Technical Engine/Transmission swap on 1951 Merc M1 without frame mod?

Hi all,

I've got a 1951 Merc m1 pickup with stock flathead. I'm looking to do an engine & transmission swap. No fabrication skills really, so I'm wondering if there are engine and transmission combinations that do not require cutting or welding of the original frame. Are there a transmission that can be used without cutting the cross member? Hopefully bolt on mounts? Same question for engine. I'm not looking for massive power, probably just a 302.

 

No such thing as a simple bolt in IMO. But a (I hate to say being a Ford in a Ford guy) SBC with an adapter to the stock trans would be the easiest way to go. Again IMO. Others will differ.

 

Thanks for the info. To be honest, if I had to keep either the engine or the transmission, I might pick the engine. Cost of gas is crazy, and speeds are pretty limited.

 

Pretty sure that this is not a thing.

Do you have any friends that know how to fabricate?

 

Where are you located?

Members here are global, and some are very talented fabricators.

 

I'm in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

 

@Beanscoot, I know he's about 500km inland from you, but do you have any knowledge of who might be able to help him out.

My contacts are a bit thin up North.

 

If you are interested in keeping the V8 flathead, a T-5 transmission may be what you are looking for.
Yes, some fabrication required. But, this swap has been done many times.

It makes the old Ford engine very drivable

 

Were those V8 only, or did the get sixes too?

 

It's too dark to go out and stumble around and set the 51 F-1 crossmember I have on something to get a couple of photos of what you are looking at crossmember wise. I'm thinking that you can sneek some manual transmission tail shafts though it without major issues but an automatic isn't going to happen without some cuting and fabbing. I was going to use this one in the Model A I had with an S-10 T-5 behind and 8BA. I figured that I would have to do some trimming but not excessive. Now the whole pile of parts is waiting for a project to show up for it to go in.

 

If it is indeed a V8, they yes, indeed you can put a T5 5-speed transmission behind it.

That's exactly what I would do, too!

 

Some info here:
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/t5-in-a-shooebox.1275842/#post-14644491

 

If you go down the T-5 path, read this first. It’s a ton of info on the various different models of T-5’s.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-ultimate-t-5-article.171291/

Picking the right gear ratios is a big part of that swap. I haven’t been any closer to Kelowna than Osoyoos, but east or west you’ve got real hills. With a flathead and a truck, you’re a brick at highway speeds. I don’t have a clue about what 5th gear you could use, but the addition of 2 more of the right gears makes a hell of a difference in cruising in various terrain. Done right, you’ll love it. Probably so much the gas mileage doesn’t improve much.

 

Hurst mounts were available for Mercury and Ford cars that would let you install a later model overhead valve engine in your vehicle, using the appropriate engine mounts. That takes care of the front mount area. These mounts show up occasionally here on the HAMB as well as the other site. Look up oil/ n/ speed here on the HAMB, he usually has Hurst products for sale. He has an ad in the for sale section of September 16 for a right hand 1932 Ford pedal assembly, so he should be easy to find.

 

Check with Mid Fifty Ford Parts in Arizona. The girls that answer the phone know a lot and I know they have what you are looking for if it were a 53 to 56, but not sure about the 51.

 

Develop some fabricating skills. Buy a mig welder. They have really come down in price and are very affordable. Hurst style mounts can be found in the Speedway catalog. I looked up this swap in the 1968 Petersen "complete book of engine swapping" and they used Hurst style mounts and everything bolted up or you could use one of those crossmember style side mounts and go to an easy swap with an automatic. Looks like an easy swap in any case.

 

As goldmountain said, sounds like it is time to learn how to fabricate! Due to parts availability, you can't own one of these old cars without having to make something from another vehicle work now and again. Do you have a community or technical school near by that offers welding or machining courses, an adult education type thing?

Otherwise, you have a long winter to lock yourself into the garage with a new welder and a pile of scrap steel to practice with.

 

https://shoebox-central.com/49-51-mercury-small-block-chevy-motor-mount-kit

I used this kit from when it came form Butch's cool stuff. Like it says it's a literal bolt in , no welding required but you do have to drill a few holes. Kit works great for sbc, I think the Ford ones require some welding. Good luck!

 

Maybe you should rethink your advice. I'm pretty sure the car & truck frames are different.

 

A Mercury M1 is the Canadian Ford F1 pickup.

 

SBC and SBF can be adapted to the original transmission. It's the same stuff used in adapting these engines to pre-49 Eary Ford V8s (the cars not the engines) ...Bellhousing....clutch...stuff like that.
Speedway, Wilcap and others have this stuff for the Chevy conversion.

The SBF stuff is a little harder to find and be careful about vintage E Bay adapters as they could be for the early 5 bolt engines.

Mounts...The Chevy can be mounted off the front on "biscuits" to the trucks "flathead mounts". Again, places like Speedway have this stuff for the Chevy.

The SBF can be mounted on the flathead biscuits, but it requires a scarce "hurst type mount". For the Ford these bolted to the heads. These mounts can be homemade. One advantage of mounting the SBF off the front is it gives a lot of exhaust options. Some headers have trouble clearing the steering gear, but it is possible to put the headers on backwards (swapping sides). This can move the exhaust dump forward, clearing the steering gear.

Tube crossmember mounts are available and most of these can be bolted in.
The Ford C-4 transmission will fit and the original transmission crossmember can be used with the pad modified.

 

My bad, missed the M1 part. Carry on.