I'm about to start putting 302 and AOD from a 85 Town Car in my 53 Customline. What are some things I need to be aware of? I have the 302 my buddy helped me rebuild with a mild cam and carb. intake. I'm having the AOD rebuilt. and I have a rear end from a 68 Mustang (I think) that's the right width I'm putting 3.50s in and a radiator from a 67 Mercury Marauder that looks like it'll bolt right in. I want to get all this ready before I take out the Flatty. Any advise is greatly appreciated.
what are you gonna do with the flathead. and by the way the is one of the coolest stories about how you got that car.cheers
Hello- I just found this group. I am thinking about buying a 1953 wagon. Super claean patina car, no engine./trans. Is that Flathead running? I was going to put something later model in it...but it would be easier if I found a usbale flathead. I see someone else already asked, but...? can you send me a PM? Thanks, George.
If the mount pads for the 53 flattie are the same as for the 54 y-block it's a bolt in using 81 t-bird motor mounts and a simple spacer between the pad and the MM. You will have to remove the transmission crossmember and fabricate a new one using the trans mount from the town car. (my AOD came from a 81 Marquis) Do you have the town car drive shaft? It might be long enough to be a donor for the drivline build. You will also find that the 302 is quite a bit longer than the flathead. This may be a radiatior clearance issue. When my clip is ***embled with the 70 something pickup radiator I have has exactly 1/2 inch between the lower pulley and the rad. Not really an issue since I'm using electric fans but it looks funky and I'm looking for a way to shorten the water pump and then use a shorter crank pulley. The shorty aftermarket headers from 93 or so mustang almost fit like a glove. I had to rearrange the left one a bit to split the difference between the block and the steering gear. Cool red car you got there. Like the way you got it back.
10 bucks,I wrote a lengthy article here on the HAMB about water pumps and pulleys,I notice you may have a Professional Products balancer,if so they are the early short style and will use either 3 or 4 bolt pulleys and if you go V-belt you can use the 66-69 Mustang short water pump and pulleys and that will give you a lot of clearance,send a pm to Don aka rustyfords and give Him your email to send photos of His install,you will be able to run a mechanical fan no prob if you want to.
The mounts on a '53 and a '54 are night and day different,'54 and later have side mounts '53 and earlier had front mounts that attached to the flatheads water pumps.1954 and later require a front sump oil pan,'49 to '53 SBF swaps will need a Fox 5.0 oil pan (I have a new one for sale with pick up) to clear the center crossmember.There is an ebay store called Opies that have a '49-53 mount kit available the universal SBF mount used in Ford trucks from Trans-Dapt will work also.
see http://www.butchscoolstuff.com/49-60FordParts.html he's got the mounts for ya. i have just finished fitting a 302/aod in my '52 customline, looks and fits like it belongs in there. No tunnel issues, and using a trans pad from a mid eighty's aod crown vic. Also the oil pan I used was the one already on the motor, a 87 F150 302, lots of clearance for the steering arms. All the pickups and broncos in that age range used the same pan, check out rockauto.com for a part number. You will however have to measure your crossmember to firewall, it will be either 15" or 17", butch has instructions on his site so you can get the right mounts. Mine is 15". good luck, PM if you need more info.... Howie
The Jalopy Journal
