ClassicCar

faustmb

I'm wondering if a stepdown 8 254 will fit in a 33 Terraplane without major mods. Any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

Ken U-Tx

Yes, it should be doable, since the steering box on these pre 1940 cars with solid front axles have the pitman arm on the OUTSIDE of the frame, so the wider block and oilpan of the Stepdown 8 is not a problem. Bob Johnson in NE has or had a 34 Hudson 8 with a Stepdown 8 in it.
Fitting the Stepdown 8 into the 1940-47 Hudsons has been done, but the pitman shaft and nut may have to be ground down so they clear the wider rear part of the block/ oilpan, starter, etc. I remember Dr Doug putting a Stepdown 8 into one of his former 47 Commode-doors, he said the clearance between the block and the pitman nut was TIGHT, REAL TIGHT. Kenneth

Lee ODell

Hi Ken

Question. Is the stepdown 8 wider than the 47 8?

Lee O'Dell

walts garage-53 · walts garage-53 March 2012 Posts: 1,470Platinum Member

I have put 308's into 40 models, and yes the steering box has to be modified, grind off the sector shaft that sticks out and notch the block right where the sector shaft sets. Easy job. Walt.

Ken U-Tx

Lee ODell wrote:

Hi Ken

Question. Is the stepdown 8 wider than the 47 8?

Lee O'Dell

Lee, yes, it is wider at the back, for the rear sump type oil pan used on the Stepdowns. The earlier cars had the entire engine behind the front axle centerline, thus the pan was not over the crossmember or axle. With the Stepdown, the engine was moved forward so the first 2 cylinders were ahead of the axle centerline, to give more interior and trunk space. The Stepdown was basically a "cab forward" design in it's day. In order to keep the engine height low, the oil pan had to be shallow where it was situated over the Stepdown front crossmember. The oil capacity was retained by having a deep, wide sump in the rear of the oil pan.

Lee ODell

Thank you Ken. I was not aware of the difference. Learned something new. My Dad had a 8 in his 47 PU in early 60's but I do not recall which 8 was in it.

Lee O'Dell

StillOutThere

Patrick Meehan, RIP, of Ventura, CA, had a '33 ET8 coach with a stepdown 8 in it. He had installed it many decades ago and it did require some modifications due to the aforementioned width of the stepdown 8 block rear as mentioned above. He must have owned that car at least 40 years and did the install early in his ownership. Pat was originally a Chicagoan and was "Mr. Terraplane 8" to us Californians who knew him. He also owned a Hornet coupe with a Chrysler Hemi so he understood "go-fast". The car, last I heard, still exists in an unrestored state, having been sold from his estate perhaps 5 years ago. Anyone here own Pat's old car?

oldhudsons

I've not heard that his wife has sold off his stuff yet, he had 2 '33 T8s in the back yard, a sedan & a coach when he died.
Val Smith is handling that for her.
I was at a non Hudson meet with him once & he had the aforementioned '54 cp. sitting in a line with a bunch of other cars with the hood up. Some guy comes walking by & said "I didn't know Hudson had a V8 engine" to which the very quick witted Pat said "Yes, it was an option in '54" - we had a tough time not cracking up! He was just great with "one-liners" like that

Rocket

I was just wondering why do you have to go with the stepdown 8 cant you use a 36 8cyl

Tallent R

Probably using whats on hand ? I would think a stepdown motor is easier to find than a 36 . . .
Roger

Ken U-Tx

StillOutThere wrote:

Patrick Meehan, RIP, of Ventura, CA, had a '33 ET8 coach with a stepdown 8 in it. He had installed it many decades ago and it did require some modifications due to the aforementioned width of the stepdown 8 block rear as mentioned above. He must have owned that car at least 40 years and did the install early in his ownership. Pat was originally a Chicagoan and was "Mr. Terraplane 8" to us Californians who knew him. He also owned a Hornet coupe with a Chrysler Hemi so he understood "go-fast". The car, last I heard, still exists in an unrestored state, having been sold from his estate perhaps 5 years ago. Anyone here own Pat's old car?

I think I know where his '54 Coupe with the 392 Hemi is. Is this car worth buying?

StillOutThere

I couldn't say; I haven't seen that car in 30 years or more!!!

faustmb

Thanks for the info everyone.

There is a decent stepdown engine locally. I am early in the process of rebuilding the 33 engine, do this was a thought for jumpstarting the project a bit.

Matt

Ric West IN

Hi Matt, Have owned my 33T-8 since the early 1970's. When I started to restore I tried to fit 47H-8 as I had a good running one available. The
problem is the short under hood space available. Unless you shift engine and
mounts rearward by 2 + inches there is not room for the later model fan and water pump. One can gain some by shifting the radiator/shell foreward but that leaves a gap unless you "stretch" the hood.

Peter, How did Pat Meehan make it work??

Fred "Ric" Pinder

ralpie

StillOutThere wrote:

Patrick Meehan, RIP, of Ventura, CA, had a '33 ET8 coach with a stepdown 8 in it. He had installed it many decades ago and it did require some modifications due to the aforementioned width of the stepdown 8 block rear as mentioned above. He must have owned that car at least 40 years and did the install early in his ownership. Pat was originally a Chicagoan and was "Mr. Terraplane 8" to us Californians who knew him. He also owned a Hornet coupe with a Chrysler Hemi so he understood "go-fast". The car, last I heard, still exists in an unrestored state, having been sold from his estate perhaps 5 years ago. Anyone here own Pat's old car?[/quote]

lsfirth posted this in the Hudson Street Rod area

Possibly this car was Patricks Hornet coupe?

Craigs list posting for 54 Coupe with HEMI

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