**Help with Ford 300 I-6 FI**

[kimchi at webcombo.net]

Greetings.  I have recently become the proud owner of a 1978 F-250 with the
tried and true 300 inline-six.  
It's current factory-stock fuel & emissions specs:

A.  Carter YF-1V 1-bbl. carb.  (unsure of CFM)
B.  NO SMOG EQUIPMENT - that's correct, lads & lasses - NONE, not even EGR
or catalytic converters!  It does have a PCV valve (does that qualify as
smog equipment?), but, at the time the truck was built, it was considered a
WORK truck, rather than a passenger vehicle, hence the absence of smog equip.

I heard that Ford put out a fuel-injected version of this engine.  True?
If so, would junkyard browsing be my best bet for locating the necessary
setup, and is this the most prudent way to go, or is there someone out
there with a better suggestion?

I'm an ex-USN electronics tech, and am not afraid of breaking out ye olde
DMM and soldering iron, although I'll admit that digital wasn't my strong
point.

I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and my quest is to improve the following:

A.  Drivability - throttle response is not exactly linear at the moment -
there are a couple weak spots/stumbles as I depress the gas pedal.

B.  Emissions - it failed a previous IM240 smog check, mostly due to high
HC and CO 
(a rich fuel/air ratio was the cause, I believe).  Beyond just being able
to pass the sniffer, I live in a high-population-density area, and I'd like
to do my part to decrease emissions as much as possible without severely
depleting my bank account.

C.  Winter startup/pre-full-operating-temperature drivability - it has a
manual choke installed by previous owner - he told me that they don't make
the proper thermostatic coils for this particular carb anymore.  This is
pretty much a non-issue to me, but if I had my druthers, I'd rather have a
computer take care of this.  (My techie streak showing through. :))

D.  Economy - currently, with 295,000 miles on her (mostly highway), she is
getting 13.9 mpg with 87 octane unleaded.  I assume that this isn't out of
line for a truck with this many miles, but I have a hunch that it can do
better.  Previous owner performed a compression check, and told me that all
cylinders were within 10-15 psi of each other.
(I assume that this is within spec.)

Thanks in advance to all!

Geoff

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             G. Turk
Microsoft Certified Professional
   Windows NT Workstation 4.0
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