I have a 1934 pick up that is a factory 4 cylinder and I have considered doing a later 8ba engine swap (engine just completed by Dennis Frings) and would like to know the over all difference in engine lengths? I have a rebuilt 39 trans that can be used with either of the engines ( I have the 1939 style Clings adapter for the 4 cyl ) other rear ends too. I can also look into one of the Corn Huskers T-5 adapter kits by Krylon if that would help in a conversion. Since these were offered in both 4 cylinder and V-8 versions, what might I need to look for or modify on the frame & mounts if I decide to go that route in the near future. Thanks for any help on this one.
I know @krylon32 has created a lot of 1932 truck adaptations. But with the extended firewall on the 34 he may not be able to help.
So to install a V8, you need a longer torque tube and the engine will have to be raised with adaptors.
If all 32 Ford passenger car frames are the same, and the rear of the transmission is mounted to the K member, how can the driveshafts be different between a 4 cylinder and a V8.
@BJR the op is talking about a 34 not a 32. On the 33-34 the transmission mount goes on one way with the 4 and turned around the other way with the V8. That allows the transmission to be moved rearward slightly for the length difference.
No problem. I often wondered why they didn't just do something with the front cross member to allow the 4 to mount slightly forward vs the V8 so there would be no need for different shafts.
without getting too deep into the theoretical differences between the 2 engines yet, what would be the issues of mounting up the V8 and trans to the 4 cylinders torque tube & rear end? Other than the engine being closer to the firewall and possibly not having enough clearance, everything else should be fine? If the fan was farther away from the radiator then couldn't it just be extended?
The 8ba’s distributor location will be also be a factor on location too as opposed to an earlier flathead. The distributor pushes the fan location toward the radiator.
If it was me, I would keep the 4 cylinder. I would get one of the high compression heads from Tod over on fordbarn for a little extra pep. I would send my transmission case to Mac VanPelt along with the complete 39 transmission and have him swap gears. It is not completely straightforward but is doable if you know what you are doing. There may be a little grinding on the case to clear the cluster gear and a sightly different assembly procedure. I would return the adapter to Cling for two reasons. First, I like original Ford parts. Second, I don’t see any place to attach the engine steady rods to the adapter. This might be a good excuse to ask them to take it back. If you decide to convert to the V8 here are a few things to keep I mind. Depending upon how authentic you want the truck to be you can ignore some of the comments. I make reference to’32 because that is what I am familiar with and make some assumptions based on that. Of course engine, motor mounts Muffler and exhaust system before muffler (same after) Radiator Radiator support rods (the 4 cylinder and V8 roads were different lengths on the ’32 so you might want to check) Engine steady rods (the 4 cylinder and V8 roads were different lengths on the ’32 so you might want to check) Hubcaps Accelerator linkage Engine splash pans Gas line needs to be routed from right on 4 cyl to left side on V8 Need to add V8 emblems Need to accept the fact that the serial number (VIN) is for a 4 cylinder Charlie Stephens
The Jalopy Journal
