Bellhousing question

S

sam03

Member
I have a 1951 F3 4 speed in my truck and i bought a 51 car 226 with a 3 speed attached to put in the truck. I took the 3 speed off last night and figure i could just drop in the 226. But the bellhousing i got with the truck which doesn't match up to the 226. So now I'm not sure if the bellhousing that came with the truck is actually the right one.

Bellhousing that came with the truck


Bellhousing that came with the 226
 
The bell housing for the truck is for a V-8 engine and a truck or Mercury transmission. The Ford car transmission is different.
 
Trucks up through '52 used the old round pattern transmissions that required that 3" half-bell adapter to the later flathead blocks. The '49-up Ford car V8 and 6s/'51-up Mercury cars used the new narrow 4-bolt pattern transmissions along with full size bell housings.
You will need to find a '48-'52 6 cylinder truck adapter to mate the 6 with your '51 4-speed, as the V8 and 6 block bolt patterns are slightly different, along with different starter plates.
 
V8 Bob said:
...
You will need to find a '48-'52 6 cylinder truck adapter ....
Click to expand...

'51 was the last year for the flathead 6 in the trucks. Pretty sure I know some people that would have this if you can't find one locally. Getting the matching starter plate is critical as noted.

I'd also assume the Car clutch is a 9" or 9-1/2", the only clutch that will work with the 4-sp is the 11" truck setup.
 
Might ask why you would want to keep the 4-speed in the truck? They are hard to drive and of very little real worth unless you are using the truck for towing or hauling heavy loads. If you want the 4-speed, that is fine, but if you want a drivable truck I would consider replacing it.
 
Ross F-1 said:
...'51 was the last year for the flathead 6 in the trucks....
Click to expand...

Ross, I know the 226" flat 6 ended in '51, but the 254" 6 was available later, up to '53? It's possible the 226 and 254 used the same bell adapters for '48-'52, but not sure.
 
See rear engine plate difference between the truck and car(third pic). Also oil pans. You need to change to a car rear engine plate, oil pan, oil pickup to use the 3 spd from the car. The 6 car bell does not have the same pattern as the 8. Your trans mount would also have to be modified.
Toby 262-632-3317
 

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I want to keep the truck as stock as possible. You rarely see F3 much less stock. So that is why im keeping the 4 speed. Now i just need to find the bell housing put the two together and replace the clutch.
 
Now I'm confused, you are wanting to keep it stock and the stock (at least stock replacement) engine will not match up with the stock transmission? What am I missing here. Why will the stock bellhousing not work. What engine was in the truck originally? Is the issue that you don't know what the stock/original bellhousing was? The Ford trucks I have seen use the Hogshead adapter, but I don't know if that was for V8 only installations. How many bolts and what is the pattern for the 4-speed transmission? Is it the 6 bolt pattern?
 

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From what members have posted above there are two different bellhousing that came on the I6 226. One came on the truck and one came on the cars. The oil pans are completely different too. "See Toby post above he has pics" The 4 speed that is in the truck came with the truck and is original. The 226 i bought is from a 51 car. So i need to find a 49-51 truck bellhousing. Because the bell housing that came with the truck was off a v8. The truck came with a I6 226. So once i find the right truck 226 bellhousing the truck still be stock.
 
What does the front of your transmission look like? Is it possible to post a photo? The attached photo (from VanPlet) is of a 4-speed with the Hogshead attached, is yours just the transmission or the transmission + Hogshead?

From the Toby post the bellhousing in photo #4 looks like you need that adapter between the block and the Hogshead?
 

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I'm pretty sure I can see the characteristic 6 bolt pattern in that truck bellhousing (aka "hogshead").

Mart.
 
That stamped steel bell housing looks like the correct one for the six. All of the v8 bells that I have had have been cast iron. I used one just like that one to modify for my Mercedes swap.
Mark
 
sam03 said:
I can get a better picture tonight but this is what i have.
Click to expand...

That is a Hogshead bolted to a 4-speed, so (as I am sure you have figured out) what you need is the bellhousing part between the block and the Hogshead.
 
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