Some of you have posted on my previous "Please, help me decide". I am leaning more towards the 1948 compared to the '59. I am still unsure if a 1948 (non 4x4) in MN is the best idea but I figure that if "they" did it back then I could do it now. My question is to see if any of you have really good pictures of an F.E. engine in a '48... I have found a few f-3's which I have been reading is quite different compared to the f-1. Im not to worried about doing modifications but it is something that I am getting rid of my current daily driver and going with the older truck. Most the people I know call me crazy but I know that with you guys here I have support by bringing at least one more truck back to the pavement. I know that they make crossmembers for the 59 model to fit the f.e. engine easily. I am not neccessarily looking for an easy project but I need something that isnt a "bolt-in" but isnt a full off frame resto. I need to convince my fiance that the '48 is a better selection. But if I am in the garage leaning on only one car for both of us to use till I have the truck done I will need to make sure that either it is a slightly (and I use that word lightly) again I do not want an easy project, I just can't have her saying I told you so again...
I dont have a problem if she is right, but like most of you will feel it cant be related to her being right about something that i did in my garage. So back to my question ( I get quite long winded) but if you have pictures, not really of "how-to" because no matter what every project is different, but if you have pictures of what their crossmembers looked like, what they did for the radiator mounting, or if you think that I am just plain dumb/crazy/ridicolus for putting an F.E. into a '48. I am not choosing my 428 because I want to feel like a "man" but more as I have it "laying around" from when I had a '68 LTD that I pulled it out of. I still am deciding trans options seeing as I have 2 C-6's laying here I was thinking of rebuilding and installing a manual valve body so I would have to "shift" it from gear to gear. But I do like having a regular standard in my vehicles its just that I dont have any trans that is a manual for a F.E. engine. Now I am open to other suggestions for engines that I should use instead of the F.E. but I am trying to keep it as "low-buck" at the beginning as I can, but I know that projects easily get out of hand, i.e. my rambler. But if the engine runs in the truck that I get I would drive it as it were for a few months until I aquire the necessary parts to complete the build (granted you always over look something). But I will leave you with that for now and send me what ever you have. I may be retarted and just cant find a cross-member/pictures of a F.E. in a '48, but I have tried looking around, and thanks again for finding any information/pictures...

 

Can't help you with pictures, but if you are going to use it for a daily driver think about putting an overdrive transmission in it. I believe I have seen some FE Mustangs with OD transmissions in them and put a Dana 60 with 3:54's (somewhere in that area) and you should have a nice cruiser.

Paul

 

I can get you pictures of what not to do when installing an FE. I bought a parts truck, simply because it had a title, that someone hacked an FE/C6 into. The frame is hacked, the firewall and floor is hacked, the trans crossmember is hacked. Even the hacking is hacked. It's just a difficult engine to make fit in that truck due to its extreme girth. If you want to be able to do an engine swap without breaking the bank, ripping your truck to shreads, and have something to actually drive, I'd highly recommend staying with the small block, preferably the 302, as that is proven to be able to literally drop right in.

 

Even the hacking is hacked. Wow, that's really bad!

Problem with the '48-52, is the frame is 32" wide. The 53-up is 34" wide. That extra two inches goes a long way. Look at any stock FE truck from, oh say, 1967-76, and see how tight it is in them. One former member put one in a '52 F1, and had to run his (her?) headers outside of the frame.

 

I have a 360 in my 52 F6. It isn't all that bad in the engine bay. Motor mounts are cootie-bobbed, but they used an adapter to mount the FE to the original trans so the rear mount is stock.

 

Years ago, I put an FE (390 w/tri-power) and a C6 into a '48 F1. To mount the engine, I cut a cross member w/factory engine mounts out of a '54 Ford car. The Y blocks and the FE's shared the same frame mounts for the engines. With the cross member out, I notched and plated the ends, then mounted it to the engine block, with factory engine mounts. Dropped the engine and trans into the truck. Once it was positioned correctly, bolted the notched cross member to the frame. I made a new transmission cross member, to hold the trans.

Custom headers were routed outside the frame rails. NO hacking of the fire wall or floor was needed. I used a mustang shifter for the trans.

Stock rear end held up for several years (even with many 1/4 mi. runs).

Not very good mileage, but lots of FUN.

 

Like what was said above it is a trade off. Yes, you already have the FE and would like to use it but what would the final cost to do it compared to finding a 302 w/overdrive transmission and putting that in. That is the real choice that you face. With enough money and time you can put anything into any vehicle so research the total cost of what you want to do before you start.

I am not one to dismiss the different, look at my truck, but you need to do it the smart way.

jim

 

One other thing to throw in the pot since cost is a consideration. Long term that FE will consume a lot more fuel than a 302.

The 360 is a very thirsty engine. It may be cheaper in the short run, but if you're building a daily driver you may want to rethink the whole thing.

Stock exhaust will fit between the frame rails, but will take some fabrication skills.

 

Why does gas always have to have a factor to fun....
I have thought about the gas prices, and I think a 302 would be fun in the truck.
MTFLT- the engine in question is not a 360 but a 428. Same block size just more hp/torque.
I would probably go with the C6 that I have lying around, but what years would a good donor OD tranny be from? I do like the idea of an automatic, granted I am a manual/standard kind of person.

Motor mounts are cootie-bobbed- not exactly sure what you mean...

I will have to look for a '54ish car with a 292 in it near me, do you know what cars would have been more likely to have them?

And the dana 60 axles were common in the 67-69ish f-150's? or am I completely off base?

 

I only brought up the gas thing cause I know how much this little brother to your 428 uses and can imagine the big boy is even thirstier. These engines were in their heyday before gas usage or prices was a factor. I'd love to drop a 428 in one of these trucks. I just wouldn't do it in a daily driver.

I'm not the one to ask about automatics. My rigs all have 3 pedals under the dash. If I were doing what you're thinking about, I'd try to get an adapter made to use a ZF5 or NV4500 behind the FE.

Cootie-bobbing is a slang term here at FTE that equates to "MickeyMouse" or "Jury-rigging" solutions to a problem.

You lost me on the 292.... they came out in '52 in trucks. Couldn't tell you what cars had them.

Dana 60 were common 67-69 but in F250s, not F100s. They have 8 lug hubs. You'd probably do better with a 9" Ford rear which was used in F100 from 1957 thru '72 in a width that is almost a bolt in application for your 48.