any one know what size clutch and where i can buy a clutch kit ? i have not pulled tranns yet, kind of wanted to have all parts on hand before i start. all the brain surgeons ive talked to dont have a clue. im guessing its a 10 inch like in a truck. 9 1/2 was 51 ford car.
I just pulled the engine and transmission from my 51 Mercury and the clutch in mine was 10 inches. I seen speedway has some clutch disc but haven’t found a pressure plate yet.
https://www.kanter.com/content/Mercury/kanter_Mercury_1951_Clutches_113785.html http://dennis-carpenter.com/car49-59transmission-clutch/c/2860/
A factory clutch in a ‘51 Merc is a Borg & Beck three finger and it will have six evenly spaced bolts holding it on the flywheel. The clutch Kanter shows is a Long style three finger, but look at the holes for the bolts- there are three sets of two. I think you are correct, your Mercury should have a 10” PP, but you might want to verify if it has a Borg & Beck PP which was factory equipment in 1951. The pressure plates are not directly interchangeable without redrilling the flywheel.
merc should be 10 is this an actual picture from kanter or just a representation? sometimes they do that
This is the clutch and pressure plate out of my stock 1951 Mercury 8CM flathead and three speed overdrive. I just pulled this out a couple days ago, the ones in kanter are 9.5, this is 10. Hopefully it helps you out.
Sum54 has shown what you should have. I would not order anything before verifying what is in your car. Depending on the timeframe you are working with you might consider having yours rebuilt by Fort Wayne Clutch in Indiana. Setting the finger heights is critical on a pressure plate and you have no idea where a new PP was manufactured, or what quality was put in.
It's a long shot to see if they will rebuild a clutch for an individual but this outfit is in your area .http://www.uniqueclutches.com/aboutunique.asp A search shows that they have done work for individuals before. Worth a go and you know you will get the right stuff if they rebuild what you have.
Contact Lincoln Clutch & Brake in Lincoln, NE. I’ve used them for years. They will likely know what you need and have it on the shelf. Brick and mortar shop with very knowledgeable folks answering the phone and they ship all over.
The '49-'53 Mercury Borg & Beck pressure plate has the same evenly spaced bolt pattern as some common diaphragm plates. Any good clutch re-builder will be able to match the B&B finger height to an off the shelf diaphragm, saving you money, along with having a better clutch. The disc has to be matched to the tranny input; 1 3/8" for '49-early '51 round pattern, and 1" for regular 4-bolt '51.
Fort Wayne Clutch (google it). All the flathead guys swear it's the best place to get the right things. Also you might want to resurface your flywheel while you have it all apart. Don't forget to mark the flywheel in relation to the crank shaft for reassembly. A couple of punch marks works good. I recommend having the flywheel and pressure plate balanced as a unit if you do all of the above.
The 1951 model year had a change in gears for all the transmissions. The early 1951 Mercury still had the old style transmissions used from 1949 with or without overdrive. They early ones still used the 1 3/8" 10-spline with the 10-inch Borg & Beck as mentioned. Somewhere around February 1951, they changed to the same basic transmissions that Ford used in 1951 utilizing the larger cast iron bell housing but retaining the rotating clutch equalizer set up. These transmissions all used the 1" 10-spline type Borg & Beck 10-inch clutch. Mercury cars always used stuff that was just a bit heavier duty than Ford cars. These old Borg & Beck clutches are not commonly stocked by anyone that I'm aware of but I'm certain that if they did, they would charge a considerable core charge due to the rarety of these items. I send all mine to Ft Wayne clutch and their turn around time has always been very quick considering the time it takes to overhaul this stuff. Most times within 2-weeks from sending them out. If you can find cores that mach your application, you could get them overhauled and on the shelf before you need them. I see this stuff on flea-pay now and then. Some old overhauls, and some needing overhaul.
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