170 rebuild

[oldford63]

Hello,
I am new to the site as of yesterday and have been reading through the 144-250 Forum. I used the seach engine to seach for 170 engine information but turned up no hits. Said all of that just so you guys know what has me writing you today.

I have a 1963 Falcon with a 170ci engine. I will be pulling the engine soon for a rebuild. It runs fine but I am looking for a little more power to run AC. I found a 1977 head off of a 200ci Fairlane at my local yard and want to use it.

I need some help with how to determine how much to mil the 77 head without clearence issues and end up with an 8.7/ 1 to 8.9/1 compression ratio. I'm basing the ratio on using regular gas for my every day driver. I am also thinking of adding a comp cam kit (260-H). Please help me get it right the first time as my funds will not stretch for second chances and I am a little nervous given this is my first engine rebuild.
Thanks for any help you can give me,
Guy

 

[rbohm]

8) welcome to the forum. you will want to mill the late model head about .050" to get the compression up to where you want it. here is a compression ratio calculator that you can use to determine exactly how much to mill the head. by the way i would run 9.0:1 or 9.5:1 compression. i know you want to prevent detonation, and run 87 octane, so you need to select the cam wisely. check out the offerings from www.classicinlines.com this is the cam i recommend CSC-264-HDP-10 found here http://classicinlines.com/products.asp?cat=115 these cams are designed by clay smith for the six. if you are a little nervous about running 9:1 compression, then run 8.5:1 and run this cam CSC-264-HDP-12 basically the same cam with wider lobe centers to trick the engine into thinking it has more compression than it really does. you want to build low end power for daily driving.

i also recommend converting the head to run a direct mount 2bbl carb, the autolite 2bbl carb is a good one to use.check out this article http://classicinlines.com/logmods.asp in our tech section.

one more thing, if you have the automatic, you likely have the 2.80 final drive ratio, bump that to the 3.20 final drive ratio and you will feel like you added about 40hp to the engine.

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy Back Guy:

And welcome to The Forum. If you can, get the carb and air cleaner system along with the head. The #1946 model Holley carb will not be compatible with your early Load-O-Matic distributor, but may have some valvue to someone. It may be worthwhile to adapt the later air cleaner system to your '63.

You will need to mill the head to reduce the larger chamber volume of the later head as well as for the difference in thickness of the modern head gaskets. Total of .075" to get close to a 9:1 ratio. .025" for the gasket thickness difference and .050" for reducing the chamber volumes. A 9:1 CR will be fine with a performance cam. Aftermarket performance cams bleed off some cylinder pressure, reducing the likelyhood of ping with 87 octane gas. Please consider the CI cam designs as being more modern and six cylinder specific in design. That's from someone running a Comp 260 cam in my 250. Classic Inline and his cams were not an option when I built my engine.

A question- Why not use the entire '77 200 and trans in you '63? Have you considered this option?

Again, welcome.

Adios, David

 

[Eric Rose]

Are you sure the '77 vehicle is a Fairlane, and not a Fairmont? As I understand it, Ford discontinued the Fairlane nameplate in 1971. The Fairmont came out in 1978, so seeing one with a late '77 build date makes sense as they would have started production early.

Unless of course, you live in Australia (where they used the Fairlane nameplate was used until 2008), in which case... carry on

 

[jamyers]

...
A question- Why not use the entire '77 200 and trans in you '63? Have you considered this option?
...

+1.

The 200 block is a straight-up bolt in, 30 more cubes and a significant amount of torque more. And the later transmission (manual or automatic) would be a significant durability/reliability upgrade.

 

[oldford63]

Thanks for all of the replies, this is the first chance I've had to get back online.

Eric - The car in the junk yard, (thats what I've always called them), was indeed a 1978 Fairmont. By the way, I am located in Albuquerque.

James - My 63 is all original and I'd like to keep the engine that came with the car. I am hoping to modify it internally and keep the original look, if that is possible.

rbohm & czln6 - I do have a Ford-O-Matic 2 speed. I will have it rebuilt while it is out of the car and request a 3.20 final gear be installed. You guys have given me two numbers for miling the head. .050 & .075. Do I need to settle on a cam before I have the head miled? I am leaning towards the CSC-264-HDP-12. Is there a kit that comes with springs & lifters that match the cam or are the originals used with it?

More questions to come,
Thanks for all of your advise, I am in uncharted terratory,
Guy

 

[rbohm]

rbohm & czln6 - I do have a Ford-O-Matic 2 speed. I will have it rebuilt while it is out of the car and request a 3.20 final gear be installed. You guys have given me two numbers for miling the head. .050 & .075. Do I need to settle on a cam before I have the head miled? I am leaning towards the CSC-264-HDP-12. Is there a kit that comes with springs & lifters that match the cam or are the originals used with it?

go with what czln6 recommended for milling the head, i generally bow to the greater knowledge, and he knows more about these heads than i do. you dont need to settle on the cam, in fact the one you are leaning towards will work nicely with the higher compression. one thing, if you are planning on running 87 octane, dont go above 9.5:1 with the wider lobe centers.

More questions to come,
Thanks for all of your advise, I am in uncharted terratory,
Guy

bring on the questions, we will always do our best to answer them.