Probably gong to get a 55 or 56 2 door sedan since I have not found a bird that was complete that I could afford and the rough ones were too rough,I have a feeling I would not be that comfortable in a bird.

Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

I did a simler 1 a no of years ago,used pickup motor mount, front and purchased the steady rest kit. used the pickup pan and suction bell, the pan looked the same as tbird, tho a bird guy will tell of a diference,i used a 57 or later for the beter distributor and carb selection. the front pulley as i remember was a chalenge.i made up the fandrive pulley and mchined the pcar front damper and made a pulley ad onto match the wster pump. did not use the bird waterpump extention. iused a 3speed with od. it was no more wok than instalin later power,and you will get some critical guys. but you can always make changes to the front as parts come avail.kept the trans 1956 or older so the spedo worked,if you found a trans frome a 57 bird you ar ok. 57 car the spedo out of trans wrong direction for bird spedo

I reckon this a no brainer - go y block! I'm in the process of rebuilding my 272 into a 292, replacing just about every component in the motor (I already had '57 heads and distributor )when I googled 55 Yblock components, I got a bunch of listings for parts. All the go faster bits from John Mummert, Reds' headers & basic components from Macs Auto and Summit Racing (ps Macs seemed to have a more comprehensive stock of standard parts than the others - well priced also) Just do it dude! ps they sound as good as an old Harley

I have all pass car Y block parts and if I buy a bird missing all the correct parts to put a Y block back in then its going to take forever to get all the correct parts and if I have to make parts then I would just build a newer drivetran and keep the 292 for my sunliner. I am going to rethink buying a basket case if the parts I need are not reproduced.

Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

You said hotrod…
The mounting and mounts are availble new or used around on Ebay and other parts houses. Pretty cheap. The clutch linkage is out there too although maybe not so cheap (I know where a setup is right now). Biggest expense just to make it all work would be a Tbird oil pan. Around $400. If you have welding and fab skills you could make one. Other stuff you might want but don't have to have is Tbird factory specific and pricey like the dizzy as mentioned. If you are not going concours factory correct it's all doable. All much better than a 351 pig imho! So far I've seen Caddillac, buick, SCRUBS, Big and small. 427 SOHC, 427 wedge. 289, 302 351 ford. Mercedes-Benz DOHC. Chrysler hemi. Hmm, yah I think that's about it.

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

Why would it be easier to change mounts and everything else to install a Windsor, when it came with a Y-Block.......that fits with stock parts?? I'm confused.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

I think I will try to find one that is complete first,if I do find one with out the motor and trans it might be easier to go with a windsor motor and T-5. Before I even think abut buying one I will need to see I can fit in one.

Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

As was stated above the parts are out there but be prepared to pay a premium for parts that are TBird specific.

Many of the TBird new parts suppliers also handle used parts. There are a lot of repro parts that usually are very good quality.

Here are some suppliers that I have dealt with for used parts with no problems:

Bob Schermerhorn Ghent NY 518-392-2472
Tony's Classics, Iowa, 515-263-3606
Adrian - PA (near Scranton I think) 570-709-0823
email lilbirds567@wmconnect.com or
gums82@aol.com

All of the above have lots of used parts.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

The parts are out there, Jeff.

There are a number of Forum members who I would suspect either have what you would need or know someone to connect with for them.

eBay prices for things like 'Bird engine front crankshaft dampers, oil pans, driver's side exhaust manifolds, tach drive distributors, and clutch linkage assemblies are high. Too, it is not uncommon for a seller to not be willing to separate a stick set-up of clutch linkage, bellhousing, flywheel, tranny, and perhaps driveshaft if it is a '56 or '57 T-85 overdrive.

Somehow, once you have a car, the parts sources do usually seem to surface.


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

Right now I have the idea of building me a hotrod 55 T bird to us a 292 and 4 speed I have in stock,in order for me to afford this project it will probably be missing the drivetrain so how hard is it to find motor mounts,clutch linkage and oil pan plus other T bird only parts I will need. My motor came from a 62 galaxie so I know its not just going to fall in and there was one like what I am wanting to find for sale locally a couple years ago and which I should have looked at.

Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio