Hey Everyone, I've done a LOT of reading in the archives and there's TONS of great stuff, but I still have a few questions specific to putting a small block ford 302 (5.0) into a Model A: I'm trying to determine how high I want the carbs to sit as I'll be getting a 2 two-barrel setup built by Dick at Dick's Hotrod Place. If you happen to have a Model A with a SBF I'd really like to know the distance from the top of the motor (or intake) to the top of the gas tank. I'd like the carbs to sit high, but not too high. Tops of the air filters a little above the gas tank would be cool. Does anyone know which Mallory distributor might be available with a crab cap? Or other brand? My engine is a '93 or '94 and I'd like to run the Edelbrock finned valve covers with no holes. I read somewhere that there is a water pump backplate that has an oil filler tube. Does anyone know what vintage this was from? Has anyone used the Snow White shortie water pump kit? Opinions? My car is a '29 sedan that I'm shooting for an early '60s vibe with. Probably fenderless, stock body, low dropped axle in the front, a little higher in the back, skinny bias plies. I've got most of the parts I need and am planning to begin the build this winter sometime. Thanks for the advice! Dave R BTW, the banger is going in my '29 coupster which I won't start building for a while yet.
28 is in storage so can't measure it. Has a edel intake, edel carb, cal custom lid. I'm playing around in the garage and set a old streetmaster intake, holley, old lid on the 302 in my shoebox. Just measured it. 10 inches from intake by the valve cover to the top of the little lid. oh there is a 1 inch spacer i thru on there as well.
Cool, thanks for the pix, Tedley, that will help. Give's me some reference points to look at. But it looks like I should be able to go 14" or 15" pretty safely. That motor sure looks good in your '28!
My suggestion is to set the motor in a normal low position and then use riser blocks to get your carbs where you want them. Dave
heres a pic of the timing cover your looking for , early 221 260 289 ford with the oil fill tube , we made our own oil fill tube up on the lathe and pollished it ! you have to run an early block and drill it for the provision where the oil goes in ! 93 -94 doesnt even have the casting in the block so not gonna happen sorry ! heres a pick of the engine in my model a roadster pickup so you get an idea on carb height ! timimg covers were available from around 62 - 64 and a half probably and are a little tricky to find ! i'm running the snow white conversion on my 302 , expensive but no other way for me saved around 2 inches over the stock plus my firewall is recessed 4 !
If you want the carbs above the gas tank you will need to run a tunnel ram, and the timing cover is pre 66.
Hey, thanks for the input, everyone! It looks like even with 4" spacers the air cleaner tops should be well below hood level, which is cool with me. Too bad about the timing cover, though. Oh, well. It looks like the SBC is a lot easier to shoe horn into a Model A. I'd really like to not cut the firewall on this car. I could move it back slightly. Would it be easier to just find a flathead v8 for this project? The Cad 331 engines are pretty bitchin too. Are they long like the SBF? Thanks again!
Here's some pictures of my 34 truck, not an a but it is a 289 ford with a 2x2 set up. I do have a 1/4 in riser in the back that has a provision for a vacuum port.Hope this helps!
Thanks for the pics, Master, that's a sweet looking pickup! I really like the look of the 2x2 setup on there too. For anyone else concerned about sbf length for Model As I found a great thread here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=196403&highlight=sbf+model Opinions and solutions all over the gamut, of course, but it looks like I can get this to work for me. I may go ahead with the Snow White water pump to lose 2", reverse the firewall, and I'm planning to use a '36 Chevy p/u grill shell I have so that can be mounted forward of the stock location to gain any extra I might need. I hope!
Who carries this water pump kit? Im running into a radiator clearance issue cause im runnin the stock water pump with a surpentine setup. How far back is the first hole in the block from the front cross member. '29 truck
Hope I can give some insight into shortening up a sbf. I have a sbf in my 27 roadster (on a model a frame) and for years ran it with the stock water pump but never had room for a proper electric fan, had to run the slimline ones that put out hardly any air. When I freshened up the car last year I built a 331 stroker for it and wanted to make sure I had the best SPAL fan on it that I could fit, so I decided to use one of the short water pumps to pick up another 1.5 inches or so. I considered the Snow White setup, but decided to go instead with the one made by Ford Racing. In the end it was not the best choice. First off, it ended up costing me better than $ 1000 to do it because to make it work I needed the correct timing cover, short water pump, correct Ford Racing damper, and special pulleys. That is where the problem came in, the pulleys were discontinued by Ford Racing, so I was on my own. March Pulley Co was ZERO help, even though they are right down the road from me (VERY rude, unfriendly people). Finally I found some Zoops pulleys that would work, but the crank pulley needed machined to fit the spacer (also a Ford Racing part). I finally got everything buttoned up and right after getting the car running the brand new water pump started spraying water out of a seal. I airfreighted another pump in from Summit so I could get the car running in time for Turkey Run , installed it and drove to Daytona. That night as I pulled onto the highway to go to dinner I was showered with gallons of hot antifreeze, the new water pump had blown the back gasket out. Spent the next day in a rental car, running around to get parts and put it back together. Car was ok for Friday night and Saturday, but coming home Sunday the engine started to knock like mad. Rented a UHaul truck and car trailer and hauled it home. When I tore it down I found the diffuser plate on the back of the impellors had come off . I finally figured out what was wrong, the Zoops pulleys were the wrong size and I was overdriving the water pump by 50%, and with 4:30 gears in the rear my rpms were always high anyway. I found a company named RunneRite that made the Ford Racing pulleys originally, and bought a set of their pulleys, which are the correct size and they run the pump much slower. Since I made that change I have had no more problems. Sorry for the long tale, but I wish I had just gone with the Snow White kit in the beginning. I saw a car at Billetproof last Saturday with the SW kit and it looks very compact. My one Son is building a 46 Tudor using a sbf, and I am going to recommend he use the SW kit rather than go the route I did. Just thought this might save someone else a lot of hassles like I had. Don
Don.......thanks for the info. unfortunate story. Thats what Im truin to do, is to eliminate changing everthing around several times. Its just a royal pain in the rumpis to get this all figured out. I need to get this accomplished so I can start on the body. Thanks again Don
Here is my 302 in a 29 roadster. Stock water pump (rh inlet) sits close to fan but works and runs cool.
If you're going to be running a Ford engine in an A on A rails, you WILL be cutting the firewall thanks to that long waterpump on the front. On 32 rails you can keep the back of the engine off the firewall. With the Ford tho you can't get away from the old engine setback into the firewall racer look on A rails. Another reason everybody and their kid brother runs a Chevy in their Ford. My fan damned near touches the radiator and the rear exaust header tube will probably hit on the side of the cowl unless I bend it foreward or trim the cowl slightly if I go with outside the frame headers. The Ford is THAT long. I made a flat firewall set back a couple inches.
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