Upgrades abound

I am trying to freshen up my wife’s 63 fairlane with the in-line 6. I’m not even sure if it’s the 170 or 200 to be honest but I do know I have the 1/4 drive oil pump. How would I know you may ask. Well I bought an hei dizzy and it won’t go in. So I’ve installed a new tomco carb and am doing the alternator swap (got the bracket from falcon parts) and I want to do a modern dizzy and get rid of points. This is my wife’s car and will be a grocery getter and wasting my money at target car so it just needs to be reliable. I changed the plugs and wires but it still runs like crap. Any advice is appreciated.

may B get yr AND engine...
can U read the head casting #s (may not positively ID block but will sure do the head)?
Block (if it's got 6 spark plugs/plug holes) is by the down tube of the exhaust, pass. side. I think they had 260 bent8 and 200 six, not sure bout others. In those daze U could get all sorts of motors. Then we got the fact of 50 + yrs of ownership - anything can B swapped in...
It may even be pre 'falcon' (ThriftPower) motor. If you're not familiar w/this (the "falcon") one it has a feedback carb/dizzy system & any ol carb might B a problem if not synced in w/this.
Keep lookin, report back, we'll help frm here (& here, and over here....
We got more ways to ID.
Most us have used "the Handbook" (ordered frm vintige inlines dot com who is a member here & has motor prts 4 these). U could order 1 frm Matt there & while watin peruse the "tech Archive" at above crossed screwdriver & wrench. It has more ID info & like the Handbook has excellent guidance on all things 'Falcon".

W E L C O M E !!!
stick around

Tattookyle76":1zi4d9m5 said:

I am trying to freshen up my wife’s 63 fairlane with the in-line 6. I’m not even sure if it’s the 170 or 200 to be honest but I do know I have the 1/4 drive oil pump. How would I know you may ask. Well I bought an hei dizzy and it won’t go in. So I’ve installed a new tomco carb and am doing the alternator swap (got the bracket from falcon parts) and I want to do a modern dizzy and get rid of points. This is my wife’s car and will be a grocery getter and wasting my money at target car so it just needs to be reliable. I changed the plugs and wires but it still runs like crap. Any advice is appreciated.

Click to expand...

You can keep the original dizzy and put a petronix in it. Keep the original Loadomatic dizzy and the carb is either a holley 1904/1908 or an Autolite 1100 right? Funny little power valve looking thing on the side? If its got the original setup, and a .25" drive, i think your only option is to do a petronix point swap. Try spraying a bunch of carb cleaner into the carb and see if that helps

Good luck

Howdy Kyle:

And Welcome to The Forum. Yes, it is that good.

I'd sure like to know more about your wife's Fairlane. '63 could be a 144 or a 170. Is it an automatic? Most Failanes were. If so, the 2 speed autos behind either a 144 or 170 were pretty doggy. The best bet is to make sure it's ignition is sound; that the vacuum diaphragm on the distributor is working, that there are no vacuum leaks between the carb and the vacuum diaphram, or shorts any where in the ignition. If I were in your shoes, I'd get the stock distributor working top notch before I made any other changes. Once you are sure the ignition is working it's best then I'd turn to the carb.

Do you know how long it has been since the carb has be been freshened? IF it's been awhile a carb rebuild and kit may be in order- including a good cleaning. Assuming that the engine is in good shape topping out the ignition and carb will go a long ways to getting a good reliable runner.

Did the rebuilt carb improve the way the engine ran? What was wrong with the original carb?

Once the carb and ignition are working as designed, it is time to assess the engine and study options. Being that it is an early block you will be limited as to what you can do to improve the ignition. But, you could start by increasing the initial advance setting to 5 degrees more than stock specs call for.

Early Fairlanes and Mercs had an automatic choke on the carb. Does your wife's? Did the Tomco?

before you spend any money on upgrades get the engine running well and assess from there. Plan with a budget and goal in mind.

Keep it coming and good luck.

Adios, David

Thanks for the info everyone. I had to install the tomco carb because that’s all I could find quickly. Got it from orileys. The old carb had a crack and dumped gas everywhere. Just ordered the petronix last night. Will start the alternator upgrade today and get it all ready. This block has 5 freeze plugs on passenger side. It’s a 2 speed auto car. Has zero balls but hey, that will keep her out of trouble.

Howdy Back Kyle:

five freeze plugs indicate that it is a 200 engine. If so, good news. Next you need to check the date codes, on the head and the block. You'll find the head code on top of the intake log behind the carb mount. The block code is on the passenger's side below and between the fourth and fifth core plugs. These codes will tell us more about the your engine.

What choke is on your rebuilt carb? Manual or automatic choke. What rebuilt carb did you get? It will need a Spark Control Valve (SCV) to send a proper signal to the Load-O-Matic (LoM) distributor. Is the engine running at this point?

What color is the valve cover? I ask because many strange things can happen to a '63 Fairlane in the 55 years since it left Dearborn. I hope you saved the original carb. It may have value to someone on this forum for parts.

Keep it coming.

Adios, David

Hi, as mentioned, if you have 5 freeze out plugs someone swapped in a 200 engine. The early Ford 6 used a 1/4" oil pump drive shaft, and the 200 upgraded to a 5/16" oil pump drive shaft. Perhaps the guys put the old oil pump and distributor in the 200 block. Try to post pictures of the casting #s on the head ( on the intake log) and from the block ( under the right side exhaust). There is a lot of potential to unlock, especially if the wrong combination of parts has been put on your engine. Get the Ford Falcon Performance Handbook before you do anything with your engine. Learn from the handbook and ask more questions before you spend any money on your car. Good luck

2X "... Learn from 'the Handbook' (then) ask ..."
and @ above "tech archive" at the crossed screw driver'n wrench...

2 paraphrase Leo:
Have Fun, be Safe'n Productive !