I have a chance to buy a 429/C6 combo for less than the cost of a rebuild for my 292. The question is, has anybody here replaced a 292 with a 429/460 in a '55/56 Mercury? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Please check out and post your question here. 1952-59 Ford Social Group There is a lot of information there and many helpful people there. I know there are a lot of FE engines and small blocks but fewer 429/460 combos. It has been done though, there was a nice 54 with a 460 on Craigslist here in Oregon not too long ago.
Hey, Rick & Jan! Engine mounting is a bolt-in, (that is over mounts: 17.5" apart, 45 degree angle of mounts on crossmember) However, exhaust manifolds will end up sitting right on the inner upper control arms. A spacer must be made, just a 2" rectangular tube cutting, 4" long. But be sure the tubing spacer has 3/16" wall thickness. Use the 429/460 mounts, with spacers drilled (for studs and attaching bolts) under the mounts, atop the factory pads on tube. If you use the BIG C6 transmission behind, it MAY interfere with floorboard tunnel. As nosford suggested, go to the Social Group site. Way less 'Chevy replies' there.
At one time I would have thought that a 385 based engine is the way to go but have you looked at gass price's lately. The 429/460 is not a gass mileage champ,, , 351 would be the choice for me...
I'll second the 351W choice.... The main problem with this swap is unless you do a suspension swap and some firewall bashing, the motor ends up high and forward. This does nothing good for handling on the street. If all you're interested in is straight-line performance it's fine, but makes for a pig of a street car. And a 429/C6 combo will be lucky to break 12 MPG unless you use freeway flyer gears, most likely it will be single digits. Any other auto trans will require an expensive adaptor. If you were straight-axling the car I'd say go for it.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say the price of gas is not an issue!! Gonna be some short trips this year, for sure.
What year is the 429/C6 combo? One of the main things I have always heard is that after about 72 Ford used retarded cam timing gears in the 429/460s. If you use a timing set for prior years like 68-69 it really helps those engines run better by advancing the cam; which helps low end torque and cylinder pressure. Aftermarket timing sets may be true straight up timing, somebody more familiar with Ford engines can know better.
Just move the engine far back as possible without touching the firewall and trim the rad support for more clearance. Don't know how much different the 56's are compared to 57's but in the 57 chassis they practically fall into place. You can even use the stock front sump car pan. I used tube headers so I can't say how manifolds would work, maybe shorty headers? Biggest issue is fitting for a proper cooling system. The stock radiator isn't going to cut it.
The '57-up engine compartment is positively roomy compared to the '54-56. The main problem is Ford changed the cylinder 'stagger' (controlled by which side of the rod journal the rod is on) from driver side 'leading' to passenger side on all V8s designed after the FE, putting the drivers side head back further. This was done to allow more passenger side room for AC installs which were becoming popular. It also requires the engine to be pushed forward at least 1" if you don't mod the firewall. The compartment is already none too long, add in the extra length of the 429/460 and you can be shoving the radiator ahead by up to 5". Ford Powertrain Applications makes a shorty header for '55-59 cars, but you'd have to contact them about actual engine location.
The firewall in a 55-56 Merc is different than the Ford in spacing. I have friend with a 351 in a 56 Merc and it’s really tight. My thoughts would lean toward moving the radiator forward to help with cooling and fit. Good luck.
You need to join the social forum: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/1952-59-ford-social-group.282/ At the top, click Social Forum Tools. Then click, Join Forum. Searching and asking questions there will get you all the info you need.
Like I said, roomy... I did a 351W swap into a '56 in the early '80s. By moving the engine back as far as I could without bashing the firewall (the drivers side head cleared it by less than 1/4") and using cable throttle linkage, by installing the fan directly onto the water pump (no spacer) it all just fit with the OEM-placed V8 radiator. I used home-made mounts (the late Mustang mounts most use now didn't exist yet) with a FMX trans. I think the larger C6 might require some mods to the crossmember X as it was tight with the FMX. If you raised the motor, some serious trans tunnel bashing would be needed, so most guys moved the engine forward to avoid that as well as any crossmember mods. But then you had to push the radiator forward even beyond the OEM 6-cylinder location to get adequate clearance. I drove a '56/429 swap with the motor raised/pushed forward, it drove terrible...
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