Hey guys. I'm new on here. My Father In-law has had his 53 F-100 for 30 years now. It is in need of some restoration. It runs and is in great shape, but we want to do a frame off restoration and install a 350 engine with a TH400 automatic. Does anyone have some good tips and good suggestion of where to get conversion kit/parts? Anything is helpful. Thanks

 

Hello and Welcome to FTE.

I guess since youare new here we will have to cut yousome slack for puttyng a @&ebby drive train in an Effie - maybe.

Actually there should be lots of info. And even moreso, there should be parts available at many of the rod parts supply places. Here's Bobbys list of Suppliers. Also, you may want to try our glorious search function here. It's located on the right hand side of the forum page about 4 inches down on your screen. Go right to the advanced search and see what you come up with.

I'm sure the one or two guys who have your drive train in their trucks will be along soon - and hopefully they'll post something!

Edit note: how about a nice 351W with an AOD?

 

Welcome to FTE. I have the same engine in my 53 but it is backed up with the turbo 350 transmission.As far motor mounts and transmission crossmembers, they are available from places like Mid-Fifty, No-Limit,CPP,Hot Rod's Classic Truck Parts, to name a few.You will probably also need to look into changing your rear end to a 9'' and get some street friendly gears.

 

I would never recommend a Chevy engine in a classic Ford truck but if you must then you will probably be happier with a 700R4 behind that 350. As Julie offered, a 302 or a 351W with an AOD is a sweet setup for these F100's.

 

I just used the CPP engine and tranny mounts (tubular crossmembers) for mine. If I had to do it over again I'd pay closer attention to the height of the engine/tranny. When we did mine we only really concerned ourselves with pinion angle and now the fan won't be centered in the radiator. Might be a big deal, might not.

I'm going to say that I was hoping the lower center of gravity would help it in the corners!

 

The fan location is not a problem that a fan shroud won't fix, if you do happen to have a temp issue. Chances are, you'll be fine, assuming everything is functioning properly. It's far more important to have the fan close enough to the rad to be efficient. And a low center of gravity is always a good thing.

 

The sbc in my 49 sits quite low relative to the radiator, I don't know how it will sit (if you mount it as low as possible to keep the center of gravity down) in the post bonus built trucks. In my case over 1/3 of the fan swept area would be below the bottom of the radiator. In that I wanted to retain an engine driven fan my solution was the Zips waterpump risor setup as I indicated in another thread. It raises the waterpump/fan centerline by 5 " for a sbc which put it dead center in the radiator . See my galley under "shroud".

 

49willard,
I'll check that out thanks, I looked at the Zips and the other one that's out there, too, but those look like they'd be too high. Like was said, I'm going to see if it's a problem first, then if that doesn't work, I picked up an old flathead fan that I might try to see if I can fit in there. I think mine's the same way, it looks like the bottom 1/3 of the fan is going to try to pull through the bottom tank. We'll see. Lots of little annoyances before that becomes my main problem, though...

Thanks.

 

Since the bottom of the radiator is the hotest part, pulling most of the air thru that section is not likely to be a problem. If it is, I'd suggest going to an electric fan mounted on the radiator over any mechanical (engine driven) fan. Much more efficient, compact, easily mounted, only runs when needed, can be set to continue running after engine is shut off to reduce chance of afterrun boil over, inexpensive (most salvage yards are full of them in various sizes and numbers), etc etc. What more can I say to convince you?

 

When selecting a tranny, first decide on how the truck will be used and assign % to each use. Next list the characteristics that are important (gas milege, ease of driving in traffic, racing quick shifts, towing ability, etc) and # each in order of importance. Third decide what if any engine mods you plan on making.
Is the engine carburated or EFI?
Research the various tranny options and narrow to those that will handle the engine output and have the characteristics that are most important to you, 2 speed, 3 speed, 4 speed, 3 speed with OD, 4 speed with OD.
The TH400 is an excellent HD 3 speed tranny, especially when built up with aftermarket parts, but is large, heavy, and lacks OD. It is pretty much considered old technology for the street, more suited for drag racing and pulling heavy loads.

 

Thanks for all the info. It will all be helpful.