My grand father had a 1958 Ford Failane that he bought new. My oldest brother bought it from him in 1978 and now he is considering selling it. I would like to buy it for sentimental reason and because it is cool. It is a 2 doorpost car with a 6cyl. engine. I would like to put a 292 Y block in it. Would this be sacrilegious seeing that it is all original with about 35K on the odometer? I know that the car isn't highly sought after as far as a classic. How difficult would the swap be? It has a 3 on the tree which I would image would have to be changed over to a 4 on the floor. Did they come with this set-up?

I don't leave anything stock, but a one family 35k car might make me reconsider. How about an o/d trans and some hop up parts? Three deuces, a set of headers, 3 on the tree, be pretty neat. And the only one around.

I'm sure someone here can tell you about the swap, but I don't know.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Thanks Mike. I'm kinda on the fence on this one

Keep the 6 but add a turbo.



Lawrenceville, GA

I'd drive it a while just to experience the 6 cylinder.  Nothing wrong with the 223.   And the 3 speed is also something a younger person would be special to have mastered.  Not too many "kids" even know how they work.If you decide to change it you will at least know what the before was like.  If you keep the old parts it could always be put back.

Thanks for the input Meandean. I have driven it over the years and it's not too bad. You have to come to a complete stop before putting it back into first otherwise you grind the gears. I don't know how old you are but thanks for the kid comment, I'm 48 years old. I will cruise around with the 6 in it for a while and see how it goes. My first car was a 1966 Ford Custom 289 with a three on the tree, I don't know if a youngster like me could remember back that far.

Good choice on keeping it mostly original.  A few hot rod parts for the 223 and maybe somebody here knows of a bolt in full synco 3 speed.  My neighbor has a 58 Scrub Delray with the original 6 and 3 speed, He gets more approving looks at shows than the v8 cars.

If it were mine I would pull the 6 and trans and install a mild 292-312 with a late model 5 speed. Stash the original parts for future reference. My first y-block was a '58 4 door custom 292 with about 50,000 miles on it back in '63. I would love to have your '58 now.

Keep the 6 cyl, I had a 58 Custom 300 2 door with a 6 great car , parts are dirt cheap and easy to work on. 35,000 original miles, clean the car up and enjoy it.

double declutch  maybe
stu