New to the forum, 8RT into passenger car

[Mr meteor]

Good morning from Canada,
I am completely new to cars but decided to take on a project as a way to work with my dad and hopefully end up with a cool cruiser for those long summer nights the latitude affords us north of the 49th parallel. I'm not looking for performance, just a chill ride

So I purchased a 1954 Meteor Niagara Special which was a Canadian model made by Ford and similar to the Mainline. The car came with no engine, just the transmission. In 1954 the Canadians still used the 8BA flathead so I went about purchasing one for it. But in my ignorance, I ended up with an 8RT.

Now I've got a project on my hands. I am reaching out to the community to see what others think about using this 8RT for my car. These are the considerations:

A) The 8RT engine mounts are different. Can a spacer be constructed to adapt the situation? Switching the water pumps to 8BA style would make the engine match the mounts that came with the car but would mean a mismatch of pulley width with the other components of the 8RT. I understand the 8RT uses wide belts and 8BA water pumps have narrow belts. From what I can tell, removing pulleys requires a set up I don't have.

C) I understand the oil pan is different on the 8RT and I'm wondering if it will interfere with the front end of the car.

D) I read somewhere that the 8RT exhaust crossover goes under the engine rather than around the front. Does anyone know if this would interfere with the car's front end?

Thanks for reading, if you have wisdom to share I'd love to hear it. -Dave

[19Fordy]

It would be a good idea to FIRST mount the engine on an engine stand with 4 legs so you can easily remove the heads, intake and oil pan to check for cracks or other problems or modifications like adjustable lifters (which would be a plus).. This will help you see if you need to rebuild the engine.

THEN, unless you already saw it running and know the engine is in tip top shape, build an engine stand and find out how good the 8RT engine you bought runs as you need to know the condition of the engine before you start spending money on it. Did the seller tell you anything about the history and condition of the engine you purchased? Has it been rebuilt or modified in any way? Cracked blocks are very common.

8RT engines have a lower compression ratio than 8BA. Perform Fordbarn searches on 8RT and 8BA differences. You could sell your 8RT pumps and use the $$ to buy 8BA pumps. Also consider running dual exhausts as another option.

Here's a good start to comparing 8BA with 8RT.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=do+8rt...ANAB01&PC=HCTS

Do a Fordbarn Swapmeet Search to find parts you need for using narrow belts and water pumps. I have some parts but shipping to Canada is expensive and time consuming as Customs goes thru everything.

Here's the 8RT cross over pipe pictorial.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266690T

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by 19Fordy

Here's the 8RT cross over pipe pictorial.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266690T

[leon bee]

Mr Meteor: That there is how we wind up with piles of extra parts.

[rotorwrench]

The truck engine blocks are the same as the car. Same with the internal parts. The heads and the oil pan are truck as well as the coolant pumps. The intake manifold may or may not be the same. A lot also depends on year of manufacture. The 1954 Canadian Fords would have the same set up as the 1952 or 53 components such as oil pan, heads, and clutch housing. The coolant pumps should be the same and intake manifolds as well. I don't know about the exhaust. If it has an automatic transmission, that can have an effect. The crankshaft should have a larger bore in the back to fit the big torque converter. These were 1BA cranckshafts. The 1952 & 53 cars had the EAB heads which should still be out there if you need some.

The Canadian Meteors were rebadged midsized Fords with a sort of Mercury look to them to be sold by Mercury dealers same as the Monarch full sized rebadged Mercury cars that were sold by Ford dealers to give them a full sized car to sell.

[Mr meteor]

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Thanks for the suggestion 19fordy. The guy who sold me the engine saw it running and the heads were off already so I can say there are no cracks.

If you have parts, let's talk, I have inlaws in Texas and I get stuff sent there and then pick it up on vacation or have them bring when they visit me.

[mercman from oz]

1954 Meteor Niagara Four Door Sedan.
The Niagara series were the equivalent of the Ford Customlines.

[mercman from oz]

Flathead V8 Engine in 1954 Meteor

[mercman from oz]

Entry level 1954 Meteor Four Door Sedan.
This is the model that was the equivalent of the Ford Mainline.
Notice the absence of Chrome Trim.

