Alright, after a bit of thought and lack of knowledge, I would love to replace my '61 Falcon's 144 I6 with a 302 V8, but I know mounts will differ, and oil pan depth will make things tricky. Twist is, I would like to try to keep it all original enough that I can simply drop the 144 back in when ever I feel like selling the old bird. So how hard would it be to swap a V8 in to a Classic Falcon and what steps should I take to begin. Thanks! =D
You will want to upgrade the rear diff and the front end components. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Yup. I broke the 6-3/4" rear in my '60, after I hopped-up the 144 a little. Wiped out the output shaft bushing, and shattered the front u-joint. Now it has an 8.8 from a 1991 Ranger. Also, the tunnel is a tight fit for about any V8 transmission. I have a T5 in mine, and had to tip the engine down to 5º to get it in there, without butchering it. I wanted to run a stock carpet. If you can find one, you can get a later tunnel, and weld that in.
I put a 289 with t10 4 speed in my 60 Falcon I used 64 comet v8 mounts fit like stock. The only mod to floor was hole for shifter. I used a 57 Ford 9" rear axle fit right in . I did zero front end mods even had 4 lug 13" wheels and dog dish caps
There's a set of 63 v8 mounts on ebay you will have to notch the pipe cross member to use them. Do not delete the cross member on these early cars.
The first V8 Falcon I ever saw was in the fall of 1959. It showed up at Detroit Dragway on grudge night and ran in the 14s on its first pass. Turned out it was from Dearborn Steel Tube and was powered with a 312 Y-block.
Falconparts dot com is a good start. 119.95 Engine Frame adapters Here is a snapshot of their V8 Mounts
What cross member are you referring to? I didn't have any engine cross member on my '63, and trans cross member was not "tube".
If I remember correctly on the early Mustangs ('64-'66 at least) Ford used the Fairlane suspension when they used the V8 and the Falcon suspension for the six. I assume the Falcon with a V8 came with the Fairlane suspension. I would sell the car and buy one that came with a V8. As far as the resale value goes I would never buy an eight cylinder car that started life with a six. Charlie Stephens
My '60 has one. There are V8 retrofit ones in the aftermarket: http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1965-UNDER-ENGINE-BRACES-V-8-18p1151.htm At $61.95+the ride, that's hard to beat. Engine/chassis mounts: http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1965-V-8-FRAME-MOUNTS-65p492.htm Intermediate mounts: http://www.falconparts.com/ford-fal...65-V-8-INTERMEDIATE-MOUNT-BRACKETS-65p547.htm Motor mounts: L: http://www.falconparts.com/ford-fal...0-1965-V-8-ENGINE-MOUNTS-LH-RUBBER-65p696.htm R: http://www.falconparts.com/ford-fal...0-1965-V-8-ENGINE-MOUNTS-RH-RUBBER-65p695.htm Transmission: http://www.falconparts.com/ford-fal...1-1965-TRANSMISSION-STEEL-MOUNTS-124p1148.htm Bolt and go.
Just finished doing this on a Ranchero-pm me for a ton of info and resources, I referred to the Ford Falcon Forum, "TFFN" they will walk you thru everything. V-8 Mustang front end parts except drag link must be from a V-8 Falcon.... Transmission must be from a Comet or Falcon if using a T-10 or toploader as the shifter is located way forward on a Falcon/Comet.....the tube looking gizmo in one of the above replies is actually a frame stiffener used on conversions and is bolted to the motor mounts to stiffen the frame on V-8 conversions. Flat style after market will not clear the drag link on these conversions..just a few nuances to look out for. If interested, send me a pm for more resources and tips
Wow, A lot of answers thanks Now I got a 3 speed automatic in it right now, the FordoMatic, are there any V8 swaps with those being used? The rear end I can do with swapping, and the little swaps in the front, but the tranny would be nice to keep as it doesn't make me do any thing under there.
