what can I do to get as much power out of my 6 cyl

[brtnstrns]

I know I've asked a lot of different questions about a lot of different engines but I'm looking at my options since I'm only a high school student and things are kinda hazey on what I can do. So does anyone know of what I can do to get as much power out of my 6 cyl 200? And how much it may cost?

 

[66 BLAKE 96]

Well, speaking from experience (I had a blue 65, 200ci coupe in high school), enjoy the style and the fact that girls don't seem to care if it has a 289, a 200, or a hampster in a wheel under the hood.

I say this simply because I6's, while they can be hot-rodded, are expensive to mod and don't yield as much power.

I loved the Blue Lady, and I'd buy it back if I could find it, but not to make it fast. Because it was fun just the way it was.

If you don't like my advice, then check out:
http://www.fordsix.com/

 

[SixFivePony]

Nitrous There probably won't really be a way to make a lot of power with that motor, and it's not worth it to build it up and try to make it powerful.

 

[jcp123]

not sure about nitrous, might put too much strain on an old mill like that. if you're up to rebuilding it, you can mill the head for more compression, put on some headers, get a pertronix ignitor ignition kit, and strap a supercharger on there (although that costs major $$). there might be some cams, too, i'm not sure. but like others have said...the ladies won't care what's thumpin' under the hood, and the 200 is never gonna be fast enough to play with the big boys.maybe just leave well enough alone? the 200's are torquey lil suckers on their own...

 

[66 BLAKE 96]

the 200's are torquey lil suckers on their own...

Hee hee, There's no telling how many hundreds of feet of hard, old rubber I layed down back in the day with that little coupe.

I wonder if that has anything to do with having to replace the clutch after I drove it for a year? Oh well, by the time I sold it I had it so clean you could eat off of every surface, so I don't feel too bad.

 

[SadbutTrue]

fordsix.com had all the performance stuff you can get for a six cylinder. One guy has his in the low 14s, and it didn't look that hard to do. But he did a ton of little things to get there, plus the rest of his car is tuned extremely well for it.

That said, certainly have fun. You don't need to swap to a V8 to learn about engines and enjoy your car.

A posi rear with high (numerically) gears, and tranny with a shift kit, nice tires and a decent suspension plus throwing headers, an electric ignition, hi flow filter, nice muffler, aussie cylinder head, maybe an electric fan might get you into the 15s. Several on fordsix.com are indeed running nitrous in scaled amounts, and there is a supercharger avaliable. The aussie cylinder head is supposed to be your best bet though without spending a ton of money and/or putting your engine at risk.

 

[rbohm]

sadbuttrue is mostly right. there is no supercharger kit available for the six, but it will work very well with a turbo(easier to do), or a supercharger. as for the amount of power oyu can get out of a 200, normally aspirated about 175 and still be streetable, with a turbo or blower about 230-250 again maintaining streetability. you can do nitrous BUT make sure it is tuned well when using it as mixture distribution is not the greatest on the little six. aussie heads are available, and one of the guys is adapting the alloy crossflow head on a 200. there are also argentine heads you can get as well.

 

[TheWolf]

Let me chime in on a few things. From what I've heard, these engines take nitrous pretty well. Clifford performance is develping a performance head for these engines, but that will be very expensive. You can get a 2bbl carb and adaptor. A head from the 80's models had the largest stock valve size. I bought a lot of stuff from ford six but haven't installed it yet. They can certainlly be built up. I would swap the old transmission for a T5 out of a 4cyl Mustang, it requires an adaptor but the benifits will be great.

 

[SuperDave]

Blake: If that's YOU in the pic, you are one KEWL DUDE!!!!

I'm in total agreement about sixes: LOVE IT AND LEAVE IT (alone)! The cost of a pumped up six is prohibitive unless price is no object. Sure, it can be done but it is not cheap and we're talking in the thousands of $$$$$$$. See MustangSix.com

 

[Pakrat]

Yeah, Mustang six is a great site for you to drool over for sure. I realize that actually saying the words six cylinder and performance sounds like the epitomy of an oxymoron, but remember, sixes were raced in Falcons for many years in the 60's and there are alot of forgotten tricks out there. I may get slammed for this, but pound for pound speaking, the six can actually make more torque than the small block 302 or 351 simply becasue of it's inline design and smooth applictaion of firepower. Check out places like Jack Clifford performance for some new-old school applications. Items like a three-one-barrel Offenhauser setup with 3 holley one throat atomizers with a progressive linkage to bring the 2 outer carbs on line at WOT for instance would make a shocking difference.

Do yourself a favor, pick up a copy of the December issue of Mustang Monthly, there is a 4 page spread on just this type of stuff.

BTW, I am just answering your question here, I too actually believe you should leave well enough alone for now, but I also know what it is like to be 16 and would have done anything to be able to enter this hobby at that age, so you already have my envy.

 

[TheWolf]

I may get slammed for this, but pound for pound speaking, the six can actually make more torque than the small block 302 or 351 simply becasue of it's inline design and smooth applictaion of firepower.

Its ture, thats what makes a 300 such a good engine for a truck. Shame they discontinued it. I hope they'll follow Chevy and bring back the inline design. V6=

 

[Pakrat]

Yeah, I beleive in the I over the V myself. To this day one of my favorite cars was my 90' 4.0 I Cherokee. I drove it until 2001 with about 250,000 mi on it, and the current owner just got rid of it with 325,000 on it. Still running strong too. Tough lil sum-b:tch. I can't even imagine the power that could be had from an I8 or I10 design if you had a long enough deck to stuff it under.