Threw a rod on Sunday. Was gonna put a new motor in, but after hearing the advice of an experienced person and posting my misfortune here on The HAMB, I decided to rebuild. It's a 1962 Fairlane 500 that started life with a 221, but sometime in the 70's was changed over to a 170 out of a 63 Falcon. I'm good with that motor. Maybe put a C4 in also. Need to find out if I can mate a 1981 C4 to my 1963 170. I'll keep this thread updated as I go. The plan is to keep my FORD all FORD! 03/23/2011 Removed hood Disconnected exhaust Drained all fluids Removed radiator Disconnected fuel lines Disconnected all eletrical Removed all bolts on flywheel Removed junk hoses Removed junk starter Removed most bolts that mate motor to Ford-O-Matic Just need two more bolts and motor mounts to pull motor out.
Honestly, if you're going for the tranny swap too (a very good idea if you are ditching the Ford-O-Matic) you'll have a much easier time finding a 200/C4 combo....probably pretty reasonable too. The 170's have some quirks that make rebuilding it questionable for anything but an all-out restoration - the 200 is a much better motor. Just about any 66-83 200/C4 package will drop in where the 170 sits now. Get as many of the brackets and linkages you can and also the transmission yoke too. Have fun with it!
Okay, one last idea... STOP right now and find a '65 - '80 200 with a C4 hanging on the back. You will find it damn near impossible to put a C4 behind that engine. Notice I did say "damn near". I have done it, but it involves a one year only C4 bell housing and if you're updating the internals some FUN machine work. The 200 is a much better motor all the way around, 7 mains instead of 4, dual bolt pattern for both early and late trans, (that's how the C4 deal works) bigger bore, better flowing head, I literally could go on and on. It will bolt into the same space as your 170, with just the need of a commonly available aftermarket trans mount for the C4. I know you have put in a lot of effort trying to identify and deciding to keep this motor, but there is just flat a better way to do this deal. Besides, 200/C4 combos are everywhere you look, and generally are just a little north of give away prices for running stuff. Then there is parts availability for that 170 - not necessarily ahrd to get stuff for, but 200 is much more common these days. I'm talking block parts here (bearings,pistons,rings,etc.). And, last because you seem to need an auto trans, the 200 is actually powerful enough to really use an automatic trans. And don't even consider using that Ford-O-Matic pile of dung in the car. They're not even good for anchors...
Okay, I hade been thinking that I wanted that 200. A fellow HAMBer has a 1981 200 with a c4 just 90 miles from me. Good or bad? The fact that its 1981 I mean.
The only down side I can think of is that some time in '81 or '82 they changed the bell housings around a bit to a bolt pattern that was kind of a bastard size. It's not quite the same as V8 pattern, but just as large. It can be identified by the starter being mounted much lower on the motor than where it is on your 170 by comparison.The only thing it effects is possibly the steering link with the newer starter posistion. The pitman arm and idler arm can be retapered from the bottom and flipped to solve any clearance problems though, so no big deal. Either way around it, the 200 is going to be a much better way to go.
**tiny update** Got my carb adapter in the mail today. This will allow me to go from single to two barrel. Not sure what carbs it will fit but it looks a lot like Jegs has.. Please give me your opinion. Trans Dapt #969-2044 Carb Adapter Holley 350-500-650 cfm 2 bbl to Ford straight "6" manifold or single venturi manifolds with 2-5/8" centers
That is made to use a motorcraft two barrel or a Holley two barrel. That particular adaptor will work, but used directly to the log it will be at a kinda weird angle (still do able with a cable throttle), or it may be too tall wen used on the cast riser on the log to staighten it out. For a mostly stock 200, you want to use a 350 CFM Holley or Motorcraft two barrel. It will make a massive improvement over the stock 1 barrel. I'm using a Weber progressive 32/36 on the girlfriends 200 for her wagon that I used for many miles on my '62 Futura years ago. It was always a good balance of economy and much improved power, better idle too. I did think of one more thing to think about with '81 200 last night. It probably has a FOX body type oil pan on it and might not fit your Fairlane steering gear. No big deal to change to another, but just someting else to be aware of.
