Join Our Ford Truck Forum Today

Document your Ford truck project here and inspire others! Login/Register to view the site with fewer ads.

300 inline 6

i would like to get some opinons from other people about the motor in my truck. when ever it come time for a rebuild should i stick with the inline 6 or go with a v8? i mean this will be years down the road but i wanna start plannin what i wanna do to my inline 6 or a v8. i have made a adapter plate for it and put a 2 barrel holley on it and it give it alot more power. i use this truck for a daily driver and it was a factory f-250 4x4 inline 6 truck which are rare to find so let me get some opinions guys thanks! smilieFordlogo
 
thats what i was thinking i really like the 351w and i wanna build the inline complety, like bigger cam, better pistons, 4bbl intake and carb, headers. but i think im leanin more towards a 351w i just want a v8 sound and there is really no difference on gas mileage, i mean im getting 15-17 on highway with 31 inch tires. and from what i here thts great for a 300 6 but would a 351 drink more and keep in mind i dont raw hide my truck lol
 

5.0Flareside

GingaNinja
14,464
384
La Vergne, TN
it really depends on what you want.. if you want to be different and still have a good mpg's then go I6... or go more power and sound, and lose a lil bit of mileage then go 351W... i love 351W's....
 
You don't want to put 4bbl on an I6 nor a different cam

With fuel price increasing everyday, the I6 in its original form will be you best option

feel fortunate you have an I6 300

forget about anything to do with MORE.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
The I6 with a small 4bbl such as the holley 390CFM in conjunction with a cam and headers will give you increased power and performance..of course if you keep your foot in it you will probably see less fuel mileage.
 
i like the inline 6 cause there so stout but with a cam headers and a 390 cfm holley what kinda hp and torque would that produce? and would it really get worse fuel mileage i was thinking if i had a little more power and the less s luggage it would be i would still get same fuel mielage. oh and how much are fuel prices where you guys live i live in tn its 369 just curious what you guys pay for full i know its ridiculous! :headbang:
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
Don't know the figures perhaps someone here with the desktop dyno can run a few scenarios for you. It may get worse mileage depending on how much you have have your foot in it which tends to happen to a degree when you have more power :D. Fuel here (in US gallons) is anywhere from $4.60 to $5.29 depending on grade and where you live.
 

5.0Flareside

GingaNinja
14,464
384
La Vergne, TN
i like the inline 6 cause there so stout but with a cam headers and a 390 cfm holley what kinda hp and torque would that produce? and would it really get worse fuel mileage i was thinking if i had a little more power and the less s luggage it would be i would still get same fuel mielage. oh and how much are fuel prices where you guys live i live in tn its 369 just curious what you guys pay for full i know its ridiculous! :headbang:

just realized... where in TN are you? its also 3.70ish here...
 

Jolly Green

I Salt My Ketchup
I would stick with the 300I6. It has plenty of low-end, stump pulling power, and it is possibly the most bullet proof engine Ford ever made.
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
1,124
outside your house
The I6 will get the best mpg's out of any of the choices, and it's by far one of the stoutest to ever come from Ford. If you're going stock for stock, I wouldn't even consider the W if you want to utilize your truck as a truck...it'll put you in at higher revs and optimal power range than say a 400 or 460, and IMO, the W mpg's won't be enough to offset that.


That said, if you're going modified...I think you'd simply be polishing a turd by keeping the 300...unique, sure...but you'd be a few grand in to it by the time you'd hit the numbers a 460 with a cam would do.


So my vote is...keep the 300 if you stay stock, go 460 if you decide to modify.
 
Hmmm... I've got two out of two factory-original '91 351w's I've used.
Yeah both old and had set quite a bit but both developed a water leak
at the front right corner of the intake manifold. (66k! other 125k)

Both use more oil than my rebuilt 360FE with 90k (rebuilt at 150k) too!

The '90 351w in the parts truck wasn't driven enough by me to notice
the water leak but I'd hadn't learned to look for it yet either. ;) (188k)

Is the water leak a design flaw/weakness or just my luck?
I "fixed" the 66k 361w and made it leak worse somewhere else! LOL :)

Got something (URL?) for me to read about a fix for this?
I got the 125k 351w to fix ...and the 66k 351w to re-friggin-fix. ;)

Alvin in AZ
ps- Somebody please dig up some numbers for changes made to 300's
and their power effects... Been wondering about those forever. :)
 
Last edited:
yes i would love to know power effects check this out guys i know you probably wouldnt want this in a everday driver lol- http://youtu.be/MuMayMAoUbU but another ? for you guys would a inline 300 and perhaps say a 351w with both pushin the same power which one would pull better? like lets just say the 300 had 350hp and 480 pounds of torque and the 351w the same. is it true the inline 300 will pull better ? smilieFordlogo
 
i know my 300 was rebuilt a few years back i bought the old truck from some really honest people, it dont use any oil when i pulled it out of the weeds and drove it home and got it to where i could drive it, i change oil and after about 1500 miles it used 1 quart. i changed oil again after i put 3000 on it and it hasnt used a drop since then. it needs a set of lifters they tick a little.
 

5.0Flareside

GingaNinja
14,464
384
La Vergne, TN
yes i would love to know power effects check this out guys i know you probably wouldnt want this in a everday driver lol- http://youtu.be/MuMayMAoUbU but another ? for you guys would a inline 300 and perhaps say a 351w with both pushin the same power which one would pull better? like lets just say the 300 had 350hp and 480 pounds of torque and the 351w the same. is it true the inline 300 will pull better ? smilieFordlogo

depends on a lot of things.. if the only difference is the motor, the 300 will pull from a dead stop easier, but the 351W will do it easier at a higher speed. the 300 can do it with 3.55 gears, and 351W can do it alot easier with 4.10s...

but dollar for dollar, i'd say go 351W. get a 94-97 roller block 351W drop 350 bucks in a rebuild kit, get some GT40 heads and get them rebuilt say 500 bucks in that. a good cam preferably a custom cam 200-400 bucks, depending on the route ya take,

and machining...

2k or so and ya get a great low end and mid reving 351W that has a mean sound, and breathes great and will get low to mid teens mpg's...

as far as the cost for the 300 idk... not big into looking into the cost for those... but since ya already got a fresh block and bottom end for the most part, it might be cheaper, but i really think you'll be happier with the 351W..
 

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
1,124
outside your house
yes i would love to know power effects check this out guys i know you probably wouldnt want this in a everday driver lol- http://youtu.be/MuMayMAoUbU but another ? for you guys would a inline 300 and perhaps say a 351w with both pushin the same power which one would pull better? like lets just say the 300 had 350hp and 480 pounds of torque and the 351w the same. is it true the inline 300 will pull better ? smilieFordlogo


IMO...you're looking at alotta coin to get that 300 to those numbers. If you have an idea of what you're wanting to do with the truck it would be easier determining what engine will set you up best. Personally, I've never been a fan of the 302/351W in trucks because it pushes the powerband up and doesn't suit my needs, and if you add swap gears like Chris suggested, you'll be doing even more screaming at the top end.


Side question for Chris...is he not going to need any type of stand alone computers to drop a 94-97 W into a dentside? Which would then run another few hundred, right?
 

Ford Truck Articles

Recent Forum Posts

Top