[mdhotrodder]

found a 63' fairlane 4-door with v8/ man. trans that runs.the price is cheap. i want to make a "moonshine hauler' tribute car out of it( im hoping to update front end with disc brakes. hd sway bar& shocks& maybe rack & pinion?. the rear end with heavier duty rear , poss. a 4-link & coil overs? & dirt track style fuel cell..the interior with hidden 4 pt cage & tied in to the front & rear of chassis for extra stiffness. i have read how the 64' thunderbolts were a "engineering project" to install the 427's in them. however with this being 2012, is there an easier way to get this big block into this intermediate car now a days?... im hoping if the answer is yes?..that by using alum. heads,water pump, racing mini starter, radiator, etc. to take weight off & make the car less "nose heavy", but however get easy hp & torque from a big block as opposed to using a stroker motor( trying to get 375-400 hp & 440- 460 ft lbs with as little machine shop/ custom eng. shop work a s possible.also even though im trying to use modern componets, this eng. is period correct for the time frame of haulers i want to replicate( late 50's early 60's) is this possible?..or should i be looking at 351,347 stroker motors?...any help/advice on the eng swap or suspension mods are greatly appreciated!!!!

 

[Jetfixr320]

Crites Restorations sells a kit with templates for cutting the shocktowers, and filler plates.
Or you could make your own, several people on the Forumn have posted pictures of their installs.

With the amount of power that can be made with a Small Block, I wouldn't go Big Block. Just my opinion though.

I'm not sure on going Rack & pinion, who makes a kit?

Welcome to th Forumn.

Jet

 

[mtnmotorrider]

427 Windsor stroker motor, that's where I'm goin'.

 

[mdhotrodder]

i found out dearborn classics makes a mustang 2 kit front end kit that will give me disc brakes, hd sway bar & rack & pinion steering & is "supposed" to give me more room to install a big block , thanks for the info jetfixr!..again..trying to go with b.block so to have less money in motor..most stroker small blocks seem to be going for 5,000$ or higher..way out of the budget!!, where i have found a couple 390 crate motors with 410 hp, 458 ft lbs for 3,800$ to 4,000 $..some of those with the alum. heads , etc. already installed...anyway,..thanks again for help!.. not sure on the rear end set up, also is there a t-5 conversion kit out there, that anyone knows about?