Motor blew up Saturday night. Rebuild the 6 or swap in a V8?

I took my 6 cyl. Falcon on a long trip this past weekend, and the bottom end started knocking, the headgasket blew, and I think the head might be cracked.

I'm debating getting another 6 or getting a V8. The price for a crate motor would be about the same, as would the price for a used motor. And why go through a lot of trouble to swap in another 6 when for the same effort I could have a V8?

The first on my questions is can the front suspension handle the extra weight? How much more does a V8 weigh than a 6?

I know I'll have to change my bellhousing to a V8 bell and use a V8 flywheel, will I need to change my torque converter and starter as well?

I am sure I would have to upgrade the trans and rear end to V8 spec eventually, but could they handle V8 torque for a while if I took it easy on them?

Third, what all is involved with the engine bay? I know I will need the frame brackets, the intermediate brackets, and the rubber mounts. Will the frame brackets bolt right up or will I have to drill new holes?

I am also expecting I will need a V8 radiator as the hoses are on the opposite side between a 6 and a V8, right?

The V8 weighs about 75 lbs more. The frame mount bolt holes match up. Flat washer will be needed to lift the engine between the block and rubber mount and between the frame mount and intermediate mount. The front suspension will hold up. The fuel line will need to be lengthening. The throttle linkage doesn’t fit. Some of the engine wiring harness will need to be lengthening. Exhaust doesn’t fit. Rear end might hold up if you baby it. Falcon '6cyl to V8'

Buying a Crate 6 cyl is kind of dumb when you can get one in a wrecking yard for a couple bucks or off Craigslist or E-bay for a couple hundred, and rebuild it for almost pennies compared to a crate motor, and you can choose your build....

I have never heard of a straight 6 that did not crack a head. Seems in the life of a straight 6, it will happen at least once. Not sure why, they have more bolts per cylindar then an 8.

I was told the Straight 6 weighs 75 pounds MORE then the V8. I always thought it was less, but someone on this site set me straight last year.

If it does weigh more, the front will sit just a tiny bit lower, and that actually looks cooler then being up where it is now...right?

If you have a 7.7 rearend... it will be junk very quickly with a V8.

You easiest path is to find a used 200 L6 and swap it out. It will bolt right in and is very reliable.

The V8 is a bolt in as well but there are a lot of additional things you need to get.

1) 302/5.0 with front sump oil pan and timing chain cover with dipstick hole.
2) Mounts
3) 65 Falcon manual steering linkage (yes you really should do this)
4) Radiator with outlet on the correct side for the engine (you can make this on either side - your choice)
5) 8" or 9" rear end
6) Transmission (C4 case fill with six bolt bell)
7) V8 style engine harness
8) Throttle linkage and kickdown (Lokar will be easiest)

Hmm...

My friend is wanting to sell me a mid '80's Grand Marq for $500.

The good:

5.0 V8 that runs strong.
AOD trans (overdrive!... but will I have to shorten my driveshaft?)
V8 compatible rear (will need narrowing and mounts relocated, right?)

I'm thinking I might buy the Marq, drive it for a while untill I can save up for the rest of the parts needed for the swap. Then when I have all the stuff I can't get from the Marq, I will cannibalize the motor and whatever else I can use and scrap the shell and the parts I don't need.

I have an Uncle who installed a late model 5.0 long block with a carb manifold in his '64 Sprint. He kept the original 4 speed and rear end though because it was already V8 spec.

One thing my dad was telling me is that I might have to cut out parts of the firewall and trans. tunnel. Anyone have pics of the cutting/patching that has to be done, if any?

What year is your car? A C4 will slide right into a 63-65 and will fit a 60-62 with some bumbing with a BFH. The AOD is a different story. The firewall doesn't need cutting but the tunnel may.

If you change your rear end or the tranny, you will need to shorten the driveshaft. The Ford-O is shorter than a C4 or AOD. The 8" or 9" rear has more nose than the stock six rear.

