New 57 Ford Project Should we go big block or small block? Pics added

We are picking up a new project this weekend. Its a 57 Ford Fairlane. two door sedan. It will be a cruiser for my wife and occasionally she will let me drive it. I have two engine options. I can de-tune my old 11 second 466 out of the race car or I have an 87 Mustang fuel injected motor. Which one should I go with? Anyone have experience with a big block in a 57 as a driver?.

Put the new 5.0 engine. Street mannered and 500hp to boot

Ace

powerstrokeace wrote:Put the new 5.0 engine. Street mannered and 500hp to boot

Ace

x2

That might be out of the budget for this project. I really would like to stick in the 460 but the practical side of me is saying 302.

I would use the 302 and keep it fuel injected. good torque, good mileage, lots of drivability, cheap parts

I have a 56 that I put a 5.0l in, AFR heads, hyd roller cam and carb. It runs like a raped ape but it has not bottom end. These cars are lighter then people think because they have no safety crap in them. Book value on my 56 is 3200#. The 57 is a slightly larger car however. I am swapping in a 460 in mine. I wanted to do a new 5.0 but by the time you buy the motor, wiring , & transmission it is darn right expensive. Maybe one day but for now it is getting a 460.

For having lots of room and great accessory part selection, I like the small block.
But.....I feel that a good 460 would be the best choice, considering the weight of the car.
A prior owner of my 58 had put a real hot 289 in it back in the early 1970s. It was a fast engine in a Mustang, but was a turd in the 58....probably due to a lack of torque.
Keith

460 would be great.

I was just thinking about my 57 Ford Fairlane convertable with a 312 runs pretty darn good. Very street friendly.

My 59 Fairlane has a 390/4spd from a 68 Cougar in it! It does pretty good for now, would like to put a straight axle under the front!

It depends on what your desires are ? The 460 will make it move ,but the 5.0 will get twice the fuel mileage.If was me, if i wanted a boulavard brusier and part time race car ,I'd go 460,if I was going to cruise the highways and wanted a little peformance and sound I'd go with the 5.0. A 5.0 with flowmaster is a sweet sounding machine.You can't go wrong either way

The 302 I have has GT-40P heads, Trick flow intake, mass air, throttle body, roller rockers, B-303 cam, etc. Its no slouch but you guys are right about the torque. It doesn't starting pulling until above 3000 rpm. Not a problem with a 5 speed and 3.73 gears but with a C-4 or AOD I think it would be a dog down low. It will get around 20 mpg on the highway with the T-5. I have all of the accessories and front dress so installation would be a lot easier. The 302's idle with the B-303 and flowmasters is pretty bad ass. The 460 has ported doves, stealth intake, KB pistons, crower solid flat tappet cam. I'd probably need to decrease the compression and maybe switch to a hydraulic cam. I've never had a car that I could do a "frame-off" restoration on and I don't know a lot about these cars yet so I'm looking forward to the project.

double post

My 57 2dr sd was 3770 with a 406 in it. Then I gutted it and put a straight axle in it and moved the read wheels forward 20" and it was 3020.

Id do the 460 or better yet stick a Cammer in it problem solved

Realy tho just put a 428 cj in it lots of trk. and get better gas milage to.

A little tech if you go that way..

Here

and

Here

Worthit

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