Thread: I had a Flathead once upon a time...

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....here come old flat top,he come groovin up slowly......John Lennon said it all didn't he*,
I had more flatties than i knew what to with back in the early seventies when I lived in New Zealand,The fact they were seriously unpopular engines in those days was lost on me.I loved the sound of a flattie running through (leaky) Massy Ferguson Tractor mufflers.Yes MF tractor mufflers,you could buy them for about $10 each and they came with a peice of pipe about 4 feet long.perfect for cash poor young apprentices with a need for speed.I bought a "39 standard coupe from a guy who had painted it a real nice shade of Metallic blue,and done a fantastic job with the bondo.This car had been a dirt track racer and the pic shows it after the bars etc had been removed and the first coat of brush on black had been touched up.No interior of course., those rare '39 Std lights etc came off a tudor he wrecked just get the bits.The rest went to the scrap....
And those who have thrashed a 3 speed will know of the dash hook,Mine had one made from a 1/4 inch rod,to keep the '36 straight cut geared box in second.
Because they were unpopular and still common around Auckland I would bludge the neccesary HOT bits from rodders,boaties and who ever had the goodies i needed.
The engine was 59A block Mercury with the liners removed and bored out ot 3/8 oversize.The crank was a merc steel item with a 3/8 stroke,that gave me a capacity of 296 cubic inch.Topped off with a locally made Hogan triple carb set up ,crab dizzy,truck 11" clutch I was set to burn rubber.
With a car load of freinds one night I was racing a porsche powered beetle from the lights when the tranny decided to go home early,straight out the bottom and all over the road...BANG!!!
I went to another guys place and he gave me all the trannys he had,for free.40 of them !!.
This car was a barrel of fun for some time until i read about '40 converts and decided my coupe was candidate ,,off with her head!,needless to say the car wasn't finished,i sold my grenade motor to a guy who was passing by and had stopped to look at what i was doing.The coupe was passed on to Kevin Perry,who i think lives in Ventura,who passed it on to another guy in Auckland who put the roof back on !!
Youth is wasted on the young LOL