Hi all, I just bought this '54 last week and I'm building a '58 Edsel FE, to go into it, with a C6 behind it. My car is a Mainline 223/6, 3 speed stick. It's all original. I'll start driving it with the 6, while building the FE. I bought the FE in November and should be finished by late May, early June. I have most of the parts, it's the machine work that takes the time. The first things that will be done are the gas tank (needs cleaned before driving) and interior but, after that, the engine comes out and the FE goes in. At this point, all I know is that the motor mounts will fit and the gas line is on the wrong side for the FE. Help on the following would be greatly appreciated: 1. I don't want the log manifolds and would like to know what will fit for headers 2. What to do about the rear trans mount, with the C6? 3. I have a deep, wide pan, road race style, front sump pan. Will there be any issues with it? 4. Any thing that will be a problem or have to work around.
Ford Powertrain Applications (FPA) shows shorty headers for 55-59 ford , so I would think they should fit since a 54 has basically the same frame as a 55. I would give Stan a call and tell him what you are doing and he should be able to help. As I recall, the mounts have to be reversed and I think the C6 requires a little hammer work on the tunnel.
Headers in a '54 ? Good luck with that. The frames in a '57 and later are wider. They have what you need but it ain't cheap. https://www.critesperformanceparts.com/page6
I think the Crites headers require their cross member, at least it did on my Fairlane. Hopefully the FPA headers would work since they are shorties.
I looked at both FPA and Crites listings and they don't say anything about fitment or have different part numbers for the 54-56 headers. The posted picture, with the logs, does look like it is a tight fit. In my journey collecting parts, I picked up a set of shorty's for a 60-64 ch***is (was also looking for a '60 and still am). The FPA's look somewhat like them but, with a longer collector.
I don't know for sure on your 54. I installed a 390 in my 56. I've understood the 54 is even tighter. The research I did on the headers, which are available, was that neither of the 2 mentioned above fit without modifications (just what I read by multiple people). It is very tight at the steering gear. I made my own headers, but had to shim the motor mounts up 3/8" to get a little more clearance at the gear.
The only experience I had with a FE engine in a 54 was a buddy that built one about 40 years ago. Engine bolted in pretty easy as I remember but no one made headers at that time. So he built g***er type fenderwell exit headers. Worked fine but seemed like they were very hot under the hood and got in the way of some things but cleared the clutch linkage and shifter! This was a 406 with tri power, pretty cool and fast rig at the time.
Todd, what did you use for a trans? NOS, I'm from the fenderwell exit era. In my younger days, most 55-57 Chev ran them and there was a lot of them. I don't want to do that to this car though. Are there any R&P steering conversions available?
If you are looking to gain power steering it's not to hard to adapt a Saturn Vue electric power steering to your stock box with it being smaller that will help with your exhaust clearance issues. https://www.hotrodders.com/threads/...afe-no-ebay-module-needed-pics-videos.454530/ Also there won't be any pumps,brackets or hoses to add under the hood and all your steering linkage stays as is so you won't have an oil pan issue.
Thanks for that, Jeff, it sounds interesting, I'll check into it. I think when I get ready to install the engine, my best option will to be to pull the front clip and go from there.
Not sure about the whole FE/C6 thing 'cause I'm running a 5.0/AOD but as far as steering options, I second Jeff's recommendation. I installed a Saturn Vue EPS unit in my '54. It's actually pretty simple. You just need to fab a bracket and make a few mods. https://www.killbillet.com/forum/th...ing-from-a-saturn-vue-into-54-ford-customline
I am running a C6. It just has manual steering and is still tight if you don't restrict header down by denting or extreme bend. The only time p/s would be nice is when vehicle isn't moving. Once rolling its not bad with stock steering wheel. I'm running 225/55R17. my 80 yr old father can steer it, but p/s would be nice.
Todd, are you running a FE in front of your C6 or a SBF? Sorry, I looked back and see it's a 390. How close the rear mount came to the original? Could I make a offset bracket?
Jeff, the article $35 electric power steering is NOT using a Saturn unit because the Saturn unit requires a add on module to wake the electric power steering module up. He is using Japanese or Korean units that will operate in fail safe mode without an external extra module. The one I have is from a KIA soul and it is going in my 65 Falcon wagon. Most are going away from the Saturn as they are getting hard to find and require an Ebay box to work, it seems the easiest to find now are the Toyota Prius. The guy that wrote this article is a retired engineer and installs his on a 64 Falcon with a long input shaft like our 52 - 59 Fords use. Great information and good article! Just FYI.
When the article was first written not many were doing it and also $35 is probably not what they will go for today, it's like anything we can always add more information as we learn more about it which is what I hope we have done over the years in this Group. I have asked on several occasions that if you find a link in the "Sticky FAQ" that is dead or obsolete for members to PM me with the page number and the post number so I can update or delete them,in the last year I have gotten ZERO PM's in that regard.
I first found this $35 article on the internet in a falcon site as I was looking for an option for my Wagon, I have not looked at it on the Sticky FAQ pages. I contacted the author and asked where he was finding the $35 units and he said where he was (in the south east) that's what a u-pull-it type wrecking yard was getting for them so he bought several to test from many different cars. As I said he was an engineer that designed and built automotive parts and had a huge knowledge base to draw from. (I am from Chrysler) He then proceeded to lay out a plan on what to do to install one in a Falcon, included wiring diagrams and videos and everything you see in his posts. That has been copied and put onto several other sites for everything from Mustangs to Kubota tractors. I am sorry if I offended anyone with my comments, my point was that when I talked to him he wasn't happy with the Saturn units due to the extra electronic box and the problem of poor returnability to center on some vehicles. That's what sent him on the quest for a different electric power steering system in the first place. So, the Saturn system does work and it works very well for some people. But there are also other options out there. Just for info, I paid $80 for my electric steering column here in Salem Oregon.
I've gotten some more info on my swap, in the Projects part of the Traditional Hot Rods section, if anyone is interested, here's the link: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/54-ford-to-a-fe-swap.1221137/#post-13951157
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