My 1960 Falcon

The information on this page is what is involved changing you 60 -65 Falcon engine over to a Small Block Ford V8. The procedure my vary according on what you have now and what you want. Anything from a early 5 bolt small block with 2 barrel to a late model EFI with the EEC. If you desire to have a manual transmission and you have an automatic transmission more parts will be needed thus adding to the cost of this conversion. Lucky for you there is more reproduction part being made today that will help making this swap that it was just few short years ago. I was lucky I did my swap in the early 70's when the junkyards were full of Falcons and Comets.

This is pretty much a bolt on deal but they are a few slight difference between the 60 and 63 pre V8 Falcon. One of them is the passenger side inter fender. When Ford decided on making the V8 a option they found out the battery wasn't sitting far enough away for the engine bay so they turned and recessed the location to gain some much needed room with a generator on the same side as the battery. It's not unheard of to relocate the battery in a 60 -early 63 to the trunk. A 63 ½ should have the correct inter apron.

Now let's start with getting our parts list together. The main things that are needed are the motor mounts. The 63½-65 used a 3 piece mount. You can buy these from a vendor. I've heard talk about people using '69- '70 Mustang mounts, also heard about '65 Mustangs mounts. I can’t say for sure if they would be any problems using them like hood clearance or steering linkage interference.

With the 5.0 you will need to plug the dipstick hole on the side of the block, and drill a new one on the front cover, or replace the front cover with an older version. If you keep the serpentine pulleys, you will need to either get a new radiator, or fabricate some hoses because the water pump inlet is on the other side. Don't mix water pumps, because the 5.0 uses reverse rotation pumps, won't work with v belts. . You need a front slump oil pan to clear the front suspension , unless you go with a R&P setup. You must change to a V8 radiator so notice your water pump when shopping.

The six cylinder exhaust will need to be changed. A lot of interest on exhaust headers on what fits or don't fit. Just because it say's it fits a Mustang don't think it will fit a Falcon. The Mustang has a wider engine bay. Many manufactures make headers to fit Falcon's. You can use stock exhaust manifolds if you like.

Change the 4 lug to 5 lug with a 65 front end. It's a lot cheaper than the 63 ½-64 parts. You can use Mustang parts here but the center link has to be a Falcon part. The Mustang is about an inch and a half too long. Go ahead a throw some Granada spindles with disk brakes on while you got things a part. You need to use the Granada outer tie rods ends and make the brake lines a bit longer to reach to the front of the axle. 69-70 Mustang's disk will work too as will Maverick's. Slap a duel bowl master cylinder on too. There are a number of different donors to choose from to get a master cylinder. Maverick's will work also I'm using a 91 Mustang master. Make sure it's for disk / drums, not drums / drums.

The transmission has to hold up to the V8 power. You got a lot of choices on type , C4, AOD, Top Loader, T-10. T-5. Here you will need a different transmission mount. They are custom mounts ready to buy if you go with late model AOD or T-5. A word about the trans tunnel, 60's are small but the later models got bigger somewhere along the line. I've got a T-10 in my 60 with no problem. But I don't think a FMX or C6 will fit without getting the hammer to it..

Of course you need a V8 drive shaft and rear end. The rear housing from any '71-'77 V8 Maverick or Comet will bolt right in. This is by far the best choice. The '74 and newer cars had the five lug eight inch rear end regardless of the engine in the car. You will need to get the rear brake hose for a 63 V8 rear axle, because the Maverick one will be too short.

You will need to modify the fuel line going to the fuel pump. The linkage going to the carburetor is different too. You can change over to a cable linkage easy.

Electric wipers will be a must, the old vacuum style will stop under any load. For wiring diagrams for this upgrade go to this site. Single Speed Wiper for the 2 Speed Wiper

Most likely you will change to an alternator instead of keeping a generator if you are swapping over from a pre 64, so a little different wiring is mandatory. Click here to see the Generator to Alternator change over schematic.

Now go out there and bust some knuckles and get some grease under those nails.

If you see a error or notice something not addressed
please notify me by email

I can’t think of anything else, but if I do. I'll be sure to add to the list. Hope this gives you a little bit more insight on what is involved swapping to a V8. I'm not trying to scar you away or discourage you in any way. Like I stated at the beginning, it's not that hard at all. Although you need a place to work on your Bird and tools to do the work. I'm sure I left something out and I will like to hear about it. If you see something that I need to address, let me know and I'll make the changes.

	Photo Coming Soon
Frame Mount	Intermittent Mount	Motor Mount

6 Cylinder to V8 Swap