Hi guys. I´m hoping that you can give me some advice about swapping a 1985 sbf/aod into my ´50 mercury. I allready tried search function and i wasnt able to find good pictures of motor mounts,the ones that bolts/welds to frame. Does anyone have any pics and maybe even measurements of them? Here´s a couple of pictures where i´m at the moment, and i´m wondering that should i get the engine even further back? Steering linkage just bearily clears the oil pan,of course there would be more clearance when i lift engine about an inch but still i´m not sure if there would be enough room? (Wheels are tilted at this pic,there is more room when wheels are pointing straigth ahead.) And do i have to make a new transmission crossmember? Transmissions oil pan hits the crossmember,i dont think oil pan would rise enough even if i put rubber mount between crossmember and tranny. Thanks, Tommi
First thing that catches my eye is that you are trying to position the engine but only using a bare block. I really think that you should have a more complete assembly in the hole. I have to wonder about clearance issues like exhaust manifolds/headers; head to firewall; fan to radiator; you mention raising the block for more pan clearance but what about the level of the carb base? I would leave the trans x-member for later, they are easily modified to suit whatever trans. If someone makes a swap 'kit' then perhaps all your concerns are covered. Just my $0.02
I put one in a 53 Ford (same setup) using Trans Dapt style mounts from Speedway and ended up notching the front cross member to clear the front of the pan. The engine sat about an inch forward from where your engine is and just high enough to not touch the center link with the wheel cranked all the way either direction. The transmission was also raised about an inch off the cross member but the engine still went slightly downhill in the rear.
Looking at your pictures again that master cylinder placement could be a challenge when doing the exhaust. Also I remember having to use a remote oil filter but you may be able to avoid that by notching the cross member. Just make sure you put some steel back in wherever you do any clearancing.
You can buy the mount kit from brockman cost is 179.95 gives you the engine and trans mount. In your picture the engine is too far back also you will need a bronco oil pan as the sump is in the back. Other than that it is a easy drop in. No trouble with the exaust.
Hi guys and thanks for answering. I forgot to say that i allready know that there is kits to do this swap,it´s just that i´m pretty tight with money right now and i´m able to do them by myself so thats why i´m asking pics of them. Are they similar with 49-51 ford swap mounts? Plate that bolts to block surely is the same but how much differense there between frame mounts? Ok,i understand that i need to put heads and maybe manifolds in place so i can see if there is any interference. I think there is plenty of room for carb so i dont worry about that. And if you look at first pic you can see that there allready is oil filter remote kit installed,i think there is no room for filter unless i can find a shorter one. Why do i need a bronco oil pan? It looks pretty much the same as my pan,mine is double hump pan from ´85 crown vic,and it has sump in at the back. Tommi
www.speedwaymotors.com they have a few different kits, there's always some mods you'll have to do.None of them usually "bolt right in"
Not sure if it will help, but, I'm using the front cover / water pump off a '94/95 Mustang on the 302 in the A (see avatar, it's the before pic). It's the shortest factory pump and accessory drive that I was able to find, and way cheaper than the 'short' setup Ford Racing sells. OT here as it's serpentine, but I don't know how much that matters to you in your build though. If that's not a concern, disregard. If you want to fab mounts, the ones in the A are a tube that holds the bolt for the factory 302 cushions and they are welded to 2 pieces of steel welded together like a T. The top goes from the top edge of the tube to the frame and tapers wider at the frame, the lower piece is vertical and catches the tube in the center and tapers wider to the frame acting as a gusset. Both sides are visibly identical (if you measured them maybe not, but I haven't as we were just trying to get it to fit). I personally would prefer poly mounts as I think part of a few small issues I'm having is a resonance problem between the springs in the marcell carrier in the clutch and the softness of the factory style rubber mounts. Porbably not an issue for your build though (as I expect you aren't running an aluminum flywheel or a stroker 331). Hope some of that helps.
It looks like the Mercury cross member is a little different so the Ford frame mounts from Speedway probably won't work but the kit mg mentioned http://brockmancustomparts.com/page1.html is specific to Mercurys. As far as I can tell you do have the rear sump pan.
