8BA and 39 trans mating questions
- Thread starter nb141fd
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Bruce Lancaster
Member Emeritus
It's a heavy setup...but this is easy and uses easy to find parts. Ford used the 11" setup with same pressure plate and disc from '35-53 and beyond that on trucks...so it's a bolt together setup for 8BA to early. I had this setup in my '48 for a while because I was a broke teenager and that's what I could find!*
The rig is heavy enough that it probably has some effect on acceleration, and if you drive in traffic you will get a workout for your left leg, but it works and is the easiest bolt-in rig to gather parts for, MUCH easier to get than '49 Merc.
The 11" setup was in all big trucks and many pickups '49-53. On the flywheel it is easy to identify because the bolt holes are out close to the rim.
*Later, I reacted to all this by going to an aluminum wheel!
The rig is heavy enough that it probably has some effect on acceleration, and if you drive in traffic you will get a workout for your left leg, but it works and is the easiest bolt-in rig to gather parts for, MUCH easier to get than '49 Merc.
The 11" setup was in all big trucks and many pickups '49-53. On the flywheel it is easy to identify because the bolt holes are out close to the rim.
*Later, I reacted to all this by going to an aluminum wheel!
Bruce Lancaster
Member Emeritus
I love the aluminum wheel/10" setup, even in the '48 which met all known criteria for NOT using a light wheel...
Engine revved like an electric motor. I would assume car accel was helped a bit, too, but since I changed all sorts of things at that time I didn't get any way to gauge that. Only noticeable downside was a very slight need for more revs when starting from a dead stop. Flatheads have enough low end torque that this was barely noticeable, nothing like driving a furrin car or anything.
Also, pretty soon after that swap, my left leg shrank to the same size as the right one.
Engine revved like an electric motor. I would assume car accel was helped a bit, too, but since I changed all sorts of things at that time I didn't get any way to gauge that. Only noticeable downside was a very slight need for more revs when starting from a dead stop. Flatheads have enough low end torque that this was barely noticeable, nothing like driving a furrin car or anything.
Also, pretty soon after that swap, my left leg shrank to the same size as the right one.