Here's the deal, I may buy a 54 ford coupe soon but its gotta be bagged layin frame or else I don't want it. My evil plans are to subframe it with an S10 or a G-body front clip, but I want to retain the nice running 302/C4 setup thats already in it. Would there be enough room to stuff that back in there? I'm planning on buying dropped spindles so I can get it to lay out without having to "Z" the frame.....but still would that give me enough room between the crossmember and the front sump oilpan? Those motors are wider than a SBC aren't they? You know something I don't Im not a Ford guy.
yes it is fairly easy and very doable. i had a gm front steer clip in my 46 f100 and had plenty of room for my 302
302 is smaller width wise but a little longer. If the front sump gets in the way some newer 5.0's came with rear sump so an easy fix. If you can swap front of frame then making 302 fit will be the easy part.
I'm gonna have to raise the driveshaft tunnel, wheelwells, & trunk way up in the car anyways so if the engine/trans hits on the firewall Its not that big of a deal. I'm sorry I can't even think straight when money is about to be spent On a side note, anyone know what would be the most appropriate frame to use on a 54 Ford? They seem to be a little wider than a shoebox, So I'm thinking an S10 (which is perfect for those) wouln't work. Thanks
my 54 ford did not need to be clipped to lay frame, its bagged, and has some sort of spindles on it that converted the front to disc, and i am sure that they are dropped in some way, but since they were on the car when i bought it i am not sure. And the 302 fits in easily, as i have that with just a small adapter plate to attach the mounts to the frame. I can't put up pics from my work computer, but if you search my user name i am sure you can come across several pics of it. If you want additional pics or ideas, or whatever, just PM me!
There was an article in magazine called Kit Car where they were doing this. I didnt read it, just noticed it at the bookstore. Was recent.
I swapped in a Ford 302 with a C4 in a friends 1987 GMC S15 (same as the chebby S10) I was surprised how easy it was.
Guess you should post some measurements of what you have. Lots of S10 info already posted here. My '51 Ford Coupe project has an S10 clip with 302/C4. All fits fine, with out butcher cutting. It is a home made bag set up, so 15" steel rims with small size tires are bit too close to S10 brake master cylinder. Looking to use some reversed 15x7 rims or use wheel spacers to be able run a set of wide white walls already have.
Thanks guys! My mind is made up though, its getting clipped. I bought the car and after going on an 80 mile trip in it today I know its gotta have PS & disc's. Buying aftermarket parts and bolting things together may be fine for some but not Capain Freedom! Besides if I play my cards right I can resell the donor car for scrap and get my $$ back plus get a lot of other parts. Looked at two G-bodys today, think they're the ticket. I have entertained the the idea of dropping it with the stock suspension (for about 8mins) and was thinking could the spindles be swaped from either side and then inverted to give it about a 3'' drop? I dunno, just a brain-fart. With 14'' tires, the rear floor and wheelwells don't have to be hacked for it to lay frame and the frame just needs about 1'' notched out of it Hey, if it's OK I'll turn this into a build thread!?!
SHITLOAD of WORK!!!! But it can me done. 81 Camaro front steer clip in a 51 Merc 302 5.0L EFI. Biggest issue I had was getting the radiator to work with no room, had to make a stainless crossover on the bottom hose and use a non-Ford radiator configuration.
Hi there Captain, I am in the same, starting, stage of a very similar project. I cant say how your Ford small block will fit with your S10 clip, but I will tell you what my immediate plans are incase it helps. I also am starting a 54 Ford project. A Ranch Wagon, using a Chevy Astro front clip with the Astros Chevy 4.3. This car is gonna be good dependable daily driver to go with my 30 A Tudor street rod. I plan on utilizing as much as I can from the Astro van, because like you, I already have it and because I like to build or modify a lot of my systems rather then taking them out of the box and bolting them on. Just to get a feel for things, I lowered then 4.3 into the 54 to see how it fit with the original front end. Things are really tight between the upper control arms, steering box and the stock 4.3. I then removed all the sheet metal back to the firewall. Tonight, I plan on setting the Ranch Wagon up on jack stands and getting the frame level. Then, I will measure the width of the 54s rear, hub to hub. This will give me the a amount I will have to narrow the Astro front end clip. Also, I will measure the center of the bearing cap to help determine the front end ride height. With a plumb bob I will drop the critical front dimensions down to the floor where it will be easy to measure the geometry of the 54. These dimensions I will then compare to my new clip to; 1) see where I will be cutting and; 2) to see if my 4.3 will have plenty of room. When I get a feel for the new dimensions of the modifications to be done to the clip I will then set the 4.3 back on to the clip to see if there are any unforeseen problems. Lets keep in touch since we have similar projects and may be able to share info/designs etc. Rockit City
Alright all you HAMB-hocks! I succombed to the peer preasure and bagged the stock setup. The '54 now sits about 2.5'' off the ground Since I'm not goning to be making decisions for myself,,,,,,,, I want to know your opinon about whats next. What direction would you steer this project into? I'm gettin me some 14'' WWW radials that'll let it down about 1/2''-3/4'' more. Is it time to be thankfull for what I've got or get pissed, break out the sawzall, and drop it to the floor? It's been a while since I painted/bodyworked something and I've got an itch to see if I can still perform. I don't think time will allow me to do both, summers comming up and I gotta build a 33 Ford truck.
Pretty damn cool from these pics. If it were me, I'd roll it as is and build the truck. If it bugs you, you can always get nasty with it once the truck is done.
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