They say the plan never survives first contact with the enemy, and
that's true here. The engine in the Moebius kit is a later type that is
mirror image of the 215 ci inch engine I need for my 53. As a first
step, before I figured that out,
I assembled the basic chassis as that would be a necessary step in
mounting the six instead of the V-8's that came with the kit. It didn't
go too bad considering the kit is a 1964 mold. I rounded off the corners
of the frame and
cleaned off mold misalignment marks, and after a little puzzling figured
out how the springs and axles went together. Some kids in the past may
have done some customizing with out knowing it by following the
instructions.
I will be somewhat surprised if all four wheels set on the ground
without adjustment.
Things quickly started to look strange as I fit the engine parts together.
The first thing I noticed was that the timing cover was pinned to install
with the vibration damper way out of line with the crankshaft, and the
timing gear for the cam would have fit a cam quite well had it only been
outside the block. Further investigation revealed the mirror image
problem as well so I ripped everything apart while I still could, and
sawed the bell housing adapter plate off of the back of the engine. I
researched what shape the timing cover should be and was able to use part
of the one I had by trimming off everything but the cover
itself. I put it on the front which was the back with the crank hole
centered properly (I hope) and rotated it so the cam gear would be aligned
with the camshaft, now where it should be on the right side of
the engine. Then I glued on the bell housing adapter in line with the
crank (I hope). Initial test fitting to the frame indicate that there is a
good chance that things will come together. If not, I do have a 1/24 scale
Merlin that will fit with some mods to the firewall. The newer model
pickup had the more modern angle mounts that attach at the sides mid
engine, the 53 will require bell housing mounting and something
on the front of the engine. I'll have to modify the cover that is over the
cam lifters as it is also a different style. A bit of Epoxysculpt will
make it good.
