All Small Six 1962 Falcon - Swapping a 170 for a 200 plus C4

[FalconDad]

Hi All – My 24 year-old daughter bought a stock 1962 Falcon 4 door sedan that we suspect needs the engine replaced/rebuilt (broken rocker arm adjusters and tons of carbon in the valve springs). We don’t know about the 2 speed Ford-O tranny since we’ve only towed the car. We’re thinking about putting a used 200 + C4 in it but we are both somewhat novice mechanics and new to Ford Six community. The goal is for the car to be a weekend around-the-town driver.

We found a "claimed to be running" 200 + C4 in a 1974 Maverick which from this Forum sounds like it “should be a bolt on,” however, there are warnings (e.g. bubba22349) that it may not be if the car is an “early” 1962. Which leads me to my multiple questions (sorry if they've already been answered):

• How can we tell if the vehicle is and early or late 1962? (VIN: 2R12U177321, Date code 22E)
• If the ’74 Maverick doesn’t work out, what engine/tranny combos will be the easiest fit (or which should we avoid)?
• Assuming the engine/tranny fit, what else do we need… throttle linkage, kick down linkage, modified driveshaft, etc.?

 

[DON]

I can’t decipher vin codes, would just have to google it. But swapping engines and trannys , especially when changing, is a project. Think of it as a learning experience too. You didn’t mention what the falcon originally had for an engine. Need to know. Might be good if a compression test could be done first. Find out how tired it is. Trans is probably different length. Safe bet that you will need new cross member mount and driveshaft.
Throttle linkage is easier, use as much of original as you can. Plenty of parts online to finish. Radiator hose might be the other tricky thing. But there are hose adapters or just mount a 200 radiator instead. Fuel lines: buy a tubing bender and make your own. Get a double flare tool and that will help with transmission lines as well. Both are reasonably priced and come in handy for other projects ( brakes). Lots of questions can be answered here.

 

[B RON CO]

Hi, you can look at the Falcon Club of America or other forums for more info about your car. The 200 engine is a bolt in swap. The Falcon came with a generator so you have to decide if you will keep it or change to the alternator. The 200 has a larger carb opening, so you can't put the old carb on the newer engine. You can visit the tech forum here, and learn about the differences between the engines. If you are lucky, the 51 year old engine will be in good shape. I am not sure if you will have to "clearance" the floor pan to fit the C4, or alter tranny mount and driveshaft, but the C4 is light years better than the original tranny. Everything you want has been done before, so just tackle the issues one at a time. Good luck

 

[powerband]

... what B RON CO said
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.always great to hear another early car being upgraded for modern drivabillity . Emphasize to be sure steering / suspension components tight, upgrade braking to dual master system and make it Stop as good as Go !.
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mentioned 'clearance' for larger C4 - my '63 needed firewall clearance for larger bellhouse from '71 Maverick 170 with 3 spd 'Toploader'. Simpler for C4 - 200 uses a smaller BellHouse, same size as original 2 speed and the 'Small Pattern" early bellhouse bolt pattern on block. If some 'clearance' is needed it is simple to 'form it' with a BFH as it crumples inward easily and isn't easily visible ....
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widely available C4 Conversion mount should make 'bolt-in' simple.
.typical:

1961 1962 63 FALCON car TRANS CROSSMEMBER CONVERT TO C4 OR TOPLOADER MADE IN USA | eBay

FITS C4 & TOPLOADER TRANS ONLY NO OTHER TRANS WILL WORK. CORRECT LOCATION FOR LENGTH OF THE C4 TRANS/TOPLOADER. BEST AVAILABLE MADE IN USA CONVERTIBLE MAY REQUIRE EXHAUST PIPE MODIFICATION. MADE IN USA NOT CHINA JUNK.

www.ebay.com

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rest of 200 swap is the 1 percent details - "the other 1 percent takes 99 percent of the time..."
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have fun

 

[DannyG]

I dropped a Maverick 200 into a '61 Falcon ( OMG, I did it in the last century, even my stories are getting old !).
You need a different transmission crossmember , which I think is made/sold today ( I had to jury rig one back then).
I used a B&M floor shifter so I can't speak to the column shift mods ?
Great upgrade and well worth it.
DannyG

 

[FalconDad]

Thanks to all for the thoughtful advice. This really is a great forum! B RON CO's advice around tackling the problems as they come up is probably the right perspective, though my daughter has limited time and money so we're trying to scope out the project the best we can in advance. Hammering out "clearance" looks a bit intimidating, so hopefully we can determine if we have a small or large bellhousing.

Right now we are debating Option A) a swap out of a running 1974 Maverick with unknown history and mileage but comes with everything under the hood we want vs. Option B) a rebuilt 200 long block (head code D8BE) supposedly with 10K miles but no documentation and a supposedly rebuilt C4 (no documentation) so we would need to add carb, distributor, starter, radiator, and whatever else we don't know about.

Thanks again!