Engine swap

[Comatt]

Can anyone tell me the biggest cube Ford motor that will fit in a 65 comet without modifying engine bay or shock towers? Thanks

Matt

[Lou's Comet]

Biggest Ford engine to fit without any modifications or problems would probably be a 302. You could get a stroker or aftermarket engine up to 347 cubic inch or go to 363 with a Boss or aftermarket block..

The deck height of a 351 block is a inch higher, and will be more difficult to install.

Lou

[Comatt]

What kind of hp numbers can you assume out of a 302 or 347 with easy bolt on stuff?

[Comatt]

What kind of hp numbers can you assume out of a 302 or 347 with easy bolt on stuff? I would love to stuff a big block in there but I don’t know if I would want to cut the car up to do it. Thanks for the info

[poboyjo65]

with a big block you create a whole new set of problems with exhaust ,plug access & clearance all way around. it will be a big snowball of problems/changes. These engine bays are so small that even a 289 in there is cramped.
as for hp ,depends on how much you want to spend. but you need to beef up the car to handle a bunch of tq/hp especially for a vert & make it stop as good as it goes too if you haven't done so already. when I called eagle to ask about a stroker kit ,they said I would gain a lot more torque than hp. but you might look at someone like edelbrocks crate motors to get an idea of numbers,or youtube,lots of engine builders have dyno videos on there & usually tell what parts they used. having more torque is more fun on the street than hp, if you got enough traction!

[Lou's Comet]

What kind of hp numbers can you assume out of a 302 or 347 with easy bolt on stuff? I would love to stuff a big block in there but I don’t know if I would want to cut the car up to do it. Thanks for the info

I would think you could get 400hp out of a 347 stroker with aluminum heads. A big block would be as John said a lot more work,,,,a lot! What are goals with car?

Lou

[Comatt]

The car is mostly stock right now with an automatic. My goal would be to put a more reliable setup in the car with 400-500 hp with fuel injection. I would love to do a manual swap in the car as well. I want to keep a ford Powertrain. The car still has the bench seat in it so I think a 4 speed would be killer. I have no idea what all
This would cost but I really want to keep the nostalgia in the car so I don’t want to go super modern with the motor and trans but reliability would be a top priority.

[SASSY]

Cheap, fast, reliable can't happen.
Your saying you want to spend 10G.

[Joe Travers]

A decent set of heads w/ the right cam and induction can really wake up the 289!
Looser converter w/ a mild valve body mod and shorter gears, ready to rip.

Joe

[Comatt]

Joe, how much hp can you pull out of a 289?

[Joe Travers]

Shelby289 street engine was rated @ 306hp back in '65 w/ basically the same head you have now.
The Weber-equipped race engine was 345hp.

Joe

[sanderjs]

Didn't Ford put 390 FE motors in these things?

[Boss/Cyclone]

Didn't Ford put 390 FE motors in these things?

Not till 66, much bigger engine compartment than a 65.

[sanderjs]

I guess I read the wrong line on Wiki, not that it is the best source in the first place.

I was thinking Ford had put 427s in them for racing, apparently they made 50 cars like this, doesn't look like they cut the towers out either but I am sure everything is cramped. You would need to look into it more.

https://www.rmw.lv/car/en/comet-cyclone ... eight-1964

[DesertRat]

I have a Blueprint 347 stroker motor for my 65 Cyclone. They guarantee 430 HP and the dyno sheet with mine was 440 HP and the same for torque.
Even so I cut the shock towers to free up some room for the headers. One should have installed subframe connectors and lots of cooling to make the swap as well. Mine is getting a big block cooling system good for 500 HP as it will have AC ect ect.