By: Jim Aust & Kevin leePhotography by: Kevin LeeThe Oldest Trick In The BookSince the introduction of the Chevy small-block, creative rodders have been stuffing them into just about every engine bay imaginable. The most popular of all the swaps has to be the venerable bow-tie mill in front of an early Ford driveline. Years ago you could round up the necessary pieces from your local speed shop and wrecking yards without too much effort, but today those pieces are not so readily available. However, thanks to Wilcap you won't need to spend hours tracking down vintage parts of questionable condition.
With one simple phone call to Wilcap you can get brand-new pieces to adapt any GM small-block to an early Ford transmission like so many rodders before you. This was the case when Editor Kevin wanted to upgrade a few components in the driveline of his longtime family-owned '32 Ford roadster and found it much easier to dial up Wilcap than try and track down all the necessary pieces himself.
The parts made the mating a snap and got our editor and his roadster back on the road where they both belong.
Wilcap supplied us with everything...
Wilcap supplied us with everything we needed to attach our early Ford trans to our '59 Chevy small-block. The adapter looks very similar to our old Crager adapter, but the new one has benefited from better machining.
The most common method back...
The most common method back in the day was to use the early Chevy flywheel and a '49 or '50 Mercury pressure plate because they shared the same bolt pattern. If you've looked for a good Merc pressure plate core lately you know they aren't that easy to find. Wilcap is now manufacturing the correct Borg & Beck style in both a 10.5- and 11-inch bolt pattern. The pressure plate comes with the fingers adjusted for this combination. We went through two diaphragm pressure plates before we found this correct style.
Wilcap also supplied a new...
Wilcap also supplied a new pilot bushing for the rear of the crank. We removed the old one by packing in some heavy grease and used a large punch that just barely fit inside the bushing and then hit it with a hammer. The pressure from the grease pushed at the rear of the bushing until it popped loose.
Before we started mating anything...
Before we started mating anything together we used a flat file on the rear of the engine block and the crank flange to ensure they were flat.
We then went an extra step...
We then went an extra step and hit the areas with some emery cloth. We also cleaned out the mounting holes with a thread chaser.
The new bushing was installed...
The new bushing was installed by carefully tapping it in with a soft lead hammer. We'd recommend putting the bushing in the freezer for a few hours beforehand so it will contract slightly, making it easy to go in.
We set the clutch in place...
We set the clutch in place using a clutch alignment tool. An old transmission input shaft will work equally well. Remember to pay attention to the side of the disc marked flywheel to ensure it is installed correctly.
The new Wilcap Borg & Beck...
The new Wilcap Borg & Beck pressure plate was installed with the new supplied bolts and torqued.
The Wilcap adapter (part#...
The Wilcap adapter (part# 307-EFM) was set in place over the stock Chevy locating pins and bolted to the block with the new bolts. We added a little Loctite to each bolt for added peace of mind.
Finally the rebuilt trans...
Finally the rebuilt trans was heaved into place and bolted to the adapter.