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I need to drop the oil pan in my '52 to replace the gasket below the timing chain cover. In an earlier post, Ross advised that I would need to unbolt the idler arm and let the steering assembly drop so I have room to drop the pan. He also advised "You will also have to remove the lower bellhousing half." This said so matter-of-factly that it sounded like no big deal.
I am there now and the idler arm is no problem. The lower bellhousing anchors the pivot for the clutch, but everything else is pretty straight forward. This lower bellhousing is a big beefy hunk of iron. I assume that I can just drop it down without worrying about supporting anything, it does not look like I need to jack the trans up or anything like that. Is that right?
This is a whole lot of trouble to drop an oil pan!

I could get all the bolts out, but it was tight. But the pan still gets hung up in the front between the frame and I assume the bearing cap. I think sliding it back further first is needed, so removing the cover may provide that room.

You probably just have to rotate the crankshaft a bit for the oil pan to clear one of the counterweights.

I needed to raise the engine on my 51 300. The pan was hitting the frame. at the time I could see no other option

Take a look at Figure 1 in Section IX of the '54 Service Manual. The graphic depicts the engine in #1 TDC or #8 TDC, please note the counter balance for the #1 piston & rod. I don't believe the oil pan will drop down enough to clear this portion of the crank shaft, and if it did the next challenge would be the 'big end' of the #2 rod. I believe the 'sweet spot' is found at #1 TDC (either end of compression or end of exhaust) plus 90 degrees. That should place both #1 and #2's crank throws and counter weight cheeks horizontal. With the engine in this position you should be able to see if a corner of #1 counter weight is still going to be a problem. You may find rotating the engine to + 95 or +100 degrees maximizes the oil pan clearance.
dp

I got the pan off today by manipulating the position of the counterweight and the rod as suggested by Owen and David. Fortunately, my mounts are good so I have decent clearance between the frame and the pan. It is still tight, but I should be able to maneuver it back with the gasket in place.
Thank you all for the helpful suggestions.