyways.

 

How bout a 'totally-off topic' engine and trans from a wrecked late model Ford pick-up ?
Twin turbo V-6 Fords make 400+ HP and with the multi-geared trans should actually twist the Earth a few degrees when hooked to it !
6sally6

 

All cams are subject to going flat these days. I don’t feel like dumping 5 grand into an overhaul that could be trashed in a matter of minutes. They say it’s the lack of zinc, but I think it’s inferior product since flat tappet cams haven’t been in production cars for the last 20 years.

 

So the question I usually have about flat cams is 'when did the problems start'? In all of the take-out engine projects I have been around there was never an issue. The cam problems talked about these days nearly always center on rebuilds.
As others have opined, I'd suggest a 455 BOP or the Cad. Bone stock, maybe an intake change. If you were closer I'd offer a cheap 500.....

 

I have a 455 Olds in a 73 RV that can be available.

 

I'll be honest bro, the only reservation I have is that you're towing. What kind of weight do you plan on pulling? The drivetrain is half of the battle. I wouldn't trust a 56 F100 for any kind of real towing to replace a late model truck, which is going to have vastly superior brakes and stability.

The B/RB Mopar is well suited as a workhorse, but they're pigs on fuel, often need premium gas to run properly, and you have limited transmission options.

My choice would be the 383 SBC, and if you're towing, a TH400 with a Gear Vendors. You'll get surprisingly good fuel economy with the OD, but a 700R4 is not an optimal choice for towing. I think you'd appreciate the simplicity of the operation of the TH400, and get the best of both worlds with the GV OD.

 

I would prefer to run a 5 or 6 speed manual. I have tons of room under the cab, so a late model overdrive would also work. As stated above, most of the time I won’t be towing, but we have 4 trailers in the yard for different occasions. The most weight we would be towing is probably 5 thousand lbs.

 

sounds a lot like the 57 Suburban I built ten years ago, drove for a few years, put 50k on it, and sold it. That one had a 150k mile 87 truck 350, TH400, and GV od. Got 17-18 on road trips, quite a bit less when towing, but pulled the 5000 lb loaded car trailer pretty well. Not as well as the new 1/2 ton trucks.

The big problem was comfort, it didn't really have any. Even after adding ac, heat, cruise, well upholstered original seat, camaro subframe (i didn't say that), etc.

It sure looked nice.

 

I just can't choke down 100K for a new truck. On top of the cost, I don't like the way they look. I always smile when I see my old cars in the parking lot. Not so much when I see my 2002 crew cab.

 

You know my rig Chris , fairly mild 350 , TKO 600 , 342 posi... Drive it every day . I did like the 406 I had in it but I wore it out after 11 years of daily driving.

 

So what are all the factory roller cam blocks to pick from, that should narrow the field.

 

Honestly, I lean towards the Y block, but I am just afraid it may not pull like I need. I have a good 292 in our 55 that is coming out for overhaul. It ran good but it was tired. But, here we go again with the old flat tappet camshaft. My guess is that I would be probably 5 grand to overhaul the Y.

 

I would just build a 383 SBC for it. Oh, and I got to see Colby and dad today at that swap meet…. Dad said he took away your ladders.

 

But were they selling my crap? I need to make about $1500 to cover the medical bills incurred by the swap meet.