Projects Crate Engine Question

Interesting to see yours has the attachment points for the factory seatbelts... they weren't required until Jan 1, 64. Somebody must have checked the option box...

 

------------Good eye! Yes it does, even has the rubber plugs in them which is odd if it was ordered that way... The idiot I got the car from didn't see those or know what they were so he drilled holes... Actually he drilled lots of unnecessary holes all over the place. I had to map out the holes that belong & weld up the rest, LOL!

 

They may be a oddball thread. Ford used a 'split' lower bracket to attach the belts and not a bolt but an eyebolt. You separated the two halves, installed them in the eyebolt then there was a pin and cotter key to hold them in place. It took me two years to find enough parts to make a full OEM set...

And Mercury had a lot of not-Ford parts on these for who knows why...

 

------------see, more stuff I didn't know! I did run a 1965 F100 seatbelt bolt through one of the threaded bosses & it fit. But yes. Odd ball stuff here & there. Also many of the Comet specific items say Edsel on them, like front turn signal housings, rear taillight housings just to name a few. Also uses rear spring bushings & shackles that are not shared with anything else, close to a fairlane set up, but NOT the same. I reused the shackles & General Spring had the bushings & correct rear spring pack (5 leaf). Yup, gotta be creative when repairing/modifying the early Comet. I will be an expert by default when I finished, LOL! well, maybe?

 

The main reason I'm going with a simple roll bar is to provide a solid mounting place to put "modern" retracting seatbelts with shoulder strap. I do not want to have to run racing harness or even racing lap belt for street/road use. the novelty of having cool belts wears off pretty quick when you try to reach for something as your motoring down the road! I will have provisions for race harness, but seldom race harness would be installed, maybe for a Hillclimb or Autocross day, that could happen I suppose. But, anyway, I decided to go ahead with a 6-point-rollbar & turn the back seat into a package tray.

 

Besides all the suggestions of what you should do to your ride......... Let's focus on your post,shall we? I saw firsthand a BP engine, and it came with an intake........ Low and behold= the casting where the distributor sits, was at least 1/8'' taller than a stock unit. The distributor was only engaging like 1/16'' of an inch. We compared to a stock intake, and retained 3/8''. Now it's half engaged into the cam....... Food for thought if your gonna be winding it up.

 

Why not do the whole enchilada and and build a tube chassis.

 

-------Hmm! I will check that out. Thank you for letting me know this.

 

--------- Yeh, their ya go! My car has to be comfy for long over the road journeys. This build is kinda a tribute to the early days of endurance rallies, road racing, etc. But, in fact, is being set up for touring the northwestern portions of the USA. I've done similar things to other vehicles over the years with considerable success.

 

From what I seen on the market a company called Total Cost Involved (TCI) has the best kit for eliminating shock towers on those cars....You might check it out....That frees up lots of room in the engine bay....

 

----------- I prefer the modified geometry of the Global Negative G set up. It allows for a wider range of adjustment & if I need, I can keep some of the longer travel for crappy back roads if I choose (not that I will). I have modified the tower clearance & have plenty of room now, The Dougs Tri-Y Headers fit well & I can reach everything. I am not apposed to the Mustang (pinto) front end, just didn't fit this particular application based on intended use, etc.

 

------------ Are you talking about a SBF 5.0L roller block, or any 302 block? The distributor sinks down directly into block, intake is not part of the equation on a 302 or 5.0L block. The distributor I have is specifically set up for my engine. I'm not sure I understand what you are referring to. Please explain. Thank you.

 

Must have been looking at a Chevy motor....

The only Ford OHV V8 motor that has the distributor install through the intake is the FE.

 

-------------Correct, FE only. And, yes, sounds like Invisible Kid was thinking Chevy.

 

A minor addition.

Some of the metal on a 6-cylinder early Falcon/Comet is 20ga!

 

Yes- My bad...... BUT- I'de still check out whatever clearance is on the distributor mounting pad compared to a stock unit(if it requires one)(for all to read). That's if it come's/came with an intake....... We all see less expensive intakes all the time- The one I had hands on and measured was a BP engine. Just food for thought.

 

----------LOL! I already pulled the distributor out, smeared a little diff set up paint on the gear & checked it. All is good...

 

----------Yes, like paper. Early Comet/Falcons were flexy fliers... (My 1978 Corolla had mostly 16ga except for the fenders. The firewall on the Corolla was 3 layers of 16ga! I know this because I cut a parts car Corolla up into pieces no larger than 2' long with a Sawzall & a LOT of blades).