1962 Ford Falcon Engine Swap

We are switching out the 144 straight 6 for the 260 v8. Finally, after changing the motor mounts, transmission, headers, rear end, and radiator, the Millenium Falcon came to life. She still needs a few more things including a floor, but she will be ready to go by the summer.

[@Fordfalcon263]

Nice to see that you went with the 260! Most seem to think they need big horse power, and end up with something they did not even make back then. It sounds really good. I just rebuilt my 260 in my 64 futura last summer. Getting ready for its maiden voyage as I swapped out the Ford o matic for a tremec 5 speed manual trans. You earned a new subscriber.

[@nagadsby9413]

@ monalisascrazycatchannel780 How did the T5 bolt up to your 5-bolt 260 block?

[@Fordfalcon263]

@@nagadsby9413 I used the stock 4 speed bell housing and an adapter plate from Modern Driveline.

[@Fordfalcon263]

I'm guestimating around 200 HP with the mods I did. Not huge, but I always wanted to do a 260 and keep the original motor as well.

[@lars277]

You have a jewel brother. I love the old Falcons and the Windsor Ford small blocks. I remember a neighbor had an old Fairlane. Must have been the first year the Ford Windsor engines came out. 1961, I think. It was a 221. Then they came out with the 260. Then the 289. That little 221 ran like a sewing machine. It was super quiet and ran smooth as glass.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Thank you. and yes old falcons are cool

[@romemancer7905]

Had a 63 futura with 289 and toploader conversion...I used a heavy duty f100 clutch and flywheel and 65 falcon disc brakes were a bolt on deal...that was my daily driver back in the 80s...great little cars...love the early falcons...cheers and good luck with the project !

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Thanks. This is my daily driver too. As you can see, it needs a lot of work. Had to get a driveshaft made for it after the engine/transmission swap from the 61 Ranchero parts car. All of the spare parts have come from that car, the Ranchero in the parts car video. We only like the round body falcons too.

[@nagadsby9413]

That 260 sounds fantastic, I had two of them.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

yes them Windsor motors sound great at 7000 rpm

[@robertwalters8172]

First car was a 62 falcon, pulled out the six and put in a 352 from a 65 galaxy 500, what a sleeper, that was 1974, great times the 70’s!

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Yes I do miss them days and we were cooler back then

[@marzsit9833]

lots of people asking about motor mounts... the mustang is a re-bodied falcon, so if it fits in a mustang, it also fits in a falcon. 64-66 mustang motor mounts are the same as 60-65 falcon mounts. same with exhaust headers. same with front suspension parts.

[@jimcrowell5093]

Had a 63 just like that in the seafoam green and gold interior and a 64 Sprint 260 V8 4 spd. Redondo blue with blue interior❤😞miss those cars both my first rides bought with my own money for just a squeak under 2k. Those were the days😉

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Wow, I have never seen a gold interior. My Dad bought a new 57 Ford Fairlane two-tone cumberland green/colonial white with matching interior, $2605. He changed the motor to a 410 (475) Edsel motor. Man, that thing has a lot of torque. Keep me up on your progress, I would like to see how it turns out. 🚗🙂

[@DumbCarGuy]

When i was doing this to my 61. The radiator was a bugger to find. I shipped 3 back because they didn't come with cropped corners down low where the front braces are.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

we had a hard time finding one too. When we finally found one, the brackets were backwards, but we made it work. What engine did you use in your 61?

[@DumbCarGuy]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 mine has a 65 200 six with a c4.

[@christianlittrell6821]

I got an original 64 2 door ford falcon with a 144 inline and a manual 3 speed in the column. Im planning on dropping a 260 down in it with a BorgWarner 4 speed. Did you have to cut the original mounts for the motor/ tranny or did you use a conversion kit. Any tips would be helpful and greatly appreciated. The 62 sounds like a beast and you guys are awesome! The first gen was always my dads favorite.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Thanks. We did not use a conversion kit. We used 63 V8 ford falcon motor mounts and we fabricated our own trans mount. The biggest problem we had was the exhaust headers. We had to cut and fab the driver side header to get it to fit in. We used a T10 tranny with a Hurst shifter. What are you planning on using? Yea, I’m with your dad, the 60-61s are my favorites.

[@christianlittrell6821]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 planning on dropping in a 1963 260 v8 with a BorgWarner T10 tranny. Also wanted to ask about the drive shaft. did you have to change the yoke and did you have to cut shaft at all?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

@@christianlittrell6821 We used the 1310 universal joints. We had to lengthen it about an 1.75 inches. Does your 64 have an 8 inch rear end?

[@charlespeavey2024]

What engine was this? Did you have to modify anything? Other than driveshaft

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

We put in a 260. We had to fabricate the engine mounts, transmission crossmember, and headers.

[@moerizk3753]

Does the original 3 tree match a 302? I just took out my original transmission and engine today and I have a 302 ready to go in but I don’t know what transmission to go with. I don’t have skills to cut floorboards and put in a bigger transmission, not yet.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

what did the 3 speed come out of?

[@moerizk3753]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 1962 ford falcon 170 straight 6

[@dennisschell5543]

Did the 289 swap into my first car '63 four door Falcon back in the early 70's. Three speed Toploader. Good little sleeper! 😎

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

😎

[@sonnym9954]

Just curious, what made you choose the 260 vs the 302? Wouldn't there be more transmission options with the 302?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

I wanted an old school 4-speed and we got a really great deal on the 260. I’m not sure that the transmissions options are limited, something I would need to research, my guess is that you are right about that. What kind of project are you working on?

