I have a 1940 Mercury with a flathead and wish to convert it to an automatic, what trans is recommended, what all do I need to change? The car is already restored with a 3 spd. Can this be done from underneath the car? Does the trans tunnel come out? Do I need a new driveline, rearend as well?Thanks for any input!
There is alot to it. aside from the autotrans and adapter, you will need to spilt the front wishbone , rear end swap (or convert to open driveline) ,either way necessitating rear suspension modifications , modified trans tunnel. but the pain in the **** modification will be to the enclosed portion of the X-frame.
As I answered in your previous thread, it will require extensive modifications to the center of the frame. Everything else in the floor and rearend are also serious mods, but easier than the frame. To do it best you will need to pull the body off the frame. It might be able to be half***ed with the body on, but it won’t be neat or clean.
I am sure you have good reasons that you want to do this, but it sure seems like a lot of work on an otherwise really nice car. As has been mentioned, it is pretty extensive. I’m currently looking to convert a car the other way to make it more fun to drive. So, I know this is based on preference or need. Good luck.
And Jim, if you already have a thread on a topic it’s best to just add to the existing one. Not start a new duplicate thread.