Thing - Motor Size recommendations

[Toy4Kid]

Hey guys- have a 1973 that needs a motor rebuild. It has larger tires, stock tranny, and will be used for around town and towed behind the motorhome for trail rides. Will have gear on it from time to time so it will be heavier than others. Thinking of building a 1904 for the torque or a 1776. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers

[doublecanister]

hey Toy4Kid,

I've been mulling this myself, after this year's Kubeltreffen East show,
my 73 has a stockish 1600, oil bath air breather, 73 original type exhaust.

It did fine driving it there and back again except for holding up traffic on the back roads, maintaining 55-60 on back roads with hills was bout impossible.
But I met some folks there and one fellow had a 2110 Engine in his, That was some nice power! I had to help him retrieve his tow vehicle and got to drive the
thing for a bit, I could really dig that power for mine for sure!

This brought up a bunch of questions for me too.
How much is too much engine for the transmission?
Prob have to go dual carbs and would need to get a decent exhaust system.
I've heard most are right loud - and you'd need a decent exhaust to get max power.

But, my choices from what I know so far is at least a 1776 and up to a 2110 max, but the 1903 size didn't sound bad either.
I was looking at CB Performance as a possible source but at least their website had some good info on engines.
It may be worth taking a look but not sure if prices are to spendy or if it's cheaper to get elsewhere or build yourself.

I'm not sure I can do the rebuild myself due to lack of knowledge and room to do this at home.
I've always wanted to build an engine, but to do the 1776 or higher the engine block would need machining, so I was kinda leaning on
a replacement motor vs using my existing one but again not sure the best way to roll just yet.
(I have no room to keep a spare motor right now anyways).

I also mulled getting AC system setup and to do that the place that was recommended (Gilmore Enterprises) needs to know the 'style' of engine you have
single or dual carbs, etc (for the brackets) so I'd defiantly need to get the engine setup done first to know what to order for Ac.
So i'd have to have all that sorted out before I could order their Ac system.

Since we always seem to have these shows during the hottest part of the year (July) figured to make it more enjoyable for me, keeping me cool would help!

I'd also like to be able to run with the hiway traffic 70-75mph but even then just to have the power to "go" when you need it even if I didn't drive that fast for long distances would be nice. (I had mulled a freeway flyer transmission too).

Well i'm not ready to pull the trigger just yet, but that's some of the things I've been mulling to do to mine.
Let us know what you decide hope any of this helps.

Ballpark last time I looked at prices, the engine alone (buying outright) was ballpark 8k and about 2k for the ac system so 10K total.
That's not figuring in a freeway flyer transmission.

T
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2020 - Mustang Eco Boost [High Performance]
1973 - Thing
1966 - Mustang GT- Fastback
1951 - Ford F1 pickup Flathead V8

[SilverThing]

Freeway flyers often mean different things to different builders. Sometimes the 4th gear is changed to 0.88 instead of 0.93. Sometimes the ring and pinion is changed to 3.88 instead of 4.125. Sometimes 4th is 0.88 and the ring and pinion is 3.88, which is the same as 73/74 karmann ghias, which are much more aerodynamic.

I personally prefer the stock gearing (0.93 4th with 4.125 ring and pinion) and think it was a good choice by the factory. With stock tires (~25.7" diameter for original 185R14), 4th gear achieves 60mph at 3k rpms. Heck, you can do 55-60 in 3rd gear at 4k rpms. The mountain pass closest to me averages 5.3% grade, with long stretches of it being over 6%. Both my 75 bug (0.93 w/ 3.88 ) and my 73 Thing will climb it 50-55mph in 3rd gear with myself and a passenger. It is definitely loud in 3rd gear, but both handle it fine. I tried staying in 4th once and gave up when I slowed down to 40mph and was still slowing lol.

I won't argue that more power would be beneficial, but will caution to be careful with an engine build. The build combo needs to be chosen carefully to target the rpms you will actually be driving (look at your gearing and tire size). Think about what rpms you want to be driving at, what sort of carburetion you want, and pick a camshaft that suits those two items (aircooled.net has great camshaft descriptions to help). The rest of your combo (heads, compression ratio, etc) should be built around that.

My Thing currently has an 1835 in it and I honestly think the poorly built 1600 that was in it previously was more powerful and more enjoyable to drive.

I hear you on the A/C. I am planning on installing an original dealership a/c system in my rig at some point. I'm more after moving heat around better in the winter, but having a/c in the summer will be nice.
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"I like how everyone likes talking about Zeke's Thing yet he's the only one that's ever seen it." - Katie
"I've seen pictures..." - Jeremy

[40Grit]

I just started building a CB Performance 1904 stroker.Won't be the gas saver addition as I went with a different cam.

I would like to post pics and observations as it progresses. Would this be the correct thread for this, or start a new one?

73 Thing, 4:12 fina, 15" wheels/tires. Currently has a 1776 with 34ICTs.

[doublecanister]

Hey Silver, thanks that's good to know info on the transmissions.

40Grit, yeah probably a good idea to start a new thread on your build so we don't hijack this one!

(but please do i'd be interested in how it goes)

Thanks!

T
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****************************************
2020 - Mustang Eco Boost [High Performance]
1973 - Thing
1966 - Mustang GT- Fastback
1951 - Ford F1 pickup Flathead V8