Projects '64 Fairlane Coupe Help me set up this car

I'm facing some purchases and I want be informed and choose wisely. I have a good selection of parts. This is what I have now.

The '64 289 needs building.
A '68 302 (presently in my F1) ready to go .....just needs stuff like the pan and flex plate change to go into the Fairlane.
The Fairlane's stock gear is 3.00 to one.
I have a 3.25 ring and pinion set.
I will run 14" G78s or equivalent on the stock 14" wheels....a 27" tire.
Transmissions....I have two C4s right now. The '64 C4 is presently in the car. ( the first year C4 had some quirks or bugs.....this was improved through 65-66 and in '67 the valve body was changed. The '64 unit still has the Green Dot shift.
I have an extra 66 or 67 C4 unit...probably 67.

These are the General Specifications for the car.
3100lb Fairlane Spors Coupe dry curb weight....3600-3700lb loaded passengers, gas and groceries in the trunk.

Engine. 289 or 302. I like the old 60's cam grinds....Powerband 2000-5500. 4bbl induction HiPo exhausts...

Transmission C4

tires 27"or so

Gear presently 3.00. I'm considering, 3.25(I have it) 3.55 or 3.80....

Goals...
This is where it gets tricky.
I want a nice running 60s car with 60s stuff.
Drag car...No.
King of the Valley...No
Gas sipper (fuel efficient)...Are you kidding?
I want that seat of the pants punch.
I want to feel the power.
I want that laugh you get when it downshifts and takes off like a rocket.
One of my fondest memories is when I bought a Chevy. On the test drive the owner said....give it some gas man!.....She chirped going to 2nd......Sold!
This is what I want.

I have no idea of base line performance. I have no idea how it would do with the stock 3.00 gear. Do I need a performance torque converter? The Crane Cam's powerband is 2000-5500. A 2500 stall seems to be best. The manufacturer says it "should" stall at 2000 with a smallblock. Then again it may do fine with the stock converter.

With the above specs.....

What I plan to do is get the car running the 3.00 and build up a Limited slip 3rd Member for the 8" rear. Which one....3.25, 3.55 or 3.80?

As crazy as it sounds, I can put a gear in this car for the same price as a set of Holman and Moody Valve covers.
I love the covers and I get it but......show or go.

 

Gear calculator results with 27"tire " Spicer"
3.00
Automatic in drive
1990 50 MPH 2787 70 MPH

3.25
Automatic in drive
2156 50 MPH 3019 70 MPH

3.55
Automatic in drive
2355 50 MPH 3297 70 MPH

3.80
Automatic in drive
2521 50 MPH 3530 70 MPH

 

If you use the 302, you'll definitely have to use the later (6-bolt bellhousing) C4.
Besides cam selection, your best investment in the engine is a good set of heads and Edelbrock Performer RPM or Weiand Stealth intake. 600-650 cfm carb.

With the smallish tires, 3.00 gear may be the way to go.

 

The '64 is a 5 bolt bellhousing, the 302 is a 6 bolt bell. Can't bolt the '64 289 to the '67 tranny.

I would do the 3.25 gear. I think you will have a problem getting a 27" tall tire under a '64 Fairlane. It will probably hit the front of the wheelwell.

SPark

 

Thank You LM14 I know you from the Slick 60s

The car has been garaged since 1977. It's more of a 13 year old car than a 55 year old car. Honestly it's a 13 year car that's sat in storage....42 years.
I'm going to double check the original wheels and tires I have in storage.
Thanks.



Standard tire size for 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe Challenger 289 V-8 Cruise-O-Matic:
(in case of different tires in front and rear the dimensional data are valid for driving or rear wheels)

Standard tire size:
7.00 - 14

Tire width (mm):
178

Tire sidewall factor:
90

Rim size (in):
14

Total wheel diameter (mm / in):

676 / 26.6

 

Wow! I just checked the original wheels and tires......
The original owner was running big and littles.
G78 rear
Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr
E78 fronts. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr

I never knew car had big and littles until just now. How cool is that? I pulled these rotten tires off and had them in a storage shed....I'm moving them into the garage.

