A member of the local Tbird club has a 312 with an AOD in his 57. He told me once how he did it, and of course I can't remember. He did say that he did it in a way that he could go back to stock fairly easily. I'll probably see him next Friday, if you haven't got good answers by then, I'll get more information for you.

I can't help with mounts, so mostly food for thought.

I've seen evidence to support what Gary says in the truck world, too. Every now and then, an mpg thread is started and the only small blocks that seem to work out better are fuel injected, roller cammed 5.0s. Anything less and the power and mileage drops. In other words, a 302 is usually a step backwards. I don't know about you but if I make a swap, I want to move forward.

Further, what are you going to do about the transmission, shifter, clutch linkage if manual, drive shaft, radiator, throttle linkage, exhaust, and the myriad of other things involved in a swap? Sometimes people jump so quickly to the engine swap conclusion without considering everything that may be involved. It is far more than an engine swap that you will be doing. Can you do it yourself or will you be paying someone?

On the other hand, if your Bird is missing the engine all together, a swap could be a cost effective solution. The T-Bird specific parts are not cheap.


Lawrenceville, GA

Your post don't indicate where you are located? I might be able to help with the swap?

       A  L  A  N   F  R  A  K  E  S   ~  Tulsa, OK    

Had a 57 ford convertible in real nice condition that someone before me installed a nice running 302 with standard shift. My 57 300 4dr with a y-block would clean it's clock bottom end top end and got better gas mileage to boot and to beat it all it was a 272. Installing the 312 yblock will get better gas mileage, more torque because of the stroke being longer and more power to move around a heavier car so yes the Y will outperform the 302. The Tbird is not a light weight like mustangs, falcons etc where the 302s do a nice job with the light weights. When you start moving over 3200 lbs and up that's where I see the Ys starting to shine. 302s can be made to fit because my brother had a 289 in a 57 bird 20 years ago but don't remember what if anything was special to make it fit. I do like 302s but it will bring the value down on the bird to some extent.

-Gary Burnette-

An early FE motor mount can be made to work without much effort. Hate to see you trash the Y but it is your car. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Five hundred years ago, I could have gotten stoned or hung or worse for asking a question like this, but I'm willing to take the chance. I really want to install a late 302 small block into my '56, but I have run into a little snag. Apparently, Tbirds have the engine mounted in a totally different configuration than Fords and Mercurys. The engine is front mounted where Fords and Mercs are side mounted. So, none of the shops that fab engine swap parts for Fords can help me with the Bird. I'd appreciate any help if someone can point me in the right direction to find the parts I need.