So last spring I completely grenaded the 144 straight six in my 1961 Ranchero. I have a 289 on hand and was planning on putting that in for the transplant. However after some research and reading around this site I came to the realization that the 289 that I have would destroy my tiny stock rearend. Finally found a reasonably priced 200 six from a 1980 Fairmont, that I am going to go look at next weekend. Just curious if my stock rearend will be able to handle the upgrade. I don't see the 200 being all that torquey, but in comparison to the 144 I had, I am pretty sure my Cub Cadet has more torque. So thats question numero uno. Should I go ahead and swap the fairmont rear in as well or just the motor and ******? Question number two. I see that there are quite a few upgrade parts for the earlier 200 sixes. Will these parts interchange, between the early ones and the 1980 motor?. I appreciate any information Thanks Muffin
Pretty sure the 61 Ranchero used the 7.25 integral rear end which carried over to 6 cylinder Mustangs and Falcons at least to '70. Later Mavericks had 8" rears, but I think some of the early ones also had the 7.25 (not sure though). Bottom line is that probably a million 200 six cylinder Fords were built with the 200/7.25" combination. You may want to do a search on a site like Rock Auto or Randy's ring and Pinion to check piece part interchangability, eg is the pinion seal or bearing or ge****t the same between your Ranchero and a '65 with a 200. If most parts available interchange it will confirm they are the same.
I would do a search and see if Ford upgraded the rear when they went to the 200 in the Falcon. I bet they didn't, even so, are you planning burning rubber?....Yea, what Finn said. LOL
that rearend will take more then you think. had one in a 63 falcon and put a 200 sprint with a cam and headers never hurt the rearend. the hardest thing in the 289 is the pan.
Nah, as far as the rear goes, if your is in good shape it'll be just fine. Even in the future you do mess it up it's no big deal to go grab one out of a Ranger 2wd to replace it with. As far as parts interchange, lots of stuff does interchange and some doesn't. With a 200 that late in the game I would do my level best to get the engine and trans as a package and drop it in that way. There was some bell housing shenanigans about that time where the 200 lowered the starter mounting position and changed the bell housing pattern for a third time. in that case you will have to retaper the pitman and idler arms to drop the center link to the bottom to miss the starter. Not a big deal. make sure you get AND USE the electronic ignition with the '80 motor and throw the Ford Load -O -****ic 144 stuff as far as you possibly can, then finnalyy running it over with something heavy. The early ignition is the most common reason these cars got retired early. keep your adjustable valve train and pushrods from the 144, as they can be reused when you want to go to a real cam in the 200. Like wise I would throw the carb from the 200 as far as you can and replace it with a Weber 32/36 and an adaptor from cl***icinlines.com. Now, one last thing to think about while you go about all this. We talked about keeping your stock rear end. It'll work ok, but the biggest problem Falcons suffered in my opinion was terrible gearing. The first gear in these and every other car of the era was very high, and the rear ends were geared low to compensate. this left you slow out of the lights, and screaming at highway speeds. For todays driving, it **** worse than you can believe. Fortunately, there is a way around all this today, it's called a T-5 five speed swap! Ya, it's not completely cheap, but it will make your little trucklet infinitely more drivable in today's traffic. That and a Scarebird front disc brake conversion are the best money that can be spent on a Falcon, with the Dura spark II ignition and Weber carb being lumped in that line up too.
^^^This. And if you think the 144 ****s, then you haven't tapped its potential. Come ride with me, and I will show you a 144/T5/8.8 that can cruise at 100, without even pushing the temp needle past 1/2. Uncork a 200, and you will not miss the absence of a V8.
Awesome stuff guys, and I plan on dropping in the motor ****** combo at least for now. I figure that will be the easiest since I am getting the whole donor car and will be able to drive it home helps. Thanks for the info
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