One thing I never see come up (and it should) is the fact that the six cylinder Falcons/Comets/Mustangs had a much weaker body shell. When Ford added the V-8 to these cars, they not only added torque boxes between the frame rails and the rockers, but they also sharply increased the metal thickness of the framerails, inner rockers, and most of the suspension mounting points. If you stick with a mild motor and an auto trans and don't beat the car, you will usually be ok. But I have seen a couple of catastrophic failures in higher-HP/stick swaps, and cracking appearing in various places on daily-drivers. Ford did use the heavier bits in some six cylinder cars; Rancheros and wagons got the heavy-duty rails at the rear, and all convertibles got the V-8 shell. Mercury used the heavier V-8 shell in all the 64-65 Comets, regardless of body style or motor.
You can use a 70-71 Maverick-Comet 8" rear end(5-lug) or if you want to keep every thing 4 lug use a 70-to early 71 Mav-comet rear,its still an 8" Better if you can find a 63 V8 Rear end. With the Mav-Comet you can use 67-70 mustang spring plates and u- bolts 260-289-302 you can use your z bar may have to modify a little. you can also do clutch cable or a hydraulic clutch. 3-4 or 5 speed. Butch Evans(Faconeer) Thomasville NC
He would have to buy a '63 or newer to get a stock V8, that's when the Sprint came with a 260". Up until then, a 144 or the later 170 were the only choices. The O.P. would do well to go ahead and swap out the front suspension and rear end for V8 spec parts and an 8" or 9". There was a reason the Ford engineers did this; no point in second guessing them on this. Later, Kinky6
Johnboy, I have the same thing,63 v-8 rear end, 325 gear, complete set of motor mts. 74 Comet 5 lug rear with a 325 gear, T-5 5 speed, On and on. Going in a 62-63 Ranchero. Butch Evans(Falc0neer) Thomasville NC
I've read (but never measured myself) that the space between pre-63 Falcon suspension towers is narrower so you need to be careful if you plan on installing headers. I think the tri-Y headers avoid the narrowest part of the towers. If I was doing this job I'd install an export brace, a Monte Carlo bar, and cross member under the engine. Swap out the front control arms and spindles for 5 lugs, and swap the rear for an 8". By the way, the Falcon 8" rear was the narrowest rear ever produced by Ford. Any other rear will either have to be narrowed, or you may have tire clearance problems.
I am not sure which ones had it but a lot of them got left off after a main seal job. My 64 Sprint 260 convertible had one.
The only 63's I've seen with a factory under engine brace were I6's...but I could be wrong. I often am, just ask the Missus. Here's an aftermarket "under engine brace" for V8's: Came from Melvin's, I think: http://www.melvinsclassicfordparts.com/ And my home-made removable Monte Carlo bar: I hear Sanderson is now making "tight fit" headers for Falcon V8's w/ AOD transmissions: http://www.sandersonheaders.com/Sanderson-FF6-Small-Block-Ford-Blockhugger-Header-Set.html I can't afford 'em at the moment...
Maybe it was just left off mine when they swapped the larger I6 into it. I know mine was a factory I6, but no telling what might have happened over the years. Since I did all the frame mods to add the heavy box tubing to the lower frame rails for the BBC, there's no way to go back and look now to see if the holes were there. I don't remember them from when I was cleaning and grinding, but that's no surprise.
There are no holes for the cross member mounts. It uses the same three (on each side) mounting bolts as the motor mounts.
The Ranger pickup 7.5 and 8.8, circa '90-'92 is 1/2" wider, but has an offset pinion. It can work, with some floor tweaking.
I used a rear end from a 59 ford fair lane under my 61 it worked perfect and a c4 or c5 automatic will work with no problem I used one from a 76 mustang because it has the small bell housing and torque converter and I used the oil pan from the same car because the are rounded on the small part of the pan gives you plenty of clearance. I also used the manifolds that go straight back that way they cleared everthing. My 63 I used everthing from a 74 mercury comet motor trans rear end front end master cylinder break boater the whole nine yards. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I put a 221 in my 60 in the early 60s used a 59 wagon 9 inch it was 3/8 inch wider than the falcon unit and the spring pads were in the same place a bolt in.
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