Are all flathead bellhousing bolt patterns the same?

No.

V8's up to 48 had the recognisable half bellhousing on the back of the block.
from 49 up to 53 (US production) they had a block with no bellhousing (like more modern engines. These use a conventional modern style full bellhousing for cars, but for trucks (and Mercs I think) they have a half bell adaptor to mimic the earlier blocks.

V860's have a similar but different setup to the early blocks.

So no, the 8BA adaptor is not what you want, you want the adaptor for the earlier blocks

Mart.
 
Good to know. I thought with the oil pan on, bolt patterns matched up. Found a guy selling 8BA adapters, guess I'll keep searching...........
 
The 8BA engine (49-53) did come out first in the '48 Ford trucks and therefore requires a bell housing adapter for the transmission.
 
John Kennedy>>> I thought with the oil pan on, bolt patterns matched up>>>

For the bolt pattern, I think you're correct John. I'll check the patterns in the garage and report back.

Jack E/N
 
The transmission-side bolt patterns of the full stamped bell housing and earlier block+pan bell housing seem to be identical. The only difference seems to be the diameter of the clutch opening ~11" for the full vs ~11-3/4".

Jack E/NJ
 
I don't know of any adapters for the 8BA specifically. All adapters I'm aware of fit the early blocks and when used on an 8BA, they use the cast iron or steel ring adapter found in trucks & Mercurys.

The T5 can be adapted to a stamped steel 8BA bellhousing, but if you're buying an adapter from Wilcap, Cornhuskers (Wilcap), Offenhauser, or Speedway (Offenhauser knock-off) - it will be for the 59A style engine.
 
my 1952 ford customline has the half bell housing i guess its all open in the bottom so what flathead would i need to put back in it ???
 
52fordv8 said:
my 1952 ford customline has the half bell housing i guess its all open in the bottom so what flathead would i need to put back in it ???
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All '52-'53 Ford (and Mercury) cars should have a full cast iron bell housing with an inspection cover at the bottom. The transmission pattern is the narrow B/W 4-bolt introduced in '49 Fords.
 
V8 Bob is correct. 52-53 Fords use the full bellhousing (about 6" deep) with the small 4 bolt trans bolt pattern. Inspection plate covers the bottom. Starter plate on the front...jack


BTW, i need an inspection plate. anyone got one? lemme know if you do. thanks, jack
 
jack orchard said:
BTW, i need an inspection plate. anyone got one? lemme know if you do. thanks, jack
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FYI, the inspection covers are the same for the one-year-only '51 Mercury full cast iron bell, as well as the identical '52'-53 F/M cast bells. If I come up with a spare, I'll let you know. :)
 
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