Hi All

Just finally became a member after reading posts on and off for the past few years as I have always wanted an F-1. But I finally just purchased a 50' F-1.
So I was wondering if a 454 with a T400 Tranny would be dificult to swap into it?
I see alot of guys have them in there trucks so I know its possible but don't know about how much work its going to take, or if there a place that has adapters they sell.
The Lady I am Buying it from Her husband started restoring it and also Has a rebuilt engine(she thinks) in her garage but I havent gotten a chance to see it. I am going to pick up the truck next week so I will know more then.
I guess mainly the only reason I ask about the 454 is because I have a buddy that has a rebuilt one that he would sell me for cheap. Otherwise I would much rather keep a flathead in it. Someday though.

Any ways thanks and I am sure you will be hearing more from me.
Colter

 

Welcome to the Forum and the world of Classic Trucks. Speedway Motors and Summit, Sacramento Vintage Ford all have Motor Mount and Trans adapters. Post pic's when you get it home, everyone likes pictures.

Vern

 

Welcome.... the swap is only as easy/hard as your skills/friends make it....... you can pretty much put any engine/tranny in it.... just depends on how much you want to spend I would think adaptors are the way to go as mentioned...... unless you can make your own mounts, or as I did get them basically made and then have a friend who welds for a living drop by for a welding and "wobbly pop" party :-)

 

Congrats on getting the truck of your dreams. Here's my opinion for what it cost you.

Put the 454/T400 in it and that poor ol' truck might upchuck

Anybody can have a BBC and nobody cares - the Flathead will draw crowds. Keep the flatty, you'll be glad you did. Need help with it? Just ask. I've run mine as a daily driver for the past 10 years.

 

Welcome! Keep the flathead, and buy the 454/TH400 for that future Chevy 210 project

 

Yes you can and I’m not a purist by any stretch, I had a 454 in a ’37 Ford coupe, but for some reason it just doesn’t sound right for an f1, and I stand to be corrected but the BBC does not have any water jackets on the two center cylinders on each side and are a BEAR to cool, not that you won’t have room but its going to take a good big rad. How about a 460?

(Havi, nice to see you)

 

Hi and Welcome to FTE.

There's tons of "Engine Swap" threads here. You might try looking through the advanced search to see what you come up with!

 

Let me know if you want to get rid of that flathead....

 

welcome, to the board

Keep the flatty much more attention grabbing. You can alway's do a motor swap down the road like a lot of others...(that's a rub) If you must then just convert it to a 5 speed either a t5 or toyota or even toploader.

Maybe before you do anything, make it safe, drive it around for one season while you collect parts and work out the bugs. Make a plan , it's very important. Helps ya stay focused. Gettin the motor in there is the easy(cheap) part getting it to run and work right is the hard part. Reinforcing the frame, steering,pedals and suspension problems that come up because of the engine swap....

Again welcome, please don;t take any of our advice the wrong way. It's your truck do with it what you want. But many of us have been there before. I have 6 transmissions sitting, here and 3x what it would have cost me to swap t5 or a 302 and aod. I'm keeping my flathead and original transmission for this season maybe two. I'm swapping in a 9" rear with better gears and test out the truck and have fun with it.

Remember it's a hobby so have fun, congrats on the find up in the great white north...

oh and I 2nd dibs on the flatty

 

Welcome to the board!

Just about any engine you can think of will fit in these old trucks. I'm a huge fan of big blocks, I just love all that torque. If the original flatty is a quasi decetn runner then I'd suggest making the old truck run as is for now. As Bob mentioned this will help you decide which direction to go with the truck (and/or which direction the truck wants to go). It also helps you build some memories with the truck, this is very important later on when the truck is all torn apart and there is (seemingly) no end in sight and you are totally frustrated.
You can always crawl into the cab, sit on a 5 gallon bucket, grab a frosty beverage and sit there behind the wheel making those silly "vroom, vroom" noises remembering cruising the old truck down the road (yes, we have all done it)

If you go the engine swap route, keep in mind that you will probably want to upgrade the brakes, steering, cooling etc and that they all tie in together. Try to look at the whole picture;
master cylinder - keep it down on the xmember or move it to firewall
xmember - will need to be modified (related to above)
brakes - upgrades are a good idea (completely rebuild, disc conversion, maybe power)
frame - probably a good idea to box it in the front
cooling - might want to upgrade radiator(cooling fans, etc)
steering - will need to be rebuilt (upgrade to power)
engine placement - steering box clearance, exhaust clearance, firewall clearance, etc

Anything is possible, I'm running a 500ci Caddy in my 49. Its your truck, build how you like it
Bobby

 

I have projects all over the place, if the flatty 6 or V8 runs, drive it while you get your "dream" drivetrain together. That way you enjoy it now and later.
If you decide to finally make the swap, you can find a whole donor gas loving 460 truck for cheap and swap out drivetrains, then sell the flatty to compensate for the swap costs?
Flatheads make great Ford 8N tractor swaps and bring 10-20grand depending upon the restoration quality. I'll supply the 8N.

 

Know this is an old stream but alternativefueler brought it back. so... My first F-1, We dropped a Olds Super Rocket 425 w/ TH400, Shoe horned in nice and easy... i sat nice and low in the engine bay of the F-1. If I could find a BB for the right price, I would changing out my SB (needs rebuild and low factory HP) for the BB in a heartbeat!