Greetings I'm looking for information for connecting a late 51 Mercury 4 bolt transmission to a 59a engine. Seems the Ford hoghead is of no use in that adaption. The hoghead and the full circle bell together are as long as the 51 bell so there is no room for an additional adapter. Or, What is the best way to shorten the length of the 8ba engine? I am aware of the use of the truck water pumps, the changing the cam to use the earlier cam and crab type distributor. My main concern is related to the fan and generator mounted fans. The crank pulley seems to also be a problem. Dual carburetors spaced apart also creates a problem which looks like it can be avoided by use of an "alternator". Is it the 33 to 36 generator mounted fan that offers the best solution? Does some one make a pulley that will mount to a "alternator"? The 8N ford tractor had a fan that bolts on like the generator fans but think the engine speed might be a risk. What is the best solution for changing the upper radiator hose from the 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" hose?
Thank you I have considered that but I do not see how that is going to work on the 59A engine because of the clutch package. The Mercury uses a Borg Beck clutch and I am not sure, because the 59A flywheel is drilled for Long clutch. Will it work if 59A flywheel is redrilled to the BB clutch package? I did redrill a 50 eba flywheel to fit a Mercury clutch about 40 years ago. Jack
Expensive but here is a solution. Buy the Flathead to Chevy trans adapter with the clutch linkage. Then get the plate that will bolt to the Chevy pattern and has holes for the Ford pattern. I bought the parts to run an alternater with a fan. The alt needs to run fast to charge and the fan will be overspeeded. I am running a 40 gen with a 56 case so it produces 12V. Works great. You could take gen parts and make a short gen just to mount the fan and run an alternator on the side.
Post your question over on the Ford barn. fordbarn.com/forum These guys have all the answers you need.
Here is my 49 merc OD trans installed on a 59 L block. Although it has not been run yet it mated up to the block flywheel and clutch package with no problems in the the 40 Ford chassis. The OD parts required considerable surgery on the X member box though. The best reasons for not using the trans is that it uses the same gears as a 39 Ford and does not have a first gear synchro.
Thanks for the response. To, The 39 guy, I Like the look of your project. Doesn't the OD allow some gear change to first when moving? Seems like I remember my folks 50 OD Ford being able to shift into 1st without the awful gear sound. The 49/50 Merc OD uses the same size input shaft as the early Ford 3 speed. The 51 Merc OD that I have that started this research has the later Ford smaller input shaft thereby making this a difficult if not impossible combination. I have access to an old dealer rebuilt 59A series engine and hated the thought of not using it with an OD. Love old Ford parts. Thanks all Jack
I don't know Jack. I have not driven this combination yet so I only know what I have been told. I think the governor does not allow the OD to shift until you reach 28 MPH. I don't know if there would be any advantage or enough horsepower in the flathead to start the car in 1 high. I suppose you could leave it in OD and coast to a stop without compression but you still have to be to a complete stop to put it in first. Thanks for the compliment on my project. You can see the rest of the build here. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/a-40-ford-coupe-for-uncle-mike-build-thread.949053/
The main gearbox is just a standard old three speed. The first gear is not synchro, so it will grind if not at a stop or not speed matched. The overdrive will work in all gears but you must reach govenor speed before it will kick in. I have hundreds of thousand miles with them. I had a 270 horse chevy with one. For passing on two lane roads, I would shove it up into second over. When I was ready to go,I would open the dual fours and the trans would drop out of over, letting up on the accelerater would let it go into second over and then I would shift into third over. I was running a 2.54 trans set and a 4.56 rear. The car can roll back even though in gear if not in reverse. Always shove it back into reverse when parking. You can pull the lock out and then this does not apply.
Thanks for the info Andy! I am looking forward to learning how to shift one of these again. It has been almost 50 years since I learned to drive my 53 Ford with OD transmission.
Just curious regarding those brake lines over the exhaust - will you install a heat deflector .... as it appears the heat would cook the brake fluid in those lines? Peter the way the tail pipe was run in that photo would certainly have cooked the fluid in the brake lines. I took the chassis back to the muffler guy last week and he reconfigured the drivers side exhaust. There is now about three inches of clearance between the exhaust pipe and the brake lines. It is difficult to get a good picture that shows the gap. I may yet install some sort of shielding in this location just to be on the safe side.
Glad to hear that - here is a picture of my own chassis on the 35 Coupe where a heat shield is in place for similar reasons
Nice clean looking chassis! I was thinking of a similar shield attached to the exhaust pipe.I like that long extension on you master cylinder too.
If the OD is in freewheeling mode, the trans can be pulled back into Low with no clashing while the car is moving. BTW, the car won't "roll back" in that mode, but it will roll forward in any gear but reverse.
The 39 guy, On the photos of the Merc/B&W OD trans in the early frame, I am curious whether you had room for the shift solenoid or does it have the convertible car rocker plate set up that relocates it underneath? The 49 thru early 51 Merc trans uses the 1 3/8"-ten spline for a direct fit to 59 or earlier blocks. The late 51 through 53 Merc use the 1"-ten spline input with the late diamond shaped gears but they are all the narrow Borg Warner bolt pattern. There used to be adapters made by Offenhauser to fit the narrow Borg Warner pattern to the wide Chevy pattern (P/N 5204) that could be mated to a wide chevy adapter to flathead. I don't know if Offenhauser still makes any of that stuff or not. I've even seen hogs head truck half bells with ears welded on to fit the Borg Warner pattern. If you want the column mounted remote shift 3-speed/OD, the 49 to E51 Merc would be the easiest way to go.
The 39 guy, On the photos of the Merc/B&W OD trans in the early frame, I am curious whether you had room for the shift solenoid or does it have the convertible car rocker plate set up that relocates it underneath? rotorwrench, The solenoid is in the stock location' I had to cut a notch in the frame for the solenoid. I then made a cap to bridge the gap and give the solenoid some bump protection. I will be using the stock 40 column shift linkage. Thanks for sharing the OD info with us.
Very good discussion. BTW, Xpavr has made a floor shift unit out of a truck shift tower. Very nice piece of engineering. I had a friend (deceased) that connected a 39 style floor shift tower to a modified Merc OD unit by opening the top of the case and brazing an attachment ring to the case, all behind a full house flathead. FWIW, I am designing a shifter conversion out of a 3 speed shift tower, drilling a hole in the end of the tower an extending the shift rails out the rear. The linkage could then be connected to the extended rails. Shift pattern will remain original. In my prototype, I plan to eliminate the detents except neutral in the shifter and rely on the shift points in the transmission. When all said and done with floor installed, should not be able to tell its, not original 3 speed. My problem, trying to connect the late 51 Merc OD to an 59AB engine. Rotowrench mentioned welding to the Ford hoghead. How could I do that? Is the hoghead cast steel or iron? BTW, looking for good 49/50 or early 51 Merc OD. Hopefully Jack
I looked up the Speedway parts for you. 91628912 is the adapter and 5605204 will let you bolt you Ford trans to it.
Andy, I checked with Speedway, seems the combination for the two adapters totals approximately 5/8" to 3/4" too much length. Looks like the best option and I'm not comfortable with it, is to weld/braze trans mount ears to the hoghead for a correct bolt pattern. There is also a difference in the hole in the hoghead and the size of bearing retainer of the trans. I also checked with Cornhusker, same results, Guess I'll need a 49 to early 51 Merc transmission, or use a late 8ba flathead. Jack
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