If you have ever swapped a chrysler hemi and cad/lasalle trans combo into a '39/40 ford, I'd like to hear how it fit. Was it a extended bellhousing block? How much metal did you cut? Did you split the front bones? Cut the X-member? Did you adapt it to the torque-tube or open drive? Have to hammer/cut the firewall? ect, ect. Lets hear your experiences with this deal.
in 1959 I did that in a 36 Ford coupe. I had put the body on a 39 frame (same as 36) It was a 56/short bell housing. cut out the X member and made a cross member for the rear trans mount. I cut the firewall and split the wish bones. open driveline with a Pontiac Rearend. THe front fenders had a small triangular piece cut out for valve cover clearance. a few years before we put a 53 in a 40 with lots of clearance.
Thanks Tom. So the last sentence of your post indicates that prior to the '36 you put a long bellhousing 331 in a '40 without cutting anything, am I reading that right? You didnt have to recess the firewall and the X-member stayed intact? I assume you still had to cut the inner fenders for valve cover clearance? What trans did you use, early ford? Is the '36 narrower across the inner fenders?
The 40 used the original trans and mounts, I forget the inner fenders,but i do not think the firewall was cut. and yes the 36 is narrower in front. That was a long time ago!
Thanks Tom, good to know. Thats the sort of info I was looking for. Theres another thread on here that I was looking at where a guy has a hemi in a '40, I took a look at that as well. So anybody lurking this thread want to comment about how a side shift cad/lasalle box mated to the stock torque-tube is for clearance in the stock x-member? I am wondering if x-member needs some cutting to clear the shift linkage?
Until recently, I had a '40 LaSalle mocked up in my '36 for many years. It's a tight fit for a shifter conversion, unless you find one of the '60's kits that was designed for the 32-48 X member, that mounts it closer to the gearbox. Modifying a generic one is not difficult either. You do realize that the long LaSalle tailshaft will not work w/ a stock torque-tube? (Do a search for some options discussed in the recent past)
As far as I know, it will if you shorten and re-spline the output shaft, plug the extra holes in the back of the case, correct? And thanks for the input.
Basically, yes; but here are a couple of older threads w/ details and pics, utilizing the stock Ford trans. mount: "Lasalle Cad to Ford torque tube" and "LaSalle trans. to closed drive". (About 1/2 dozen newer threads from last couple of years as well.)
Yes, I found them. Thanks for the help. Shifter wise, the game plan is to just find a syncro-loc shifter tower and make rods and a mounting plate.
If anyone has more to add, especially on fitting a chrysler with minimal cutting, please feel free to chime in.
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