Hi, we have 1941 1/2 ton we are restoring and we have an 85 Mustang gt. The plan all along was to take the 302 out of the old rusty mustang and stick it into the truck. We went to a car show and swap meet and ran across a 40 ford pickup with a 302 and we noticed that it would not fit without cutting the firewall back which we would rather not do. We also noticed that you could eliminate some space by moving the fan back a little. If you guys have any suggestions please post them. thankyou
I think your frame is the same as my '36. I placed the 5.0 in my truck...and like you I would have to go quite a ways into the firewall...even just geeting the engine far enough back to clear my radiator, it leaves the front sump sitting above the crossmember...and puts the crank ceterline about 5 inches (min) above the frame rails.
I opted for a Heidts IFS setup to take advantage of the lower front crossmember the IFS uses, I'll still have to trim the firewall, but since the engine will be lower, it won't be as much hacking.
You can't lower the front crossmember with the traverse spring setup, or it starts raising the front of the truck.
You could also switch to a parallel leaf setup and make a new front crossmember.
Hey, thanks for the tip. We would like to put a Ford in a Ford but really dont want to cut into the firewall or add independent suspension. We have a old chevy van that has a 350 and its looking more like thats what were going to go with since it will just drop right in and we wont have to chop any thing up. Thanks
That was my next suggestion I pulled a 265 from the '36...fit like it was made for it, in favor of going Ford in a Ford...already has cost me 2250.00 for that particular privlege to have to run the IFS...there are less expensive IFS ways to go though.
SBC conversions are cheap and easy, no question. But Ford in a Ford is the only way to go IMHO. So many rods have SBCs that it is boring as hell. Not much to it and anyone can do it.
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1946 1/2 ton with 305 cu in Y-block
1990 Ranger 4WD
Re: The SBC...I totally agree, and I'm a Chevy-guy, I went to a GoodGuys swap/show last summer before I started to get serious abuot my '36, and every Fod rod I saw had a SBC in it, it was pretty boring...it looked like everything was coming off an assembly line.
What got to me was these guys and gals had many mods done, but still went with the SBC.
The frame on a 30s or 40s truck is going to need a lot of welding anyway to support the added power of an OHV V-8. Therefore in my mind a front suspension update should also be in order. Those transverse spring setups look like a mess.
A world class hot rod builder lives 3 miles up my road. He just completed a stunning Orange '49 Ford convertible. I was at his shop a year ago with the build 1/2 completed and gave a big smile and exclamation after seeing it had a 351 motor. He grimaced and groaned about it because they were used to building everything with an SBC crate motor.
Hot rods used to be about the engine. Chevies AND Fords were in hotrods. The 40-41 Ford truck is probably the nicest looking truck made by Ford or any manufacturer ever, but with an SBC under the hood it gets a ho hum from me.
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1946 1/2 ton with 305 cu in Y-block
1990 Ranger 4WD
I pulled a 265 from the '36...fit like it was made for it, in favor of going Ford in a Ford...already has cost me 2250.00 for that particular privlege to have to run the IFS...there are less expensive IFS ways to go though.
