fordamatic

[jailbar Joe]

howdy all...I have been a member of this forum for a while now and have been following along absorbing all the great info you guys have....

one of my cars is a 56 fairlane Victoria and the auto is not playing the game...I have contacted a repairer that is conversant with these boxes in regards an overhaul
now I just have to remove it and deliver to him....now the fun bit...
I plan on removing the box on it's own from underneath and have been advised about the cross member being a problem....my plan is to cut the member and make it a removable piece...no problem so far ?? is there any other pitfalls I am not aware of that will bite my backside ??

also the motor is tired but goes allright and the plan was to do all this when I finish my currant project,but I want to keep the car mobile at the moment
I have a motor out of a 55 f100 that I plan on rebuilding and then when the time comes do a switch ....other than the sump and timing cover is there anything else that will need to be swapped

sorry for the long winded questions and I appreciate all or any replies
thank you in advance

cheers joe

[darrell]

as far is the engine goes thats all you need to change but its only a 239 if original.

[dmsfrr]

Just my 2¢ worth.....
If you cut the cross member and make it a DIY bolt-in part there will always be extra unwanted flex in the frame, not a good thing.

Confirm which engines you have by checking their block casting numbers, at this link.
http://ford-y-block.com/Block%20identification.htm
A '55 F100 y-block could be a 239, not really worth rebuilding, if you can even find parts.
A '56 Fairlane y-block should(?) be at least a 272, and of the two current choices you seem to have, the better one to rebuild.

IMHO it's easier to remove the engine & trans together and separate them when out of the car, rather than doing it from underneath. Reinstalling the trans from underneath can be even more of a problem.

The engine oil dipstick & its tube will need to be changed to match the oil pan.

.

[CarlG]

RE: Pulling the engine & tranny together - - -

I know we are talking 2 different vehicles, but on my '71 F100, I spent about 8 hours trying to get the tranny out the bottom. I was about to throw in the towel when I decided to just pull the engine with the tranny attached. Had every thing sitting on the floor in 25 minutes. New tranny was standing by, so in less than another hour, I had everything put back together and drove it home.

[darrell]

its been awile since ive been under one but ive never heard of antbody cutting anything.

[Daves55Sedan]

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I have a '55 Fairlane sedan and a '55 Courier sedan delivery both with Ford-O-Matics. I have removed the trans from both a couple times each in the past. I can tell you that if you raise the front of the car enough, use a rolling floor jack under the trans, you will barely have enough clearance to back the input shaft out of the converter bellhousing, lower the trans while inching the trans forward so your rear extension housing won't get caught on the floor of the car. Once you lower enough while tilting down and inching forward, the top of the Fordomatic case will clear the bottom of the bellhousing. It can be done.

[jailbar Joe]

thanks for the quick responses guys.suppose I should have stated that I am in Australia.
the motor in the fairlane is a 272 and according to the vin it should be a 292...which is part of the reason I am going in the direction I am....hoping to find a 292 to rebuild and use,but otherwise it will be a 272

the motor in the f truck I believe is also a 272....pretty sure over this side of the world we did not get the 239...BUT...I have been wrong once before in fact until I got on this site I had not heard of a 239

my car came out of Idaho and other than the wheels is pretty much original (except motor) still left hand drive

and I luv driving it.

many thanks for replies
joe

[frank long island]

nice looking car

[darrell]

i hate to burst your bubble but the 239 was used in canadian trucks in 55 and some went to australia.you can tell by looking at the crankshaft damper if its solid without any rubber like later ones its a 239.

[dmsfrr]

That's a beautiful car!

To find which engines you actually have, look for the block casting number at the top rear of the block next to the hole for the distributor, or just above the freeze plug above the oil filter.
The letters before the '6015' will tell you what the engine is.

http://yblockguy.com/identify_y-block.htm

.

[jailbar Joe]

thanks frank long island....I agree
dmsfrr thanks for that info..i just checked the numbers on the block and I have a 6 on top of the letters ECG and 01 under it...appears to be a 272

Darrell you were partly right the damper on the ffront is solid as you state for a 239
as I said...I believed it to be a 272 and had never heard of a 239 up till joining this site really don't know who to ask if we got that motor over here as the last of the sidevalves for us was 1954 and the first overheads were the 55.

we never got the 54 with the overhead valve....so naturally thought all our overheaqd valves were 272's

many thanks for sharing your knowledge
joe

[mikhett]

I have always pulled them together.

[Jay in Mass]

Don't cut the crossmember. IMO that's a mistake.

[jailbar Joe]

thanks guys will definitely try to do it with out cutting anything....with the size oof the frame...I doubt it would hurt as more modern cars with a lesser frame have drop out g/box cross members and do not seem to suffer from it....but as stated will leave that one as an absolute last resort,if needed.
at this point in time pulling motor for a rebuild is not an option hence the auto rebuild on it's own.

thanks for all the info and help..much appreciated.
joe

[jailbar Joe]

one more question ...is the pic I posted to big ??????
photo bucket and I don't seem to see eye to eye

cheers joe

[LOWRIDER]

As a 18yr old I converted my 56 CV from an automatic to a standard and don't recall cutting anything.

[CrownVic55]

Years ago, I swapped a 292 and standard tranny into my 55 Crown Vic which had a 272 and air cooled auto. The 292 was in a 56 Town Sedan. In both cases, the rear cross member for the transmission mount was a bolt-in item, 3 bolts on each side. Since both cars had been purchased new that had to be the factory method. Is your cross member welded to frame instead of bolted?

[40 Deluxe]

Be sure to take the bell housing and converter out with the trans. Do not unbolt the trans from the bell housing. This way you only have to move the trans back enough to clear the flex plate-maybe an inch and half or so. If you separate the trans from the bell housing, you have to pull the trans back about 5 or 6 inches to clear the input shaft. Makes it a lot harder. Plus, about impossible to get back together.

[jailbar Joe]

thanks guys...to be honest have not had a chance to look underneath as yet.....just going on info from the tranny expert.
hoping to get the car in the air during the next week and see just what the go is.....the preference is to not chop or change anything I don't have to
will let you know how I get on

cheers joe

[streetdreams]

Every '55 and '56 Ford I've been under has had a bolt in cross member. As mentioned above, 3 bolts on each side.