A buddy of mine has a '62 Comet with it's stock 170 and I believe a Mercomatic tranny. The engine is very very tired, and he has a 250 out of a 74 Maverick that he wants me to get in there for him. Never done this swap, so I'm lookin' for some tips. I'm pretty sure that the 250 has a different bolt pattern at the back. I *think* I need to get a sbf bellhousing and flywheel, but want to make sure before I go diggin' parts up. Any info ya got on this swap would be great. I haven't done much at all with Fords, so I'm walkin' into this almost blind. We do have the 250's motor mounts, and looks like we'll lose an inch at the front of the motor so plannin' on a pusher fan in front of the radiator. Speakin' of, the rad in this car is new, but stock. Is it enough for the 250 or should we be lookin' for somethin' better there? Thanks in advance guys. Olson
You can do it and it isn't that hard. Swapping a 200 for the 170 is a direct bolt in, but the 250 is slightly larger. Engine mounts have to be different. It's been done plenty of times though. Ask these guys, they have 100% of the answers. wwwfordsix.com Good luck!
i did that swap into a 61 falcon. pretty simple. most of the work i had to do was due to the low stance of my car. i used stock falcon motor mounts, just had to slot out the holes to allow for the wider block. i used a mustang cable clutch bellhousing mated to a t-5 tranny. the 250 takes every inch of lenght of the engine compartment, i used a pusher electric fan, may rework the radiator support to move it forward so i can use a belt driven fan, but it's tight now, only about a 1/4" between the pully bolts and radiator. really it's one of the easiest swaps to do.
Thanks guys. fordsix.com has a short section on it. Pretty much confirmed what I thought about the tranny. Looks like using the 250's motor mounts let the engine ride lower in the frame (no worries about ground clearance on this one...she'd still stock height). Good to know that if that doesn't happen that the 170 mounts will work too. Olson
Hey you should post pics when you do the conversion, I'm sure there are alot of folks(including me) that would love to learn how to do this. I also heard that the 200 mates to a C4, anybody know if this is true? I'd love to dump the almost useless 2 speed! Good luck! Im eager to see how it turns out!
Yes it does. Be sure to check that stamped metal "flywheel" for cracks at the bolt holes or it will be a vibrating SOB. The torque converter will have a ring welded to it with teeth for the starter. Get a later model electronic distributor as well, that engine will run forever.
Wow, sweet comet. It's begging for a Watson style paint job! The C4 mate is easy. AutoZone has the C4 for $399. Again, check with the guys for the complete how-to www.fordsix.com
When and if you replace the 2 speed ,you will look around and say'' whose car am I driving''? that big of a change. I did this in my 63 conv, prior to going to a v/8.
I keep hearing that. I have put an 8" rear in my 63, but kept the 2 speed because it was just rebuilt prior to me buying it. If someone wanted the damn thing for original restoration, I would have swapped to a C4. I'm just going to use it until it dies, then make the switch. I'd be more tempted if the C4 had overdrive. But as it is though, the final drive is the same so it won't help my mpg (I use my for a daily driver). I might as well just slug along witht hte 2 speed.
I put a '71 Maverick drivetrain in my '61 Comet. The basic install for six to six conversion seems easy enough but there are plenty of details that add to the fun. Your early Sludg-o-matic should definitely be swapped out if possible. The later 200 blocks are "dual drilled" for the smaller bell of the early std & auto's compared to the C4 and later Toploader trannys. SO... you will have to "form" the firewall and tunnel significantly with a BFH to fit it in there. Which brings up the tranny mount, if you have the after 5/61 spring mount you can buy a C4 conversion tranny xmember/mount but if you have an early rubber donut mount you have some more fabbin-fun. Then theres the linkage and the..... I currently have the '71 Maverick 170 in it but I did extensive valve work on a '78 Mustng 250 head milled to 9.5 CR and run Hooker dual outs and a Holley/Weber 2 barrel for now. I am building up the 250 block to use and converting it for manual tranny. The 250 uses the standard SBF boltpattern for the bell but you must use a 157 tooth bell with a neutral balance flywheel. I found a SFI lightened flywheel and am using an early six bolt SBF bell with a Tremec adapter. Lowering the block because the height issue you mention, has to be carefully measured to the steering because there isn't any room under the oilpan unless you flip the center link and re-taper the idler arm sockets or some other adaptation. Of course the driveshaft has to be adapted and you should get the Maverick 8" if possible because the torque of the 250 is greater than stock SBF V8's and the little stock rear will not stand up to "spirited" driving. I'm aiming at early spring for the 250 install. I currently am using the Toploader 3.03 3spd. With the head mods and gearing the power comes on at 3K and doesn't give out til @ 5500. It's not as fast as it is quick with the torquey six but it's a whole lot of fun when you want to light up the tires. I have a cable exhaust dump after the headers and it sounds distinctively wild when I open up the secondary and wind over 5K.
I pulled my 170 for a 200 last winter......tossed a T5 behind it and then a turbo on it this past september....totally different car now
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