I have a 1951 *****'s truck that has a 390 Ford v8 with 4 speed cast iron manual transmission. Granny low 1st. Also has single shifter transfer case and Ford f150 front half chassis. Rear half of chassis is Chevy half ton. But rear axle is a Ford 1/2 ton axle. I believe all drive train came out of a Ford 1/2 ton truck 1978 or a little later. Front axle is disc brake with the coil springs outboard of chassis. Transfer case is single stick and is bolted direct to transmission. No driveshaft between them. I was wanting to find out more about what I have and the possibility of swapping in an auto trans. I think the gear ratio is around .370. I want to use 35" tires. If I swap to an auto trans what are the particular mods needed and do I need an overdrive trans or would that be overkill. I have an E4OD trans in my diesel trucks and have not had a problem. I was wondering if that would be a good choice or would the c6 be better. I do know that the 390 will not bolt to the e4od but the c6 will, I have been told. This finished project will be partly show truck but I want to be able to trail ride with it if I need to.

 

Some pictures would help up ID all this stuff. I'd be concerned that the front and rear axles don't match as far as gear ratios so check the diffs for tags. 3.50 and 3.55 were common ratios in these Fords but 3.70 wasn't an option. Coil front springs suggests that is a 1/2 ton front end.


Does the motor have custom engine mounts? A 351w/C6/BW1356 combo from a truck of the same vintage as the frame would bolt right in there with the factory engine mounts and then you could use a factory front driveshaft, the rear will have to be custom if the frame has been shortened.

 

Thanks for your info. I will check the diffs for tags on the ratio. I suspect both axles came out of the same donor truck. So the 351w has the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the 390? I thought these were different blocks completely. I'd like to keep the 390 as it was just rebuilt. So will the c6 bolt to the 390 block and will the transfer case I have bolt to the c6? Do I need an output adapter for the c6? I realize now that I will probably have to cut driveshafts. According to what I've read the c6 is about 5" longer than the 4 speed.

 

You can check these guys out too!


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’Ford FE 352,360,390,406,410,427,428

We are finally done with the kit to put a Ford AOD trans on these motors!
We make a high quality adapter for Chev transmissions also!!!
These kits will allow you to bolt ANY small block Ford or Chev transmissions onto these motors. Unlike some other kits that only give you the option of using one transmission type, you gain the option of changing the transmission type at any time using the same adapter kit.
Ford: AOD/E4OD/small block C6/C4/ and manual transmissions without chopping up the case or tilting the transmission!
We have modified this kit to accept 4R70W and 4R100 transmissions that came from behind the Ford modular motors.
Chev: 700R4 or any other Chev V8 style transmission.
Contact us for more info.


Bendtsen’s Transmission Center Inc. 763 767 4480
13603 Johnson St NE, Ham Lake, MN. 55304
bob@transmissionadapters.com