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[gumby]

i recently purchased a 79 town landau; 302 w/ t-tops. how rare are the t-top cars?
also i am preparing to swap a 400M from my totaled 77 ranchero into the 'bird.
i noticed that ford did not offer the 400M in 79 only 77-78. were there any changes in the engine bay from 77 to 79?
thanks for any info!

gumby

 

[hotrodbird]

Hi Gumby,

Your 400 will drop right in, just change the motor mounts. The 1977-79 Thunderbirds are all the same under the hood, except for the mounting location of the cruise control module.
I put a 400 in my '78 after I did a few modifications and it runs very well.
460's will drop in with no trouble too but they're almost 200 pounds heavier than the 400, I'm currently working on a 460 to replace my 400 and it will be interesting to see how the 302 springs handle the extra wieght.

 

[gumby]

thanks for the reply.
i was wonderin the same thing about the springs. how did your 400 sit on the 302 springs?
i had the same plan for mine later down the road. i figured i would go ahead and put this motor in since it will slide right in, and then i could build a 500+ cu. in. 460 for it later. and already have the correct tranny installed since the 400 uses the 460 bellhousing pattern.

gumby