A dime or a big dollar rocket?

[Robert Swartz]

Originally Posted by BLIND MULE

I don't know much about the rules but if I changed it to a 302 would another year block pass if the heads were right or can it be done like that? Yea the Fairmonts are kinda neat I have 2 one is completley original and it also has a vinyl top! They have more over hang than a Mustang which should help also? Wish I could use a 289 I have a complete 66 engine?

Thanks!

Yes, you can change the block. Heads and intake must be the correct year. On the carb, check the NHRA blueprint specs. There may be legal replacements for the factory unit.

Loved the old 289's. Had my share of them. The crown jewel was my D/MP motor. Tunnel ram, big roller, Crane heads, just built too weak a short block. The cast crank and steel rods just couldn't hack the 8000+ rpm shifts! Still have the crank with an attached piece of a rod out in the barn.

[Rory McNeil]

Originally Posted by ALMACK

I am looking into the '78 Fairmont 302 2 bbl (139hp) combo for U/SA.
Looks promising.


I had a '79 Fairmont 2 door with the original 200 six but it had the V-8 /2.3 k-member, so I think the oddball 200 six x-members came out in 1980-1981 or so. Not sure tho.

Cool cars and they be gotten down light because they came from the factory with thin glass and sheet metal as well as aluminum bumpers.

Although the Fairmonts with 302 and 255 V8s used the same K Member, all the 3.3L 200 cube inline 6 cylinder cars used a K Member unique to the 6 cylinder. The brackets for the motor mounts on the 6 cyl. K member were much longer, and located further foreward. Not a big deal, as swapping K members is only 8 bolts worth of work. Years ago, I wanted to build a Fairmont for Stock with a 302 and 4 speed, mainly because I had several of the cars, but at that time NHRA had the 302 2 barrel engine rated at 200 HP, which at the time was only 5 HP less than the hyd. roller cammed, 4 barrel 302 engine used in the 85 Mustangs, so I built my Mustang for M/S. My 78 Fairmont sedan bracket car was bought as a 4 cyl 4 speed used car trade in, that I bought in 1986. It was a bare bones no option plain janer, and when I first bought it, it weighed 2680 lbs, with 1/4 tank of gas and the spare tire in place. The Fairmont was Fords first model that was designed around gas mileage and lightweight , and was the base the popular 79-93 Mustang was based on.Over the years, the Fairmont was offered with NA and Turbo versions of the 2.3L 4 cyl, 200 cube 6cyl, and 302 and 255 ci V8s.The V8s were all 2 barrels, but the FOX platform works pretty good, has huge aftermarket support, and are cheap to buy, although nice Fairmont 2 doors and even Mustangs are getting harder to find these days.

[ALMACK]

Rory:

That '79 Fairmont I had must have been an oddball because all the stories I had read about the 200 six having a special k-member worried me when it came time to do a swap.
I had 460 Fox swap mounts and a rear sump oil pan and the ol' 460 slid right in there on the stock k-member.

I know no-one had messed with that k-member because the car was all original when I got it. I paid 50 bucks for it in 1998 and drove it home.

Pic of it as a bracket car with a 460/C-6 8.8 combo.
I bought that car 3 times, hence the Boomerang name. (it kept coming back)

[ALMACK]

Originally Posted by BLIND MULE

I don't know much about the rules but if I changed it to a 302 would another year block pass if the heads were right or can it be done like that? Yea the Fairmonts are kinda neat I have 2 one is completley original and it also has a vinyl top! They have more over hang than a Mustang which should help also? Wish I could use a 289 I have a complete 66 engine?

Thanks!

Yes, the Fairmont/Zephyr models had a large trunk and lots of overhang.
I know where there is a nice looking (in the pics) '78 Zephyr Z-7 with the 2.3 auto with cold air for $2,500. Appears to be all original except for the 15 in. whhels.

If I didn't already have 10 vehicles, I would have already bought it.

Never had one of those sport 2 doors

[Joe Toller]

Overhang? How about a wagon?

[goinbroke2]

Almack, your 79 fairmont with the 460, what was done to it and how did it run? I've got a couple 460's here (and c-6's) that I could drop in the mustang, just curious how it ran compared to what you did to it.
For me it's a toss up...no scratch that, I've got the heads/intake and carb to build a 302 crate motor which is what I'm slowly doing, but for bracket racing it's so tempting to drop in a 460. Any heating problems when going rounds? (not that would be my problem LOL!!)