I am trying to place a y block engine in a'35 pickup project I have brewing. I picked up a Hust style mount a few years back but as you can see, won't work very well as the engine would need to be raised to clear the crossmember. I also had a couple of stock Y block motor mounts one car maybe the other truck? Kind of makes me think I could use one to fab up another more suitable mount. Additionally, it appears my engine will need to move forward a couple of inches to clear the firewall. I see a remote oil filter in my future so as to not hit the steering box. Ok- what have you folks done to place this engine in this type of vehicle? Any and all help short of telling me to go SBC welcome because I would love to use this engine for a Ford in Ford build. Thank you in advance and hope you had a great 4th of July!
My disclaimer is that I have not done this swap you are doing. Those mounts you show are the center mount style on the old Thunderbirds. There is also a center mount for the transmission then there are two "steady rests" used on both sides of the engine that go to the frame. My personal preference would be to fabricate something on the two sides rather than use the center mount. I think you can get a 90 degree oil filter adapter that would turn your filter downward and help to clear the steering box. Something else to consider is the exhaust may not clear the steering box. I would have the exhaust mocked up also when trying to set up for this install.
Edit- what texbc posted is very similar to my front mount, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at in the first picture. But a little work on the oil pan might solve the problem if that's the mount. Y block pans are easy to rework so long as the external pickup ends up in the sump. The only pan hard to come by is the shallow front tbird. If that's a pass car pan, a stock truck pan might just solve it. On my 32, we made a front mounting plate using the same bolts the truck and Thunderbird front mount used. Donuts to the frame like a flathead. I used a truck bell housing with the mounting ears, and and adapted to a TKO500. Then a trans mount off the crossmember. Solid as a rock. I can't identify the front mounts you show, I'd guess pass car "steady rest" and truck, could be a bird in the top photo, but I'm not sure. The cars used a front mount and side mounts on the block, and the trucks the bell housing mounts. Lots of people ditched the front car mount, the side mounts did fine. The birds definitely needed the steady rest rods. I don't think the truck rams horns will clear the steering box, and the rear dump pass car manifolds would be touch and go on the steering shaft. That means you're building headers, or at least modifying something. As mentioned, there's remote filters mounts and various adaptors. That just becomes a work around.
Thank you all for your help! My apologies for the poor pics so here goes to explain: Top photo is my y block with the Hurst mount attached. On the sides are wood blocks to keep it above cross-member. MarkT-I can't see a good way to alter the cross-member as the spring sits in there. I have seen some flatten it to lower the front end, however this would make this situation worse. I do appear to have the shallow front Tbird pan but if anyone knows otherwise-please chime in. Texkbc and Miker98038 appear to have a solution there--if either of you folks have measured drawings that would be helpful and appreciated. Please provide some extra clarity: Are you using that front mount plate with the side mounts in the block and the rear transmission mount all together creating essentially a front, middle and rear mount system? Did any of the Ford cars use the front mount and transmission mount only or did they use the front, middle and center approch on all? I was aware of the truck bellhousing but this won't work for my set up. Does the front plate interfere with the generator? Finally--do you plan on mating this front plate to the existing holes in the crossmember or are you welding new mounts on the frame rails? Not sure what I see there as in one case it looks like the engine is still suspended and in the other, it looks like mounts were welded to the chassis. . Thank you about the 90 degree oil filter mount -- had heard of that but concerned that the oil filter now will hit the line back to the sump with this set up. Maybe that and/or the tractor oil (shorter) filter will solve the problem. As my engine sits now, the filter clears the steering and it would be possible to have ram horns, however the engine needs to move forward at least 2 1/2 inches for firewall issues so the filter issue will be back in play. Sunbeam-- I will check into the transdapt mounts. Thanks again and hope to hear more! Pete
This is a factory installed oil filter adapter that can be swiveled into any position, these were used on some Ford vans with a 460, I've heard they were also used on V6 Ford Rangers.
Why cant you notch the crossmember down to the flat spot in the center where the spring mounts, enough to clear the corners of the oil pan? See picture below. I'd rather weld the heavy steel crossmember than the oil pan.
