53 mercury to 39 trans question!

[31pickemup]

Hey gang I'm having trouble finding exactly what i'm looking for on this subject. I have a 53 mercury flathead that I want to put in front of a 39 trans. I have the original flywheel and a Mercury car 10-inch Borg & Beck clutch from 49 thru early 51 (has 6 equally spaced bolts holding the cover on and no flyweights. Will my flywheel work and what bellhousing and starter plate do I need.

[waltere]

you need 49 Mercury hogs head, flywheel, clutch, and presure plate. Make certian the starter plate matches the hogs head.

[31pickemup]

You sure about the hogshead? I thought I just needed a 48-52 truck adaptor and starter plate.

[waltere]

Either will work

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by 31pickemup

You sure about the hogshead? I thought I just needed a 48-52 truck adaptor and starter plate.

You don't need the hogshead, just the 3in. adapter from a 49-50 Merc or a truck, you can use the merc flywheel and 49-50 Merc pressure plate, NOT the 51-53 merc PP the fingers are in a different postion for the 39Ford thro out bearing. Any guestion. Walt

[scooder]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I think the words hogs head are misleading, a hogs head is a bell that bolts to a trans that has a completely removable bell, and it bolts to the trans main case. A 39 trans has a non removable bell, as you know.
You need the pickup parts you mentioned or the same parts from a 49-early 51 Merc, making sure the starter plate matches.
Yes your flywheel will work, if it's from the same 49-early 51 Merc, the clutch plate will fit on the 39 trans input (first motion) shaft to confirm.
Martin.

[scooder]

Typing at the same time as Walt, sorry.
Walt you say 49-50 is good, the early 51 had the same trans as the 49-50, so I'm guessing the early 51 is also good. Can you confirm please, don't want to give bogus info.
I have an early 51 Merc overdrive trans behind a 21stud Pilot (37 US type Ford engine) this trans has the same clutch shaft and releases bearing as the pre 48 Ford cars. Did the release bearing type (with the different fingers on the clutch) change when the Merc trans went removable bell (49 up Ford type)?
Just making sure that I'm not talkin out of my pants.
Martin

[31pickemup]

Originally Posted by Walt Dupont--Me.

You don't need the hogshead, just the 3in. adapter from a 49-50 Merc or a truck, you can use the merc flywheel and 49-50 Merc pressure plate, NOT the 51-53 merc PP the fingers are in a different postion for the 39Ford thro out bearing. Any guestion. Walt

Cool thats what I thought, I thought I had the right 49-50 PP and it would bolt to my flywheel off my 53. I just wasnt sure on the truck or mercury housing. I bought the 49-50 PP off of Pelt this summer and had it rebuilt.

[rotorwrench]

The later 51 thru 53 Mercury still used the Borg & Beck clutch but had a 1" 10-spline clutch disk so the PP will bolt up. You just need the 1 3/8" 10-spline disk of the 49 thru E51 clutch set up. The earlier Merc or truck half bells will work for any of the early V8 trans bolt up patterns. The only difference in the 49 thru E51 Merc half bell & starter plate from the truck, is the Mercury set up has an exrta connection from the starter plate to three studs on the bottom of the rear end of the oil pan. This connection is not something you have to have for it to work well. I think FoMoCo just wanted a bit more stability with that extra bracket in there on those models. They did away with the half bell in later 51 for a big cast iron Bell housing to connect the new type 4-bolt pattern transmissions. The 49 thru E51 Merc all used the same throw out bearing set up as the early transmissions and the equalizer shaft dates back to 1940.

