Ford Engine Swap

Greg Zyla: Those fabulous Ford Falcons and big-block engines

Q: Greg, what big 400-plus V8 engines did Ford have from 1961 to 1963? Did they have the 427 and 428 V8 then?  Also, in the not too distant future, I'd like to drop one of the big 427 type engines into a 1961 to 1963 Ford Falcon, depending on what year I run across. It would be a project car, so do you have any suggestions on suspension and frame upgrades? Will these big engines fit under the hood?  Will the frame be strong enough to handle it? If it works, it would be quite a "sleeper" on the road. Please let me know. Charles Cormack, New Castle, Ind.

A: Charles, the biggest engines Ford offered those years over 400 cubic inches were the 406 in 1962 and the 427 in 1963. Both were big-block "FE" engines and ran very well. Of course, the 427 FE engine is most respected, as it won numerous NASCAR races in 1963 (it took all top five sports at the Daytona 500) and then posted numerous NHRA, NASCAR and AHRA drag titles. NASCAR had a drag race sanctioning body back then, and "FE" is an acronym for Ford-Edsel.

As to putting one of these monsters into a stock 1961-63 Falcon, be prepared for some major work. I recommend starting with a ‘67 Falcon, which would accept the FE engines (352, 390, 427, 406, 428) immediately with just some tweaks to the shocks. 

If you want an earlier year Falcon of pre-‘67 nomenclature, plan on reworking the suspension to hold the front-end weight of the FE engine. Additionally, the rear end would have to be changed from its small stock Falcon to a Ford 9-inch that will handle the horsepower, which is something you'll have to do with the '67 also.

If you are still sold on a pre-‘67 Falcon swap, be prepared to eliminate the shock towers and put in a coil over suspension with rack and pinion steering from a mid-1970s Mustang II, which is a common upgrade with cars like this. Actually, you can take a Mustang II subframe from the Mustang and use all of it for the Falcon. You'll also need a good transmission, and I recommend a worked C-6 for the automatic of the Ford 4-speed of that year. If you go the automatic route, make sure you get a good converter from a brand name builder, like ATI, with a stall speed of about 3,600 for the street. I recommend the automatic, as you'll probably take in some test and tune runs at your area drag strip.

You'll need some direction when you get going, so I recommend contacting your hometown race shop to get more detailed information on this swap. Remember, Charles, anything is doable, and I hope you get this neat car moving in the near future. You might also want to subscribe to one of the Ford high performance magazines, of which there are many. Good luck!

Automatic Transmission Fluid Release - Ford Forums Online - Ford ...

I'm doing an engine swap for the first time. The vehicle I'm working on is a 1996 Ford Escort LX with a 1.9L engine and an automatic transmission. Everything has gone great so far except for the release of about a pint of ATF as the engine disengaged from the transmission. I'd like an answer regarding these two issues. First, was the ATF release normal and secondly, is there any preventative maintenence (i.e. replace seals, etc.) I should do within the transmission "bell housing" before I re-install the engine?

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