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Pauly

460BB in ZA Fairlane

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Hi, I was wondering if anyone has undertaken an upgrade to a 460BB. I’ve got a stock 289 in my ZA Fairlane and am in two minds as to whether I keep it the way it is or throw a big block in it. I’ve heard that it can be a lot of work for no great outcome though. 

 

Paul. (Bendigo) VIC

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Hi mate, and welcome to the forums.  They do fit, they are tight, and changing sparkplugs can be tedious. Slip in 10:1 pistons and a lazy 400HP is yours, but, they are very heavy over the front wheels, so a race car might be out of the question. All up to you really. If money is no object, you can buy a Stroker Windsor around 408 cubes, and she'll pull a house off its stumps. Tim Meyer is making new Cleveland blocks, so are Arrow (I think).  Why do you want the extra size? Any pics of the ZA?  We love Fairlanes......B)

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Hi, I was wondering if anyone has undertaken an upgrade to a 460BB. I’ve got a stock 289 in my ZA Fairlane and am in two minds as to whether I keep it the way it is or throw a big block in it. I’ve heard that it can be a lot of work for no great outcome though.   

Paul. (Bendigo) VIC

 

The 429/460 engine slots in snugly into XA-onwards, which have wider bays than the ZB, which has the same width chassis as XR-XY. I don't think a "Lima" series engine will go easily into them. Might need a strut conversion and cutout plates.

 

EDIT: OK someone beat me to it... It is possible!

 

 

 

 

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Actually, Gerg you may be right...... I was thinking US Fairlanes came with a 428, so based my answer on that.  May have led you astray Pauly. Might need shock tower "adjustment"

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Actually, Gerg you may be right...... I was thinking US Fairlanes came with a 428, so based my answer on that.  May have led you astray Pauly. Might need shock tower "adjustment"
Yeah Bear I think I know what you're referring to. The Bill Bourke Special was a "factory" XW GT that was sent off to the States to have a 428 Cobra Jet installed with all the race goodies along with it.

It was especially built for the then CEO Bill Bourke, who was a bit of a rev-head. He's considered the father of the Falcon GT. One motoring journo recalls Bourke taking him for a spin, and fishtailing along the Hume Highway after doing a U-turn.

To look in the engine bay, you'd swear the 428 was meant to be there.

https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/the-story-of-the-ford-xw-falcon-428-cobra-jet-gt

As a side-note: the FE is smaller and lighter than the 429/460 series of engines. They're not that much bigger than a clevo.

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we put a boss 429 in a xb about 20 years ago and needed to chop the towers for the exhaust to fit,it can be done.
Boss 9s are a big lump though, heads are massive. How the hell did you come across that? Very fucking rare!

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It was a s engine or streetboss 429 fitted well in a genuine xb gt sedan we bought for 1500 bucks with no engine tango orange 
I wonder what its fate was. Never heard of nor seen that one.

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Hey guys,

 

Thanks all for all of the interesting information. The car is still in its original state and haven’t began doing it up yet. Here are some pics. Is it worth trying to send the original 289away to be worked or to buy an already done motor? 

I have pics but the site is telling me they are all too big

 😬😬😬😬

 

 

 

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You may have to open an account with Imgur or Flickr (Photo hosting sites, they're free.!) 

 

I love the little Windsors, short throw crank, lots of easy revs.  What do you want the engine to do??  Just a good rebuild, 10:1 compression and run it on 98, it'll give you years of fun and noise. She's a big, heavy car, so if you want fast..........lots more work. 

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15 hours ago, Pauly said:

Hey guys,

 

Thanks all for all of the interesting information. The car is still in its original state and haven’t began doing it up yet. Here are some pics. Is it worth trying to send the original 289away to be worked or to buy an already done motor? 

I have pics but the site is telling me they are all too big

 😬😬😬😬

 

 

 

personally i'd go for the 289 with some work done, or start with a later model 5 litre engine? if there's any advantage even doing that
 a big heavy lump of tow truck engine is just going to upset the balance and drink fuel.. and fill the engine bay so full it may be hard to keep cool?

 

depends what you do with it though.. i like the idea of a 289 in a ZB though, seems right

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if you decide to go a big block,just keep that nice 289w package all aside and dont chux anything out as stuff is getting hard to find and very pricey,those 289w scream their head off when throwing some coin at them,and light too,if it was me i would keep the block ,buy a 347 stroker kit,some afr or other alloy heads,nice carby and manifold,and rebuild the c4 you already have with a street stall converter and off ya go.

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if you decide to go a big block,just keep that nice 289w package all aside and dont chux anything out as stuff is getting hard to find and very pricey,those 289w scream their head off when throwing some coin at them,and light too,if it was me i would keep the block ,buy a 347 stroker kit,some afr or other alloy heads,nice carby and manifold,and rebuild the c4 you already have with a street stall converter and off ya go.

I think what you were meant to say was “sell the 289 to NZXD”...I’ve been wanting a 289 short block for some time.


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interesting note the boss 302 used a 289 length rod
Yeah I believe they were same as K-code 289. Probably just better QC on them. I seem to remember 3/8" bolts though.

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instead of thread jacking we will start a new one on windsors


That’s not a bad idea! The amount of different models get confusing. Even more so when you start venturing into aftermarket parts, ARP make 16 different types of cylinder head bolts!

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