Here is my 2 cents: I have a 64 Futura Convertible that started life as a 144 cuin fordamatic. It has been converted to a 347 Stroker with WC T5, Currie 4:11 rearend, all wheel disc brakes and an Omni R & P steering. Now you may not want to have to go that route but it sure changed the life of the Falcon. The stock 6 cyl springs are still in the car, I even cut a loop out to get the look I wanted. I also did a friends 63 Futura Convertible which was a 170 cuin and we converted his to a V8 and boy is he tickled pink. Now depending on how mechanically inclined you are this could be a good learning tool and a great father/son project for you. The weblink that 1bad6t gave is a very good start for you. This is a bolt in project once the right parts are had, but one that will not be an overnighter but a fun one at that. Only you can decide what you want as this is your brain child. There are alot of experts in this forum that can get you on the right track and point you in the right direction but in the end it is your project. The V8 swap is not hard at all but will take some searching for the right parts. Your donator car is a good start and yes alot of the major parts will work but they and your Falcon will need to be messaged to fit. Good luck.

Originally Posted by Mikes66

I have never heard of a straight 6 that did not crack a head. Seems in the life of a straight 6, it will happen at least once. Not sure why, they have more bolts per cylindar then an 8.

I was told the Straight 6 weighs 75 pounds MORE then the V8. I always thought it was less, but someone on this site set me straight last year.

If it does weigh more, the front will sit just a tiny bit lower, and that actually looks cooler then being up where it is now...right?

If you have a 7.7 rearend... it will be junk very quickly with a V8.

If your talking stock v8 compared to stock 6 the six is about 75 to 100lbs lighter, now if you start adding aluminum heads and intake manifolds and blocks, then things change but thats cheating :P.

Also my six was never rebuilt when i got it, head was just fine, engine was ran too hell, no fluids ever changed, PO had "tried" to resolder half the radiotor back in, carb had no float balls, and it was running on five cylinders due to a spit up lifter. That damn engine fired up every time, and after i rebuilt the carb, ran every time. Now my sisters 289, thats another story, running on all 8 cylinders, with people taking care of it, developed a tap shortly after we got it, and now is sitting in our yard with a frozen engine.

What six cylinder did the posters car have? If it had a 200 then i'm shocked that he lost the bottom end, as those are bulletproof. Now if he had the crappy crappy crappy 170 then i can understand, those things hate highway trips.

I'd personally say if you want it ready now, replace it with a six, if your cool with waiting and working on it, replace it with an 8. Realistically depending on how old your springs are, i'd say replace them with v8 springs, its not expensive, don't cheap out on things like that (you can get some decent ones new for less then $100, used for cheap also). Do you have disc brakes or stock six cyl brakes in it? If you have the stock six cylinder ones i'd reccomend upgrading too 5 lug disc, since after all if your getting five lug in the back it would be good to match it up, plus the fact that you'll want the better braking power.

To recap/add more info to the discussion:

1.) My car is a '62 Tudor. Originally it came with a 144 or a 170 six and a 3 on the tree.

2.) The car was swapped to a C4 sometime during it's life. From what I can tell a custom driveshaft was fabricated but the rest of the swap (crossmember, shifter, etc) was cobbled together. I had to run a vac. line for the trans. and fabricate a crossmember to get the trans. to work properly.

3.) The car still has 6 cyl. suspension, brakes (has brand new brake pads and wheel cylinders on it), and rear end.

I really only need the car to drive 2 miles to work on the 2 or 3 days a week when I have to work later than the bus runs. And to take a 100 mile interstate trip in it once every 3 weeks or so. It will probably never see much heavy traffic. And I don't intend to do any racing or other hard driving that will abuse the trans/rear end.

I'm still debating swapping in another six. I have been thinking about a 250 so I could use an AOD eventually and get the benefit of overdrive. But from what I've read to swap a 250 in you need Maverick 250 frame mounts and they have a different bolt pattern that the Falcon brackets so I'd have to drill new holes. I'm also worried that some 250-specific parts (timing gears, etc) might be hard to find. I am having a hrad enough time finding parts for the 200 six.

I just want something that if I need a water pump or a gasket, I can go into any parts store and get one right then. And I think I could probably do that with a 302 or a 5.0 motor.