1952-59 Ford How hard is this gonna be?

I have a 53 customline with a sbc in it that has bitten the dust. I wanna go with a 302 or 351 and was curious how different the engine mounts are from the 350 i have in it now.

 

Save yourself a whole bunch of h***le. Replace the Chevy with another Chevy.

 

I agree with Eric, It would be a whole lot easier to replace the chevy than to rebuild your engine bay, transmission cross member, modify your drive line, and re-do you radiator spouts. There are some great deals out there on chevy crate motors.

 

I am a Ford guy and would love to see a nice 302 under the hood . Now speaking from a neutral position , You already have everything set up for a sbc so just get another one . If you go with the 302 you will need another trans , cross member and drive shaft not even going under the hood to change things for the engine .
I really pains me to say it but you know the cheapest way to fix your problem !

Jim

 

well it is realy hard to make my fingers type it , but unless your dead set on a ford engine . put another chevy in it . but i am the type that would have to put a ford in it . to each his own .

 

thanks everyone for the input. i am on kind of a budget with a baby on the way, i really wanted to go ford but i also want to drive the car in the fall and winter since the texas heat limits my driving in the summer.

 

Texas like AZ has it's hot summers,if you run the SBC you can probably check out local wrecking yards for the pulleys and brackets to add A/C,for a retro look you can do what I am doing in my '54 by using a 65-66 Ford Mustang under dash unit.When I put A/C in the '65 C-10 I had I scored the brackets pulleys,compressor and condenser for $85 and found a good under dash unit for $35 I had the hoses made up and bought a new dryer added the 134a kit and had A/C for under $200.

 

so i did a little looking, and the stock cross member for the tran was never moved and the turbo 350 isint actually touching anything, as far as i can tell. the two engine mounts that were added to my 53 are just some box tubing welded to the frame. so with all this in mind how big of changes would i have to make to put a 302 in it.

 

i say go for it.. can you cut/weld?

 

yes i can on both fronts, i actually found a 302 here in texas for 350 bucks. it runs with no smoke or leaks.

 

"so i did a little looking, and the stock cross member for the tran was never moved and the turbo 350 isint actually touching anything, as far as i can tell. the two engine mounts that were added to my 53 are just some box tubing welded to the frame. so with all this in mind how big of changes would i have to make to put a 302 in it."

Uh, oh! This isn't sounding so good...

Little as I like to think about it, there may be a Ford in your future. Even I have to admit that putting a SBF in one of our cars is the easiest and least-cost way to upgrade the running gear...if you're not fussy about nostalgia, which I am.

The best thing is that there are a LOT of guys on this site who'd MUCH prefer that you put a Ford engine in your car...and they're not shy about saying so!

Me and Geno, well, we're a minority...AND DAMN PROUD OF IT!

Be sure to get as much of the small stuff as possible when you get the engine/transmission from the donor car. Linkage pieces, relays, etc., etc. will come in handy when you go to switch your car over. Chevy stuff and Ford stuff don't mix most of the time.

 

Before you take out those Chevy mounts you might take a look at these at your local O'Reilly's ,this motor mount uses a similar mount to some Chevy mounts it is for a 1968-72 Mustang: ANCHOR 2257 L&R for 302 & 351W $9.99 ea.Also get an Energy Suspension trans mount part# 4-1104G($22) if they don't have it in stock they can order it this will mate a C4 or AOD to your stock crossmember,You will need a late model dual sump pan for the 302(I have a used one with the pickup)$35 + shipping if you need it.The dual sump will clear the '53 crossmember,if your pan is a front sump someone doing a 302 swap in a '54-56 will need it.Glad to see a Ford going back in a FORD.

 

See...it's started already!

 

Been there done that! Mine had a 307 chevy in it and I wanted to go back ford. Took a lot of work (not knowing what I was doing though). Glad to have a ford engine back in there but given the same opportunity I would have dropped a 383 stroker in it vs. the stroked 302 ford. The funny thing is my dad spent endless hours working that chevy motor in 15 years ago, (dam distributors in the wrong place) and I did the same now going back to a ford. Dont get excited though Missydad, my dad is not a "chevy" guy, he is a "use whats free at the time" guy, and so happened to be a 307. Pulled a 390 out of it to put the 307 in. My mainline has had a few surgeries.

Easiest thing would be for them to just leave it alone to start with and if I want a chevy motor I will get me a chevy car to go with it

I will tell you this though, LOT cheaper working on the chevy motors

 

What a hoot!

It's all pipe, iron & wire,eh? And I guess cheap is as cheap does... It all boils down to personal preferences, right?

