51 F2 Engine Options

FirstGenF2

FirstGenF2

Member
Which is an all-around better engine the inline 226 (H series) or the 239 (R series)? Is it worth it as a daily driver to swap to the v8 and what would it cost? (the only issue with my 226 is the carb)
 
If it's just a carb issue, why not get it running and decide after driving it for a while? If you find a good complete running V8 with everything else you need for a swap for cheap, it may be worth it. If not, it will get expensive and time consuming gathering it all up.

It really depends on your budget and expectations. Maybe you'll be happy with the six?
 
The 226 is a great engine and will outrun the V8...the only thing missing is the sweet sound of a flathead V8.
Doing the swap is involving a new battery tray (opposite side of engine bay) battery and harness wiring, radiator, lower and upper sheetmetal around radiator, exhaust, accelerator pedal linkage.
If it´s running good keep it !
 
Wow, I was expecting a sales pitch. Thanks for the good info, that is far more effort than it will be worth. il keep it does anyone know of places selling complete carbs? I've tried rebuilding ones I've locally sourced, but with no luck. (7HT or 8HA carbs)
 
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FirstGenF2 said:
Wow, I was expecting a sales pitch. Thanks for the good info, that is far more effort than it will be worth. il keep it does anyone know of places selling complete carbs? I've tried rebuilding ones I've locally sourced, but with no luck. (7HT or 8HA carbs)
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They are a bit tricky to get clean in the passages, find someone with an ultrasonic cleaner and forget it in there for a while.
You have to get all the jets and stuff out before and it´s more or less of an challenge...
 
OK, Here's a quick check of your engine. Do a compression check, simple, Then you can decide if it's the carb or something else.
 
Check with CharlieNY (search "community" above) with your car questions. He is always willing to help and would probably even rebuild yours for you.
Like folks said, if the six has decent compression, drive it. If not I would just rebuild it. The swap will be a MAJOR adventure. Chap
 
Stick with the 226 theyare nice engines. Even rebuilding it , there are less issues then found in the v8.

Just went and got one with a friend last weekend out of a driving 50 F2 in Virginia. The guy trashed a nice original truck and lucky we got the motor before it was turned into a birdbath.
 
The 6 is a very good torque engine. There is nothing inherently wrong with them. Personally, I feel that if it came with a 6, it should stay that way. If a person has to have a V8 then do some horse trading to get one or buy one outright. At least this way the title will always match the engine.
 
It's the original engine and i'm going to rebuilt it whether it needs it or not, from looking at it it has never been and as far as i have it torn down i might as well while im refurbing the frame. The problem with the carbs ive cleaned rebuilt and used is they all leaked like a civ. Any tips or reccomendations for rebuilding the engine?
 
The only thing that i run into as a problem with them is the exhaust manifold. A lot of them i have seen have had deep pitting the the ear broken off were the exhaust pipe bolts to it.
 
That six sounds great with a split manifold. Keep the valves adjusted & it will treat you very well. mike
 
The truck in my avatar is a F2 48 with 226 with 3 on the floor (that's how my uncle ordered it). Mine at this point is my every day driver. It's not really a question of what engine you use but if the 51 has the same rear end, mine is 4.86, it really starts to wind up the motor any where above about 40. These are not high speed trucks. You might start doing some research into swapping out the rear end for a F250 1972 back with 4.11 gearing.
My carb sometimes leaks. It's is ether crud from the gas tank keeping the float valve open or gas boiling out from getting hot. You could be just having issues with the float valve. You might check that out and make sure it is sealing. Depending on the age of your fuel pump, you might also replace the diaphragm. It needs to be compatible with todays fuel.
 
Henry hated 6's and it took a lot of convincing to build one again. When the six came out in 1941, it developed more HP than the V8. The engineers purposely did not run the six up very high on the dyno and presented the partial dyno figures to Henry. Since the six on paper did not appear to be more powerful than the V8, Henry approved it. Several people have written in about how their sixes would beat V8s in drag races back in the day.
 
redmodelt said:
The truck in my avatar is a F2 48 with 226 with 3 on the floor (that's how my uncle ordered it). Mine at this point is my every day driver. It's not really a question of what engine you use but if the 51 has the same rear end, mine is 4.86, it really starts to wind up the motor any where above about 40. These are not high speed trucks. You might start doing some research into swapping out the rear end for a F250 1972 back with 4.11 gearing.
My carb sometimes leaks. It's is ether crud from the gas tank keeping the float valve open or gas boiling out from getting hot. You could be just having issues with the float valve. You might check that out and make sure it is sealing. Depending on the age of your fuel pump, you might also replace the diaphragm. It needs to be compatible with todays fuel.
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I planned to keep the rear end stock, im not concerned about going fast, mine has a 4 speed does that effect max speed?
I jist checked the shop manual no it just gives me a 6.4 granny gear, and keeps the same other gears.
 
3 speed or 4 speed it's 1:1 out put in 3rd or 4th.

Re;Henry hated 6's and it took a lot of convincing to build one again.
Much research has been done on that statement, It has been found to be not true. The Model K six was costly to build and a good seller but was not the type of car that Ford wanted to build for the masses. When the V8 was developed and built I think the statement by Ford was "if it's cylinders they want..". Most light cars had 6 cylinder engines at the time the statement was made so Ford gave them two more.
 
Changing to a later dana 60 isnt so much for speed but to maintain a safe highway speed without the motor scream.
I am changing mine in my F2 just to make it more streetable not for speeding
 
The Timken rear axles and the F2/F3 brakes are getting harder to find parts for. It may not be a bad idea to go to the later Ford Pickup Dana 60.
 
Why replace it, everything inside the case is good, and all I need are new shoes and brake cylinders. Also how bad are 83000 original miles on the engine?Does it warrant a complete overhaul?
 
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