...just remembered, a friend a few years ago put a 300 six in a 70-something Ford Ranger p.u.,...the little ones,...jus sayin.
I will be pulling it in a month or so, we'll see what it looks like. I will update this and if it's a go it'll become a build thread! Thanks all, got some good ideas for things to try and watch out for.
Some of you who know me know I have several hot rods powered by Ford 300 sixes. While none are '40 Fords, a few are in very small, light cars. Here are a couple of pics of one in a '33 Willys coupe and a '48 Anglia. Both required firewall / floor mods. The Willys has a C6 trans; the Anglia uses a C4. The C4 is plenty strong enough and has a smaller profile. A few more facts to put your mind at ease: - All front end accessories on the 300 are mounted behind the front damper/pulley, unlike most V8s where the front end accessories mount ahead of the damper, lessening the relative length differences between six and V8. - rear sump oil pans were available in some chassis, lessening problems with steering interference. - I fit in them...and I'm 6'6". - re: Ruined resale value: Very often when I take mine out to a gathering I add someone to my "Hey Man, if you ever think about selling that car gimmie a call" list.
I bought a '46 Ford p/up with a 460 and I came this close to swapping in a six when I bought it. I sure wish I had opted to replace the 460 with the six. Woodscaper, Keep us up to date with your decision and your progress. Good luck. Feel free to contact me if you have additional issues / questions.
That is so cool! I Like the 300, if it's the same that came in the European ford D-series, they usually swaps well in the place of a V8. And they are very good mills, and is one of the few gas jobs that are almost as popular to swap in to trucks. Is it you who has a signature on the inliners forum about "ford 300" the best kept secret in drag racing"? It might not be the best fit for a 40 ford, but I'm a fund believer in the "use it if you got it", KISS and please yourself (somebody else might disappoint you and there is a reason that glasses is so popular ) And the Jimmy 302 and the 300 ford is the 6 shooter that puts the balls to the wall, and give a good thrashing to a half assed V8!! I got an angle grinder, welder, torch and a hammer, what do you mean by "it doesn't fit"!
Guilty is such a strong word in most mouths! But glad to know there is at least one more HAMBer on there.
here is a couple ford 6 performance articles http://bangshift.com/bangshift1320/...gether-and-mounted-them-on-a-ford-inline-six/ http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/879041-rebuild-an-inline-6-instead-of-a-v8.html
You didn't mention if your 39 is a deluxe or a standard. Completly different firewall and radiator. Either firewall would have to be cut so doesnt really matter there. Probably enough room to move a deluxe radiator up an inch or two, hood sides probably wont let you move a 39 up as much. I'm just finishing a 39 Standard Tudor I put a long pump 351W in. Did recess the firewall 4" (flush with the top section) but still no issues with pedals, legroom, ect. I ended up with 31" from the firewall to the back of the radiator plus I could of moved the radiator forward another inch if I had too. Someone above says the 300 is 37" long, that would mean a 9" recess, that would be a bunch and would mean x member issues, floor issues for sure. Someone else said it's only 6" longer then a flat head which adds up to around 32" so somewhere we are off about 5". Might want to grab a tape and measure you truck engine and your 39 engine compartment yourself, first step of any swap anyway. FWIW I think it could be cool but then I'm from the anything but SBC and even SBF in hot rod camp.
Starting in 41 or 42 Ford had a 6cyl available and although the cars have a wheel base 2" more than a 39' I think may fit w/out drastic firewall change...I visualize radiator being moved forward...
OK, made it up to the farm today to do some measuring, it's a 39 deluxe by the way. On the 39, approx distance from the back of the radiator to the back of the recess (which looks like the 300 would fit nicely in there if made deeper) in the firewall is 31" . Approx distance from the face of the bell housing to the front of the pulleys on the 300 is 33". Valve cover is a bit in front of that so that would help. Fan adds about another 3", so 36" overall including fan. That doesn't look insurmountable from my perspective, especially when I see replacement firewalls for big blocks recessed 5". Not sure what will happen on the lower side until I get it pulled and test fit it in the 39. It's a rear sump pan, so hopefully any problems will be minimal. I'm not sure I can move the stock radiator forward a lot, maybe an inch or so. Worst case that I can see is if I have to ditch the stock fan and go with a pusher electric or 2 on the front of the radiator, will probably have to get a new radiator anyway, so I can find one a little narrower and more efficient. I know pushers aren't the hot setup, (sorry!) but with a new rad they may be the answer. That big GMC looks pretty tight in there, almost looks like he didn't have any room for a fan. I'm starting to think this may work!