First of THANK YOU for putting a SBF into your Ford ! Second there are a good bit of dealers that make kits to put that sbf in to your car . That is a very common set up . Also I do have to agree with "73RR" on this one . A block only helps to see the a tiny bit of the picture . Put in the complete engine you want to use to see what the problems will be . There is nothing worst than doing all the work and the damn complete engine won't fit ! That really sucks ! Most anyone that sells parts for a 50 Merc will have the engine mounts . Even Summit or Speedway has the engine mounting bar that you can bolt or weld in for a engine swap . Let us know how everything works out .
Hello again. It was a good advise to hook up cylinder heads and manifolds,now i´m even more depressed... It´s pretty tight between manifold and steering box and master cylinder,i´m wondering what kind of manifolds people are using? Do i need block hugger headers or is ok to have manifolds this close? Will the heat do damage to cylinder rubber? And to make things even worse,i used ford master cylinder from the same crown vic and it has ports pointing towards the manifold,so brake lines will also get pretty close. I made that m/c bracket by instructions i found here at hamb,and i understood that it will clear pretty much any engine you put in there. Maybe i should have used gm unit which has ports pointing the other way? Gap between m/c bracket and manifold will get slightly bigger when i fabricate new transmission crossmember,tranny sits pretty high up at the moment as it just lays over stock crossmember. Good news was that passenger side was ok,there´s plenty of room. This is where it sits at the moment,i think that if i tilt it just a little bit,then the oil pan will clear both crossmember at front and steering linkage at the bottom. Oil pan rests on crossmember,any idea how much gap there should be? Will 1/2" be enough? Somebody also mentioned shorter mustang waterpump,it would be great but i think it is reverse rotation unit so if i´ll buy that i would also need new frontcover so that´s a no no,atleast at the moment. And yes,i´ll allways use ford in a ford! Tommi
You have the right oil pan. The Bronco deal is old tech and will hit the center link. In the early '80s, guys in my old club (Rockin' Relics) built 6 sbf powered 49-51 Mercs using the old Hurst mount kit. Bought one kit and reproduced it for the rest. I realize the Hurst stuff is old news today, but it worked for us and positioned the engine just right. We put many miles on the setup, and it worked flawlessly. You should be able to find one of these cheap at a swapmeet or on e-bay. Try a Wix 51335 oil filter to clear the chassis.
Don't worry about it. You have plenty of room for the motor swap and raising the front of the motor a little wont hurt any thing. If you have some blocked transmission bolts on top you can always mark and drill with a hole saw on the firewall area for easy access. Just install a cheap prong plug to block the holes with. Looking at your header clearance you have a ton of space and as to the master cylinder you have the junk yard option of swing peddles to choose from and relocate the MC to a more convent area.
Just got your PM. Any shots from the front? That setup looks REAL low in the car. I did have some interference from the drivers cyl head to the firewall (VERY tight) but nothing like what you are having. The trans pan (I used a C4) wasnt laying on the crossmember either. What trans are you using?
Hi. I´m using aod transmission. I´ll take more photos of it. Yeah,it sits pretty low,i´m gonna rise it a little more. Tommi
Ok the SBF engine is fairly small in size but can be a real paint in the ass to fit into a 49-51 Merc and with a AOD auto trans it gets harder but can be done. I think your 302 is a later model with a serpentine belt drive and is the shortest one avai. You will have to raise the engine up about 2 degrees more than the norm in the front to get enough oil pan clearnce at the crossmember and a remote oil filter kit. You will also need to make a new trans mount but they are fairly easy to make. As for your MC & line location i personally do not like them slighty close to anything real hot but i have seen many done like what you have so it your call but if it was mine i would be moving it. If needed you can move the core support forward fairly easy to help clear the belt drive assy. GB, Erickson / Extreme Kustoms 951 678-3520
I did it using a set of Mark VII mounts (I think). Check out my album, had to modify the front crossmember quite a bit. Looks rough in the picture but was halfway through the modification when I took the pic. Engine was in and out of this daily driver about 25 times!!! Mounts are sitting on the radiator support. Off the shelf parts!!! <TABLE cellPadding=6 width=750><TBODY><TR><TD align=center></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I know I can't offer any advice, but my 50 merc has a 302 with a C4 transmission. The way the engine was mounted appears to be homemade from the previous owner from what I can tell and if you are interested I can take additional pictures. I do have these two pictures that kind of give an idea on how my engine is mounted. Hope this helps.
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