Rebuilding a 170 possibly 200 (first time)

I just bought a Falcon and the 170 inside of it runs rough, I am not sure what it exactly needs but once the car gets here I should know. I am also getting a fresh-ish 170 that was rebuilt and has 10k miles on it. I think in the short term, I will swap the motors out so I can at least drive the car while I star the build on the other motor.

So I would like to solicit any advice and resources when it comes to rebuilding a these small block motors. I have never done something like this before so it seems daunting. Here are a bunch of questions I have and any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. Are there any videos that go through rebuilding these types of motors? I am of course going to scour youtube but I Was curious if there were that takes you from A to Z.
2. Any reading materials? I know Falconparts has a highly recommended book, so I am going to pick that up.
3. Can a 200 be a direct drop-in? It'd be going into a '63 Futura.
4. What sort of upgrades should I do to prevent common problems with the 170/200 motor? I am going for gas mileage friendly with this motor but also reliability.
5. Are there any other upgrades in the engine bay that you would recommend which would make the car more reliable?

so.many.questions. I could rattle on for a while but I will cap it off there. Thanks for all the help! Glad to be on the forum reading all of your helpful posts.

Hi, is the Falcon automatic or 3 speed?
Watch the Echo videos linked on this page.
Get the Ford Falcon Performance Handbook from Vintage Inline.
Before you condemn the engine in the car I would do a compression test. I've seen plenty of engines that ran poorly but just needed a good time up to run great again.
There are no real "common problems", just some differences in the engines as they evolved. You can learn a lot about the engine family and the transmissions that go with them from the Ford Falcon Performance Handbook.
You can build a very reliable stock engine, or tweak it up a little with some later parts, or go hot rod wild if you like.
Good luck

Most years of 200 engines (up to about1977) will be a direct bolt in for the 144 or 170 Inline Six engines. Even the later model 200 engines used in the Fox chassis cars 1978 to 1982 can fit but the oil pan and oil pickup tube will need to be swaped over to the ones that are on your 170. The exception is the big bell 200 blocks 1981 & 1982 used in some Fairmont's and other Fox chassis Fords these won't fit as easy in the earlier Falcon chassis.

These engines are very easy to work on with only a minimum of basic hand tools needed, See below links for more info. In the first link is for a very low budget overhaul on an early 1962 144 six basicly the same as your 170 six. He was a first timer except for some motorcycle experience and our site members were able to talk him through the steps of rebuilding that long neglected 144 six it had been parked unused for many years, now it's back runing and driving around again. Second link is for a mild performance build of a 200 six and the videos cover the engine build in great detail, with the exception of the cam used, headers, 3 X 1V carb's and a few other small parts it's a stock rebuild. The third link goes into more detail on the small six block deference'es. Hope it is of some help to you and best of luck on your 1963 Falcon.

Low Budget 144 Overhaul
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=80834

Mild Performance 200 Build
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=77528

Small Six Block Details
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=80022

b ron co is right. the 170 is a simple engine to deal with, the proverbial giant jigsaw puzzle when torn apart. one thing to be careful of with these engines is, in 1964 as a running change, ford changed the distributor shaft, along with the oil pump driveshaft, to run a 5/16" oil pump driveshaft over the older 1/4" driveshaft. ask me how i know

as such the later distributor will not interchange without a couple of minor changes to the older block. the distributor guide boss need to be opened up, or the distributor shaft needs to be machined down, to fit. and you need to change to a 5/16" oil pump driveshaft and corresponding oil pump. or you need to find an aussie distributor that is already set up for the smaller guide boss, but you still need to use the 5/16" oil pump driveshaft and oil pump. again i already know this because i have one that i plan on using when i rebuild my 170.

step 1: ID what U have (could B 1 of 6 'ThriftPower" i6 motors).
"the Handbook": vintage inlines.com, its predicessor assisted in evolving this site decades ago:
https://www.vintageinlines.com/product- ... e-handbook
COMPONENT by component (as after 1/2 a century anything could B swaped out).
as seen on our 'tech archive':
app.php/page/archives

2nd step: read these things to understand what the vehicle is capable of.
Go frm there w/a plan, budget, machinest (if using), etc, etc...
Do Not vary frm the plan in mid stream (that is Y the good, through research).

If wrkin da motor make sure to take measurements during dissasembly so as to guide prts/machining selection.
Simple 4* advance of ign will pep'er up - for some THAT;s enuff!
Others swap in the '77+ ignit and get lots of bank for the buck & R done w/non- LOM/SCV carb (possible w/a '64 + block as said above...back to "Step 1" - ID.