One other thing to suggest while you're swapping to a later 200; save the rocker assembly from the 170 head. It is adjustable, where the later ones are not. If you shave your head for more compression in a rebuild, or upgrade to an Aussie 2V head the adjustable rockers will come in handy. Later, Kinky6
03-28-2011 Got my motor and trans home. 200 and a C4 out of a 1981 T-Bird. Bought off fellow HAMBer, Bubba57. Nice guy. Made the 90 mile hike out to Rochelle IL and then another few miles to the farm where his buddy lived.Some awesome iron out there. Had a good time out there. Think I may have made a couple of new friends. Plans for the motor... Take off the emissions crap, the a/c bracket, pulleys, rebuild the starter, replace manifold, replace oil pan, and I even got the yoke for the C4 to which I am adding a Hurst floor shifter. I'm excited. Oh NM the mini-van, my wife already ripped me a new one... I didn't care.
03-30-2011 Got this bitchin floor shifter for my car. It looks like the handle is rusty but it's actually dirty chrome. Gonna polish it up and get it ready for my trans. Looking to get a new boot.
You made the best decision motor/trans wise. Why are you pulling the manifold and pan? Gaskets? Save the old 170 manifold if it is not broken, They are hard to come by. Sounds like you are having a lot of fun..keep it up. Ron
Thanks Ron, I am having a good time. I get excited imagining my car running with a clean mill. I'm pulling that stuff off to go through the motor to make sure it's all good. I bought a new water pump, timing chain, fuel pump, and main bearings... all for under 100 bux on ebay. Also got me a Holley 350 CFM for $180. This is going to be great. BTW... the shifter was free from Al.... my hot rod guru.
Good for you man! Best way to go! I thought that pan might be different, and it looks like it is. Any thing pre Fox body will work, maybe even you 170 pan and pick up.
I love my 200/c4 combo. With my split header it sounds pretty good. Look in my picture thingy under my name.
Let us know how it runs. My 170 is a slug. Don't throw away any motor parts the guys on fordsix.com are always looking for parts. I think classic inline was buying used balancers and shaft rocker assemblies. Check there website. Youtube has a clip of a Falcon 6cyl. with a split header and 2 1/2" exhaust with flowmasters and it sounds damn good.
yea mike at classic inlines hooked it up. There pricey but NICE!. If your car isnt going to be real nice under the hood and you want bang for the buck I read a thread on here about splitting your own manifold. But if you buy a header, the stainless header from mike is the same price as one from hooker, and it looks alot better. He has a kit with the header, arp studs, and gasket. Great guy and a great company. Also I would highly recomend looking at The Ford Falcon Six Cylinder Performance Handbook. It has all the info you need for inline ford stuff.
04-03-2011 Motor has been pulled. Man it looked like crap! Chunks of rubber and metal in the pan. Cracked manifold. Missing or mismatched bolts. Cracked cylinder head. Take a look at the tiny space in which I have to work. Thank God for my friend Hot Rod Al. He's letting me rebuild the new motor and trans over in his shop. I kept my pulley and oil pan. Replacing the generator with an alternator, but took the old bracket. This should be good. Good bye 170 and Ford-o-matic, hello 200 and C4!!!!!
Loose bolts and cracked manifold. It's a wonder this car even ran. \\ One thing more.. Today I feel good and accomplished! Something I haven't felt in a long long time.
Go man go! As said before, don't throw that rocker and shaft assembly away. Adjustalbles are getting hard to find... Trust me, you won't need it for your 200, but somebody out there with a mechanical cam will.
Why not put the adjustable rockers on the 200? If you rebuild it, swap rockers. I am having my 200 decked and the head has been milled so I am putting the adjustable rocker on it.
04-06-2011 Today I got my new carb. No I wont be updating everytime I get a new part. I thought this was worth it. I wont get mad if you laugh... I did. Of course the one on the right is the new one
As mentioned earlier, re: the Ford Falcon Perf. Handbook, take a look in there where they show a stock 200 head with a shaved/modified intake reworked to hold a Holley 350 2bbl like yours. The mount for the small carb is milled off, and a steel plate to mount the larger carb is made and bolted on. This will net you a much better throttle response than using a "funnel" adapter on the stock head. Have this done while you're getting the head & valves re-done. Later, Kinky6
04-09-2011 Started the teardown on my 200 today. Realized when I got home that I won't be converting from points, but for a good reason... $$$$ There was a Home Loan approval letter waiting for me when I got there. I'm a few bucks away from the required down so, I'll make due with what I got.... New timing chain, water pump, oil pump, valve cover, carb, alternator, gaskets, hoses, fuel lines, floor shifter, filters, plugs, wires and C4 rebuild kit. That ought to do it. notice the mess of stuff that came off. I'll keep you's posted
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