 

Sell all the five-bolt stuff including the motor/trans to a early Mustang restorer, use the later parts. This stuff is hard to find in usable condition, should get decent money for it.

Go with a 3 flat rear gear, maybe a 3.25 but no lower. Use a 450 or 500 CFM carb, that's all the carb you need unless you're planning on going above 6500 RPM on a regular basis. A larger carb will hurt low-speed throttle response.

You won't be able to get much rear tire under it unless you modify the body. The famed Thunderbolts ran on 7" slicks... and those were a tight squeeze.

 

Thank you all.
Technically I think I can simply put the 6 bolt bell on the 64 transmission and vice versa. With that said I'm going to follow Steve's advice and keep all the 5 bolt stuff together. I will not use it unless I have too.

 

Limited slip....
yes or no?

 

I happen to have 2 64 fairlanes in my hoard. Get a stock 351 W add hedders and a 4 bbl carb. go with a 355 rear gear. Or you could stick the 64 crank in the 302 block bore is .060 add cam & hedders. The 64 heads are better than the 302 heads. because they have adjustable rocker arms. Carroll Shelby made those GT 350 engines fly.

 

I run a 3.89 rear in my Ford and it runs 3200 at 70, I have 29" tall tires (235/75-15). Not that horrible, I'm used to it and it has great acceleration. A 3.70 may be a better compromise, do the math. Most of those cars came with E or F78 tires, 6.95 or 7.75 x 14 in the old numbers.

 

More Goodies, Cowbell??

the '68 302 at idle....The Fairlane is parked in front of the F1. I love the F1 but the Fairlane is the best I've got. I have different plans for the truck.


An old intake I have....
Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr

The Torker 289....

I have done some research on this part. Here's what I have gathered from that research.

The old Torker 289 was actually a pretty good street intake for the early small Ford. Even though it was a single plane it augmented the small ports of the stock 289/302 heads. It actually worked really well on engines with stock heads. 60s-70s, Camshafts like the 271 hp K code, the "Cobra Kit cam of 1969" and Cranes Fireball series. These were designed for the stock Ford Heads, they have a lower lift but longer duration.
With better heads the Torker was restrictive. The later Torker IIs and Victors flow more but do not have the drivable atributes of the old Torker.

The Cobra Kit Cam was nicknamed the hydraulic Lemans. In truth the the Lemans was a pretty radical camshaft. They nicknamed the Crane Fireball 294 "the Lemans ..... This is in reference to the Cobra Kit Cam.....not the true Lemans. The Crane hydro 294 Fire ball and the Ford Cobra Kit cam are actually quite similar in profile.
Holman and Moody still offer the Cobra Kit cam....C90Z-6250-C.

Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr

Mmmm.
The Autolite 4100. This is a 66 unit and unfortunately it's from a 352 Galaxie. It's a 600 cfm. I have had really good luck with a 1850 Holley (600cfm) on that 302. I wonder how this 4100 would do after rebuild? I really wish it was the small block unit.

 

You can fab a linkage to make the autolite into a mechanical secondairy. That vacuum operated secondary aint gonna work very good with the torker and a bigger camshaft. I prefer to use carter AFB or Edelbrock carbs. Probably need a different size power valve on the smaller engine.

 

You won't like that Torquer intake with an auto trans....

I ran one on a '64 Comet I used to have and the off-idle torque sucks. Once you get to around 1500 rpm or so then it wakes up. Mine was a 4-speed, that's the only way to make one work on the street IMO without sacrificing a bunch of drivability. The guy I got it off was trying to use it in front of an automatic, he had to turn the idle speed so far up it would do 20 mph with your foot off the gas.

I ran 3.25 gears in mine, unless your planning on drag racing that will give very satisfactory street performance once you hit the 'curve'. I also ran a 450 Holley that started running out of breath around 6800 RPM, which will get you a felony ticket in any gear but low... LOL.

