Hot Rod Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

1962 ford falcon engine swap

78K views 46 replies 23 participants last post by  2502door 
#1 ·
I just picked up a 1962 falcon 4Dr wagon (free) from an older women near my house. The car is in pretty good shape but is minus the motor and tranny. Will I be able to find an original motor for it or should I put in something else? Has anyone out there tackled a similar falcon project? Please send ideas and our links I can check out. I am up for about anything at the moment.
Thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
I do not know what that would have had in it stock. I think the V8s in those years were the Y-blocks. At least the trucks were until 64.

I thought most of the falcons had an inline 6 though.

No clue on how hard that might be to find, but since it is gone already (unless you plan to restore the car), I would go with a 302 and just make a nice driver out of it.

My truck has the original drive train (in good shape) or it would have gotten a modern engine/trans. It is a driver and not a restored show truck. :D
 
#3 ·
We put a 89 Mustang 5 Liter with a 4 speed AOD tranny into a 60 Falcon. We used the EFI, serpentine system, computer & wiring from the Mustang, it worked out great. It has been a totally trouble free daily driver for 5 years with over 80,000 miles on the conversion. The factory Mustang headers do not work due to a narrower engine bay. Use the Heddmann shorty ones, they fit perfectly. The only technical part was having the inlet & outlet on the rad moved to suit the newer motor. If you use a 65 Mustang rad, I believe some suppliers build it for this conversion already.
Factory 65 Mustang motor mounts and frame mounts worked out perfectly.
This combo works great as a carburated version aswell.
 
#4 ·
I'm no ford guy but i belive they all came with the tower of power, 6 cyls. I think they were the same engine as the mustangs ( no one wants a 6 cyl mustang), and cabover econoline vans ( scarce at best) so check out 6 cyl mustang drivelines for sale. A 302 would be a good choice, they fit mint, and the car is so lightweight that even with a stock deal it would go 100% better than the six. WARNING, the stock rear end is barely strong enough for 6 holer power, I belive the 50-54 ford passenger cars came with 9 inch rear ends that are the correct width for a chevy 2, i know not a falcon but almost identical size rearends i think 56 or 57 inches wide.
 
#5 ·
enginejr said:
I'm no ford guy but i belive they all came with the tower of power, 6 cyls. I think they were the same engine as the mustangs ( no one wants a 6 cyl mustang), and cabover econoline vans ( scarce at best) so check out 6 cyl mustang drivelines for sale. A 302 would be a good choice, they fit mint, and the car is so lightweight that even with a stock deal it would go 100% better than the six. WARNING, the stock rear end is barely strong enough for 6 holer power, I belive the 50-54 ford passenger cars came with 9 inch rear ends that are the correct width for a chevy 2, i know not a falcon but almost identical size rearends i think 56 or 57 inches wide.
He is correct about the rear axle. Go to this page and scroll down. There is a list of for 9" axle widths from various cars and trucks. Also a lot of good 9" pics and information, but the chart toward the bottom is widths.

http://www.maliburacing.com/ford_9_inch/ford_nine_inch.htm

No falcon ever had a 9" from the factory (I was told this by a ford parts manager who is now retired).
 
#6 ·
my51chevy said:
I just picked up a 1962 falcon 4Dr wagon (free) from an older women near my house. The car is in pretty good shape but is minus the motor and tranny. Will I be able to find an original motor for it or should I put in something else? Has anyone out there tackled a similar falcon project? Please send ideas and our links I can check out. I am up for about anything at the moment.
Thanks in advance
Cool! A guy who frequents our weekly cruise night has a very clean 4-door Falcon, he dropped a 302 and 5-speed manual trans in it. Great car, I'm always drawn to it. And I'm a Chevy guy. Have fun with that wagon!
 
#7 ·
I love wagons.If your budget allows,I would first install a Mustang 2 front suspension as even new the steering wasn't the best. Then as they said swap in an 8 or 9" Ford rear.Then as far as I know they came with 6cyl or 260 V8 which is the same family as the 289 or 302 so either would make a great runner.The MII would clean up the inner fenders and make it much easier to work on.We put a MII in my daughters 65 Mustang and it worked out well and gave plenty room for the 350 Tunned port and 700R4 tranny. Hope this helps and good luck. :thumbup:
 
#9 ·
falcon

poncho62 said:
A 200/250 six from a later model Maverick, Granada, Fairmont etc will bolt right in.

In 63 a v8 was an option, so most SB Fords will also bolt in with the right factory mounts.
9in rear ends never arrived till 1957, 62 falcon came with a 144ci 6 which was the worst engine ford ever made even the later small 6s poor at best, cylinder heads ar the big problem, which i see some one in the us has a alum. head for them . best bet is 289 0r 302 with trans . rear end from ranger pickup. have fun cliff
 
#11 ·
Stock engine would have been the old Lima I6, probably 144 or 170 cubes. Would be hard to find one now, 200/250 cid engines would be same with taller deck.

Like a lot of others, I think you would have the best luck with a 302, and there are a lot of them around (Ford built 25 million......)
 
