All Small Six Need help rebuilding my L6 170 2.8L - living oversea !

This relates to all small sixes

BennyW

New member
Good morning from France,

So I own a 62 Ford Falcon Squire.
I pulled the engine off a couple days ago because I had two bad expansion plugs.

Bought the car a year ago from Mexico, it had a high mileage so I wanted to have a check and opened up the engine.

My cylinder are good, it's been rebored to +.03 with .03 pistons.
However, all my bearings are shot, there was too much play, so I'll need to change them. No problem here .010 will do the job and is available.

My main concern is that my camshaft is shot too. It has bits missing on the side of journals.
This is a mechanical camshaft with solid lifters.

I have found master rebuilt kits on a few websites such as ronrpm, northern auto parts, clegg and so on.
But they can't provide the camshaft and solid lifters. After digging the internet, I cannot find a MECHANICAL camshaft. There are heaps of hydraulic camshaft + lifters kits.

Is it possible to swap from mechanical to hydraulic camshaft ? If so, do I need to change the valve train ?

Machining work is quite expensive here in France, and for foreign engine you have to source and supply the parts yourself.

I am not looking to increase perf, and need to watch my budget.
So far a complete rebuild kit (w/o camshaft + lifters) is $1000 (shipping included). Machining work only for the head is about $600 here.
If you add rebuilding the camshaft, it will go over the 170 crate engine from S&J ($2000)

So I'm scratching my head here...
Any help, feedback or anything will be highly appreciated.

Cheers
 
Hi, you can get more info if you look at the engine ID # near the starter. I never assume anything is original in old cars. I believe the blocks with four main bearings do not have an oil supply for hydraulic lifters. I would upgrade to a mild performance cam. Many guys here have their personal favorite. You need a variable crank sprocket from vintage Inlines, and you need to degree any cam you choose. You can keep the adjustable rocker arms, and check the shaft for wear. Our tech archive list some solid lifter Clay Smith cams for you to look at, but you have to call them for something up to date. I'm sure someone here has a nice solid lifter cam to recommend. Good luck
 
Hi, you can get more info if you look at the engine ID # near the starter. I never assume anything is original in old cars. I believe the blocks with four main bearings do not have an oil supply for hydraulic lifters. I would upgrade to a mild performance cam. Many guys here have their personal favorite. You need a variable crank sprocket from vintage Inlines, and you need to degree any cam you choose. You can keep the adjustable rocker arms, and check the shaft for wear. Our tech archive list some solid lifter Clay Smith cams for you to look at, but you have to call them for something up to date. I'm sure someone here has a nice solid lifter cam to recommend. Good luck
Thanks for your answer and for the Tech Archive advice.
I had a look at their website previously and all the solid lifters camshafts are listed for quite high performance engine, which mine isn't (and is automatic !)
I'd like to keep it as stock as original to keep my budget under control :)

Indeed, oild supply for hydraulic lifters is the issue, that's why I'd rather keep the mechanical camshaft + lifters.
I'm used to check valve lash on my other (french) old cars, so it's not a problem.
 
You might find Australia is a source of parts for your engine. Nornda in Adelaide may help:-https://www.norndaautomotive.com.au/
rarespares;-https://www.rarespares.net.au/
Early falcon spares:-https://earlyfalconspares.com.au/
There are also facebook groups that may help.
 
You're quickly getting to the point where a crate engine is a better idea. Also, due to low power complaints, Ford quickly bumped up the size to 200 and then 250 back then. I have a 1964 Comet with its original, stock 200-6. Running very well now, it's marginal on an interstate. Are you planning on driving on modern (high-speed) highways? Even running well, you may find a 170-6 struggling to keep up with now-a-days traffic. The stock 2-speed transmission will make it worse. Some PO put a C5 in mine and I'm still revving higher than I'd like to see when keeping up with traffic, say 75 MPH around here. I'm not at all suggesting a high-performance engine; I was just after stock myself.
 
You're quickly getting to the point where a crate engine is a better idea. Also, due to low power complaints, Ford quickly bumped up the size to 200 and then 250 back then. I have a 1964 Comet with its original, stock 200-6. Running very well now, it's marginal on an interstate. Are you planning on driving on modern (high-speed) highways? Even running well, you may find a 170-6 struggling to keep up with now-a-days traffic. The stock 2-speed transmission will make it worse. Some PO put a C5 in mine and I'm still revving higher than I'd like to see when keeping up with traffic, say 75 MPH around here. I'm not at all suggesting a high-performance engine; I was just after stock myself.
Only problem with a crate engine is... you don't really know what's inside till you open it up.
There are mixed reviews about S&J's crates so not too sure.

