1951 Mercury Monarch 5.3 swap PICS thread
07-23-2008, 07:07 PM
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1951 Mercury Monarch 5.3 swap PICS thread Hey everyone, haven't been arround much on the forums lately as I have been putting in a LOT of late nights to get this build going. What I started out with was an all original 1951 Monarch (mercury), one of my all time dream cars I always said I would own someday. I came across a 2 owner car, which was stored since 77 indoors, with 36000 miles on the clock. Being by far the best original 51 I had ever seen, I couldn't let it slip away, so shortly after it was mine. Here are the pics when I brought it home.
First thing I did was to see if I could get the original flathead going, so I changed the oil, put in a battery, points and condenser, hit the key and it fired immediately. It ran great, and I was quite surprised how well it ran after sitting over 30 years. The original plan was to figure out a few wiring issues, convert to 12 volt (as it was 6 volt positive ground - weird!) and add some kool old speed parts to the flathead.
After a few months of doing as much research as I could on the flathead, and buying some of the more affordable parts I wanted for it, I added up the cost of all the parts I wanted to put on the original motor. The cost was quite stagering, for a car that might have 130hp, and be an arround town cruiser, as flatheads are not known for their reliability. Also, with the factory 4:27 gear ratio, 100 kph would really be pushing it.
So, after a lot of figuring, it was decided to scrap the flathead for what I wanted down the road anyways, a 5.3. A TON more work, but it would all be worth it in the end.
The old flathead comes out on Feb 1/08.
Quite greasy, lots of cleaning required.
Over the next few months, I pulled the original diffy, and swapped in a newer Ford Explorer 8.8, 31 spline, with a lot more liveable 3:27 gears. At this time the frame was also treated to a healthy C-notch for clearance, as the new rear was placed on mooneyes drop blocks.
Pressure washing and degreasing the engine bay.
First thing I did was to see if I could get the original flathead going, so I changed the oil, put in a battery, points and condenser, hit the key and it fired immediately. It ran great, and I was quite surprised how well it ran after sitting over 30 years. The original plan was to figure out a few wiring issues, convert to 12 volt (as it was 6 volt positive ground - weird!) and add some kool old speed parts to the flathead.
After a few months of doing as much research as I could on the flathead, and buying some of the more affordable parts I wanted for it, I added up the cost of all the parts I wanted to put on the original motor. The cost was quite stagering, for a car that might have 130hp, and be an arround town cruiser, as flatheads are not known for their reliability. Also, with the factory 4:27 gear ratio, 100 kph would really be pushing it.
So, after a lot of figuring, it was decided to scrap the flathead for what I wanted down the road anyways, a 5.3. A TON more work, but it would all be worth it in the end.
The old flathead comes out on Feb 1/08.
Quite greasy, lots of cleaning required.
Over the next few months, I pulled the original diffy, and swapped in a newer Ford Explorer 8.8, 31 spline, with a lot more liveable 3:27 gears. At this time the frame was also treated to a healthy C-notch for clearance, as the new rear was placed on mooneyes drop blocks.
Pressure washing and degreasing the engine bay.
07-23-2008, 07:10 PM
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Next was the front suspension. I completely dismantled and rebuild the entire front suspension/braking system, with a rebuild kit from Kanter, along with dropped springs, spindles, and dropped steering arms. At this time I also replaced all the brake lines, brakes, and did some undercoating.
The new motor mounts were then fabbed, along with a completely new trans crossmember. The original interior was then stripped out, and a new trans tunnel was fabbed. Clearance issues arrised with the stock truck manifolds, so de-smogged LS1 Camaro manifolds, oil pan, pickup, windage tray were used. Also at this time the trans linkage was mated to the original column shifter.
Since none of the original gauges would work with the 5.3, I decided to do something a little different. I bought a set of cyberdyne digital gauges, and completely tore them apart, taking just the guts of the gauge. I then built a custom insert for thr guages, using the original surround. The end result came out great, and they work awesome. the Moon half sweep tach is there to keep with the old skool theme.
Next was the interior. The door pannels were all done to original specs for style and materials, while the seats were completely recovered in blue mexican blankets, as was the style of sleds of the 50's. All the interior was redone by my wife & my mom.
The new motor mounts were then fabbed, along with a completely new trans crossmember. The original interior was then stripped out, and a new trans tunnel was fabbed. Clearance issues arrised with the stock truck manifolds, so de-smogged LS1 Camaro manifolds, oil pan, pickup, windage tray were used. Also at this time the trans linkage was mated to the original column shifter.
Since none of the original gauges would work with the 5.3, I decided to do something a little different. I bought a set of cyberdyne digital gauges, and completely tore them apart, taking just the guts of the gauge. I then built a custom insert for thr guages, using the original surround. The end result came out great, and they work awesome. the Moon half sweep tach is there to keep with the old skool theme.
Next was the interior. The door pannels were all done to original specs for style and materials, while the seats were completely recovered in blue mexican blankets, as was the style of sleds of the 50's. All the interior was redone by my wife & my mom.
07-23-2008, 07:15 PM
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The entire car has now also been rewired with a painless wiring harness, aswell as all new fuel system installed for the injection. After everything was hooked up, and I hit the key, it fired as easy as the old flathead did, and it runs great. The car has awesome power, and pulls our camper with ease. A few small things left and then its time to hook up the camper and head out to Utah for the 60th Bonneville Speed Week, on th salt flats, should be a sweet trip. The car still wears its original paint, with no plans to change that any time soon, here are some pics.
A lot of late sleepless nights, but its all worth it in the end. The car rides like a dream, drives great, is reliable, and sounds pretty sweet to, I know I couldn't ask for anything more.
A lot of late sleepless nights, but its all worth it in the end. The car rides like a dream, drives great, is reliable, and sounds pretty sweet to, I know I couldn't ask for anything more.
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07-24-2008, 11:53 AM
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l Love the suicides. Nice work on the dash also. Just curious what trans you're running and if you are using the factory column shift? Also wandering how hard it was to hook the throttle to the old thru the floor pedal. Great job. Awesome ride congrats.
Last edited by rockytopper; 07-24-2008 at 12:08 PM.
07-24-2008, 06:02 PM
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Funny you ask, they are actually your mounts, bought the universal kit from you guys, worked great.
As for the trans, I am running the 4L60E hooked to the factory column shift. I fabbed the bracket that comes off the trans to hook to original linkage right up to the column, works great! For the gas pedal, I am running a Lokar pedal & LS1 36" cable. You have to drill new mounting holes for the pedal, and a new slot for the back of the pedal to go through the floor but thats ultra simple. I would recommend this gas pedal & cable, very easy installation.
Thanks for the positive feedback everyone!
As for the trans, I am running the 4L60E hooked to the factory column shift. I fabbed the bracket that comes off the trans to hook to original linkage right up to the column, works great! For the gas pedal, I am running a Lokar pedal & LS1 36" cable. You have to drill new mounting holes for the pedal, and a new slot for the back of the pedal to go through the floor but thats ultra simple. I would recommend this gas pedal & cable, very easy installation.
Thanks for the positive feedback everyone!
07-25-2008, 12:50 PM
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VERY cool. Nice to have a great driver like that. That is the real payoff for all the work involved, believe me, I lived it as well. I drive mine everywhere.....every day, and I love it.
GOOD JOB!!
GOOD JOB!!
