ENGINE SWAPS
Small block Ford
When you realise just how simple this conversion is as well as how much benefit you gain, there’s not actually many reasons why not to do this swap. It’s very simple, offers a great improvement over the original straight six and it’s not too pricey either.
To make it as easy as possible you need to get hold of a front bowl sump to fit which then eliminates any problems with clearance issues. Once you’ve got the sump you ideally need some early type engine mounts, as these can then be added to the standard Zephyr crossmember with a little fabrication.
Finally there may be some small clearance issues on part of the bulkhead but this is simple enough to cure as it’s generally a minor issue. After that the engine bolts in and exhaust-wise there’s a couple of options to make your life easier. You can either get headers custom-made for the best fit or another way to start off and save some time and money is to use Mustang 2-style headers, but they do have to be slightly fettled to fit, as clearance can be an issue.
Again, for an easy life, cooling can be taken care of simply through a standard re-cored radiator which is man enough for the job in most cases and saves trouble with fittings. Finally, there’s the rest of the drive train left to think about.The most popular matching gearbox suited to the engine is the C4 Auto which is an easy addition.There are no floor or tunnel modifications required but you will need to either fabricate a new crossmember or drill the standard one to allow the fitment of the mounting rubbers. And there’s even a couple of dimples to mark out where needs to be drilled for these!