I finally managed to source an OEM camshaft from Kanter, it should arrive on wednesday. I'll have to check it out carefully to see if it is the exact same one.

I live in a small town by the ocean here, work there too. So I'm not driving it to the highway a lot, maybe once a month. I mostly daily drive it to go surfing, go to work and stuff.
It was okay with a pretty tired 170 engine, so it should be sweet with a rebuilt 170.
2 speed is a pain in the ass indeed, but I've rebuilt it and I'm quite impressed at how smooth it is for its era !

Indeed, the Aussie have a lot of reman parts, and AUD is quite low compared to EUR, which is a good thing for me :)

Anyway, thanks a lot for your time and advices guys, I might have a few questions when it'll be time to actually rebuild it, so I keep this post open in case.

Long live the inline sixes !
 
First I am a fan of station wagons. They have a definite cool factor and your 62 Squire seems to fit your usage perfectly. If you don't have steep grades to climb or need freeway speeds keeping the original drivetrain seems logical to me. I hope you get your parts sorted easily. If you don't mind a suggestion regarding your rebuild a slight bump in compression say a half a point by milling the head or block and port and polish on the head would give just bit more power for the added cost of the machine work but no parts to buy. Should be easy enough to do although I am not an expert and understand the desire to keep costs down. Many members with experience in this could help guide you if you decide to go that way. At any rate good luck with your wagon.
 
@BennyW Très cool that you have a Falcon wagon in France. You must get a lot of looks and people stopping to ask you about it, as it's a rare sight, especially in a small seaside town. We (and I feel comfortable speaking for everyone here) want to see some photos!
 
Falcon 'more-door' wagon and similar are getting some respect these days and they sure aren't making any more . Definitely worth getting the Squire back to cruise capable...
.
Depending on your intentions and resources, restoring toward original or upgrading for modern driving, later 170's and 200' blocks and complete running engines from V8 swaps are probably more available from U.S. Almost any 170 or 200 engine from all small Ford platforms through late 1970's will swap in. . . Obtaining a 'crate' to match the early solid lifter block may not be for sure. Later ( @ 67 up) six's have option of using better/later transmissions .
.

....'rescued' '63 wagon has 1971 Maverick 170 cid with T5 overdrive transmission and original rear end, interior, tube radio , etc..
. . . .
.
have fun

.
BTW my first car -'Hemi Head' Peugot 404 - the '57 Chevy of France , inherited from my mechanic uncle, he called it DeGaulles revenge !.
.
 
Yes indeed, it's def a turn-head car ! Pretty rare, not flashy... I love it.
Saw this car in surf films and surfing old school picture when I was a kid and always wanted one.

Found it in Mexico 2 years ago, made it cross the ocean and voilà !
Well I had to rebuild the Fordomatic 2 speed but chassis is super clean which was what I was looking for.
Mechanical parts are cheap and widely available.

Well unless those rare exhaust and intake +15 oversized stem valves that I'm struggling to find.





I also have a 67 Simca Wagon that you guys might like. Only a 4 cylinder, but same HP than the Falcon :) - French engineered !

 
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Ha !
Good news, some French and Italian engine (Renault / Fiat) might share the same valves. Just requiring minor machining !
Just replacing cast valve guides on my head in France, would cost me around $600 !!
 
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Falcon 'more-door' wagon and similar are getting some respect these days and they sure aren't making any more . Definitely worth getting the Squire back to cruise capable...
.
Depending on your intentions and resources, restoring toward original or upgrading for modern driving, later 170's and 200' blocks and complete running engines from V8 swaps are probably more available from U.S. Almost any 170 or 200 engine from all small Ford platforms through late 1970's will swap in. . . Obtaining a 'crate' to match the early solid lifter block may not be for sure. Later ( @ 67 up) six's have option of using better/later transmissions .
.

....'rescued' '63 wagon has 1971 Maverick 170 cid with T5 overdrive transmission and original rear end, interior, tube radio , etc..
. . . .
.
have fun

.
BTW my first car -'Hemi Head' Peugot 404 - the '57 Chevy of France , inherited from my mechanic uncle, he called it DeGaulles revenge !.
.
I wish it had a V8, I thought about swapping a 302 in it. But French laws are very tough on cars modification.
If you get involved into an accident, especially with vintage cars, they will check to make sure no mods have been done.

I've been looking for a long time for a Squire wagon with stock V8 but it seems like a unicorn.
There's only one year (63) when V8 were available on a round body. Then in 64, they switch for the square body that I'm less keen on.
 
The thing about a v8 swap is all the other stuff you have to swap; trans, rear diff, radiator, motor mounts, driveline mods.... probably somethings I forgot.
 
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