Another engine swap thread

[ZRXwannabe]

Hello all. My name is Roger and I live in south east Michigan. The project is a 63 4 door with the 6 cyl 2 speed auto. It belongs to my father in law. The plan is to put a 302 and c-4 from a 79 fairmont wagon. The first question is about the dura spark II ignition. The fairmont is 98% complete and original but it has an intermitant staring problem. On occasion it just will not fire. The little trouble shooting I did I got no spark and the voltage to the control module while cranking was only about 9 volts. The engine cranked over but wouldn't fire so I put a battery charger/booster on and it then it fired. Is 9 volts to the ignition enough to make it fire? I haven't checked voltage at the battery or either side of the starter relay to see if it drops to 9 volts there when cranking. Also didn't check voltage at module with the booster on to see if it droped. Maybe I should have completed trouble shooting befor starting this thread. Any way I know that 302 2 barrel is only rated at 140 horse or so, not much higher then the 100 or so in the six. But I also know without a lot of effort it can go alot higher then that. We will see where this ends up.

[Boss/Cyclone]

Duraspark is generally very reliable and fairly easy to swap into that Comet. I am not sure of the volts, but I can tell you if you unbolt the duraspark box and the back side is mushy, or has bubbles, or looks burnt that it may be bad. I have had to change one a couple times, odds are it is the original and over 30 years old. As for swapping that drivetrain into your car you will need to modify or replace the timing chain cover to get one with a dipstick, get a front sump oilpan and pickup, some motor mounts and a special tranny crossmember that RCMike just used available at a couple places. Then some exhaust manifolds or headers, maybe an 8 inch rear end out of a Maverick or something. Good luck.

Oh yeah, on the back of the heads where the thermactor tubes connect, those holes are threaded. I usually chase them with a tap, go grab a couple bolts from the hardware store and block them off. If I remember right they are 7/16 bolts and I had to shorten the ones from the hardware store.

[ZRXwannabe]

Thanks for the info Boss. I did a lot of lurking here and realize it's not a direct swap. I hope to at the least put a 4 brl carp and a cam in the engine first. Maybe some different heads also. Sadly my mother-in-law has to control the money for this project so I have to convince her of expenses. There was an extra box in the back of the car but I can't tell if the one in the car has been changed or not. The screws holding it on don't look like they have been wrenched on but hard to say for sure. I had my eye on a rough looking maverick with a straight axle up front and a nine inch in the back but he wanted way to much for it just for the rear end.

[RCMike]

Any particular parts you are looking for, I will try to help..

Some great info here! A lot of these guys have been there and done that..

Mine was a little easier because it was v8 to v8, but it should not be too bad..

[ZRXwannabe]

Any particular parts you are looking for, I will try to help..

Some great info here! A lot of these guys have been there and done that..

Mine was a little easier because it was v8 to v8, but it should not be too bad..

Yep I can certainly see I'm not the first to try this. Thats a good thing. Eventually I will be looking for a 4bbl intake and carb. Preferably aluminum. A cam also but will probably go new on that. Maybe a set of heads. I also have a lot of friends around here who race and have access to parts. One has an 8 second 1/4 mile mustang. I certainly will need the motor and frame mounts. There are two new mounts in the back seat of the car I need to track the part # on. Iread else where on this site that the stock tranny mount will work if the insulator on the trany has 4 bolt holes instead of just 2. We'll get to tahat later. It may be a couple months befor i actually get started.

[comethead]

Im not sure...maybe someone else knows. But did the 62-63 factory 6 cylinder cars have a different battery apron than the 63 V8 cars? I remember seeing a car at the Merc show that was converted and the battery was VERY close to the engine accessories.

Joe

[Boss/Cyclone]

Any particular parts you are looking for, I will try to help..

Some great info here! A lot of these guys have been there and done that..

Mine was a little easier because it was v8 to v8, but it should not be too bad..

Yep I can certainly see I'm not the first to try this. Thats a good thing. Eventually I will be looking for a 4bbl intake and carb. Preferably aluminum. A cam also but will probably go new on that. Maybe a set of heads. I also have a lot of friends around here who race and have access to parts. One has an 8 second 1/4 mile mustang. I certainly will need the motor and frame mounts. There are two new mounts in the back seat of the car I need to track the part # on. Iread else where on this site that the stock tranny mount will work if the insulator on the trany has 4 bolt holes instead of just 2. We'll get to tahat later. It may be a couple months befor i actually get started.

I have some cast iron GT40's (not explorer take offs) and a nice motorsports cam I can make a deal on for you. Also, I am within driving distance so no shipping.

[RCMike]

You are correct Joe..

The battery needed to move to clear the alternator.

Mike

[ZRXwannabe]

Im not sure...maybe someone else knows. But did the 62-63 factory 6 cylinder cars have a different battery apron than the 63 V8 cars? I remember seeing a car at the Merc show that was converted and the battery was VERY close to the engine accessories.

Joe

I was looking at that the other day and thought the sam thing.

[comethead]

Im not sure...maybe someone else knows. But did the 62-63 factory 6 cylinder cars have a different battery apron than the 63 V8 cars? I remember seeing a car at the Merc show that was converted and the battery was VERY close to the engine accessories.

Joe

I was looking at that the other day and thought the sam thing.

I guess an option would be to put the battery in the trunk, or replace the apron with a V8 type apron.

Joe

[ZRXwannabe]

Im not sure...maybe someone else knows. But did the 62-63 factory 6 cylinder cars have a different battery apron than the 63 V8 cars? I remember seeing a car at the Merc show that was converted and the battery was VERY close to the engine accessories.

Joe

I was looking at that the other day and thought the sam thing.

I guess an option would be to put the battery in the trunk, or replace the apron with a V8 type apron.

Joe

I'll probally address this problem when I get there. I was wondering if I try to use the generator instead of converting to alt. If I would still have that problem. Trying to do this as cheeply as possible. As I said above it's the father in laws car and the mother in law controls the cash flow.

[ZRXwannabe]

Another thing I'm reading is that I have to change timming chain cover for the oil dipstick. Is this just a clearence problem with the dipstick going into the oil pan?

[Boss/Cyclone]

Another thing I'm reading is that I have to change timming chain cover for the oil dipstick. Is this just a clearence problem with the dipstick going into the oil pan?

I touched on that in my first response. It is for the dipstick to go into the pan. Fairmonts had the dipstick go into the side of the oil pan and that oil pan will not work in a Comet. You need a front sump oil pan, not a rear or dual hump pan that Fairmonts had.

[ZRXwannabe]

Another thing I'm reading is that I have to change timming chain cover for the oil dipstick. Is this just a clearence problem with the dipstick going into the oil pan?

I touched on that in my first response. It is for the dipstick to go into the pan. Fairmonts had the dipstick go into the side of the oil pan and that oil pan will not work in a Comet. You need a front sump oil pan, not a rear or dual hump pan that Fairmonts had.

Ah, got it. It's because you have to change the pan. Nothing really to do with the dipstick.