EIGHT BALL

Before fitting a V8 motor to an early Falcon there are a number of fundamental things to take into consideration. The first and most important is, if it will go faster it must be able to stop quicker and the second thing is will you be able to licence it for the road when it’s finished. It goes without saying if the car can’t meet the first criteria it certainly will not meet the second. There are different laws in each State regarding the modification of vehicles, so before you do anything at all check about what is required. In some cases they will want to see and do tests on the vehicle before it is altered. While other States require an engineers certificate to show the work conforms to ADR standards, some will not even allow V8 motors in XK or XL models. The brakes will have to be upgraded and the most convenient way to do this is to fit the 11", 5 stud vented front disc bakes from a XW or XY. Salvage the complete hub and stub axles from the donor car. These will bolt in to the early Falcon at the top and bottom balljoints without any problems, unlike the steering track-rod balljoints which will not be the right size for the holes in the new units. However reducing shims are available to slip over the tapered shaft of the old track-rod balljoints. Caution; there are 3 combinations of shafts and holes. Early XW is one size hole and XY and late XW another and finally XK, XL have thinner shafts than XM XP. The other modification is to shorten the threaded track-rod adjusters, the originals will be too long to obtain the correct toe-out. 40mm will have to be removed from the middle of the adjusters and then professionally welded back together. Once the stub axles are fitted the turning circle will be slightly wider, to partially overcome this problem remove and grind back, so as to shorten, the steering end-stops. These end-stops are bolted between the lower control arms and the forward stabiliser bars. Caution; even with the steering stops ground back the turning circle will not be as good as it was with the old stub axles. Someone is making early Falcon stub axles that will take the rotors from the XW-XY but they are also 50mm lower than standard. The brake system also has to be booster assisted, see Restoration Hint Pedal Power Along with the bigger engine will come more power and the little back axle will not be able to cope for long. Having fitted the 5 stud discs to the front it will make sense to have 5 studs on the rear. As the early Falcon vans and utes were fitted with 5 stud hubs, unlike the cars that had 4 studs, one could be tempted to leave well alone, but don’t. The 4.01 : 1 diffs are far too lower ratio for the C4 and Windsor V8 motor. The standard ratio for this combination is 2.92 : 1 and even that is still low, the best diff is the 2.77 : 1 if you can find one, or better still something from a 1960s Fairlane 500 and even harder to find. The common answer is to use the complete rear axle from the 6 cylinder Chrysler Centura with the torsion bar suspension mounts removed and replaced with the Falcon leaf spring mounts. If this is the chosen option make sure the mounts are welded on horizontally when the front of the diff is pointing slightly up to the rear of the C4. The line of the prop shaft. Drill and replace the wheel studs, the Ford ones are thicker than the Chrysler and if fitting steel wheels they will have to be 14" Valiant ones as the centre hole in the Ford XW-XY wheels will not fit the Chrysler hubs. If you intend to fit custom wheels let your dealer know the setup.

The fuel tank in the early Falcon will not give very much range with the larger motor and it is worth while fitting an extra one in the ute or van. These can be obtained from the XR -XY ute, the fuel outlet is on the opposite side of the tank to the early Falcon, so it can be place under the floor behind the driver in the early Falcon. While the tank from the XR- XY sedan will fit in the XK - XP sedan or coupe left with some major cutting to the floor of the boot and a relocation of the filler spout in the tank. An added bonus will be that there is an indentation for the spare wheel. see Restoration Hint Tanked Up.

Before the engine, gearbox and prop-shaft are fitted, and if the standard cast-iron exhaust manifolds are to be used, the automatic choke sender unit housing needs to be ground off the right hand manifold or it will foul on the steering box. No other modifications are needed to the motor or gearbox except ensuring the spacer between the water-pump pulley and the fan is the shortest available without the fan-blade hitting the motor. The radiator support panel will require some modification to house the larger radiator of which there are a number to choose from. A triple core from ZB Fairlane shortened in height by 50mm is a good one. Try to keep the cutting of the support panel to a minimum. Electrics and linkages are reasonably straight forward. With the electrics it just a matter of extending or shortening the wires to the dizzy, neutral/park switch, water temp sender and alternator. If you are also changing from a generator to an alternator see Restoration Hint Alternate Generator. Throttle linkage can be a tough one but the easy way out here is to install a cable linkage from the carby to the pedal with some type of solid arm to the C4 kick-down release. Hint: Get the kick-down linkage working while the motor and gearbox are out of the vehicle. The Ford hand brake cable will fit the Centura set-up but if some other rear axle is used this area may need attention.

The Gear Shift linkage likewise can be troublesome if a floor shift is required but a column shift is reasonably straight foward when using the same set-up as the standard C4. It is just a matter of fixing a small bracket to the right box section or even simpler drilling a 10mm hole in it to take the remote C4 shifter arm. From there use the existing early Falcon set-up back to inside the cab. Left; the C4 shifter arm bracket on the right box section.

Fitting a floor shift will require a lot of cutting of the gearbox tunnel and the shift will foul a bench seat. Caution; The tunnel on XK, XL and many of the XMs is a lot smaller than on an XP. The speedo cable will need to be extended but the ratio from the C4, when using the Centura diff, will suite the original speedo. There will however be a slight under statement of speed due to bigger road wheels but not worth bothering about.

If the original springs are in good condition no modifications are required to the suspension but make sure you have some really good shock absorbers fitted. The fuel line will need to be extended. This is best done outside the engine bay. Right; Original Springs, Bilstine Shockies and the fuel line.

The engine and gearbox mounts and mounting brackets need to be acquired and fitted. The C4 bracket and the two front engine brackets are both made commercially. While the strengthening bar, that was fitted as standard under the motor and between the two front mounts on the XK and XL, is required for strength in vehicles running V8 motors. This bar may require a notch to be cut from it to allow the V8 engine mounts to sit correctly above it. Left; mounting bracket and strengthening bar.

The location of the two strengthening sections that run from the firewall to the tops of the suspension towers make it fairly awkward to lower the motor and gearbox into position. Sometimes these strengthening sections are replaced with a single removable section, or the top of the radiator support panel is made removable, but both options are unnecessary and will weaken the body. The best way to install the motor and gearbox is to place the them in a pit, and with the steering tie-rod removed, pull the motor and gearbox up into the engine bay using a block and tackle from above. If a pit or hoist are unavailable get the front wheels of the vehicle up on ramps so the motor and gearbox can be entered at a more vertical angle without the gearbox fouling on the ground. Hint; Digging a shallow ditch in the backyard for the motor and pushing the car over is still a better option. Finally measure the distance between the universal joint on the diff to the one on the back of the gearbox and get the prop shaft professionally altered and balanced. Despite its appearance the prop-shaft is not just a piece of 2 inch water pipe, it is a precession instrument revolving at very high speed. It must be balanced. There are many other ways of doing the V8 transplant but involve the use of professional equipment or harder to find parts. © BigH 2000 If you have any doubts about your abilities to complete the work safely, especially on the brakes and steering, get the job done professionally.

DISCLAIMER While this method has been tried and works, NO responsibility will be excepted by the Author, the Club or any of its Members.