I originally purchased my 67 coupe in January of 2001 with the intentions of building a cheap daily driver.  Shortly after I began working on the stock six cylinder, I came to the conclusion that I would not be satisfied with its meager performance.  However, I was determined to retain the inline six for several reasons. The sixes offer improved handling characteristics due to the weight savings over a V8 (less nose weight), better gas mileage, are cheaper to maintain (less parts), and easier to work on (more room). They also produce more torque than their counterpart V8's, and have a rock solid bottom end with seven main bearings, verses five in the small block v-eight. I also wanted something different than the cookie cutter V8's that seem to dominate the local car shows.

Therefore I began a quest, seeking information and locating the performance parts which would be needed to maintain the six, yet achieve the power desired. The following article documents my results, and I sincerely hope it will inspire others to keep their inline sixes. These are great little motors which have been overlooked as performance motors. Contrary to popular belief, with proper planning and the right combination of parts, the inline six can be hopped up to offer a performance level equal to that of the more popular small block v-eights.

I began by taking the block and the Australian cylinder head to a local machine shop. They did all the machine work which was required and assembled the long block using the parts I supplied. After several months, it was finally ready and it took just one weekend to drop it in place and fire it up. I was really surprised how well it ran. I knew it would be much better than the old worn out stock motor, but wasn't quite ready for all the extra power we gained. Even with the stock 7.25 rear end and 300 gears, it had no problem lighting up both tires. It will literally burn the rubber right off the rims with all the bottom end torque the little six offers. I can't imagine the power we'll get with the new aluminum cylinder head, fuel injection, and triple throttle bodies.

While the engine was in the shop, it took advantage of my time by working on the body. The first step was to chemically remove seven previous coats of paint and all the old bondo. This took several weeks of back breaking labor, but was well worth the effort and the end results. Once my work was completed, the car was taken to Proco Auto Body in Chandler, Arizona. They began by massaging the sheet metal back to its original shape, or at least as close as possible, and applying new undercoating. The next step was to apply new bondo where necessary, block sanding, and laying down a coat of heavy primer. The rear deck was replaced and we installed a new fiberglass GT350 hood and front spoiler from Maier Racing. Once the body work was complete, it was block sanded once again in preparation for the base coat. Originally, I had planned to paint her dark blue, however, at the last possible moment I changed my mind and went with Dark Toreador Red. This was followed by the addition of the Wimbledon White Lemans racing stripes, and two coats of Clear, which was polished to a mirror finish. I always wondered how it would have looked, had I went with blue, so a friend retouch the picture above with Photo Shop.

Eventually, the car was brought back home, where all the exterior chrome was replace with new. Next we blacked out the front grill, installed white GT strips, and installed a new black interior kit. The final steps included rebuilding the front suspension, the brakes on all four corners, and replacing the old worn out leaf springs. Eventually, we plan to update the front and rear suspension and the steering. The front will include rack and pinion steering, roller bearing upper and lower control arms, roller spring perches, adjustable struts, and a heavy duty sway bar. For the rear suspension, were leaning towards some sort of four link or air ride system. Were just not sure which, as there's a lot of new products coming out, and they look good. So we'll just have to wait and see which tickles our fancy the most, when the time comes.

I would like to take a minute to thank the members of the FordSix Forum for their invaluable knowledge, suggestions, and assistance while I was rebuilding my first inline six. Without their inspiration, I may have taken the path so many others have, and swapped in another cookie cutter V-eight. At that time, there were very few options for performance products. To satisfy the demand and needs of other inline enthusiast, as well as myself, I began importing and selling performance products over the internet.

Over the past few years, that small company has evolved into what we now call Classic Inlines. Our goals were the same then as they are now, to supply high quality parts, superior service, and the best prices possible. We hope to educate and inspire others, by building our project cars, as well as offering quality parts at reasonable prices. We also know that reasonable is a relative term, and that it is cheaper to build a V8. However we are continually seeking a means to reduce the cost, without sacrificing the quality. If the trend of swapping to cookie cutter V-eights continues, in a few years there won't be any sixes left, except those which are restored to their original condition.

Items listed in Red are products sold by Classic Inlines.
Items listed in Blue are planned future upgrades.

Short Block	Exhaust
200ci Short Block - Line Bored .030 over	Clifford Exhaust Port Divider
Nodular Iron Crank - Spooned & Indexed	Pacemaker Dual Outlet Header
Clevite 77 Main, Rod, and Cam Bearings	2" Dual Flowmaster 40 Series Muffler
Cast Dished Pistons - 9.5:1 CR	Brakes & Exhaust
Seal Power Plasma Rings	Stock Drum Brakes - Front & Rear
CSC-274-110* Camshaft & Lifters	KYB Gas Shocks on all four corners
JP Performance Dual Roller Chain Set	American Racing 15x7 Wheels - all four
Cast OZ250-2V Cylinder Head - Ported	B.F. Goodrich 205/225-50 Radials TA's
SI Port Flow Valves 1.75/1.50	Front & Rear Disc Brake Swaps
Clay Smith Valve Springs with Damper	Front Suspension & Steering Upgrades
R.A.S. 1.6 Roller Tip Rocker Assembly	Body & Paint
Clay Smith Chrome Moly Pushrods	Dark Toreador Red Base with Clear Coat
Lynx Intake with Triple SU Carburetors	Wimbledon White Lemans & GT Stripes
High Energy 7qt Oil Pan with Windage	Maier F/G Shelby Hood Scoop & Spoiler
Classic Inlines DUI Ignition System	Interior
Romac High Performance Balancer	Complete Interior Kit - Black
Classic Inlines Aluminum Cylinder Head	Humphugger Console
Classic Inlines Triple TBI/EFI Induction	Pioneer Audio System.
Drive Train	Grant Steering Wheel & Horn Kit
T5 Manual Transmission Swap	Bucket Seats & Custom Upholstery
Traction-Loc 8" Differential w/ 3.50 gears	Three Point Safety Belts
Stock 28 Spline Rear Axles	AutoMeter Gauges

volts	fuel level	fuel psi	mph	rpm	water temp	oil temp	oil psi