FE 35 with Ford 302 V8 fitted

I am currently fitting a Ford 302 V8 to my FE35 TVO. Has anyone done this conversion........and how did you cope with the starter and the flywheel spacing?

I have not done this type of thing but I have a few questions. Is the Ford 302 V-8 internally balanced or externally balanced??? If it is externally balanced you will need to use a factory flywheel. If it is internally balanced then you can use the tractor's flywheel/pressure plate setup.

I have done a few motor switches in some trucks and other equipment. If the bell housing is big enough, you use the engine's factory flywheel. You then make an adapter plate to bolt your block to the transmission housing. The using the factory engine flywheel you have a machine shop drill holes to use the tractor's clutch/pressure plate setup. With the factory flywheel you can use the regular starter and mounting place. You just need to make the hole in your adapter plate in the correct place.

If the factory engine flywheel will not fit inside the tractor's bell housing then you will need to do some more work/cost. IF the engine is internally balanced you can have the tractor's flywheel made to fit you engines cranks shaft. Then you would use the tractor's starter if possible. The trouble is that the V-8 engine maybe to wide for that to work well. You should be able to make it work with the starter mounted low and next to the oil pan tight.

If the engine is externally balanced and the factory engine flywheel does not fit inside the tractor bell housing then you have an expensive issue. You either have to make an an adapter that is large enough to fit the engine and deep enough that the factory flywheel is in front of the tractor bell housings. If you do this you will need to make an transmission input shaft extension, this is not cheap. The other option is to have a flywheel made that will go in the tractor bell housing but is balanced like the engine needs. This is expensive too.

I have seen some guys make an adapter that replaced the tractor's bell housing completely back to the transmission. These are harder to make and usually do not look very good either.

Maybe if you post this down on the Pullers forum they may have better answers. Some of them may have fitted car/truck motors into tractors to make modified pulling tractors.

Thanks ..... and yes I have managed to use the factory flywheel and the f100 pickup truck donor pressure plate.The original FE35 clutch plate is nearly identical in size and thickness,so I will be using it as it fits on the transmission input shaft.
The main problem is that I need to move the flywheel back 2 " so I thought of making a spacer to fit between the flywheel and the crankshaft ,fitted with longer bolts and this should work fine, but I will then have to cut away a section of the tractor transmission bell housing to get the starter to fit?

The 302 is externally balanced so I assume when you said you were able to use the factory flywheel you meant the Ford flywheel, not the Fergie flywheel?
The Ford flywheels from '62 thru '79 had a 28.2 oz imbalance. Beginning in 1980, the 302s used a flywheel with an imbalance of 50 oz.

How about making a flat 2 inch thick spacer for the clutch plate and pressure plate??? This plate would just need to be turned so all surfaces are running true. They would be balanced pretty well that way. You could attach it with the current pressure plate mounting holes and use some drive PINs to carry the actual torque. I have had some plates made like this. I needed a different pilot hole/bearing. So I had a plate made that had alignment pins to hold it to the flywheel and then just used longer bolt in the pressure plate to hold the assemble clamped to the flywheel. This would get your clutch disk back to where you need it but leave the starter ring gear out where it is currently.

Most of the kits for such engine transplants include a frame that bolts up to the transmission case and provide a place to attach the front axle. The spacing for the flywheel and starter would work out that way. One website is awesome henrys DOT com

way, way off, not to change your thread, your last name is spelled like my mom's side. Ever get to Scotland and the MacLachlan castle?

Here's a flathead conversion. Don't know if it'll show you anything helpful or not.

This is a little of topic, but reading this brought back the memory. I had a friend that would do engine swaps like this. I'm not sure what his usual swap was, but the flywheel would not fit in the bell housing.

He would bolt it up square and close, start the engine, and slowing pull it (with the mounting bolts) in letting the starter teeth grind out the bell housing. He never had a mishap and it always worked. He was way more gutsy than I, but he was one of those guys who always landed on his feet smelling like a rose.

(quoted from post at 00:03:03 09/01/13) I am currently fitting a Ford 302 V8 to my FE35 TVO. Has anyone done this conversion........and how did you cope with the starter and the flywheel spacing?

Click to expand...

Here's a MF35 with a GM 6.2 diesel V8