Here is this; but wait on others to advise. Pg 3-12/13
>>> http://www.hudsonterraplane.com/tech/1951/1951ServiceManual.pdf

Mike,
On the contrary, I'd call you wise. I predict that you will be calling yourself pretty danged smart for doing that.
Tips (from me anyway) would include the usual for a sheet-metal item bolted to anything with a gasket in between: Thoroughly clean/scrape the block and pan flanges, straighten the pan flange to remove the areas "pulled -in" by the bolts in the past (I like to do that in a press with appropriate anvils), and secure the gasket to the pan with a gasket cement to hold it in place during re-assembly. Use of sealants is a matter of preference, but if you decide to use a silicone sealant, do so sparingly to minimize the chance of solidified material clogging the pick-up screen down the road......speaking of which, remove the "Floto Screen" floating pick-up device and clean the screen, looking for holes as you do so. They get holes eaten in them by the acid in the sludge (assuming you find some of that).
Good luck
Frank

Michael,

I'm doing the same thing on my 51 Hornet soon. I've just about finished rebuilding the carb. Have to get some decent tires on the car, get it up on stands, and pull the pan. I didn't look at the directions that Richard provided, but sure they include removing the 3 bolds for the center steering link. dropping that down and raising the engine slighly will provide enough clearance to get the engine pan off. Let's compare notes!

Tim,
You're on the right track, except there's no need to raise the engine to remove the pan. You just have to turn the crankshaft so that the journals are out of the way, and the pan will come right out.

I do everything Frank suggests as well as a few other items. When replacing the pan on any car I'm working on, I usually use a little permatex (sparingly) then I use some sewing thread to tie the gasket in place in a couple of areas. Then, I position the pan and use 2-3 zip ties between the pan and the block to loosely hold the pan in place while I start a few bolts. The thread keeps the gasket aligned with the bolt holes and the zip ties allow you to start a few bolts without having to wrestle with the pan. Once I get a few bolts started I just cut and remove the thread and the zip ties.

Probably too late, but setting the crank at TDC of #3 gets the best position for clearance. To do so, set it at TDC of #1 (either compression or exhaust stroke), mark the vibration dampener at 120 degree intervals, then turn it 240 degrees to bring #3 up on TDC. This procedure gets the crank throws and #1 counterweight above, or nearly above, the block pan flange.....unless I'm wrong again.
F

Hi Frank - to you and all the others - thank you so much for the helpful hints. I was going to ask about raising the engine, especially since the manual doesn't mention anything about it and it sounds like a whole new project. But getting #3 to TDC - which i assume i can achieve close enough by aligning the rotor with the right spot in the distributor should solve my clearance problems. Sounds great.

Hi Scott - these sound like really helpful hints. Thank you so much.

Sure, no one want to bother raising the engine including me. Probably don't have to on the 51 that I have. The 54 I have has the power steering/assist, and there is no way to get the pan off withut raising the engine a little. Old squishy engine mounts don't help either, and if you have those, might be a good opportunity to replace them.

Big thanks to all you out there, especially Doug and Frank for mentioning the positioning of the crankshaft to move the #1 journal out of the way. I don't think i would have had the presence of mind to think of that without your advice. Here's how it went on my 51 Hollywood with Hydramatic. 1. Cranked engine over until distributor rotor was pointing at the terminal for #3, 2. Drained oil, 3. Jacked up car, both front and rear. Put jack stands on the frame right near the stabilizer bar. 4. Removed 3 bolts holding the center steering arm to the cross member. This dropped the tie rods down, but just a little, so I put them back in, not tight, unhooked the front of the drag link and then took the same 3 bolts out again. This dropped the tie rods way down, 5. Took out the 4 little screws/nuts and 2 bolts holding the flywheel dust cover on and removed that. 6.Removed all the oil pan bolts and wiggled the pan until it came out, 7. I had to make a fine adjustment to the crankshaft position by turning that big nut on the harmonic balance with a pipe wrench, but it wasn't necessary to lift the engine off the mounts.

OK, then what did I see? I was amazed to see no sludge, just some black oil, some bits of junk in the Floto-Screen (which I cleaned), and the seal to a bottle of oil that someone added by mistake (was that me?). So, clean bill of health.

I cleaned up both the pan and the block and glued a new gasket onto the pan with NAPA High Tack Gasket Sealant (both sides). Then I put in a new o-ring and popped her back in, reversing my steps. I didn't need the thread or any wire ties. It seemed to go very easy. The whole thing, including swapping out my exhaust flange gasket (hey, why not, the car was jacked up anyway) took me 6 hours and gave me substantial peace of mind.

Thanks again to all you folks for the great pointers.

Mike