Falcon Question?

[mi69camaro]

Hey well i've asked a few other board but haven't really gotten a straight answer?

Ok i have a Ford Falcon and i was wondering if u can put one of the following in it > 289/302/351w cuz i know you'll probably mock me and tell me to go buy a real muscle car but the point is that i'm not gonna ever sell the car cuz even tho i bought it my dad told me he won't ever let me sell it cuz he still regrets giving good deals on cars back in the day. well i was wondering which one of those would fit in it with the least amount of modification with decent power?? well if u could let me know and give ur comments/ good or bad/ i will take em all--> ThanX!

[curtis73]

Are you kidding? Light car, V8? That equals muscle to me

Any of them will physically fit. The V8 was available in that chassis so its a direct swap. The 302/289 is a windsor block with a short deck height. They share external configurations since they are the same bore, different stroke. The 351 is still the same bore but with a much longer stroke. The deck height is taller to accomodate it. I'll have to ask my buddy who has a falcon, but I think the valve covers and heads run into things like brake boosters if you try to put a 351 in.

[mi69camaro]

oh ok thanX alot curtis73 cuz this other guy told me

Oh man, forget it.
The Falcon is a nice nostalgia piece, but it is simply not a performance car, by any stretch of the imagination. It is a small, light, relatively fragile old car.
Any kind of mods will require a stout engine and matching transmission.........requiring much cutting, welding and swearing to get it to fit, with custom engine and trans mounts, custom driveshaft.....then your front suspension will be crushed by the extra weight......then the extra power will tear out the rear axle and make for mondo rear wheel hop with the spindly rear springs..............that your rims and tires are way too skinny requiring new ones to actually get some grip.........

You see, each step to modify it produces expensive and complex problems to solve..............and if you were going to do this right, you will spend thousands of bucks to build a car that would be worth nothing (who wants a 4 door Falcon hot rod?).
Drive the car, enjoy it for what it is, SAVE YOUR MONEY and in a couple of years sell it (it will be worth more stock), and buy a decent performance car.

So Yeah kinda got me thinkin just to maybe forget the whole idea...even tho i'm only 15 and i'm never gonna sell the Falcon--> yeah well when u get that info on the 351 let me know. But yeah i would love to be able to put in any of those motors!!! ThanX!!

hey well here is the link so you can look at my car!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ADME:B:EF:US:1

[mi69camaro]

Oh BTW before i forget. what kind of transmission should i get with a V8 swap?? if you could let me know that'd be SweeT ;- )

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by curtis73

Are you kidding? Light car, V8? That equals muscle to me

Any of them will physically fit.

Curtis, you are spot on for the 351W being a variation of the 289/302. But this Falcon is a 61, and the V8 (as a 221 cid) only became available in late '62 for the '63 Falcons. The chassis was modified to accomodate a V8.
So, will a v8 fit a '61? Sure it can be modified to fit.

But as I said in my smart-ass post which my69 quoted above, this car will cost much money to modify decently. That money is IMHO better spent on a more suitable project car, whether its a classic performance car or a more modern one.
But the '61 Falcons were FRAGILE. Seriously, until you have a good look at one, you don't realise how lightly built they were. Ford made these things light because they were intended to be just an economical small car. They were so lightly built that sales suffered, especially in overseas markets like Australia where the early '60's Falcons quickly developed the reputation of being too weak to stand up to bad roads of moderatly hard use.

So, as I said earlier, virtually every system, from the transmission, axle, front and rear suspensions, cooling system, exhaust and likely the unit body structure itself would have to be modified to suit the 351 engine.
Does a 15 year old have the money or experience to do this?? Would a beginner car crafter not get thoroughly disillusioned with the expense and complexity of this project?

If my69 were a more experienced and/or wealthier car crafter, I would say go for it. But this Falcon is simply a bad first car project. It just requires too much money and experience to build a safe and fun performance car. There's about a zillion inexpensive American cars (many which came from the factory with V8's), that would be more suitable. Compact and intermediate V8 cars were made by all the American manufacturers from the 60's to the 80's (and into the 90's for some) Any one of these would be better. Even a Falcon from about '64 on up would be a decent choice.

This is just my I don't want to discourage anyone here from pursuing a project. If you want to build this Falcon I sincerely wish you good luck. But I have been in your place, trying to make a cool performance car out of something unsuitable......it is frustrating expensive and eventually disappointing.

[mi69camaro]

Ok well yeah i see what ya mean--> but hey it's my first car and a project car at that--> so i guess i'll just do a few mods to the strait six that is already in it.Then go and either get a later year 2 door falcon or ranchero or get a dodge dart ect. in other terms i mean something affordable ya know... i perfectly understand comming from your point of view you've crossed this path before and you have experience in the who scenario of the deal--> yeah well to make a long story short maybe i'll get a later model Falcon in the future and after i get a job at Jeg's when i get to Columbus i'll save up and buy a 428 cobra jet to put in it--> Yeah i know you may say it's not possible or whatever but my uncle that live's in new york is extremely involved in the whole hot rod thing and has done many a engine swap ~lol~ modifying.......----> ok well that just my --> hey atleast i'm gettin idea's and i have an old car ~lol~ darn :- (

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ThanX Alot MagicRat You Ruined My future of ever building any car's i might as well quit know if it'll cost me as much $$ as you say--> ~lol~ j/k

[Dinasour]

Keep on it mate. Then when your finished post some pics. Down here in the land of OZ we thrive on falcons with V8s. Hell the 2005 model falcon down here has a modular 5.4 V8 in it and in out national touring car catagory we have falcons with 5.0L windsors bustin out almost 650bhp on ULP and 10.0 compression. I have a 67 falcon (called an XR falcon down here) with a 289, 4doors and all, and at the hillclimbs I am always running at the pointy end whith equally powered mustangs.
Early falcons rule and with the right mods will fly. Best yet though is that they have the same front suspension as mustangs so making them hand is easy.

[curtis73]

Good catch MagicRat. I think that although the earlier falcons didn't come with V8s, the chassis was basically the same, making a V8 mostly a bolt in, but they'll probably know better over at the Ford forum here... but what do I know. I thought the V8s went back as far as 60 (going back to my chevy now)

[mi69camaro]

Ok Well ThanX! i'll go ask at the falcon forum00 dosen't seem to have much activity over there tho

[mi69camaro]

Hey Guy'z Check Ths Out!! I was surfing around on ebay and came by this--> let me know what u think--> :- )

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...550265652&rd=1


It Has A 351w in it!! argggggghhhh...