I know there has been a lot of talk about the various ways to hook up a c4 ****** to a flathead, but I have a question about the actual c4 itself. I located a c4 to rebuild but when I was talking to the guy about it and the application that I was using it on he was concerned as to whether or not the c4 would work. He said he thought that some c4s were designed for use with v6's and some were designed to be used with v8's. He thought that the difference in these had to do with the bellhousing. He also said that he thought there were differences in them for vehicles that had column shift as opposed to floor shifters. I was under the impression that pretty much all c4's were the same with the exception of the dipstick location. I need help! lol My specific application is for a c4 hooked to an 8ba flathead in my 50 ford sedan. Looking at using a gennie floor shifter and either a speedway or flatomatic adaptor. I just want to make sure I get a c4 that will work. Thanks in advance!
Any V6 that trans would have been behind probably had more HP than your flathead so don't worry about it. I think they were also used behind straight sixes too, again rated at more HP and torque than an old flattie. My Flat-O-Matic kit instructions made no mention of any oddball C4 units.
Contact Gene Benson at Flat-O Products. He can answer any/all questions you might have. He makes these adaptors and sells them allover the world. Has 'em for Y-Blocks, too. 503-364-2934.
I recently did the C4 conversion on my '50 Ford with an 8ba. I used the Speedway kit. The only variation in the kit was that there are two different sized flexplates one with 157 teeth the other has 164.Check for other threads on this subject.
There is a difference in the 6 cyld and V8 trans.......most 6cyld cars had C4 with 24 spline input shafts........V8's had 26 spline. The 26 spline are the most desired. You can use any V8 C4 from 1965 through 1981, there was a difference in 1971, but that only has to do with which torque converter needs to be used. Also, Flat-O-Matic adapter (Gene Benson) is much smaller, and does not use the big front bellhousing on the C4, this does make a difference when you don't want to loose a lot of floor space. In my 31 Coupe, I didn't have to touch the stock floor when I put the C4 in...........I didn't need to cut the cut the firewall either. Give Gene a call.........http://www.flat-o.com/contact.htm