2x4

You must know your Ford's, so what did they use that 254 engine in? My dad had a 49 Ford F-3, but that was a 221[flat head,ish] or something wasn't it, Then in my teens the local gravel hauler bought a F-600, that had a 262, that didn't last as long as the 330HD that he normally used! So was the 300 - 6 cylinder a good engine, that had guts didn't it?

Except for a bad habit of cracking manifolds at about every hundred thousand miles or so, I don't think Ford ever built a better engine.

I had one and it was good, but I sold it and the buyer put a 2 barrel carburetor in it and improved the performance

When I worked at Sears as a home service tech, the first new truck they gave me was a Ford Econpline The first time I drove it I stopped at a parking lot to look at the engine. I thought it was a V8, to my surprise it was a 300-6. It ran good until it had about 50,000 miles it wouldn't go up a hill in third gear. They would rebuild it then it was fine. All of the Fords I had were the same. 50.000 miles and a little old lady on a moped would pass you on a hill.

Ford L6 254 cu in engines were used in Ford F6 trucks from 1948-1953. Our neighbor had one. A super truck. Used it for everything. His had an Eaton 2 speed axle. Grain hauling, picking up baled hay in the field (although the bed was high), silage hauling-drove it right along beside the chopper, feed hauling, moving tractors and equipment. I remember one run was down to Iowa to pick up an Oliver Super 88. I don't know of a thing that truck wasn't capable of doing.

Thats where that 262 gave up at 50,000, he got warranty as i remember, but i assume they were all 4 main bearings, and a 5 quart oil pan, it just couldn't take it, i rode in it hauling gravel he had the foot on the floor all day long!

yes, the 300 6 cyl's were a pretty decent engine. made right up till 1996.dad had one in a 1965 ford 1/2 ton. i had one the last year in 1996 also.

The little OHV Six came out in 1952, but you could still order the 254 (Big Six) for 2 or 3 years later. My old friend had this one in a project:

It was a super strong engine. That F6 (2 ton) was a heavy duty truck every which way and the 2 speed axle made it ideal in the field. Wish it was still around. Neighbor died and his brother-in-law ended up with it but didn't have enough money to keep it.

Yes, the 300-6 was a durable engine, no raving powerhouse but held up well. I had a '78 F150 4wd I bought used, 27,000 miles in 2 years. Thing nickled and dimed me to death. I had to rebuild the Carter YF-1 carb 3 or 4 times, the Dura-Spark ignition box failed which they ALL did, I got sucked into cheap rebuilt waterpumps which needed replacing about every 20,000 miles, front disk brakes that tended to sieze the pistons in the calipers and drag, OH, the BIG hit was replacing all the tierods and tierod ends, even with a commercial account that was $400. And for some reason I traded it for a brand new '87 F-150, same 300-6 but EFI, same 4-speed, but Twin-Traction Beam frt axle. It was surprisingly less prone to break-down.
For most half-ton pickup uses, a 351 V-8 is a much better engine. I drove my 300-6's like an old lady and got 12-14 mpg, My SON had a '93 F-150 Lightning pickup, Hot-Rod 351-W, E4OD auto trans, 4.10 gears and He got 14 mpg driving lime an idiot. Forget the 302 V8.

FIL had a mid 60s F-350 stake with the 300. We used to get furnace coal from the North Lima mine. One time he came home with 9,000 on the 10,000 GVW truck. It wasn't fast but loaded it was no slower.

In the mid 70’s I worked in a GMC-International dealership. When the mechanic at the local UPS went on vacation they sent me there to fill in for him. At the time all of their local delivery trucks had 300-6’s in them.

Ok,Interesting,so is that a 7 main brg engine?

(quoted from post at 19:45:25 12/01/20) Ok,Interesting,so is that a 7 main brg engine?

Click to expand...

Yes, 7 mains.

We had a 1965 F600 with a 300 6 engine. Finally got rid of it in the mid 1980s with over 350K miles on it and never had the head off it. Drove it the same way on day one as on the last day - gas peddle flat on the floor until you got where you were going. When it was sold it was burning half a quart of oil with every tank of fuel.

I had 2 300 6 Ford pickups. First was a 75. 4x4 F100. Carb kept sucking gasket in middle in. Then ran to lean and wouldn't idle. Went all the way. Put a small Holley 4 barrel and aluminum manifold plus 3 and 3 headers. Would out run my friends 390. Next was a 83 f250 4x4 good truck but motor just wasn't big enough. But was ok then for 55 mph speed limits. Now have a 6.2 f250. This motor would wake up that 83. Think has 385 hp. Maybe more.

I like the 300ci/4.9L-6, IMHO they are one tough workhorse. I have consistently gotten good service out of them over the years.

My uncle built a warmed over one for his buddy with a 78 F-150. Used a 4 bbl Holley on a dual plane (offenhauser?) intake and split 3+3 exhaust. Shaved the head down some and advanced the cam gear a tooth. It had a very unique sound at idle and would walk away from the big blocks. His buddy was very happy with it.

The 300-6 in the forklift at work came from a junkyard just over 20 years and 12,500 hours ago. Initial mileage unknown.

In the years since it has had the manifold gaskets done twice, carb cleaned/resealed twice, 2 fuel pumps, 1 alternator, 3 water pumps, 3 sets of secondary ignition components, 7+ starter rebuilds, and 3 ringgears. I have snugged down the valve cover, lifter cover and oil pan bolts several times to minimize the effect of the automatic dust control system. It still starts right up in the winter and runs about 15 psi oil pressure at hot idle. I was surprised to still see the stamping on top of the pistons through the spark plug holes after a recent decarbonization soak.

I am interested to see how well the new light weight/high output/direct injected/high compression/electronic controlled everything engines last over the 20-30 year span.


Carl

Say what you want, but the old 300 was a great motor. It was also the main engine in Hobart, Miller and Lincoln portable welders, as well as generators, air compressors, industrial tow motors, etc,etc,etc. It must have provided good service, or it would not have been the main motor used in all the various applications. I finally had to rebuild mine in the F150 at 386,000 miles.

I had 3 of the 254 power units. Used one on my sawmill but it was sadly underpowered for 20" oak sawlogs. Ran the 2 saw edger good enough tho. This was in 1973 so the engines were 20 years old then unless they continued making them after they stopped using them in trucks.

Thanks !!!!!!