How to put a 331 Hemi into an F1

As many of you know, I have a Bonus Built. And I've had aspirations of a 331/T5 combo for quite a while - which may well come to fruition sooner than later!

I was on http://www.hothemiheads.com looking at Bob's stuff for sale several months ago and remembered seeing a blurb on there about just that - a feature about a 331 install in an F1! I emailed Bob a few days ago, and got a response back - it was in the July Cl***ic Trucks Magazine.

I tracked it down, and present as much of it here as I think I can legally get away with.

So, here goes! Enjoy!

Here's the link:
http://www.cl***ictrucks.com/tech/0807clt_1952_ford_f1_hemi_engine_installation/index.html

Pics will follow!

~Jason

 

1952 Ford F1 Hemi Engine Installation - A Vintage Pairing
Installing An Early Hemi In Our F-1 Project Truck

writer: Ryan Manson

One of the best things about building a cl***ic truck is the ability to shoehorn just about any production powerplant between the framerails with room to spare and plenty of hood clearance. By their very nature, trucks are wide and boxy, which yields a fairly m***ive engine compartment that can accept anything from a late-model Ford Mod motor like fellow staffer Grant Peterson's Bumpside Build-Off Ford, or a vintage Chrysler Hemi, which we're dropping in my '52 Ford F-1 project. The point is, the sky's the limit when it comes to power options for most vintage trucks, so sticking in a cookie-cutter, small-block Chevy because "it's easy" just isn't a good excuse. And while the roominess found under the hood of most cl***ic trucks helps make the job of swapping engines quite a bit easier than shoehorning a big-block into a Pinto, the same basic theories apply to both applications.

The first decision to be made is where to put the engine. Obviously, most of us aren't going to be sticking the thing in the bed, so suffice it to say it's going where it belongs-in the engine compartment. But placement in relation to other items under the hood is what we're talking about. Bound by the firewall to the rear, the radiator to the front, and flanked by a pair of hood sides, the location of the engine is more or less determined with only a few inches of "fudge." A balancing act of sorts must be performed to get the engine clear of the firewall and still have enough room between the block and the radiator for the water pump, pulleys, fan, and so on. While moving the engine rearward means a benefit in handling as more weight is transferred to the rear wheels, the need to cut into the firewall to clear the distributor or bellhousing and the intrusion into the p***enger compartment usually makes this a last-ditch choice. A better option is to use an aftermarket radiator that can be mounted ahead of the stock radiator mount, resulting in a gain of a few inches if necessary. More often than not though, with a little finessing, most V-8s will fit within the stock confines.

But simply shoe-horning a motor so it fits between the radiator and the firewall is just the beginning. The engine also needs to be centered, level, with correct pinion angle, oil pan, and ground clearance. Meeting these stipulations is rather simple, provided careful planning and forethought is taken. What you don't want to end up with is a setup where the drag link hits the oil pan, or the pulley is so close to the crossmember that you can't get a belt on correctly. You may snicker, but we've seen way too many examples of this.

If you study a car built by one of the many professional shops across the country, what you may find is that the engine actually appears slightly high on the ch***is. This is done for two reasons. One, to keep clearance between the oil pan, drag link, suspension crossmember, and the ground at a maximum. And two, to place the cooling fan in the center of the radiator, where it's going to move the most air efficiently through the radiator without making any hot spots at the top or bottom. This is a commonly overlooked aspect of setting an engine up. With the motor low in the ch***is, the fan may only cover 65 percent of the actual radiator core, resulting in a hot spot due to an area of stagnant airflow towards the top. The subsequent over-heating tendency of a motor in this situation may drive the owner to install an electric fan in front of the radiator to help cool the motor, further cutting off the airflow through the radiator and ultimately making matters worse. For most properly setup street engines, a mechanical fan should be sufficient in all but the most demanding environments.

