I purchased a 1958 ford 300 about a year ago. It is a 6cyl 3spd/od car. I got the engine to fire up but the transmission was locked in gear. I tried dragging it off my trailer and something internal broke. Long story short, I have broken parts internally in transmission. I am not very familiar with fords of this era and am unsure what model transmission this has. From my research, ford 6cyl transmissions changed the splines in the early 60s so it is a pretty small window for what will work in car. The engine smokes horribly and I am now debating swapping in a sbf/auto to get it on the road. I have a couple candidates for engines, not sure all of them are acceptable to discuss on this forum as I got a lot of heat for suggesting a ch***is swap for a coe a few years ago. Haven't posted anything on here since. Lol I have already gone through the brakes on the car and put new tires on it. My goal is to just be able to take my dad for a cruise in the spring. His first car was a 58 custom and always regretted selling it. Engines I currently have are, a 351w that is currently in a 4x4 truck, a 351m/c6 out of an early 70s galaxy, a 5.0/aod out of a 90 lincoln. I have full intention of running a carb on what ever combo I go with. I would like to leave it a manual transmission car but it may be cheaper to throw an auto in it for a while. (Too many projects at moment) Anyways, open to suggestions.
I have a 58 Fairlane and it came with a 352 / Cruise O Matic combo. I kept an FE in it, so I don't have first hand knowledge of engine swaps, but I did put a C-6 in it. I think all of your options will fit fine, but the narrow width of the 5.0 may be an advantage. I needed to build a crossmember and smack the tunnel a couple of times to get the C-6 in there.
Seems like a ‘path of least resistance’ scenario so I would go with the 5.0/AOD. Lots of tech articles here on the 52-59 Ford forum and lots of aftermarket support for that combo.
From the research I have done. It seems like the steering is the big hurdle if wanting to run headers. I know my dad's was originally a 6cyl car. He actually paid the ford garage to v8 swap it about 1965/6. I don't know what they installed and he unfortunately can't remember now. I just remember my Grandpa complaining about rebuilding the rear end on the side of the road multiple times after the swap. I always found that funny. My dad sold the car after he bought his corvette. Th guy he sold it to totaled it shortly after.
Unfortunately these are the only pics I have of his car. He drove it to his uncles body shop in Illinois from north idaho on summer vacation. The pulled the side chrome, filled the holes with lead and painted it the blus color. I have looked for this style wheel and was amazed at what they sell for if you can even find a set. I get it though. Unique and rare isn't cheap.
I have a 460 based engine in my 57, which is identical to your 58 and there’s plenty of room. A 351 would fall into that engine bay easily. You need a front sump pan and readjust the tans mount.
The 58 model actually has a better and smaller steering box. Rather than the worm and sector they have the recirculating ball setup. I always keep threatening to that swap on mine….one day.
It was also the year Ford finally got rid of the through-the-hollow-steering-shaft-and-out-the-bottom-of-the box horn wire. The downside to the swap is you'll need a '58 steering wheel and turn switch if you want to keep the horn ring functional. But it is a much better steering box... The trans you have is a B-W T86 w/OD and was a common trans found in '50s/early 60s Fords. It was considered as a 'medium duty' unit and generally pretty reliable but didn't suffer abuse well. B-W sold these to pretty much all of the OEMs at one time or another, with minor changes for each application. Yours appears to have been cobbled together from several as that fine-spline input is not standard Ford fare. Ford used a 1" 10 spline input all through the '50s and well into the late '70s on nearly all of their manual trans including most V8s. These aren't particularly hard to find, Ford used them from '49 into '70 or '71, although the '65-up have a different bellhousing bolt pattern and won't interchange. Pre-56 versions will however have 6V OD solenoids. If you decide on a swap, I'd go with the 351W out of the 4WD; there's no replacement for displacement. I also believe that it will 'package' better into the early frame as it's exhaust manifolds should clear better. You will need a front sump pan (don't forget the dipstick!) and with '63-64 Galaxie 289 mounts it should drop in. Any '65 through '70s manual trans will be needed along with the clutch/flywheel/bellhousing (all of which is easily available). Or you could steal the AOD off the 302, but you will need an aftermarket flexplate because of the different internal balance between the 351 and late 302. I've always preferred the '58 over the '57, yours looks pretty solid. Good luck!
I appreciate all the info. Now I have some decisions to make. I will try and keep ya posted on progress.
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