early tranny questions(63Falcon)

[latamud]

I picked up a 63 Falcon wagon recently, has a 260 and 2 speed automatic, 2.70 rear gear. I am getting crappy gas mileage in toen because it shifts into 2nd at 45 mph. Most streets in town are 30-40 mph. I cruise at high rpms. I waas thinging of swapping in a c4 to make it more economical. My question is, can I use the 2speed bellhousing with a later year c4 tranny? I know the earlier engine blocks were 5 bolt vs. 6 bolt. So I'm thinking if I keek the 5 bolt bell the c4 might bolt up to it. I know not to just unbolt the bell from an auto tranny. Any tips, ideas, advice would be apreciated. And the ocassional funny guy. Thanks in advance.

 

[rbohm]

as far as i know the 2 spd tranny bell will not bolt to a C4. your best bet would be to find a 289 or 302 witha 6 bolt bell and swap in that motor along with a C4 or AOD tranny in place of the old 2spd and 260. that is unless you really want to keep the 260.

 

[latamud]

as far as i know the 2 spd tranny bell will not bolt to a C4. your best bet would be to find a 289 or 302 witha 6 bolt bell and swap in that motor along with a C4 or AOD tranny in place of the old 2spd and 260. that is unless you really want to keep the 260.

I was afraid of that.

 

[D.Hearne]

Or swap in something like 3.50's in the rear to let the transmission upshift at a lower speed. With a car like that, it's hard for me to imagine you'd be concerned about the mileage, unless you're using it as a daily driver.

 

[latamud]

I am getting 18 mpg in the Stang with a 351w, 5 speed and 3.50 rear gear. But I recently moved to Ohio where they salt the roads in the winter. I bought the falcon hoping for more economy, but its getting around 10mpg on a 2bbl carb because of the 2 speed auto. The car is a daily driver.

 

[D.Hearne]

Like I said, swap the rear gear to something steeper to let the trans upshift to take advantage of it's higher 2nd gear. Or maybe try some shorter rear tires, like some 60 series 14's ( might benefit from the extra traction too when the snow flies)