On my way out to pick up some farm equipment this afternoon, a guy stopped by to talk "Ford talk" (I turned my collar around) and he asked if any of my extra Fords parked out back were for sale (they're not). Told me he's got a '36 Plymouth with a SBC in it. But he has and wants to build a '53 Mainline with a 351W , and is looking for 'stuff'. We're gonna get together again at the local cruise/meet on Thursday. Another lost soul returns to the fold??

Now I think I'm gonna go to the "theology and politics" website for some thought provoking conversation where everyone agrees on everything

All kidding aside, good for all who do what they want to do with their cars, and have fun doing so. Good, bad or indifferent, variety is indeed the ****e of life. 'Course, I'm a bit partial to corporate blue ****e

 

I have a 55 Ford and changing to a 302 & C4 . I know it's not the same year but just change the motor mounts and trans mounts and you should be fine . The only other thing that is different will be the drive shaft . If yours will be too short , go to your local salvage yard and find an Aerostar . they have the nice alum drive shafts .

I am glad to hear that your FORD will be running on blue blood again !
Just a suggestion !

Jim

 

ok fellow ford guys, you will all be proud to know that im about to be the proud owner of a freshly rebuilt ford 302 with everything on it and a c4 to go in my 53 customline. it is a front sump so i will have to get a dual sump pan but thats about it. wish me luck on getting it and then getting it all to go in. and i dont mind trashing my driveshaft cause it wont hold a balance and makes my car drive like a skateboard.

 

You can use a common Mustang 302 dual sump pan that are easy to find . If you use the Aerostar D/S ,they are long enough for the machinist to cut down to fit plus it's aluminum ! If not I believe the cop cars and Crown Vics are long ones too . You will be glad to made the change ! You will also have to change the radiator due to the bottom inlet is on the p***enger side . You will need the inlet to be on the drivers side unless you have a strange 302 . Is it going to be stock or are you going to give it a better "Bump Stick" ?
Do you have a roller block or a flat tap block ?
Good Luck with your engine swap and if you need any computer help , just ask me anytime !

Jim

 

Mr.h, let me know if you need that dual sump pan& pickup

 

hey jeffb2 i think i am going to need that pan from ya, pm me.

 

ok i have a question, will a lokar shifter thats on a turbo 350 work on a c4 transmission? i got lucky and my nice edelbrock carb fits the new 302 i got.

 

Contact Lokar and ask them. That's the only way to know for sure.

 

Well Eric..... We'll have to stick with our "Chords"!
I like working on chevy engines and they are so cheap to get horsepower out of them. I had them in every rod I've ever built and that makes it easy to choose again because of all the parts I have for them.

 

genollsk , you can get plenty of HP & torque from a little 289 & 302 . I have been building them for many years and have no problem getting plenty of neck snapping torque from them ! It really doesn't cost anymore to build Ford than an Chev . I have built both engines and neither costs much more than the other .
Just watch out in 2011 . Those little Ford engines are going to start eating up those orange engine ! Look for the Mustangs and watch out , they are a real beast ! Rated at 412 hp at 6,500 rpm and 390 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm in the 2011 Mustang . That is stock right off the showroom floor ! Remember that's a 5.0-302 , not a 350 !

Jim

 

Hey Retro... I will agree with you.... Chevy and Ford are matched pretty well now days. It's hard for me to get away from the chevy's as my shop is full of chevy stuff, very costly to start over! Today's technogoly is amazing getting all that horsepower while getting the emissions to p***, no way we could do that years ago. I'm old school with engines as I don't own all the tools that are needed to rebuild or change the late model stuff. I have a 2,600 mile 2009 6 liter GM engine out of a pickup with transmission and all computers and wiring that is waiting to go into something.... What a hell of a mess to look at!!! Just the aftermarket wiring package is almost more than what I paid for the motor/transmission!!!!

 

I'm not going to get involved in this pi**ing contest, Geno. I'm just going to keep wrenching on my SBCs and watch the world go by. I'm a happy guy.

'Course I've been known to stir the pot a bit from time to time, but you can't hold that against me...can you?

 

hey does anyone have a starter for a 302 with a c4

 

What is a roller block or a flat tap block?

 

Roller block is a roller cam and roller lifters .
Flat tap is the old style lifters name , non-roller .
Most companies changed over in 1985 . That is why us guys using flat tap cams have to be concerned on what oils we put into our engines !

Jim

 

mr.h , Why not just rebuild your starter and replace the brushes and bendix gear . They are easy to do .

Jim