Technical 48 Ford with Chevy and MANUAL Trans

A friend acquired a 48 Coupe and wishes for me to put a SB Chevy in it and a manual transmission. He wishes to use a 3 spd. Saginaw and retain the "Three on the Tree" shift linkage [if possible]. I have never swapped anything into a 41 to 48 [only pre-war stuff] but notice there is a lot of aftermarket stuff to put in the small block, but only with a one-legged-girl-trans. Can someone direct me to a source of engine/trans mounting paraphernalia using a standard trans? I'm not wishing to re-invent the wheel; Gotta be some one with experience, and willing to respond, so I get off on the right foot.

 

There are universal under floor pedals out there but I think your better off making the stock pedals work. The easiest would be an adapter from the SBC to Flathead trans. If he's dead set on the Saginaw, then I would make a Z bar set-up and linkage. The mount is the same as a TH350 (style and length from bell to mount) so you can use the A/T mount, if you want to make it a few inches longer find a Saginaw 3spd with an overdrive unit from a later 60's car.

I have a friend going the o/d Saginaw in a '50 Merc now.

 

Chassis Engineering should be able to fix you up with front mounts, and center crossmember parts to mount the Saginaw. They might even have some clutch linkage pieces to match the stock pedals to a Chevy bell-housing. This example is a 35-40, but they offer kits for 42-48 Ford passenger.

 

The Hurd front mount is the usual way to go. It's era perfect and should fit the car nicely.

 

There's a guy on the bay that sells brake pedal/ hydraulic clutch setups. Some like mechanical linkages but some prefer hydraulic. Hydraulic eliminates routing and obstruction issues. You might get lucky and use the stock column shifter.