help with engine swap to 8BA engine

[Jason Linders]

Thanks for that Tony , the engine that is already fitted is the 21 stud 1937 flatehead and it runs so i might just leave it alone and get on with finding the replacement chassis witch i plane on looking at one later this week if the rain lets up.
is their anything that i should keep an eye out for on the chassis

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Jason Linders

Thanks for that Tony , the engine that is already fitted is the 21 stud 1937 flatehead and it runs so i might just leave it alone and get on with finding the replacement chassis witch i plane on looking at one later this week if the rain lets up.
is their anything that i should keep an eye out for on the chassis

Is the chassis you're looking at a F15A or another FGT? Main thing is to make sure the chassis is intact front to the rear, and then check for rust, not usually a big problem with these... also look to see whether it looks true and straight, and also look for other signs of butchery.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Just so you guys know, the 48 and earlier motors circulated the water different to the 49 and newer motors so when you change the heads you have to do some fiddling with the holes in the block to prevent heating problems. I forget which holes are involved. If you find a 255 Merc engine the crank and rods and pistons will fit in the 48 style engine. I suppose you don't get those Merc engines down under though. Theres always ebay.

[Jason Linders]

It should be a F15A but wont know till late this week or next when the rain stops so i can get into the yard to have a look, but should be a F15A

[John Mackie]

dont forget that if you want to use the 21A disy you wll have to change the camshaft . the waterpumps ase different. there are 3 different pumps for the 8BA . you will need 2 8RT pumps.

[Jason Linders]

I am going to take Tony's advice and leave the engine that is fitted because it runs so their is no real need to change it at the moment
but thanks for the info John

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Jason Linders

is their anything that i should keep an eye out for on the chassis

As Keith says, just find one that's not too badly butchered, ie. side rail ends chopped off, reinforcement plates welded on, heavy bumper bar mounts welded to the chassis, etc. All this stuff can be repaired but it's a helluva lot of work, and such chassis will generally have fatigue cracks anyway.

Fortunately most SWB chassis are quite good as they rarely got put to work like the 3 tonners, the exception of course being the FGT, for the sole reason that it had a winch. Without that winch they never would have wound up as yard cranes in sawmills etc, they would have had an easy life as delivery vans like the Sigvans did, and the bodies would never have been chopped.

Anyway good luck with the chassis this week Jason, you'll start making good progress once you have a decent chassis to work with. First step will be to convert it from F15A to FGT, which will be much easier with a FGT chassis to compare. The various differences are covered in post #39 here:

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...?t=1929&page=2

Hopefully you can re-use the winch crossmember, in which case you'll just need another rear crossmember and a set of FGT fishplates. I'm planning to get a batch of these made up so if you like I can include you in and send them up.

[Jason Linders]

Thanks for that Tony you can count me in for the fishplates.
I had a look at prices for the chassis rail and had a look at a rail it must be a ford short wheel base it was fitted with a flathead rails looked the same but it was only two wheel drive i think but the diff and front axle where not blitz it was used to move around a large welding unit so do not know if would be any good being only two wheel drive or if it was a 4x4 and they removed the front diff didnt get any pics but will be checking again when the rail goes away just way to muddy and wet in dalby

[Keith Webb]

No good to you if it is a F15 4x2 chassis which is completely different.

[Jason Linders]

Thats what i thought it might be too, they told me they had one but i dont think they would know if it hit them in the head, i told them they have a short chev and they recone they had a short ford still their but there mech reconds they dont when i was their the sales guys were at lunch.
might have to look else were

[Jason Linders]

bloody chassis this is going to be a headache
i might have to try Ross Prince and see what he has.

[Keith Webb]

If it has a transfer case cross member and the gearbox bolts into the member in front of that rather than onto it then it is a 4X4 chassis.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

No good to you if it is a F15 4x2 chassis which is completely different.

I wouldn't rule it out in this case, because it involves chassis alterations anyway. You'd just have to do a few more with the F15 chassis, ie:

1. provide cutout in front crossmember for diff clearance
2. fit transfer case crossmember
3. fit 4x4 rear spring hangers
4. fit 4x4 gearbox crossmember

Off the top of my head that's all that's required, the only difficulty being absence of pre-stamped rivet holes. That's certainly not insurmountable, and if it's the only chassis available I see no reason to hold up the project. However I'd be checking with Keith who has intimate knowledge of the F15 chassis.

Ideally of course you'd start with an F15A chassis, firstly because you don't have to do the above work, and secondly because the pre-stamped holes for the winch crossmember and the relocated midsection crossmember are present, and thirdly because you get a set of high ratio diffs (assuming it's a rolling chassis). For these reasons it's worth paying a bit more if necessary.

[Jason Linders]

If i have to remove all my crossmembers thats fine i have a good mate of mine thats a engineer but does all the old school blacksmithing so has the tooling and gear to do the hot riveting, but if i can find a F15A it would be better, but no luck as of yet just dont seem to be able to find one up here in QLD

[Keith Webb]

The F15 has longer front springs (and different hangers) and although I don't have one handy to check I think the front part of the chassis is different too.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Jason Linders

if i can find a F15A it would be better, but no luck as of yet just dont seem to be able to find one up here in QLD

I was just saying to Keith the other day they're getting hard to find down here. Maybe you should grab the F15 as a back up in case nothing turns up. The chassis rails are the same so at least you know it can be done, it's just a question of work. Of course as soon as you do there'll be any number of F15A chassis available!