Hello, I looked around and could not not find an answer specifically to my question. I am considering buying a 1954 +/- Poly "Semi Hemi" 241 or 270. Why? It's cheap and not a SBF/SBC. I want to put it in a 26 T Roadster. I have a 1966 top loader 3 speed or a 1936 top loader 3 speed. I find most adapters state they fit a 331 or 392. No mention of the baby hemi. I have read the Poly and the Hemi share the same block. I'm not looking for power. What are my options for using the Ford transmissions on an early baby hemi block? Set me straight if I have something wrong here. Thanks.
I believe the engine is from a 1955 Plymouth Savoy. It could be a 241 or 259. Might not be a 270. The blocks should all be the same for the early poly v8s.
I look forward to seeing what sort of options pop up for you. I have a 241 hemi but have nothing to put it in at the moment and don't know what I'd want to put behind it for a transmission. Lynn
The small dodges (as well as DeSoto hemi's) use the same adapter as the '54 to '58 Chrysler big hemis. They are available, but not for a lot of transmissions. You can "stack" adapters. I have a Chrysler to early ('32-'48) Ford and a early Ford to Chevrolet for some future unnamed project. Since the Mopar 883 uses the later Chrysler bolt pattern. I am unaware of an adapter to mate them to an early engine We have a member here "73RR" who is an expert in things like this. Perhaps he will chime in.
If you mean the Mopar A-833 four speed, they are very expensive. I have all of the parts for the early and late Ford top loaders, so free to me parts. I am not familiar with the "883". This is a very budget build. No paint and built with cast away parts. My other option for an engine would be a 1950 Ford flathead six, but I would have to butcher the frame and body. I know where a Poly is sitting and no one else is gona save it.
I was unsure if there was a difference in bellhousings. All early Hemi/Poly blocks had the block extension and were the same pattern?
"73RR" here on the Board is Quality Engineered Components. Believe all of his adaptors are for the SB 727 A/T (904 won't work), as said you can use his 392 adaptor on your Poly. Hot Heads and WilCap have adaptors for manual various manual ones.
I picked up a 241 Hemi last fall for a future Modle A Coupe build. Since I already have several 1939 transmissions for my roadster project with a flathead I thought I might go that route and picked up a Hemi to Early Ford adapter. It was never used, the price was right and I didn't plan to expand the horsepower on hemi by much. Plus I already had put a some work into a transmission crossmember for the Model A frame. Then a month or so ago I picked up a 315 Hemi which got me to thinking about the additional horsepower that comes with the 315 Hemi and the possibilities for adding a bit more. So I started to do my research and keep in mind that I am still learning. As some others have mentioned, except for the long bellhousing blocks, the Dodge, Desoto and Chrysler share the same bellhousing bolt pattern. The flywheels interchange but there is a difference between the tooth count from 6 to 12 volt so that has to be taken into account. You will most likely need to purchase an adapter. There were not that many of the Hemis that came with a manual transmission. My 315 came from a truck so in the pile of parts was the original cast iron bellhousing (very heavy). The pile of parts also included a new adapter to convert to a Turbo 350 automatic. As far as transmissions. I lucked into a Ford Toploader 4-speed which I will convert to a cane shifter by doing the Jeep 4-speed shifter modification using the T-176 or T-177 shifter housing. You can do something similar I believe if you have the Ford 3-Speed Toploader using the shifter housing from a Jeep T-150 transmission. Plan B is an S10 T5 if I decide to go the overdrive route. In the end, you have options but the adapters can get expensive and from what I am figuring out the word Hemi and budget don't fit in the same sentence well. Good Luck!
Hothemiheads says they have one. http://hothemiheads.com/transmission_adapters/hemi_48_ford.html In stock or not ??
Just a few items of 'housekeeping'.... All of the engines mentioned have the same crank flange design. All pre-62 flywheels register to the OD of the crank flange. Flywheels can be found with 4, 6 or 8 attaching bolts. The 4-bolt units are usually found on the Plymouth 201-208-218 engines. The 201-208-218 Plymouth flywheels should NOT be used due to a deeper 'hat' that will screw up starter engagement. This is a result of the crank flange offset from the face of the block; 1" for the Ply's and 1.185 for everyone else. Also, be sure to verify which flywheel your chosen adapter requires; 146 tooth or 172 tooth.
I am using a hemi to flathead trans adapter in my 241 powered roadster, I bolted a flathead to chevy adapter to that and am using an old 3 speed Chevy trans. I like the 40-48 Ford clutch linkage. It is clean and simple. I bent the flathead clutch fork to use the Chevy throw out bearing on a Chevy clutch. The cross bar linkage is easy to modify so every thing lines up and it is easy to adjust the throw. It has served me well for three decades.
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