Since my yblock is in a 32 with stretched rails, mine won't help. It seems Mark T might be on the right track. Looking at the first picture more closely, that might be a tbird pan, shoot a picture of the oil pickup tube that would help. You might go over to yblocksforever and contact Rono. He's putting a y block in a 37. He's using a ifs conversion, but he built a dropped crossmember like Mark suggested. I don't know enough about the 35 or 37 to know, it maybe that with a little more drop in the axle would get you by. If this link works, about half way down you can see the front crossmember. Don't know if it helps or not.. http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic81637-3.aspx
The only front middle and rear mounts I know of were T birds and the middle mounts were for torque only.
Not sure how much you have to make up between the crossmember pads and the Hurst mount, but these are original style adapters that were used with hurst mounts and the rubber donuts. http://www.speedwaymotors.com/1935-1940-Ford-Mercury-Frame-Adapters,6671.html I'd also like to see a pic of the tailshaft of your RTS trans going through the X-Member.
Thanks again! Ok in order: Mark T-- I looked again and you are correct, I can notch the crossmember but not really needed IMHO and will keep that idea in mind. Thank you also for the filter tips & info! Miker98038: I checked out that post and see what he did re the middle mounts. That's an idea! Sunbeam: Thank you too for the filter and mount info! CVSTL: Thanks for the mount spacer Speedway info--will check into that for sure. With regards to the tail shaft going through the x member, here is what I have done so far: I drilled out the rivets and cut the box in there at its narrowest point so I could drive half forward and half backward. I am hoping to reuse the lower part of the front half to mount the ball from the stock radius rods and have cut a sheet of steel shaped to fit the x to place in the chassis where I have the tail shaft sitting now. If the stock radius rod set up is too narrow at the apex, I may cut and graft in a Model A ball end as it opens up this apex. I was thinking of picking up one of the top pieces from a split radius rod kit to finish off the top. This is on the drawing board. At present I have it mocked up with an old P & J split set that doesn't quite look right to me. Roothawg: Many Thanks for that link. Believe it or not, I have a 37 commercial grill I am planning on using on this project. Love the look of that grille. below are some photos of the oil return in the rear of the pan, a picture of the tailshaft as placed now and the box section removed from the center of the chassis.
That Roothawg is a sharp dude..... I had forgotten about that thread. I'm planning to run an RTS trans with the stock radius rods in my 35 sedan, and your plan looks exactly like what I was thinking.
If you decide on side mounts this thread from oldspwr has good info https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/project-t-riffic-26-model-t-sedan.845204/#post-9403768 I started with side mounts then changed to the front plate for header and steering box clearance . Rolling Bones has a cool design in this article..http://www.hotrod.com/articles/1008...smission_installation-temporary_engine_mounts
I was planning on a Yblock install in my 36, until I read that thread. I keep thnking about it, but man it seems like a lot of extra work. Hats off to guys that press on forward.....
Root Loved your build on that pickup. Need to move forward on this as I have been dreaming of moving up one step on the evolutionary curve and the the call of those ram horns beckons. Texkbc, thank you for the research! Will report back but keep in mind things move pretty slow in my garage. Pere
Putting a Y into a Model A won't help much, but I had to move the front X-member about 3" fwd to make it fit without cutting the firewall. Then had to cut it anyway, should have gone closer to 4". For motor mts, the side mounts on the block are a 45* angle to vertical so use that or 135* and the horizontal leg will be flat to the frame. I had a '35 with an 8BA and the frames are the same up through 1940. I don't think there will be a suitable way to get the Y in there in relation to the radiator without cutting the firewall. Moving the radiator forward will screw uop the hood to body relationship. Suggest mounting the radiator, then engine then see where the firewall interferes. Good luck! RB
Making progress here at a breathtaking snail’s pace but here is where I’m headed: boxing frame rails. Using the side mounts in the block made some arms that will rest on biscuit mounts in turn rearing on ears ears welded to the chassis-boxing. (Scribed metal piece stand to be future chassis ears). Set up to clear exhaust from the ram horns. Will use small ford oil filter. Seems to clear ‘36 up steering ok. Oil pan clears crossmember. Fan clears radiator. Hope this helps.
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