straight six swap

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rd said:
Having busted my chops to put a 5.0 in a straight six car, I have the following observations:

It is best done with the straight six crossmember, and a Fairmont unit should work.

You need the six cyl. bellhousing for the trans, the bolt pattern is different than either the 4 or v8. C4 and C5's are commonly availalble.

The throttle linkage, fan shroud, etc are also 6 specific.

If you find a donor car, which should be easy, it could be simply done.

Not sure why, but I dont understand 89 Caprices with 24 in wheels, either.

Not that it matters because his 66 170 motor wont have one, but in 81-82 Ford released a E1BB 200 I6 with 4/6 of a 302 bellhousing. You can bolt up a 302 bellhousing but you have to drill 2 more bolt holes to be able to bolt up all 6 bolt holes. Then IIRC you can use a 300 I6 flywheel, a 302 clutch, I dont remember which pilot bearing, and then you can bolt up a T5 to the 200 I6.
 
Good info there about the bell housing. I will go to the shed and measure that sucker again against a 302 block plate. I thought I had done that, and it was different.

Also, if it was a C5 bell housing, wouldn't it be deeper than a C4?

I ran into someone Friday that put in a C4 from an 86 something, (supposedly) and they had noise but no trans engagement.....