 

If it were mine, 302 running the old factory solid lifter hi-po cam and run a performer rpm, matching set up Holley carb, headers etc. Those old ford solid lifter hi-po motors were one of the best sounding small blocks ever. And pulled hard too.

If at all possible the above motor with a good 4 speed and 3:55 posi. I think it would make you one hell of a fun street toy

Sorry but I laugh when I read guys worrying about gas mileage with a hot rod.

 

Adjustable rockers were still used through '68, but Ford switched to 'rail' rockers in mid-'66 on everything except the Hi-po. Now some people say these rockers aren't suitable for performance use, but I've had no issues with them on well-warmed street motors. Just make sure the machine shop leaves enough valve stem above the spring retainer so the 'rails' don't contact the retainer and you'll be fine. The actual limiting factor is the press-in rocker studs; if planning on getting 'enthusiastic', I'd recommend converting to screw-in studs no matter which type rocker you use.

 

Well my 64 two sedan 289 c4 ran 14.0s @ 98 mph in drive with my daughter behind the wheel. Not king of the valley but about 290 hp and fun for her.

 

Hang that Torker on the wall , find yourself a F4B or any high rise dual plane , and go conservative on the carb . My 32 has an X grind roller , 1.6 roller rockers and Motorsport springs and Intake . The intake is the same as F4B just says Ford on it . It is very impressive for 302 cubes .

 

That's the motorsport version of the Cobra intake 600 Holley, bowl work on the heads, Hookers headers, a 220@ .050 duration. 500 lift cam approx. and everything I could think of to free up a little power in the shortblock. I had a set of 3.80 gears on a Detroit locker also.

 

I used the 64 c4 with a B&M shift kit witch aloud it to shift at 5000 plus rpm. Show up at my house I'll make you a deal on the 289, c4, 3.80 locker and throw in a 3.25 axle assembly.

 

Ive had the rail rockers on a 67 head cause the valve keepers to fail dropped a valve and lost a engine. With solid lifters the early heads are much better.

 

The machinist 'dressed' the valve stems too short.... I've had the same problem, the shop made it right. Never had any problems after that.

 

I will never trust a rail rocker again. The one I had fail was a 67 289 in a 65 mustang. It was a low miles takeout from a wrecked car. Never seen a machine shop. I installed a C4B intake and carter 4 bbl carb. and hammered on it like I did my oil burning 65 -289 and promptly blew it up.

 

I have made engine road trips. It's an adventure. I may not can do it but can you message me the details. Thanks.

 

Steve,
I have a 600 (1850). In your opinion is this....
465 CFM CLASSIC HOLLEY CARBURETOR
Hot Air Choke Vacuum Secondaries-4160

PART# 0-1848-1
the hot choke 1848 worth the expense?

 

The 302 has '68 4V heads which are the rail design. I'm going to go over it and check out the "rails".

Whats a good practical solution for the rail heads?
just keep an eye on them and make sure I have clearance at the rail and valve stem?
guide plates and early rockers with hardened pushrods?
clean up and use the '64 heads?

 

Old Wolf,
Is there anything you don't have?

Thanks for the input BTW.

 

Not trying to bragg however ive been hoarding vehicles and parts for more than 5 decades. I have about 300 vehicles at this time. I have owned close to two thousand vehicles. there are very few people around here that I haven't traded with or sold a vehicle ,parts ,tractors , land, horses , cattle at least one time. Folks accused me and a half dozen other traders of making our living by just trading with each other. And yes there is something I have not ever owned a HEMI engine of any size or type. not any Hemi parts in my hoard.

 

I like the 64 &65 heads. I like to hot lash solid lifters with the engine running. hard to do with rail rocker arms. I suppose guide plates will work. The newer heads did not use rail rockers. you might be able to adapt them? get some burrs and open up the 64 exhaust ports. gasket match the intakes. polish and CC the combustion chambers. and possibly a three angle valve job.

 

Thanks...you know I was just picking at you.