Do they make a kit to put a 289 or 302 in a 48 F1. I'm thinking of the idea but I want to be able to use my original drive shaft. I just would like to know if the make a kit to do this with and if so has anyone bought it and have sime pice of it to look at. The front end as far as my frame is original. All I want to do is put a small block in it. The motor I found is a 302 with a C6 trans. I have worked on older trucks and cars over the years with my dad, but I have never done a motor swap like this before. The truck has the flathead motor mounts still in it. Can I leave those in there if I ever decide to put the flathead back in it. It's no big deak to take the out, but I didn't know if those had to be removed or not. Thanks for any help or info on this. Scott

 

Scott,

You may be able to re-use your original driveshaft but the chances of it being the correct length with the C6 is remote. That transmission is a lot longer than the original stocker and you wouldn't want to place an engine just to suit the length of an original driveshaft even if you could. There are a number of mounting kits for this swap available through the aftermarket. Check with Chassis Engineering for one. I didn't use a 302 but I would think the original engine mounts would have to come out. They were in the way on my engine installation.

I've known several guys that wanted to modifiy their truck but wanted to be able to return it to stock someday but that rarely, if ever, happens. Once you get a taste of the dark side you won't want to go back...

 

Have to agree with Vern. The drive shaft will have to be altered. As far as the mounts,the originals will need to come out and the new ones are avialable after market however they're fairly simple to fab.
good luck

 

Thanks guys for your info. I'll look around and see what I can find as far as a kit to look at. Know that I think about what you guys said it would be crazy to try to place the motor in my truck to try to fit the drive shaft up. I want the motor to set in it right and not look like I just throwed it together.

Scott
1948 F1

 

Speedway Motors sells a bunch of mounting kits for different applications. Might want to check them out. I was gonna put a 289/c4 in a model A hot rod pickup I was working on. The mounts would be very easy to fabricate yourself, but they're not that expensive to buy either.

Lots of place offer services to shorten driveshafts, most people I know that have done this just went to the junk yard and picked one up and had it cut down. It's pretty inexpensive.

 

Compared to all the other things you'd have to hack out or fab up, making the driveshaft the correct length is one of the cheaper and easier parts of the swap. Besides, it's not likely you'd want to keep the original rear gears, and that means a rear end swap, so you ought to just figure on getting the driveshaft modified.

 

I managed to install a 302/c4 (then later added a 450+ HP 393W/c4) in my f-1 withough any alterations to the truck other than 8 or 10 holes drilled in the frame, cutting down the driveshaft a and modifying the thottle linkage.

I had to make the motor mount perches and I had to make a bracket that would alow the c4 mounting pad to bolt to the stock tranny location. fabricating the mounts didn't take too much effort.

The only downside is that by not cutting/modifying the tranny crossmember my engine/tranny a faily level and not tilted down as much as I would like (I think it is ...therefore I do get some barely noticeable vibrations at higher speeds.

I was able to leave the flathead mount in place but I did need to use an electric fuel pump since the flathead mounts were in the way of the stock fule pump.

The oil fiter interfered with flathead mounts so I needed to use a 90 degree oil filter adapter also.

I also needed to use an electric fan on the rad since the motor sits down much lower than the rad.

For exhaust I used a block hugger header on the drivers side to avoid the steering box.

I don't think that you would be able to fit a c6 in withough some cutting but I can tell you that a 302/351w and a c4 CAN be installed without modifying the truck... I can put the flathead back in in a matter of a day since I have an extra driveshaft and extra throttle linkage.


Here is a pic of when I was putting the 302 in last year:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/DSCN4819.jpg

(you can see my home made motor mount perches and the interference that the oil filter and the fuel pump would have with the stock mount.)

In this pic you can see how I position the C4 mount right over the crossmember. If you need a pic of it with the mount installed I can crawl out there and get a pic of it now.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/DSCN4825.jpg

Here is a pic form this summer when I put my 393 in

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/DSCN5873.jpg

here is another

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/DSCN5875.jpg

here is a more current pic of the truck (still has a long way to go before paint)

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/DSCN5844.jpg


If you need any more pics or details just let me know.

 

here is a more current pic of the truck (still has a long way to go before paint)

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s/DSCN5844.jpg


I don't know about everyone, but a lot of us would consider this one finished......wink, wink

 

Thanks for the complement. It will probally be in primer for at least another year before I get all the bodywork done and the better doors I have for it on it.

For now I have just been enjoying driving it.

 

There's a company called LMC truck... they're online order one of they're catalogs they are free. They sell mount kits specifically for doing a small block mount . The mounts that you have in there now should be mounts for a Y block the mounts you need are for a Windsor block which consists of 289, 302, 351w basically the small block stuff after 1962. Anywho, they have everything you need if you are restoring a old truck, that catalog is my co-pilot.

 

A question for doug51f1:

I am in almost the same situation as restoringmy46 except I have a 50-F1 that has a very poorly installed 302 currently in it. To avoid the steering column they simply flattened the left exhaust pipe until it cleared....not good. You mentioned that you used a hugger header to clear the steering column/box. Do you have a specific brand or where you purchased the headers??
Thanks
lm987

 

Sorry , my question should have been for jpb222 regarding the hugger header.
Thanks again.
lm987

 

I have exactly that predicament with my 51-F1. I did a little searching around and found Sacremento Vintage Ford has headers for small block that should clear the steering completely. The collector dumps straight down in the vicinity of the #3 cylinder just slightly forward of the center of the cylinder. I was more worried about the motor mounts clearing than anything else. They do say that you will have to use a smaller starter with them and they provide you with a Pep Boys and Ford part number for the starter. They were really helpful on the phone. The plain header was only like $125 and Chrome was a bit more. I haven't purchased them yet but plan to this week. I believe their part number is 12570, but I don't have it in front of me and will verify when I get home tonight.
doug

 

Thank you very much. I would appreciate the part number, etc.
Glood luck with your project!

 

I dont' remember the part number BUT..

I know I got it at advance auto, I just asked for a universal block hugger and the looked it up in there book and ordered it for me. It is a flowtech header...

I sold the passenger side since I didn't want to have to use a smaller started, I just used a stock 90's mustang header on that side (I plan on putting an aftermarket mustang header on the passenger side in the future since the stock mustang one has a smaller tube diameter than the block hugger on the drivers side).

I dumps strait down at cylinder # 7