Although some Detroit manufacturers will offset the motor, it's really ideal and more aesthetically appealing to center it in the ch***is. A few measurements from each framerail to the crankshaft centerline in the front, and each framerail to the output shaft on the trans in the rear will get the motor centered. It also wouldn't hurt at this point to make sure the ch***is, as well as the engine, is level.

If there's a rearend already installed in the truck, now would be the time to check the pinion angle. The relationship between the pinion angle on the input shaft of the rearend and the output shaft of the transmission needs to in sync. That is, if the rearend measures 5-degrees up pinion angle, the drivetrain should be set up with 5-degrees down. This will ensure that the harmonic and mechanical vibrations that naturally occur in the driveshaft as the universals spin and the rear suspension travels through its arc, will not be transmitted throughout the vehicle. If the rearend has yet to be installed, refer to the manufactures specs for whatever rear suspension components are to be used. The 5-degrees up is a commonly used spec, Total Cost Involved, for example.

Getting the motor to fit under the hood and squaring everything up is just the beginning though, as mounts need to be sorted to support the engine and trans. For common Chevy, Ford, and even Chrysler engines, there's a whole slew of companies that design motor mounts specifically for each application, small-block Chevy in a '56 Ford pickup for example. But for some, such as our Hemi power plant in our F-1, we were stuck using a universal mount from Ch***is Engineering. Because of the fact that we installed a Heidt's IFS frontend and were using an uncommon engine, there's no way for a company to make a specific motor mount kit. This is one example of where putting an oddball mix of parts together can be both challenging and rewarding. To get the CE mounts to fit our ch***is, a little bit of t******* was necessary, but with the engine sitting exactly where it needed to be, the lower mounts were simply trimmed until they met the upper mount and were then tacked to the frame. Mounting the T5 transmission was even easier, as it was already mated to the Hemi with a Wilcap adapter and supported by a floor jack at the correct pinion angle. Since we're going to be installing a Total Cost Involved pedal ***embly, we're using their trans crossmember, which simply bolts to the lower frame flange.

Since our F-1 most likely had a six-cylinder installed originally, dropping any V-8 engine between the framerails would have basically been the same amount of work as installing the Hemi/T5 combo. But instead of having a standard, cookie-cutter small-block powered Ford, we've now got a vintage combo that will not only turn heads, but will perform just as good as any of them new crate engines!

 

With the motor and trans in place between the framerails, the first thing to do is to make sure the ch***is is level. Take a few readings, from the front crossmember, to the area where the trans crossmember will be, and back towards the rear crossmember to ensure the ch***is isn't twisted on the jackstands.

 

The next step is to ensure that the engine is level as well. With the block supported by the front crossmember, each side can be shimmed until it's perfectly level...

 

...Note that the upper Ch***is Engineering motor mounts have been attached to the block; the lower mounts will get weldedto the ch***is a little later.

 

When we installed our rearend last month, Total Cost Involved set it up with a pinion angle of 5-degrees up. To make everything jive, it only makes sense to set up our engine and trans with a pinion angle of 5-degrees down.

 

On the front of the block, we've tossed the stock, cantankerous water pump and timing cover ***embly in the garbage and opted for a Hot Heads conversion timing cover that accepts a small-block Chevy water pump. A Chevy short water pump measures 5 7/8 inches from mounting surface to pulley flange, so we're setting the block up to have at least 8 inches between it and the radiator mount. That gives us a good 2 inches to locate a mechanical fan behind the radiator and well inside a shroud.

 

While the front of the engine checks out in the clearance department, it's also necessary to check the back of the block and those big Hemi heads in relation to the firewall. We want to retain the stock firewall as much as possible, and with all the room in the engine compartment, it would be silly to notch the firewall for clearance. The outboard bracket on the framerail is the front mount for the cab and is parallel with the firewall.

 

A side view of the bellhousing and the lowest point of the trans illustrates plenty of ground clearance, even on a lowered truck. Clearance for the oil pan is also taken into consideration, not only concerning ride height, but the front crossmember, as well.

