i was wondering if anyone knows how much is invovled in putting a big block in a 65 comet. do i need a shock tower relocation kit. i really dont want to cut the car up but a friend said that i can cut out the inner fenders and put a mustang ll front end. i need info on headers for the same car, if i can use the 429 without cutting up the car to much.
Your 65 will need about all the same alterations the 70-77 Mav/Comet need. There is no room for the engine and exhaust without doing the changes. You possibly can cut the spring towers back far enough and plate them to make the job feasable. Exhaust will be a problem. Heavier front springs would be needed. Then there is the little matter of a transmission. The C6 is large and heavy. So you will need to a drive train that will take the torque that engine is able to produce. Brakes!! The weight of the engine is much higher than a 351. It would be better to bore and stroke a 351 to 393 or 408 and have the benifit of much lighter weight that makes up for the missing 20 cu/in.
i bought a complete 429 4 barrel motor with the origonal trans still bolted on, i only gave 250 for the whole set up.
Yes, Ken is right. The 429/460 engines weigh approximately 200 lbs more than a 351w, or about 250 lbs more than a 302. Then you have to consider the trans....the c6 weighs about 100 lbs more than a 3 speed standard, so if the falcon was a 3 speed 6 cylinder car, your new engine/trans would be about 400 lbs heavier than what it originally came with. The torque would definetly be worth the effort to make it fit, though!
I'm not picking on you but there is a wise old saying that goes like this, sometimes even when something is free it's not a bargin. In other words it is going to cost you a lot to put that motor in, to job completion in all supporting areas. I think you even need a 9" rear change. The supporting changes keeps relibility and problems of breakage to a min. It can be done, I wish you the best.
i have a 9 inch rear out of a 57 ford. so it should bolt right in. im checking to see if i can get the cal track leaf springs for the car
Hee Hee Hee..... I am not picking on you, but there must have been about 5 million '57 Fords made because everyone has a '9 rear out of a '57 Ford !! I know people who have gone around looking specifically for a '57 Ford rearend !! I think it's funny. As far as your 429, I believe that custon motor mounts or a front mounting plate would be needed. I agree with Ken. For what it would take to re-engineer the shock towers and the tranny housing to fit that monster in to the bay of one of these cars, not to mention a probable rebuild costs for it, you could build a 302 stroked to 331 or 347 that would run circles around it. The parts for a 302 are going to be much cheaper than those for a 385 series big block. That's what you have in a 429-the 385 series. Same design as the 460. I would stay with the 302 stuff unless you get a kick out of challenges and spending lotsa money. Just my .03 Seth
well.... Hate to step out of line here fellas, but I say go for it! Most of us have put such ridiculous amounts of time money and effort into our rigs that if we had realized how much work it was, there would not be so many ass kicking Mavericks in the world. Think of it this way. If you were strolling through the lot at a local car show or cruise in and saw a 429 powered '65 Comet done nicely wouldn't you stop and drool a bit? I would. I say make it happen, just don't plan on being the same age when it's done.
I also say go for it. Won't be cheap or easy, but it will be built the way YOU want it. Yes, I have tons of money and man-hours tied up in both of my Mavericks (especially the turbo car) but they're built the way I wanted them to be, not as everyone else built one. If I had my way, the turbo car would be a single-turbo junkyard built 460 putting out a little over 700 HP at the wheels (yes, its possible--a friend has a '73 F100 this way) just for a street bruiser. But, for now, the 302 will work fine
i found what im going to do, ROD AND CUSTOM MOTORSPORTS out of florence south carolina, has a complete tubular a-arm coilover kit. its everything from rotor to rotor is included, even a new flaming river manual rack. the kit is only $2500. it even comes with the plates to be welded in place of the shock towers after they have been cut out.
Go for it... ...I still think it is a lot of work for the average person. You didn't give any details about your experience or technical ability. If you are short there and have a limited toolbox, I would enlist the help of someone with experience before I tackled swapping out that front suspension system. That stuff has to be precise. I did see another Maverick in Carlisle where instead of cutting notches in the shock towers for clearance, the towers were cut at the fender wells and moved outward towards the fenders. This allowed a 427 FE to be lowered into the bay. Second one I have seen like that. Best of luck with your project. Seth
ive been doing body work and frame work for a little over 10 years now, i currently paint and do custom painting (flames and graphics) on harleys. all i was asking for was what i came up with, i know its going to take time to do it, my motto is "do you want it done right or do you want it done right now". i could care less if the car took me a year to do. i have the car just about completly striped to get ready to go get media blasted. the car should be ready for next years ford carlisle or maple grove.
I for one cant waite to see it. I've always liked the Mercurys. I actually wanted a Comet instead of my Sprint but it was $300 more. That was alot of money back in 72 for a kid only making about $85 a week.
I've seen this done in a maverick before, it was a stock 429 4v with a M2 front end and a fiberglass hood running low 12's in the 1/4 mile. I have, when I was much younger I put a 429SCJ into a 66 Fairlane and the only thing I had to do was remove some firewall (YEAH I KNOW) and it when right in. It did fit in between the shocks tower and I had headers on it, now how much different is a 66 fairlane and a 65 Comet? I don't know, but I'm sure it's not much. 66 Fairlane's came out with 390's and if that fits it shouldn't take much to make another big block work. The body style of your Comet is much closer to the Fairlane's of the same time frame then the later Mavericks. I also say DO IT MAN... and please post some pix's when you have them. My 02. Terry Gates AKA Bossmav
well I can say that the 65 comet/fairlane are a smaller car than the 66 version but like it has been said it can be done here is a picture of my maverick still in progress.......MII front end 460 engine......