36" plus up to an inch or so for fan clearance to the rad makes it virtually 37" you need. And don't forget clearance at the rear as well, so all up you're looking for at least 6". edit. I see you are happy to ditch the engine fan and go with a pusher. I hope you don't have too much bracketry and sheetmetal in front of the rad to make that difficult to mount properly.
The 41pickup uses the same frame as the 39, to an extent, and it was available with a flathead six. Seems that I read someplace that the front crossmember was modified by Ford to accommodate the flathead six in the 41 pickup.
The 9 in. set back at the firewall sounds right. That's what it took to install the 300 in my model T. The back two cylinders are completely under the cowl. This posed a couple of problems you're going to need to think about if you don't want to cut the cowl. I know a model T is way different than a 39 Ford but in general these are the problems you are going to run into. All are fixable, you just got to figure out how. A) with the rear of the engine under the cowl, the engine will need to be placed low enough to get the valve cover off with the engine in the car. While still being high enough in the chassis to give ground clearance for the oil pan. ( That's why I mentioned the height of the engine is 22 in.). B) The back two spark plugs you will need to access from the engine bay, unless you can make a removeable panel. C) The oil filter is roughly under the # 5 cylinder wich maybe in line with firewall on that side. The firewall may need to be profiled so you can change the filter or relocate it with a kit. D) The rear stock exhaust manifold may dump right into the firewall. You may need to make a header. Cause if you run a single exhaust to solve space issues there's no point in doing any hop up mods cause the exhaust will choke it. Unless you find & buy the stock HD exhaust manifold. ( Good luck.). D) The stock location of the carburater is roughly in between cylinder 3 & 4 in the middle of the engine. If upgraded to 4 barrel, there needs to be enough clearance to the firewall plus linkage. I hope this helps, thank you.
If I was sharp enough on this computer, I would find and post that cartoon showing a guy beating on a dead horse right about now Unless you have extensive fabrication experience, and need to install this engine for a certain racing class, WHY BOTHER???? Just because you have the engine, you sure ain't gonna save enough money by not having to buy an engine to make up for the enormous amount of time and work it will take, even for an experienced fabricator, to accomplish this swap.
If I were contemplating such a swap that right there would be the dropped gauntlet that would make up my mind to do it now.
If we were trying to save money or have a sensible hobby, not many of us would be here. It's like the Ford flathead argument about the sound. Do we need a flathead and should we spend oodles of money to make them work? No, but they are cool in a priceless sort of way, and so is doing your own thing with the parts you have.
Gee, I thought this was a hot rod site where guys made engine swaps and did all kinds of cool fabrication. Maybe I should grease up the credit card and crack open the Summit and Speedway catalogs and order a sbc belly button and auto trans to keep everybody else happy! LOL.I wanted to see if anybody had done this exact swap, apparently from the responses so far, nobody has even tried, which I find quite remarkable, given the many years of experience of the members here. Maybe there is a good reason, if there is I will find out when I pull it and test fit it in the car. Many thanks to FTFlyer and chessterd5 and others for advice. I think that with the help I have, a business partner with a body/repair shop, and two other body shops in the family (hope I never have an accident, who would fix it???) who are also hot rodders and a inspection mechanic for a son in law, and a good friend who is a whiz fabricator and hot rodder, I think we can handle anything that comes up. Like I said, it's only about 2 inches longer than the flathead if you don't use the stock fan, and the possibility of a shorter water pump makes it even better. We'll see what happens! Thanks, all! Will keep this updated, Carlisle and Hershey are coming up soon, will probably be looking for stuff!
Look for a radiator from a 46-48 ford passenger with a 6 cylinder. Narrow as can be radiator. You should be able move it pretty far forward. Sent from my SM-N900P using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
..if E J Potter could put an Allison in a Dart wagon, this should be doable, ...hope you pull it off.
Brass works makes a brand new one, it's pretty pricey but they sell top quality products! Sent from my SM-N900P using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Tuban Industrial Ford in Mtn View CA had them complete on pallet racks.. sold them like shit through a tin horn to UPS. Worked on a ton of them in Mobil sweepers.. Ill never forget the one came in with an 'oil leak'..turns out it broke a rod knocked a hole in the block at #4...we stood there gazing at the crank spinning around through the 'rod window'..great engine,worth the time making it fit..
240/300 great motor we put one in a 56f100 , myself I won't do a swap if firewall needs mods , had a 37 sedan once with recessed firewall horrid thing , find yourself a small block Chevy do the swap in a weekend heaps of room in a 39 for Chevy
Woops forgot this bit your car do it your way but let's see the pics when you have it on the road that's the most important bit
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