I got my 51 coupe missing everything so im on the hunt to find og parts for it and one thing I am trying to straighten out is the trans and linkage.. I got all the pedals found and coming and now I have to hunt down the od trans. I found a 50 ford car od trans and was wondering if the 51 pedal setup will hook up to the 50 ford trans. I have read about the bellhousing differences but what about the actual transmission? My goal: I have a 57 chev 265" to drop in and I would like to adapt to the manual od trans. or find a 8ba or the 8cm flathead to drop back in but any motor has got to have a manual column shifted 3 speed Any thoughts??
unsure of the linkage differences and adapting it to the merc controls... im trying to stay with the stock 51 column and pedals
'51 is the year in which Mercs began using the '49 up Ford style trans case bolt pattern. So far as I know (and believe) that change also includrd using the Ford style stamped steel bellhousing shared with Ford..... At the very least, you should be able to use the Ford tranny. Ray
Oh ok. I searched that online and just found a bunch more info on the bellhousings. So I can toss a 49 and up ford trans in or if I do get a 51 trans i can use the 49+ ford starters, clutch and flywheel.
Having owned several '51 Mercs back in the day , I think I can still recall the differences in Ford vs. Merc trannies of that era. The clutch linkage in Mercs.from 49-51 uses the old style cross shaft/fork that was part of the cast iron trans.case. Fords went to a different pressed steel clutch fork and bell. Yeah, you can bolt the 49-53 Ford stuff in the Merc. but you won't be able to make the frame mounted clutch linkage work.Been there,done that.
Are you saying that AFTER Merc changed the trans case to the same bolt pattern as Ford they STILL used the older style clutch release mechanism? Anything is possible, but I'd have to see evidence of that to believe it. I believe, as opposed to know for absolutely certain, that early '51 Mercs used the '49/'50 style bellhousings and transmission cases, but switched sometime in that model year. When they changed the trans case to Ford style, and if they retained the earlier clutch release system, that would have required designing and producing a one year only bellhousing.......and I seriously doubt that is the situation. I am going to try and find parts book illustrations to satisfy my curiousity on that issue. I may have to eat a slice of humble pie Ray
It's true. The main/later production '51 Mercury bell housing was a one-year-only full cast iron unit retaining the '40-'48 clutch release cross shaft. The transmission was exactally the same as the '51 Ford, just different shift arms. The '49-'51 Ford bell housings were full size stamped steel units that used the angled starter plates. I'm using a '51 Merc bell on my '32. The link below should help. Place the curser over the question mark on each picture for text. http://www.flatheadv8.org/bellhousing.pdf
Thanks for sharing that V8 Bob, it's great info for any of us with a flathead or trans setup that came from behind a flathead. I had a 51 Merc with the later od trans and didn't know the difference. Jfrolka there are plenty of the Offy or other brands of trans adapters floating around to bolt the 265 to the big bell 49/51 Merc trans if you find one of those. That would probably be the easiest way to hook the 265 up in that car. Chev engine, flywheel pressure plate and the Merc clutch disk and trans. I'm not sure which throwout bearing but someone will detail that. The other way would be to use the 265 which you are going to find is greatly underpowered for keeping up with your buddies on road trips and Chev bellhousing and trans. There should be plenty of linkage setups available to run the Chev clutch off the early Ford style clutch shaft as there are a lot of rods around using just that setup.
You're welcome Ray and Mr48chev. I made one small change to my post above, as the '51 Merc bell used a '40-'48 cross shaft. I switched to a '32-'39 shaft on the bell in my '32 to work with '34 pedals.
Ok to help him out this is the clutch linkage that he is trying to use. It was cut out of a 51 Mercury chassis. Hope this helps.
^^^ Great info, thanks a lot.... I got really lucky and found a 51 merc trans locally and just picked it up but may or may not have the bellhousing due to the owner needing it on his own project but his mind may change and it may be for sale.... so we'll see if a hunt for a bell will begin
That 51 merc O.D. bell housing (which is part of thr trans case) was also found in a stamped steel version, so be sure you get the starter mount plate that goes with whatever bell housing you use. ALSO,..if using the stamped steel item, there is an "L" bracket that was bolted between the bottom of the starter mount plate, to the bottom of the (special item) oil pan. This was to prevent the bell housing from flexing, due to the long distance between the rear trans mount, and the front located engine mounts. If you need photos of this item,,,I'd be glad to send them to you. 4TTRUK
That's a '49/'50/early '51 trans.......with the adapter shown in your next post, you should be in business. Ray
Awesome... now I just have to find out about the bushing used... if i can get a few measurements then I can machine it on the lathe
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