BBF in a 30's Ford??

Anybody have any experience with a big block Ford in a 30's Ford? I have a 460 and a 38 Ford, and I haven't even broken out the tape measure, but I'm wondering what others' experiences were. Thanks

 

pretty wide spread on the years. I do have experience with these monsters and there is a reason you don't see many of them in hot rods, there huge.

Similar in size to a BBC but longer. The heads are shifted opposite of the GM/MOPAR stuff so the left side head gets in the way of throttle and steering components. Manifolds and headers are limited so you may end up either modifying or fabricating your own. Oil pans are pretty easy now with the rear sump pan and pickup available from Ford Motorsports. There isn't a great selection of water pumps, no shorties. So you usually have to tunnel the engine back into the firewall a few inches.

They make good torque and the aftermarket is finally paying attention to these engine.

 

460s are boat anchors. A nicely dressed up FE would be a better choice. Is it going to be open engine compartment or closed up?

 

Sounds like a potential nightmare. Closed hood. Thanks

 

ford in a ford 351m .... jeffrey

 

A freind or mine has a 460 in his 40 Pickup he set it back so far the firewall drops straight down from the dash, and yes there is enough room for the pedals! When we sat my 27 roadster next to it the engine postion to wheel base was very similar, the pickup handles so well with that big motor set back so far.
So go for it get that BBF in that 38.

 

Now thats a Big Block. Took these at the local A&W Cruise

 

I have pizza and I have ice cream, but the two don't really go together.

There's a write up on a car in a recent issue of Rod & Custom where a gentleman put a 427 FE Ford in a 36 (forgot if it was a coupe or a convertible) and he had to do A LOT of fab work to get it in by the sound.

Is your 38 a truck or a car? That might make a difference, but to be honest I'm pretty anti-460. They belong in mud swampers and gator boats, not vintage iron.

 

jeffrey, you must be awful short...

 

A buddy of mine had a BBF in a glass deuce, I dont remember any serious mods. Sorry no pics.
Mat

 

El Polacko would know more about it than I, but you may be able to cut the overall length of the engine down.

Sometimes you can substitue other water pumps - Chevy on the older Chrysler Hemi anyone? - with a simple aluminum adapter.

More than likely you don't need all the sheaves on the crank pulley for a hot rod.
Cutting one off will allow the mechanical fan to come back about an inch.

I would guess that the 455 Buicks are the same or very close in overall length to the Ford 460.
The Buick does have a shorter pump, but it ain't that much shorter.

The Buick engine in my 32 has one sheave trimmed off the crank pulley and sits up against a flat firewall.
There is a 3/4" depth relief for the right side head in the firewall, but that's it.

My 31 on 32 rails roadster also has a 455 Buick.
Granted, it has a 4" firewall relief, but doesn't use too much of it.

I wouldn't worry about what the naysayers say about the 460 not being a good looking engine or that it somehow goes against the rules.

The first guy who stuck a Chevy - known today as a small block - into a different car was breaking a few "rules" wouldn't ya say?

I don't have a problem with someone pointing out that it may be a tough swap.

What I do have a problem with is the self-appointed experts who've never done much of anything saying it can't be done or it's ugly or it's non-trad.

Whiners....

 

Here you go.

 

i have a big block in my 37 chevy and I am waiting to die. Oh it shall be a most glorious death though.

 

Nice car Blown 34 coupe.

Any pics of the front area of the engine?

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Dunno if it would help you, but my little brother has some simple rocker panels for his drag race Henry J made out of aluminum and I believe there's only 5-6 bends total.



The panel proper is flat, but it would be simple to put a little crown in it if required

I suspect Kiwi Kev here on the HAMB board made them, he did the aluminum interior and the top chop.

 

Heres a motor shot.

 

At least it would be different. And the torque will make it fun...

Traditional looking intakes, like a 3x2, would probably be hard to find? Not sure.

 

Thanks Blown 34 coupe.

Looks like it could be a bit longer than the Buicks, but not a whole lot.

Good looking engine as well.

Lessee, 514" stroker, triple 4 bbls....

 

That was a 533 inch pump gas motor with 3 2's on a tunnel ram. I drove the car very quick but traction on the street was impossible.
Mat

 

Thanks everybody. The last time I checked the thread there were 2 responses. I'm thinking about doing it, but might go with something smaller (length/width).

 

I ran an FE in my '40 coupe a long time ago. Took a firewall notch, some other fabrication, and we went with fenderwell headers. Drove it for several years that way. It was pretty quick with 3.91 rear gears and L60-15 tires that stuck out a little in back.

The 460 is an outstanding performance base. Big inch combinations are available for reasonable money, good heads also. Motor is kind of big, and heavy with iron heads and manifolds, but not as bad with aluminum stuff and headers.

