FE in a '54 Ford Vicky questions

I spent the better part of today trying to drop my freshly rebuilt 390 into my '54 to test fit everything before I put the finished paint job on the motor.

I was told that FE's fit perfectly in '54 to '56 Ford chassis. Well I didn't find that to be the case.

Nothing lined up and the left head hits the fire wall.

Here's some pics. Any of you ever drop a FE in one of these cars?

I have some ideas on what to do but maybe someone out there has a simple remedy. Any help would be much appreciated. KK

 

And this

 

Looks nice just wish it fit

 

There's no room for headers

 

These are motor mounts from a '58-'58 Ford with a FE, but the are off by about a half inch. Some told me he thought you need to use the original Y block motor mounts.

Can anyone verify that?

 

this is the driver side mount it's the one that's off 1/2"

 

I never did one but I always heard it was a tight fit.

 

I've put an FE (406) and C6 in my '55. I used the original Y-block mounts. They will bolt to the early FE blocks that have the two narrow vertical motor mount bolt bosses. I believe later FE blocks had both narrow and wide spaced vertical motor mount bosses. It is a tight fit. I slotted the holes in the motor mounts to help line everything up. I have 1/2" clearance from the left valve cover to firewall. I fabricated a new trans mount for the C6 that uses the existing bolt holes in the frame. I had to move the radiator forward about an inch to clear the fan. I used headers that were built for an FE in a '57 to '59 car. They fit good, just required some custom fitting (big hammer) to clear the steering box and some trimming of the upper A-arms. I'll try to help if you've got other questions.

 

One thing I know is that on the mounts themself the mount holes to the block and the studs to frame mount are off set. Make sure the mounts have the open side facing forward. I've never done a 54 but many 57 Ford's. The direction the mounts are bolted to the block can be the problem.
The Wizzard