[jimvette59]

I have a 53 Merc. in front of the 39 trans. I called Fort Wane Clutch and he made up a 9 1/2 " clutch disk and PP for me the only thing he said I needed a different throwout bearing that he supplied. His prices are very reasonable. I would give him a call. He is the goto guy. IMHO.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by scooder

Typing at the same time as Walt, sorry.
Walt you say 49-50 is good, the early 51 had the same trans as the 49-50, so I'm guessing the early 51 is also good. Can you confirm please, don't want to give bogus info.
I have an early 51 Merc overdrive trans behind a 21stud Pilot (37 US type Ford engine) this trans has the same clutch shaft and releases bearing as the pre 48 Ford cars. Did the release bearing type (with the different fingers on the clutch) change when the Merc trans went removable bell (49 up Ford type)?
Just making sure that I'm not talkin out of my pants.
Martin

Your probably right Scootor, I thought 51 went to the 4 bolt trans but probably 1/2 and 1/2 as long as it has the 1-3/8 spline and has the old Ford thro bearing and the PP to go with it. Walt

[31pickemup]

ok im back at this again after things changed. If I use the 49-50 Mercury bellhousing and starter plate or a 48-52 bellhousing and starter plate. Can I use the 8ba flywheel or 53 Mercury flywheel that I have? I have a rebuilt 10" merc b&b clutch to use

[19Fordy]

Read all of this. With the 1953 Merc engine you will need to use the 1949-51 Merc pressed steel bellhousing and matching starter plate because it is a rear sump pan.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showth...engine+40+ford

[31pickemup]

Thanks 19fordy 'llI read thru it better. From what I've read the 48-52 truck setup will work as well. Ready to get this thing back on the road this spring. 8ba ended up being cracked

[flatheadmurre]

The bellhousing and flywheel will work fine.
Some of the later car pressureplates has the wrong throw and dont work with the earlier gearbox setup.
So with the right pressureplate setup your good to go.

[Mac VP]

The 49-50 (and early 51) Mercury clutches were the Borg & Beck type but the finger spacing was spread out to accommodate the large (1-3/8") input shaft and matching throw out bearing. These will work with the 39 trans.

The late '51 thru '53 Mercury clutches were still 10" Borg & Beck.....however they have the closer set fingers for the smaller input shafts of the newer type transmissions (1"). You can NOT use these pressure plates with the old 1-3/8" input shafts. They seem to fit but the three fingers of the late style pressure plates will compress together too closely when the clutch pedal is depressed, causing the spinning fingers to hit the front bearing retainer of the trans. They will also hit the hub of the throw out bearing.

[rotorwrench]

The 8BA flywheel is for the Long type 9.5 inch clutch that was not used with the 1 3/8 inch input. It can be drilled for a 9 or a 10 inch Long type clutch that were used on the older flatheads with the 1 3/8 inch transmission input shaft. The 53 Merc flywheel can be used with the 49 to early 51 Merc Borg & Beck 10 inch clutch. There are also folks out there that have modified the later diaphragm clutches such as those used on mid 70s Camaro but the clutch disks have to be modified to use the early 1 3/8 inch hub. There are finger extensions that will make the diaphragm pressure plate work with the early throw out bearing used from the 1940s up to early 1951/52 but all this stuff has to be done by a good clutch rebuilder. Centerforce made a clutch like this but they don't make one with the 1 3/8 splined hub in the pressure plate.

I would just have it drilled for a 9 or 10 inch Long type clutch. These clutch set ups are still produced and the cores for overhaul are plentiful since they were used much more than the Borg & Beck. I have to send my B&B clutches to Ft Wayne clutch since there are no new ones being produced. The diaphragm type would be a better clutch but it is a pain to get it modified. If you are going to put this in an early ford, you may need either a truck pan or a 49 thru 51 Merc oil pan. If you find a good 59A engine or older then you will have to find the parts to work with it since they already used the 9 or 10 inch Long type clutch. 8BA family stuff doesn't cross over to 59A or earlier unless some modification is done. The flywheels do not interchange due to the starter ring gear placement.

[31pickemup]

Alright guys all set. I'm using my 1953 flywheel with a 1950 B&B clutch. A 1950 Merc bellhousing and plate. The 53 Mercury has a rear sump already so I'm ready to go.