Since finding the HAMB, I now do homework all the time to make sure I get things right. That being said, I also find some things that I didn't know and some interesting stuff in some of the old mags. One mag that I was going through was the August 1960 ( 35 cents ) Hot Rod Magazine. I found this interesting article about Wally Parks and his hot rod Comet. Seeing as he is the hero of a good number of peopleon this board, I thought I would take aminute and show you this article. Hope you can read and enjoy this.....interesting, putting a small block Chevy in a Ford......who knew
Back around 1966 I used that article to put a 283 in my 60 falcon....haven't seen that in quite a while.
The article is a little tough to read, so I transcribed the original this morning. We’re going to copy this swap, with a few deviations in favor of anachronistic Nova parts, on our ‘61 Falcon Futura. He built a V8 Nova four years before General Motors got around to it. The subsequent V8 Novas make this swap a lot easier than it was in 1960. That’s the early trans crossmember. Later (post-mid-‘61) Falcons and Comets have a cantilever mount. It or an aftermarket C4 mount could likely be adapted to a Chevy trans. I’m not clear if the universal trans crossmembers old by Speedway and Chassis Engineering will work, as the frame stubs may not extend far enough back. The driveshaft splice makes sense - you’d want the weak point at the back so if it failed you’d just be dragging the shaft and not pole vaulting on it. I lack a driveshaft and slip yoke for my TH-350. I’m thinking about buying an S10 ‘shaft from a junkyard. I think these are 1955 265 manifolds. The block appears to lack an oil filter and the implication is that these are the original manifolds. I’m hoping to make angled-dump Ram’s Horns work. Evidently they fabricated frame-side mounts. Speedway sells a variety of them as well. I’m not sure how any given set would work, but I can’t help but wonder if the spacing on the Model A rails is comparable to the Falcon. I recall guys here using hockey pucks as insulators. Speedway still makes the front mount. I’m not clear why they lengthened it, though, instead of making the frame-side mounts longer. I don’t see a fan, which probably added to the cooling woes. Mustang radiators bolt in place and are as cheap as they come - with choice neck location. I wonder if they used ‘55 Chevy hoses. The steering-link mods are similar to how early ‘50s GM overheads were swapped into Shoebox Fords. These days, a Chevy II pan would be easier and safer than modifying the steering link. Looks like he had to pull the engine to change plugs. Hopefully the statement about the 283 (which would have an oil filter), means that a 327 shouldn’t be any tougher to intall. I wonder how long the rear axle lasted. I’m planning a Maverick 8" and Mustang five-lug brakes for ours.
I put a 283 in a '61 Falcon back in the 70's. I switched sides w/ the stock manifolds, installed them upside down, and routed the exhaust out thru a hole behind the shock tower similar to fenderwell headers. The steering centerlink is likely forged steel, welding and bending would be easy. I didn't modify mine. I know i had a Nova pan and pickup tube, but can't remember if i used them.
I remember reversing the tie rodby reaming the holes out from the bottom, picked up a couple of inches. Was easier to widen the Hurst mount (got mine from a Studebaker), and use a couple of Rambler biscuit type mounts that simply drilled into the "frame". Remember, back in the sixties it was a big deal to get something welded, much easier to bring a mount to a shop than the whole car. Must have worked OK, put 15,000 on it in 9 months.
Never knew Wally had a Comet. A couple months back, Hot Rod Deluxe ran a picture/caption of Eric Rickman's '60 Comet wagon which received an aluminum Buick V8 swap. That article is supposed to be in the May '61 issue of Hot Rod as well as a later article in July '62 featuring more modifications.
go to about min 9.00 (you'll see) NHRA in an old Dragnet skit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-j3W3RcFk4&feature=related
Since he's no longer around to share them, I don't suppose you could be persuaded? I'd dearly love to hear more about this car - how long he kept it, how much he liked it, etc.
Wow, yeah I can't find anything online about the car, other than a couple sites that list that magazine and say there is an article about it. Bummer.
The Jalopy Journal