#12 ·
I agree a SB v8 would be great, but must disagree that the 144/170 were bad motors. In a hi-perf sense, not much could be done with them, but they were a dependable engine for those cars. A 200/250 later model 6 would be an excellent upgrade in my opinion.
 
#13 ·
poncho62 said:
I agree a SB v8 would be great, but must disagree that the 144/170 were bad motors. In a hi-perf sense, not much could be done with them, but they were a dependable engine for those cars. A 200/250 later model 6 would be an excellent upgrade in my opinion.
They weren't "bad", they were just small. I got 120,000 miles out of one and it would have gone farther if my sister (who inherited it) knew enough to check the oil......

I haven't seen one in serviceable enough shape to rebuild and put in a car in a long time, though. They built the last one over 25 years ago, and they ran that line at low volume during most of the 70s. If I had a car like this, and I could find a good I6 motor, I think it would be neat. I just think it would be damned hard to find a good rebuildable motor.
 
#14 ·
my51chevy said:
I just picked up a 1962 falcon 4Dr wagon (free) from an older women near my house. The car is in pretty good shape but is minus the motor and tranny. Will I be able to find an original motor for it or should I put in something else? Has anyone out there tackled a similar falcon project? Please send ideas and our links I can check out. I am up for about anything at the moment.
Thanks in advance
The original 1962 Falcon 6 used only 4 mains, it is an engine that is greatly troubled by that design. If you stick with a 6, starting with the 1965 Mustang 200 inch and coming newer is a better solution as these have 7 mains which gets around the earlier engine's lack of displacement (144/170) and its desire to eat main bearings especially when pushed for more power.

Bogie
 
#15 ·
Bogie

As usual, I think you're spot on. We must be the same age. Anyway, I recall the 7 main-bearing sixs were pretty durable motors. And that the 260 inch v8 option in gen one falcons were only available in the sprint model. I don't recall ever seeing a wagon or four-door with a V8. On the other hand, in '64, Ford offered the 289, as I recall, in the falcon sprint, and you could get it in about any falcon you chose. I had a friend who had one, a hardtop with a four speed, but not a sprint. Or was that '65? We had lots of fun with that little car.

Lost in the sixties. . . . .

Pat
 
#16 ·
I agree too that if you use a six that you get a 200 or maybe even a 250. If you find a local Mustang club then you could probably find a 200. Mustang guys love to pull out the six and put a V8 in its place. If you go with a V8 then I'd use a 302 because they're easy to find and cheap. If you do put a V8 in it you'll need to change the rear too. A six rear won't hold up under a V8 unless you take it really easy. The 8" rear would be plenty good for a mildly built 302.

Danny
 
#18 ·
I don't know a lot about Ford sixes but a friend of mine bought a 1964 Falcon with 47,000 miles ,6cyl. auto. It runs well. He pulled it out to put in a hi perf 289, so if anybody knows what size it is and if he wants a 6, I could hook them up. But I agree the 302 would be the better choice.
 
#21 ·
pmeisel said:
Stock engine would have been the old Lima I6, probably 144 or 170 cubes. Would be hard to find one now, 200/250 cid engines would be same with taller deck.

......)
Externally the 200 is identical to the 144/170 engine. It is only the 250 that was taller..to accomodate the longer stroke. Any of the early model Mustang/Falcons/Fairlanes/Comets/Mavericks,etc. will have parts to swap right on. You mught get a better deal by purchasing a wrecked or rusted complete vehicle and swap the entire drivetrain. Any upgrade will require brake/suspension improvements as well.
 
#23 ·
poncho62 said:
I agree a SB v8 would be great, but must disagree that the 144/170 were bad motors. In a hi-perf sense, not much could be done with them, but they were a dependable engine for those cars. A 200/250 later model 6 would be an excellent upgrade in my opinion.
200-250 will also be much cheaper than a 144-170.. they were made from '64- '83 and found in many models along the years ( Mavericks, Falcons, Mustangs, Granadas, Fairmonts, Zephyrs and a couple models of Linclion in the later years ).. and the aftermarket is growing for them. you still have to pay attention and research still, to build them correctly, but it's possible, it takes mixing and matching parts from diffrent engines but it can be done.
 
#24 ·
woodz428 said:
Externally the 200 is identical to the 144/170 engine. It is only the 250 that was taller..to accomodate the longer stroke. Any of the early model Mustang/Falcons/Fairlanes/Comets/Mavericks,etc. will have parts to swap right on. You mught get a better deal by purchasing a wrecked or rusted complete vehicle and swap the entire drivetrain. Any upgrade will require brake/suspension improvements as well.
the deck height on the 144-200 is just over 9" and it's just over 10" with the 250
 
#25 ·
my51chevy said:
Well I just picked up a 1967 mustang Inline 6 200. Has 76k original miles on it. I will keep you posted and thanks for all the support and ideas.
now you'll need a '65 up 170-200 transmission.. the bolt pattern is smaller than a standard SBF pattern, so you at least need the bell housing.. if automatic, you need the flex plate and the toothed converter ( starter turns converter instead of flex plate on 170's, and 200's).. then you could use a V8 C4 transmission if you wanted.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top