I got a '63 Ranchero/Falcon I picked up recently. One of the main issues I have run into is that the car came from the factory with the straight 6, but I would love to drop a v8 into it. Anyone out there in internet land ever done one of these? The hardest thing for me to find so far has been what rear end I could drop in there with the least modification, that could also handle some bigger ponies. I've heard the 8.8 from the Broncos and Explorers is supposed to work but I have read conflicting info on this from different people. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Try utilizing the HAMB search function I'm sure this has been covered on here before.. also here's what I cane up with on the internet... http://1bad6t.com/6cylto8swap.html welcome to the HAMB
I want one, cant find one here. There are alot of resources for doing what your wanting to do. if you search for falcons or comets, you will bring up several. Here is one. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=240864&highlight=falcon+v8+swap
Ideally I'd be looking at about 400-450 horses, ***uming I don't run out of money along the way. Thanks for the quick responses everyone im still trying to figure the site out.
i have a '64 w/ 260 and C-4. it was originally built with hi-po 260 and 4 speed but sometime in its past was "upgraded" to shiftless and detuned. after talking with a lot of ford racers i am convinced to go w/ 302 (347?) as the engine of choice when it is time to update. in addition to rear( i agree w/ sgtlegarthic) you need to consider front end. have talked with a number who have updated w/ MII and they are very happy. i went with unisteer r&p and am happy with the change but probably just should have made step to MII. good luck and be sure to keep us updated.
Unfortunately right now my neighbors aren't exactly happy with my decision to get a project car. They have seen me working on it in the driveway and decided to get the homeowners board involved with making me move it somewhere else. I do have some buddies of mine with a shop but they are looking booked well into the foreseeable future. One option is to move it into the garage next to the pooltable where I would have about a foot on either side of the car to work, not to mention the pool table would be unuseable, so I've got quite the conundrum on my hands right now
Move the pool table over to the wall and get to work. Hell, put the pool table out in the driveway and invite all your rowdy friends over to get drunk and raise hell.
My suggestion would be to leave the 6 in there and buy one that came with a V8. Everything on the 6 cylinder version was smaller (rims, rear end, spindles, tie rod ends, springs etc). Years ago I had the opportunity to buy a very nice "California Special" mustang with a 390. When I found out it started life with a 6 I walked (actually ran) away. Charlie Stephens
I like how you all think, you gotta do what you gotta do right?, ill keep updated with how I decide to do things
If you are using any website and can't figure out the search system, just go here: http://www.google.com/sitesearch/ and you can easily search it!
I have done several including my own '63 Ranchero. Here is a list of highlights: -'66-'70 Mustang engine and frame mounts. -Slice the center rib off the shock towers. -'65-'66 Mustang Tri-Y headers. -8", 8.8" or 9" rear end with the correct width. (about 56" outside of drums) -You will need a C-4, T-10, toploader or T-5 with a custom crossmember for each. These cars originally came with 13" tires, so there is no room for any meat back there. I enlarged the front of the wheel well opening 3" to the front and got a 225-65-15 on a 15" wheel in there. The Mustang II is totally un-needed and makes for an ill handling car in my opinion.
I know I know... it is a shame it just wouldn't fit anywhere else. And this being my first real project (ie starting no engine, trans.) I havn't needed it before, I could do all the smaller jobs at my work, where I have 6 lifts on hand. But the boss man ain't cool with havin (in his opinion) an ugly *** car around for a while so im stuck with what I got.
It's pretty easy ,about the same as 64/64. 66 mustang 8 in. rear. 76 maverick 8 in rear 76/78 granada rear. 57/58/59 ford p***enger 9 in rear. 63 / 64 / 65 falcon v/8 rear. all of these rears I have used and are direct bolt in and all are about same width as the falcon rear...........In front change the spindles to v/8 falcon or granada 76 to 78 for disk brakes. Use front mounts ,which sold up on ebay a lot , for 63/64/65 falcon and comet as they will place the engine where FOMOCO meant for it to be. Others will work, I believe I used 66 mustang on a couple of them, but I believe I had to redrill one hole, not sure , it's been a long tome back. If you stay with 302 or smaller , it's a bolt in deal. no notching of spring towers , unless you like to do those things. Use a v/8 radiator and keep your original front springs , it will drop about 1 inch if they are good springs , which helps the looks. I did my first one 20 years ago and 150,000 miles back with no problems. There are a lot of exspensive things others do you don't need to do, they were built for v/8s.
One of the main differences between a 6cly car and a V8 are the torque boxes that are just behind the front wheels. Ford thought that the V8 made enough torque that it could tweak the body. I've had several 63 V8 Falcons, Rancheros and wagons and they were mostly all V8 cars but some were the 6cly versions too. I found that the mid 70's Mavericks were a good donor car, the rear axle fits just right and has the big wheel bearings and if you are lucky you can find one with disc brakes that you can swap right on.
Also, if you want to slam the front and maintain a decent ride, I have a little trick that works great!!! Most often when guys just cut the spings on these Falcons, the ride like ****! I found if you take the coil cover off from inside the wheel well( it has the bump stop bolted to it) and shorten it about 3 1/2" to 4" bolt it back on and the raise the shock towers about an 1 1/2". you get the car down low and it rides real nice, no more bouncing off the bump stop or bottoming out the shock.
Around 89' I bought my wife a 63' Ranchero, with a 260 V-8 and 2 speed automatic transmission (Ford-O-Matic?). It was a nice car, painted white, red and black pleated interior with chrome accents, raised up, Appliance, imitation Cragars with BFG Trans Am Radial RWL tires. Looked good, ran good, suspension was stiff, and had nice exhaust. It was to be a replacement for my wifes' 65' Mustang "junker", that she would'nt part with for anything. That Mustang was nickel and dimeing me to death. She did'nt like the Ranchero, and it sat most of the time. Long story short, I took the complete front and rear suspensions, differential and brakes off the Ranchero and put them on the Mustang, along with the radiator, battery, exhaust, wheels and tires. The undercarriage of the Ranchero was rusted bad, there were no shock supports in the rear, other than the undercoated covered chicken wire the PO has dumbied up. Kept the engine and trans for a while, then sold them to a Falcon restorer. A few months later we traded in the Mustang for a New 90" LX 5.0, automatic, hatchback. I was finally out from under that POS Mustang. We still have the "new" Mustang, and I still don't care for Fords. I'm a Chevy guy, married to a Ford woman, I used to tell people. But, I did like that Ranchero. Seeing the hulk that was left of it, leaving on the back of a flatbed, was depressing. Butch/56sedandelivery.
we all know youll never pull the trigger on a v8 cdaily... might as well just put in the brigs and stratton we all know your going to do anyways...hahaha
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