Having said that, make sure you know what you want. If you really need the car to haul ass, a 460-based motor is a great choice. If you want an all-around capable hot rod with plenty of dig, good cruise capablilty, and not-too-horrible fuel economy, think about a 351W. Substantially smaller, lighter, excellent parts availability, good stroker kits available for reasonable money, and a much better fit in the late-30s car. By the way, the '40 coupe I mentioned above currently has a 351W/AOD setup. With 4.57 gears, it more than keeps up with traffic in town, and rolls down the highway with ease.

One final thought. Building a hot rod combination based on what is in the garage is a longstanding way of doing business that goes back decades. It isn't, however, the best way to get a car that does exactly what you want it to. If you design from specifications, rather than try to splice the stuff that is available together, you are much more likely to be happy with the end product.

 

I have a decent little 390 FE with a C6 tranny that I had originally in a 76 F100 until my sister wrecked it. I actually bought my 35 pickup to build around the engine (since I pulled it from the truck before sending it to its grave). I got the frame boxed and the suspension built, the pulled the FE over to the truck to drop it in. Well, it wouldn’t fit at all, with my goal of running a hood and fenders. The valve covers literally touched each side of the hood (at the front) when I mocked it up, and that’s without any exhaust at all on it. So I pulled a 302 from a truck my dad had used and was going to have hauled away and went that route. I ended up building a 48 F1 Ford PU around the FE engine.

I took some measurements and show you what I’m talking about on the 390 Engine and a measurement on my 35 if it helps.

I did a 5 inch firewall recess on my 35.
http://www.roddingroundtable.com/tech/articles/firewall1.html

On my 35 the 302 valve covers end at the front at the 2nd louver and it measures about 28 1/2 to 29 inches across. My FE engine measures 27 1/2 to 28 inches across at the front of the engine at the exhaust flange bolt holes. Therefore, you cannot put one without either recessing the firewall a LOT, not running a hood, or making hood side blisters to accommodate the exhaust manifolds.

Hope this helps.

 

I've got a 460 in my little A roadster. It's ugly but I like hoods and it's got enough go!

 

Nothing ugly about that rod - that's a hot rod at it's finest!

AB

 

Hey Nimrod what Tranny is in that thing?
the hump doesn't look that big, nice car and pic.

I've been screwing around with a 390FE-c6 in a 30 roadster and the tranny is huge,
and the setback doesn't really help either, but will do.
A 38 has alot more room at least.

I tried to talk my friend out of the 390 especially since there's no OD,
it will be so expensive to drive it and while its getting a little cheaper right now there's still next year.

I'm beginning to appreciate the 302/5.0-AOD setup.
They're so cheap and plentiful right now and so are performance parts.
In the past 20 years or so i've had them in my newer drivers,
(88 mustang, 85 and 92 ford vans, 90 lincoln towncar)
that if the same engine was in a car half the weight it would do just fine,
and the AOD is a great transmission for an automatic, stick would be funner though.

The 351w are a badass engine too but just not as common anymore.

Yeah I strayed off but its 3am here- good luck on your build

TP

 

Do you remember which issue of R&C had this article? I'd appreciate knowing.

Steve

 

They put 460's or 514's in Fox body Mustangs all of the time. If it will fit there it will fit anywhere ..

 

Got curious about my 455 Buick engine when I saw Dirk35's FE measurement.

Measuring the Buick across the rocker covers like he's done shows 23 1/2" - 24" to the exhaust flanges.

And just for the heck of it, here's a shot of the 455 Buick timing cover, pump etc. to give you an idea on how long it is in front.


The crank pulley was a three sheave model, but has one sheave machined off.
That helped a lot on the 32 and got the bigger fan back to where it almost touched the one-sheave-machined-off crank pulley and the single V-belt.
In fact the engines in both the 31 and 32 are in the same spot longitudinally speaking, but the 32 engine is 1" to the right and the 31 is on center.
(Stock spec 32 frames on both cars.)

I found I didn't need the extra clearance for steering linkage and headers with the 32 and the funny part was, the right side got kind of cramped with the in-frame headers.

Here's a straight down view with a Chevy auminum pulley that's a bolt-on to the Buick pump.
It's spaced forward 3/16" and as you can see, the car now has dual V-belt.
That should help since there is limited 'wrap' around the water pump/fan pulley.
X




Granted, the question is about a BBF engine, but I thought perhaps showing a BBB engine in an A on 32 frame could be helpful.

I've run a couple of FE's in the past, didn't realize the darned things were so wide.

Geez . . . Chrysler Hemi's fit with less trouble....

 

Zibo, I've got an SROD four speed manual in it. Kinda a weenie tranny used in mustangs and light trucks in the late 70's early 80's. Overdrive fourth with a rail shifter. It's a lot smaller than a C6. I tried to keep the tunnel as close as possible too.

-Jeff