I've got my rebuilt 312 ready to go into my '57 Fairlane and I want to swap out the Ford-O-Matic.  I've got a rebuilt '64 Ford C-O-M from a 352 FE and the torque converter.  I have the correct Y-Block flex plate with ring gear to mount the converter and it looks like an easy bolt-in swap until we get to the converter pilot that goes into the back of the crank.  The FE pilot is larger and I need to have it machined to the Y-Block's 1.575-inch dimension.

Now the bad news.  The guy at the machine shop tells me he won't touch it because there isn't enough meat in the converter pilot to turn it down that far.  I've heard of others doing this without any problems and I thought the pilot was just about a solid piece.

I've tried to find a Y-Block C-O-M converter with no luck so if this isn't going to work I'm stuck without a trans.  Any ideas, or is the Machinist just wrong about the thickness of the converter pilot?

Larry D

Winnipeg, MB Canada Eh!


'57 Fairlane 500 Club Victoria

'58 Custom 300 Tudor

'56 Crown Victoria

'61 Starliner Z Code

'51 Ford Victoria