I've been thru just about the whole group and haven't found much on the 59 fords. Lots of good info on 56 and earlier and yes I've even been thru the stickies more than once. I'm planning on dropping a 302 and an AOD in mine. Has anyone done this and if so what do I need to watch for. Also need a good wheel and tire size, planning on using 15s so I can run front disks. There looks like I'll have enough room for the engine and was wondering if the stock radiator will hold up to the 302. Have an old timer near me that still re-cores and modifies a radiator so I can get the stock one cleaned up if usable. It has a nine inch rear-end that's leaking so a rebuild is in order what would be a good ge****t to run with my combination. I know this is a lot of questions but I'm sure someone has already done the things I'm looking to do and I really don't want to spend hours on trial and error if someone has already done this. I'm sure there will be more questions and the build plan evolves so thanks ahead of time for any input given. Picture of the car is on the main board if someone wants to look at the car.
I have not done one recently but I did a 59 Ranchero years ago. Small block with a C4. As I remember I used motor mounts for a 1963 Galaxie with a 260 / 289. Made a simple crossmember for the trans mount. Used 1966 Mustang tri Y headers and it was a very easy swap. I suspect with an AOD a gear ratio somewhere around 3.50 to 1 would work very well. I also used 15 x 6 American torque thrust wheels with a 70 series radial, I worked at a tire store at the time and I got tires that size cheap. We serviced cop cars and they ran pursuit tires and were not allowed to patch them at that time so I picked up nice ones that had been punctured, patched them, then ran them. They allow patching them now I would guess. Once I had the engine trans combo it seems like it was a one day swap but I was much younger then! Mark
Thanks the engine I'm using is an early 302, c80e-6015-a so I'm going to have to get all the goodies so it'll mate to the AOD. Still in the planning stage so thanks for the info.
Be careful on the flex plate, all the small block Fords that used the AOD were post 81 models and the 50oz inbalance flex plate. Your C80E 302 needs a 28oz inbalance flex plate. Aftermarket ones are out there just get the right one.
I’ve got a 59 but I stuck with the original 6 and souped it up a bit. I’ll advise you to stay closer to stock ride height if you’re running bigger diameter tires. I lowered mine with Aerostar front coils and the original 14’s just barely clear the fender lip.
I went with aerostars and they were too low, I chopped 1 coil off the stock springs and put them back in. Tires, I run 215-75 x 15 up front and 235-15 x 75 out back. They are a tight fit on the rear and the fronts will s****e the inner wells on inclines when going slow.
'57 Ford: 3:50s in my narrowed 9 inch with Yukon trac-loc. Great for highway driving with my 4R70W / 4.6dohc. 20ish mpg, about 63mph @2000 rpm, still quick enough off the line. Had all seals replaced last year @70k miles. I do alot of shows in OK.what part are you in?
All the comments are a great help. Still racking my brain on this build so any and all ideas are welcome. I'm in southwest Oklahoma sixty miles west or south I'm in Texas.
I have a 351w and aod in my 59 wagon. It's very easy if your pulling a entire driveline out of one car Most of the info I found here dinging through prior post. Late 70s or early 80 V8 mounts. Don't remember the exact ones Will need to make a trans cross member. The radiator I went with autocity cl***ic. They have any combination you need for right or left water pump outlet.
I also used parts for Foxbody mustangs. They are cheap and fit. Alternator mount Water pump hoses Headers Thermostat housing
Also make sure you get the slip yoke for the aod it came with. It's a nightmare to find one as they are so many options. I had to have one trimmed to bottom out.
The 302/5.0 changed from 28.2oz to 50oz counterweight in mid 1981 to accommodate the lighter weight cranks but the 351 stayed with the 28.2 counterbalance. The AOD uses the larger 164 tooth flex plate while many of the car C4s were the smaller 157 tooth which won't work. However many of the 351s were used with a pan fill C4 which used the larger flexplate. So you need a 164 tooth flex plate for a C4/AOD and the matching block plate so that starter will fit. (Don't use flex plate for a C6 application as they have a different offset and don't position the torque converter in the right place.)
I had to buy a special flex plate 28oz for a 351w. There is only two I could find and it was like 240. It was the most expensive thing for the swamp. The aod only was made for a 302 50oz motor. Those flywheels are like 80 bucks.
still making up my parts list and stripping parts off of a car I got. Still wondering if the stock radiator will hold up to a 302. I have a small shop nearby that still works on radiators I can get it modified if need. Anyone knows?
I've been running the stock radiator with a 302 for about ten years with only a couple of small leaks. It runs about 180/190 degrees, Southern Oregon.
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