[38 coupe]

I highly recommend pulling the oil pan and intake manifold. Pulling the intake allows you to clean any sludge out that has accumulated. Pulling the pan allows two things, cleaning sludge and inspecting the oil pan rails for cracks. The water jackets extend down to the oil pan rails and a freeze crack will show up when the oil pan is pulled.


If your engine checks out mechanically you may want to find a 52-54 car engine in questionable shape that still has all the miscellaneous parts you need for your good engine. Trying to hatchet job in the truck parts gets ugly, I have seen it done a couple times and it isn't pretty.

[Mr meteor]

Hey, that is the exact car, except the roof is the same color as the body. So it is closer to a Customline than a Mainline. Great to know, thanks!

[Mr meteor]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

Entry level 1954 Meteor Four Door Sedan.
This is the model that was the equivalent of the Ford Mainline.
Notice the absence of Chrome Trim.

Mine has the chrome trim.

[Mr meteor]

Originally Posted by 38 coupe

I highly recommend pulling the oil pan and intake manifold. Pulling the intake allows you to clean any sludge out that has accumulated. Pulling the pan allows two things, cleaning sludge and inspecting the oil pan rails for cracks. The water jackets extend down to the oil pan rails and a freeze crack will show up when the oil pan is pulled.

Great advice. I will start on that!

If your engine checks out mechanically you may want to find a 52-54 car engine in questionable shape that still has all the miscellaneous parts you need for your good engine. Trying to hatchet job in the truck parts gets ugly, I have seen it done a couple times and it isn't pretty.

The engine came with carb, fuel pump, distributor (minus the cap), and an old coil that may or may not funtion. I planned on keeping these parts (with some rebuilding), but swapping out the water pumps. Still looking for generator, starter, fan pulley, etc. Plan on keeping it 6v. Forgive my ignorance, but does that plan sound reasonable? I found a guy near me with a 53 meteor parts car. Yet to learn whether it has an engine.

[tubman]

FYI. '49 Ford passenger cars use the wide belt. Pulley alinement may be off.

[38 coupe]

Originally Posted by Mr meteor

The engine came with carb, fuel pump, distributor (minus the cap), and an old coil that may or may not funtion. I planned on keeping these parts (with some rebuilding), but swapping out the water pumps. Still looking for generator, starter, fan pulley, etc. Plan on keeping it 6v. Forgive my ignorance, but does that plan sound reasonable? I found a guy near me with a 53 meteor parts car. Yet to learn whether it has an engine.

The top of the truck carburetor may fit a late flathead truck air cleaner instead of a car air cleaner. The tops swap so you could use the rest of the carburetor if the threads are good. 6V works fine, just like it has for the last 100+ years in millions of cars. You need good wires and good grounds, then there is little drama.
If the 53 Meteor has the engine it probably has the parts you need to change the truck engine into a car engine, such as: pulleys, fan, exhaust manifolds, oil pan & pickup, bell housing & associated parts (clutch cover, starter plate, throw out arm), clutch linkage, air cleaner, and associated fasteners. I would purchase new water pumps of the type that match your car and have the modern ceramic seals and sealed bearings.

[mercman from oz]

The Meteor Rideau Series was the equivalent of the Ford Crestline

[Mr meteor]

Originally Posted by 38 coupe

The top of the truck carburetor may fit a late flathead truck air cleaner instead of a car air cleaner. The tops swap so you could use the rest of the carburetor if the threads are good.

Interesting, I acutally have a Holley 94 off a '46 car. I'll look into using the top.

[mercman from oz]

1954 Meteor Rideau Four-door Sedan that calls Australia home.

[38 coupe]

Originally Posted by Mr meteor

Interesting, I acutally have a Holley 94 off a '46 car. I'll look into using the top.

Ford changed the nozzle bar design late in the Flathead production during the 8BA era. The nozzle bars are the parts that bridge the barrels and have the fuel discharge.The later design is taller on the float chamber side than the earlier design. The tops were revised to make room over the taller nozzle bars. The air bleeds that thread into the nozzle bars were also made longer, and the hold down strap was also shortened to match. You can swap the top along with the nozzle bar / air bleed and the hold down into the later carburetor. Interestingly the Dennis Carpenter reproduction carburetors, which are the good reproductions, use the earlier design even for the 8BA carburetors.

[Mr meteor]

Originally Posted by mercman from oz

1954 Meteor Rideau Four-door Sedan that calls Australia home.

That's a beauty, is it yours?