My son in law just purchaced a 59 ford country sedan 2dr wgn.The 352 is kinda sick so we are considering a 460 c6 installation, so the question is has any one done this? if so what are the issues? or what other engines have you swapped in that fit quite well?
I put a 390 into a '59 Ranchero; should be the same block as a 460. Went in real easy -- only problem that I remember was that I had to find a thin exhaust manifold in order to clear the steering box. I think I put a C6 in there, also; don't remember. That Ranchero would fly with the (stock) 390.
A 390 and a 460 are very different engines. Any FE series engine such as another 352, a 390, 406, a 428, a 427 or a 360 truck engine will bolt into your 59 with no mods. The 429/460 (and the 370 truck engine) use different motor mounts, different bellhousing patterns and are a different series of engine all together. THe 460 also weighs a lot more than the FE engines. It's not a difficult swap, but I would stick with an FE for a car like that. Cheap, plentiful and a bolt-in.
I have seen this swap done plenty of times. There are kits online with mounts, but my last couple of small block 59 ford swaps( a 289 into a rancho, and a 351C into a 2 door) I found that the motor mounts from a late 70's up truck put the motor right in place. The ****** mount was different but easily redone in both cases. A friend of mine bought an install kit online for the 460 he put in his 57 ford. It cost less than 200 dollars for everything.
Get mounts from Crites. http://www.critesperformanceparts.com/ http://tiptopwebsite.com/websites/index2.php?username=colson43&page=4 I used Crites mounts and headers to put a 460/C6 into my '58. Good stuff.
To say the least you will have exhaust issues to deal with. I've not seen one yet that didn't have an electric fan mounted in front of the Rad. I hate electric fans in old cars. There are many better choices in the Ford family for the 57-58-59 Ford car's. Nothing wrong with a good 302 or the newer version the 5.0 and a.o.d. They are a walk in the park and no custom parts needed. I currently own a 59 2d Ht bone stock a 58 2d Ht future project a 57 Convert near done a 57 2d Ht getting paint, no where near stock and a 57 Del Rio also not stock. I also have 2 nice 460's and would not use them in any of these cars. 460's make a good Truck motor. The Wizzard
Why not just rebuild the 352??? It is an FE, so there are plenty of speed parts available from mild to wild. I rebuilt the 352 in my '62 Monterey, fairly generic mild build. It put out 325 Hp and 375 ft-lbs on the dyno, more then enough power to make a 2 door wagon scoot. Might be easier and cheaper in the long run just to rebuild it. If you are stuck on a swap, then the easiest would be another FE as Fat HACK said. Any 352, 390, 406, 410, 427, or 428 will bolt right in. Good Luck
Some young fellow did one a while back in his '58 Ford, here's the link to the thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=570974&highlight=58+ford+460
thanks for the info and opinions, A 390 would be the easy way to go but 460s are more plentiful, we will scour c/l and see what we can come up with.
For me the 429/460 is the way to go. I've seen a few in newer '61-'64 Fords and they looked great and the owners I spoke with liked them. Plenty of after-market parts are available for them as well. Even in a mild state they make lots of power on the cheap. Bob
I have a 460 in my 59 ford 2dr it runs 13.60s in 1/4, 460 has a mild comp cam (268 comp) edelbrock perf. intake, 750 edel.carb and CJ manifolds with a c-6 and 3.70 gears in rear. stock oil pan, stock ford motor mounts and the closest interferance point is drivers side manifold and steering box about 1/4 inch.
I have a 460 / C-6 in my 59 Galaxie, did it years ago, get the whole donor car. I used the stock exhaust manifolds, but they make headers now. The dang thing is fast, but always has overheating issures. I'm going the 5.0 route this time.
I got an oversize aluminum radiator for mine, or at least similar what would come with a 460 from the factory. cut a substantial piece out of the radiator support to fit it. keeping my fingers crossed that it will not be running hot... Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
We put a 430 Lincoln in my cousin's '57 Ford convertible way back in the early 70's. Was a pretty easy swap. We used the C6 from the Lincoln too, and it all went in with just drilling and bolting things together.
I'd swap a 390 or a 410 into it. Would be a bolt-in swap and you could make it look much closer to original.
I have a fast 460, DOVE heads, hi comp pistons, Crane cam...and more... I set it in my '54 Ford Coupe for a 'quick & easy' H.P. swap. Exhaust manifolds sat right on the control arm shafts, so when raised up high enough to clear, the center of gravity was escalated, and the C6 stiffeners at the bellhousing ran into the floor. All in all, too bulky. NOT the best choice for all around ease of installation/maintenance and good handling. So I built a 406. (my previous '54 Ford Customline Coupe was original white, always garaged) It got fitted with a Great Deal I got: a '63 427 Side Oiler. Can't say that was the IDEAL swap, though...A little nose heavy and enormous street power... great on the road, but in town it was like idling a missile.
Yea the manifolds ride on the control arms, i trimmed the control arms to make the needed clearance. The engine has to be somewhat forward for the oil pan to clear the crossmember, there is a good 4" of space between the back of the engine and the firewall. But there is 0 space for the radiator, you have to move the radiator forward by 4" as well. I did this by cutting the radiator support so the radiator fits inside of it, you unbolt the top and drop the radiator in from the top, then bolt the top on to clamp the (aluminum) radiator down. The other option is to go to electric fans but i don't really like those... Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
Yes! Sorry i didn't see your post earlier, been so busy i haven't had much time on the hamb. Have you started working on yours yet? It does fit. Depending on the style of manifolds you have, you may have to trim the control arms. Mine came from an E350 van with 2.5" exhaust. Some cars had 2" exhaust i think I also used an aftermarket front sump pan (since my engine had a rear sump pan) which didnt allow the engine to go all the way up against the firewall, so i had to put the radiator inside the radiator support (instead of behind it) How is your 59 ford wagon coming along? I saw one pic of it that didn't look like you guys had started on it yet. Mine's taking longer than i had hoped. For instance I spent 2 full days tracing the efi wiring harness. I have the engine, transmission (e4od), radiator, custom driveshaft all ready. Exhaust almost ready. Just need to finish the power steering conversion, brake lines, wiring, fuel plumbing, and take the engine out one more time to weld up the enlarged transmission tunnel and paint the underside+engine bay. Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
Specifically it's from a 1990 E350 motorhome. 460 efi with e4od. Since it's from a heavy vehicle it's a grey engine like the heavy duty style, although it still had a cat (not anymore) I already did a carbureted 460 in my bronco (BTW recently put on a thermoquad, love it, reminds me of that dodge van you used to have) This time i'll try my luck on efi. Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
Hehe ok i'll post a bunch on my build thread this weekend. It's coming together, just not yet prettified. BTW same to where are the pics of your wagon?! (Sorry if i missed them) Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE smartphone
Good to know ! I love 460 C I. Eng. Very simple bolt in Power. You can build a 390 C. I. Eng. but more power in a decent running 460.
This is pretty much what I ended up with on the A-arms. Had to notch it but not too bad.I turned around the bolts so they face away from the engine. You can see (many) more pics in my build thread.
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