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By San Diego Ron - 15 Years Ago
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Have a 1957 312 Special T-Bird engine/trans I want to put in my '55 Town Sedan. Is that a pretty even swap or will I have to make a bunch of changes...linkage, manifolds, motor mounts?
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By ecode ragtop - 15 Years Ago
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WELL AS THE MAN ONCE SAID( IT DOSEN'T ANY EASIER THAN THIS!!!) A VERY EASY SWAP ALMOST A DIRECT BOLT IN. HOPE THIS HELPS
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 15 Years Ago
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Ron: If it is a real T-Bird engine with a rear sump oil pan, you will need to use the passenger pan. Also remove the spacer from behind the water pump. It is probably a Thunderbird Special engine from a passenger car, in which case, as Tom says, it's a drop-in.
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By San Diego Ron - 15 Years Ago
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That is the best news I've heard in awhile...starting to think nothing is easy working around this engine, all I started out to do was pull the oil pan to see what was making all the noise in there...then found out you need to remove the front engine stabilizer to get the pan off, only problem is once loose it won't come off without pulling the harmonic balancer...at least that is the way it looks to me, so for now the pan stays. I found a good 312 engine (fingers crossed) so hope to pull my 272 and drop this one in...Ha, Ha...Piece of cake! Once out I'll rebuild and have as spare for this or my 1954 Ford 4-door. The 312 comes with trans but think it would be easier to split and use my transmission since mine is working okay and may be easier to leave in there, any suggestions?...
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 15 Years Ago
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Ron: You won't need that front stabilizer when you're finished, Ford quit using it in '57. Exhaust manifolds all interchange. Only thing with transmissions is, if one is stick and one automatic, the pilot bushing will have to be addressed.
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By Ted - 15 Years Ago
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The ’57 car engine physically bolts in without issue. Like John F. brings up, if the engine is indeed out of a Thunderbird, then the water pump, oil pan, and harmonic damper will need to be addressed. If your car currently has a single exhaust, you’ll want to convert it to duals to use the ’57 exhaust manifolds. The ’57 starter is 12 volt so if your car still has a 6 volt system, use the ’55 starter. The same goes for the generator if your car is still 6 volt. The other option is switching the '55 over to 12V if not already done. 1957 intake manifolds and distributors are different but are an improved design. These will require some adapting of the carb linkages and especially if your ’55 has an automatic tranny. And to reitterate what John mentions about the front engine stabilizer mount that bolts to the timing cover on the '55's, this can be done away with when making the swap assuming it hasn’t already been removed.
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By San Diego Ron - 15 Years Ago
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Okay, now I'm starting to get happy...the 312 is also automatic and out of passenger car not T-Bird. I will be going over today to hear it run and make deposit then it will be hatched like an Easter egg (pulled) on Sunday. One more thing...both cars are 12 volt systems and 312 has electronic distributor
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By mctim64 - 15 Years Ago
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One more thing. It has been said many times but make sure you are buying a 312 if you are paying a 312 price. There is a lot more 312s out there than Ford ever produced. 
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By San Diego Ron - 15 Years Ago
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That engine deal...fell through, a misunderstanding about the price so I'm back to square one. About ready to pull my engine so going to go ahead and see what is wrong with it once out and in the open.
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By San Diego Ron - 15 Years Ago
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Well the engine is out..thought I would see something broken once pan was off but looks OK...maybe timing chain was making all the noise, beats me and don't know what to do next. Guess I'll start by cleaning and painting engine compartment
 Looks a little better with black painted, I'll paint firewall body color as soon as I get paint mixed up and figure out if I want to paint entire car now or not
 My boat is missing her parking spot and looks like it may be awhile before this car is out of here and back on the road. I do have a Chev 305w/350 trans I could maybe sneak in here while no one is looking until figure out how to fix the 272
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