[@marzsit9833]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 the 260 and early 289 have a 5-bolt bellhousing, the later 289, 302, 351w and 351c v8's have a 6-bolt bellhousing.

[@sonnym9954]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 Sorry for the delay. I am working on a 1964 Ranchero and I am trying to put in an engine that would fit the bay without modifications. I lost my 260 engine when I didn't "pick it up within 6 months" from the machine shop. That said, I secretly wanted a 302 but I need to find the right years as I didn't want to make any physical modifications to the engine bay. I would love to hear what suggestions you may have. Thanks.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

@@sonnym9954 Let me do some looking and I will get back with you. I bet the 64 is pretty close to a mustang.

[@mikehedrick8210]

What headers & motor mounds did you use ?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

We used 63 ford falcon motor mounds and the headers were from a Facebook marketplace purchase that we modified

[@rossgirdeen3247]

Looking to put a 302 in my 63 Fairlane i know the motor mounts need to be changed looking to get rid of the 2 speed and put a c4 in how much modifications is needed

[@rossgirdeen3247]

It's originally a 221 car with 3 on the tree

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

the 221 is a smaller V8, so you should not have a trouble with the 302 @@rossgirdeen3247

[@mastermatt289]

I’m getting ready to do this in my 62! Did you have to change any of the steering linkage to fit the engine.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

no and it’s still six cylinder steering linkage

[@mastermatt289]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 nice! Did you use a S-19 tail shaft housing or the mustang tail housing on your T5? Just curious about where the shifter came out at compared to the seat. Also I heard the mustang tail housing puts shifter right thru tunnel support?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

@@mastermatt289 We used a T10. I do believe that guys are using the S10 tail shaft with the T5.

[@anthonybarajas7368]

Did you make motor mounts or how did you go about that?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

we got motor mounts from a 63 V8 sprint

[@davidbrosius]

Hi I have a 1960 falcon ranchero and I am going to swap mustang 2 front end into it an a1979 Ford 302 any advice????

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

no that should be a easy swap. 1960 is my favorite year

[@davidbrosius]

Thanks Im hoping this all work the way I like to b. If I have any other questions can I ask u more about this??? Iv also had this ranchero since I was 14yrs now I'm 56

[@mastermatt289]

What motor mounts did you have to use? Great car! Do you plan on going 5 lug all the way around

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

We used 63 Ford Falcon V8 motor mounts. Yes, Our plan is to change it all over to 5 lug

[@xquakexx]

You made this look really easy. Im still trying to work out the v8 steering linkage with 6 cyl steering box !

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

The driver side header gave me most problems. Does it have a 1 inch sector shaft?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

check out the v8 steering conversion video on our channel

[@xquakexx]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 Can't find the video, but what I ended up doing is drilling the pittman arm hole out approx 2mm larger just to line everything up to see if it would all agree. I'm also working with drop spindles and I somehow even got the idler arm to all fit. Since the engine is out of it with no shocks, you can really see how tucked in the camber goes in with it sitting high like that. Def some crazy stuff going on but its supposed to handle better.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

@@xquakexx thanks for letting us know. let me know if it does handle better…

[@xquakexx]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 I may never get to that point might have to sell it at a loss

[@chickenlegman5460]

Also what transmission did you use?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

we used t10 keeping it old school

[@chickenlegman5460]

Did you have to mess with the front suspension?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Not yet it’s still all six cylinder stuff there will be video on changing it over to v8

[@chickenlegman5460]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 Thank you! I cant wait!!

[@evolR3]

​@@frankiethedrifters9973 i was wondering that myself, my 170 is getting; shall we say, tired ...

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

@@evolR3 all we have are the spindles. we will need to source the rest. Probably going to run drum brakes for now. Are you wanting to change to a small block ford?

[@Stucifer]

Did that 6 cylinder radiator work?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Not when its 90 degrees plus its all just temporary anyway we are building a different motor and going to change some things around

[@Stucifer]

@@frankiethedrifters9973 I had a 61 Ranchero with 170 engine. I never really could get much done with the old rustbucket. The plan was to put a built 302 in it, but the suspension and braking needed so much work it wasn't feasible for me. Seems I remember my 6 sometimes ran hot in 90 degree heat. It looks like same radiator I had, and I wouldn't trust it to cool a V8.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

@@Stucifer yes this one is pretty rusted too, but we got lucky finding that falcon ranchero. It had all the parts I needed for the v8 conversion. as for the metal work, I don’t mind it so much.

[@charlieharris59]

What headers did you use?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

We weren’t going to spend $600 for headers to fit that, so we bought a pair of used headers on marketplace for $50 and modified them. I believe they were for a bronco with a 351.

[@xquakexx]

Do the round rubber isolators go on each side of the shock tower connecting the motor mounts? I have a significant amount of space (engine adjustment?) on each side of the shock tower.

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

I didn’t use any rubber isolators. i had the engine mounts from the ranchero. I would use an engine-frame motor mount kit ebc3dz-6030kt from amazon

[@8.2deck]

What wheels are they

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

They are radar rims

[@mastermatt289]

What front Suspension or do you plan on using

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

Probably Mustang Spindles and everything else is going to be 65 Ford Falcon parts

[@abelmendoza7133]

What motor mounts did you use?

[@frankiethedrifters9973]

we used 1963 ford falcon V8 motor mounts. What is your project ?