 

The next step is to center the driveline in between the framerails. Both the front of the block (using the main bearing journal as reference) and the tail shaft of the trans are measured to center the ***embly. Also, note the height of the motor. This will put the fan nice and centered in the radiator to promote efficient cooling.

 

With the engine and trans in place regarding the X, Y, and Z axis, it's now possible to trim the lower Ch***is Engineering motor mounts and tack them to the front crossmember. As you can see, they need to be trimmed to fit, as CE makes them with plenty of length to fit a very broad range of applications.

 

The lower mount was trimmed numerous times until it finally fit snug against the crossmember and bolted to the upper mount without binding. Both mounts were trimmed and bolted into place before the previous measurements were all double checked and the mounts were tacked to the crossmember.

 

We're going to be using a Total Cost Involved pedal ***embly in our F-1, so it was necessary to use their transmission crossmember as it will clear their power brake booster. While a jackstand supported the transmission while we mounted the motor, when the time came to mount the trans, it was a simple matter of bolting the crossmember to the trans mount and drilling the corresponding holes in the framerails.

 

We opted to install the crossmember on top of the bottom framerail, which necessitated a slight relief be trimmed off the lower flange. The area will be stiffened in the future to reduce flex and fatigue due to the extra weight of the big motor.

 

With those big, familiar heads installed, it really illustrates the Hemi's size versus a small-block Ford or Chevy. The 331ci engine should be good for about 300 hp and plenty of torque, but the aesthetic value of having a vintage engine in a vintage truck is what really makes it worthwhile.

 

Sources:



Total Cost Involved
http://www.totalcostinvolved.com/



Wilcap
http://www.wilcap.com/



Hot Heads Research & Racing, Inc.
http://www.hothemiheads.com



Ch***is Engineering
http://ch***isengineering.com/

 

Here's my 354 in my '56

 

Wlcked!

~Jason

 

I notice they didn't use an S~10 Frame ... Thank God !!

But i dunno about a T~5 & a 354 Chrysler... I bet that Hemi can eat those weak *** GM ******s for lunch !

 

That's what I was thinking. A World Cl*** T5 behind there or something even more substantial at least. Stock spec Hemi with nothing done to it might be okay, but who really leaves their Hemi all stock and never gets on it?

I could be wrong though.

 

LOL!

So did I. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=274702

Their T5 is behind a 331 in that article.

~Jason

 

Surely there comes a time after the first few months that you stop getting on it as frequently, until the frequency rate trickles down to "old man" levels!

When I get this 331 Industrial, I figure I'll just run it stock, with a 2-bbl, etc for a while. We'll see how long I can last before tweaks!!

~Jason

 

BTTT for those that missed it this weekend!

 

thanks for the detailed how to!
looks good!!!

 

Looks like you got a great start and good detail on how to. How are you going to stiffen the trans mount area?

 

Even the WC t-5 is only rated for about 300lb-ft of torque... You might be ok with a small Dodge or DeSoto.

.

 

I got a 276/Torqueflite in my f-3 thinking of switching to the P/U ******

 

Actually, this isn't mine! It was taken from the July '08 Cl***ic Trucks Mag!

My plan was to run a Camaro T5 with an S-10 tailshaft in my F2 behind a bone stock 331 Industrial. You folks really think that this un***uming motor, 2-bbl and all, would eventually rip that T5 apart?

I mean, we're only talking about 312 ft lbs of torque here...

~Jason

 

Instead of doing weld-in brackets, do you guys think that I can make universal biscuit-style mounts work AND have the motor still clear the firewall?

~Jason

 

I personally like the Ch***is Engineering biscuits better because they have a ring that keeps them from squishing and flexing too much. I started with the Speedway biscuits and dumped them imediately. Just didn't like how much the motor move. I thank Mr. B*** for that little tip, and a good one.