6 cylinder truck rant

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For some odd reason I have a bit of interest in acquiring a mid 80's (84-86 IIRC)ford truck with a 3.8 v6.While looking around craigslist I have noticed a lot of people listing their ford truck as a v6.But when you call them and ask what size engine it has the reply is"4.9 /300 six cylinder" Uhh dude you know that is a straight six."huh?"The 300 is an inline six not a v6."I call all sixes a v6 whats the difference?"Nevermind ,have a good day .and hang up the phone.

If you can't figure out the difference between a v and an Inline engine design you don't deserve to own the truck.Stupid.

I also see this frequently on 87 thru late 90's fords that only had i-6 or v8's. :???
 
I don't know but I don't think Ford used a v6 in trucks till the late 90s. I know the 300 was still in the 94 models.

What is the reason for wanting a v6? That old 300 i6 was a good motor.

Looks like from a quick search the v6 was only an option in 82 and 83.
 
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What ford truck 1984-1986 had this 3.8 V6?

I'm thinking of the 3.8 as seen in the LTD II, Thunderbird, and 1st Gen Taurus.

So what truck ran this motor? Or what 3.8 are you thinking of?
 
V stands for "varoom!"
As I understand it, my old redbock Volvo had a V4 (in his case, V stood for "Volvo").
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by urrlord
For some odd reason I have a bit of interest in acquiring a mid 80's (84-86 IIRC)ford truck with a 3.8 v6.While looking around craigslist I have noticed a lot of people listing their ford truck as a v6.But when you call them and ask what size engine it has the reply is"4.9 /300 six cylinder" Uhh dude you know that is a straight six."huh?"The 300 is an inline six not a v6."I call all sixes a v6 whats the difference?"Nevermind ,have a good day .and hang up the phone.

If you can't figure out the difference between a v and an Inline engine design you don't deserve to own the truck.Stupid.

I also see this frequently on 87 thru late 90's fords that only had i-6 or v8's. :???


I'd prefer the straight sixmyself
 
Originally Posted by urrlord
For some odd reason I have a bit of interest in acquiring a mid 80's (84-86 IIRC)ford truck with a 3.8 v6.


And that would also be like having an interest in acquiring a migraine headache.
Okay, that's a bit of a stretch, but the 3.8 got a bad reputation when they redesigned the head gaskets and the new head gaskets weren't up to the job. I actually bought an '88 Cougar with the 3.8 engine off the showroom floor and got 300K trouble-free miles out of it, but that is rare. For a few years, just about every Ford dealership in the nation had cars with the 3.8 engine waiting in line for new head gaskets. The 3.8 V6 and the 4.0 SOHC engines are two that I try to avoid.
 
The Ford straight 6 300 is a much better truck engine than pretty much any V6 (possibly excepting the big GMC V6s back in the day). For an older 1/2 ton pickup, if you're not in a big hurry, it's hard to beat the Ford 300 or the Chevy?GMC 292 inline six (although the GM 4.3 Vortec is faster).
 
When did they drop the shorter stroke 240 in³ version? It was used as standard in full-size Ford cars, as well as pickups, starting in 1965 (to replace their old 4-bearing 223). The 300 in³ version was optional in pickups back then.
 
From a quick look,

The normal v6 would have been the 4.2l in the early 90's?

the f100 might have had the 3.8?
 
Only the 1982-1983 F100 had a 3.8L V6 in it; here from Wikipedia:

Applications:

1982 Ford Granada
1982-1983 Ford F-100
1982-1997 Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar
1982-1986, 1994-2004 Ford Mustang
1982-1986 Mercury Capri
1983-1986 Ford LTD and Mercury Marquis
1988-1995 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable
1988-1994 Lincoln Continental
1995-2003 Ford Windstar

You may be looking for a 4.2L V6; here from Wikipedia:

1997-2008 Ford F-150
1997-2003 Ford E-150
1997-2003 Ford E-250
1998-2001 Ford F-250 (the only gasoline engine available for the LHD short-bed Brazilian-made version, while the Triton 5.4 V8 was restricted to RHD versions exported to Australia)
2004-2007 Ford Freestar
2004-2007 Mercury Monterey
2004-2015 ESG-642 by Ford Power Products
 
the old carb 3.8 is a miserable engine..only used that brief time as there was a shortage of 300 blocks.

im also in the boat of those who cant even fathom why you would want that over a 4.9..

the newer 4.2 offered in the 2000s is a different story but the 4.9/300 is still one favored to that one by many.
 
Ford was still using the I6 well into the 90s, possibly through 96 the end of that generation. So if you want an old V6 truck, you will have to get GM, Dodge, or Toyota.
 
Originally Posted by Nick1994
I know what you mean. People with Jeeps call the 4.0L In-line 6 a V6 all the time.
mad.gif



You wouldn't believe how many people I've heard call I4's "V4's" haha
 
My nephew (mainstream college grad) didn't know anything about cars. I opened the hood on his 2007 corolla and showed him various parts of the engine overall how to do basic maintenance.

When he asked what kind of engine the car had I said is a 4 cylinder. He immediately replied. Oooh a V4???? smile then SMH.
 
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Originally Posted by philipp10
Originally Posted by urrlord
For some odd reason I have a bit of interest in acquiring a mid 80's (84-86 IIRC)ford truck with a 3.8 v6.While looking around craigslist I have noticed a lot of people listing their ford truck as a v6.But when you call them and ask what size engine it has the reply is"4.9 /300 six cylinder" Uhh dude you know that is a straight six."huh?"The 300 is an inline six not a v6."I call all sixes a v6 whats the difference?"Nevermind ,have a good day .and hang up the phone.

If you can't figure out the difference between a v and an Inline engine design you don't deserve to own the truck.Stupid.

I also see this frequently on 87 thru late 90's fords that only had i-6 or v8's. :???


I'd prefer the straight sixmyself

Me too. I love my Ford 300 I-6.
 
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i just like odd vehicles.

Yes , for a few years(82-83) Ford made an F100 with the 3.8 v6 in an effort to get good gas mileage and it had lighter springs and weight rating .I had an 84 ltd brougham with the 3.8 v6 that would not die eventually I stopped driving it as the rust situation was pretty bad and eventually sold it.I know they are suppose to have head gasket problems but I figure after 30 years the crappy ones have been sent to the junkyard.I know the 4.9 is a beefier engine but all I need out of the truck is pulling a 14 ft light aluminum boat and gettiing a load or two of firewood and pulling a 4x8 trailer with a lawn mower.MPG is more important for my needs than pulling capacity.At 6-2 and 280 lbs I would prefer a full size truck.Though I may end up with a 4.9 5speed.Last 3.8 F100 I found had transmission problems that made it an uneconomical choice....

I grew up driving v8 (302 and 360)Fords and an old F250 with a small 223 straight 6.(that truck w/a heavy 4 spd and 3/4 ton rear end could pull anything...slowly)

I have owned several Dodges w/ slant sixes and 318's and one v6.I would be amenable to a late 80's early 90's Dodge v6 but the last 2 I found 1 had electrical problems that the owner did not disclose til I drove an hour and a half to look at the truck and the other one I drove from central Ga to Central Fla and the guy went to dinner with his daughter and via phone suggested I come back the next day.That did not happen...in fact Hades would freeze before I gave him a dime.I would be open to another decent slant 6 esp if I can find one with a super six set up.

Also I really don't care for most years of Gm/Chevy products so that puts them out of consideration for most years..

Just my odd tastes ....
 
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