I have my 51 Merc and I am trying to look at options. I have a flathead in it now with the 3 seed over drive. Should I redo the extra merc flathead and put in an AOD, or pick up a driver and swap out the entire drive train ps, ac, pb drive shaft and rear end. I like the flattie, but was told that ps and ac together takes to much power from it. Anyfeedback (I expect to get some grief from somebody) is helpful. I know the flattie route is the more expensive one.
AOD will rob power, p/s will rob a small bit of power, as will a/c. Build it stout and you'll be fine. Personally, I'd leave the stock 3-spd/OD or swap to a T5 than go AOD...
A lot depends on what you expect out of it. If it's mainly a local cruiser, I'd probably leave the Flat Motor with a T5 and just make sure its in great shape and the cooling system is up to snuff due to the extra loads of A/C PS etc.. It you drive it a lot and want to hit the highway at today's speed with the air on, I'd go small block Ford with the AOD. nuthin but my opinion
Personally if it were mine being a custom and I wanted all the luxury of AC, PS and AT I'd just put a SBC and a TH350 in it. The modern shit on the old flatty kind of ruin any vintage feel it might have had anyway. A nice early looking SBC with the compressor, alternator and PS pump would look more vintage than a flathead with the same. -Jeff
I'd do a standard 276" engine, get the compression up with either milled EAB heads, or some nice aftermarket heads, Max-1 cam, headers, ported & not relieved, 1.6" intakes, and a WCFB on top of a 4bbl intake. Lighter and narrower - slightly longer, but easily done in this car. Besides, it's a Ford in a Ford... This is a good option.
Coming from England, where we don't like to be impolite, I would suggest going the SBC route. It would be rude of me to imply that Flatheads are for terminal loosers. So I wont. Thats irony folks........... Its what we do.
I'm a Chevy die hard but I would put anything in that Merc, other than a SBC. Flattie is fine, Nailhead is cool, Rocket 88 is bitchen or be a little different and go Caddy. Good Luck
if you want ac p/s or cup holders buy a toyota,you want a real hot rod engine leave the flathead alone...SBC is just ANOTHER way of doing it easy,its a kragen motor. if the flathead looks to hard and you know FUCKIN MEAN put a SBF in it.keep a ford in a ford.. yep i am a terminal loser...with a FUCKIN SOLID FLATHEAD ps go check out mercury charlies ride if want a solution to your engine dilemma
I drove the Mercs when they were used cars, and a stocker with flat head was a smooth driving car, very nice and quiet and good ride. They were pretty fast for the times and lots more luxury than the Ford. And I drove a few that had worked over flatty,s, and they were right out there. but the overheads, quickly overtook the mercs and had obviously more power. So the flattys capabilities are there to be a nice driver, but I would recommend for a big car, an overhead for everyday driving. I got into rodding just as the ohv,s were taking over and thats what i did. A Y block Merc would be a good candidate keeping the old spirit with newer engine or any Ford ohv to keep it in the family, nothin wrong with them fords.
If it doesnt need a lotta work just use the drivetrain thats in there . They work fine and dependable[ if you dont abuse em] Just put a motor in and save your $$$ and it will be a good driver. If everythings shot then change all that stuff, don,t do it becuz everbody else is.
Well it looks like I for now I keep the flattie, put in the AOD. Any feedback on putting adj valves in the flattie. Can I drill the holes for the adj valves in the castings with the motor inside the car, or will the shavings be an issue?
Id leave it stock. Thats what I did with my 50 Merc (now gone). Leave the PS and AC for your daily driver.
The AOD will rob a fair bit of HP from the flatty. A C4 would be better, but of course you wouldn't have OD. I'm partial to the T5 - smaller, lighter, & OD. Adjustable lifters are available for the flatty. However, you'll have to pull the heads & the valve assemblies to do it. If you're going that far, you may as well change the cam too. You can't really drill the holes with the engine in the car. Use the Johnson wrenches - they're a PITA, but they do work.
I asked about the lifters since I am hearing some tapping, is there anything short of adjustable lifters, shims maybe. I chose the AOD because I have the 3 peed with OD, I was told the rear end ratio would be too low to use a c4.
The original way was to build up the lifter with a spot of weld & file it down for clearance. So, yes, adjustables would be easier...have you looked inside? It may have adjustables already - they were a common swap. Just realize that the AOD is bigger, heavier, will require more firewall/floorboard clearancing, and will use more power. There ain't no free lunches. A T5 would go in there if you were inclined to stay manual and there's nothing wrong with the 3sp-OD setup you've got, really.
I had the intake off not to long ago they are stock. Is there a floor shifter avaiable for the stock three speed?
UGH a thread needing advice about using a "SBC" drivetrain attracts idiots like shit does flies. Amazing. Always guaranteed one rockasilly idiot who is gonna "stab that Chevy motor" or some garbage. And when a person wants to have a reliable cruiser that has modern ammenities and easily repairable anywhere, you are guaranteed to get "put a Hemi in it" or "Nailhead, Rocket Olds...blah blah". Its like that guy who always shouts "Play Freebird!!" no matter what concert he is at. 99.9% of us on here are on a budget for our projects. Use the Chevy. They are cheap, plentiful, and just plain fit into a Merc better. The flathead w/ AOD is going to be slow as shit. If you want a great cruiser, get a Chevy/auto trans of choice (Id say 350/400) and any rear that is 61" or less from wheel mounting surfaces with 2.xx gears out of ANY junkyard. Then get yourself a power steering adapter plate for a whopping $60 coupled with a remanufactured F100 box and junkyard again for a power brake/swinging pedal setup. Cheap, comfy, fixable on the fly and something that your wife won't hate!
I run a t-5 in mine with 3.50 ratio rear and have had no problems. Easy to install and reliable. Took it to Bonneville this year (3600 miles) and had no problems except a slight oil leak when the oilpan loosened up.Only went through 3 quarts of oil and averaged 15 - 20 mpg.Thats at 65-70 mph.It's a nice setup. Sbc is a nice low buck reliable set up also.Good luck
Not specifically - at least not in production. You can adapt a Hurst Mystery shifter or universal shifter. You can also modify a column shift to be floor shift - check the archives. If you can't find it, let me know I think I have it saved somewhere...
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