Welcome to Club Hot Rod!  The premier site for everything to do with Hot Rod, Customs, Low Riders, Rat Rods, and more. 

  •  » Members from all over the US and the world!
  •  » Help from all over the world for your questions
  •  » Build logs for you and all members
  •  » Blogs
  •  » Image Gallery
  •  » Many thousands of members and hundreds of thousands of posts! 

YES! I want to register an account for free right now!  p.s.: For registered members this ad will NOT show

 

Thread: 50 flathead needs help
          
   
   

Reply To Thread
Results 1 to 4 of 4
  1. #1
    kingshotrob is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    la habra
    Car Year, Make, Model: 31 ford model a
    Posts
    3

    50 flathead needs help

     



    i just got a flathead to rebuild and put into my 31 model A. im going to strip it down and completely over haul it. as for the car it is going to be themed as a traditional 50s hot rod. any help and pointers will be appreciated. the flathead is a 1950 ford flathead 8ba. i want to upgrade it all to make everything run perfect or as close to as i can. but i want to use your guys experience so i don't take to many steps in the wrong direction
    we fix these cars to drive them the journey should be just as fun as the destination

  2. #2
    merc53man is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    reno
    Car Year, Make, Model: 1953 mercury hardtop + '56 chev p/u
    Posts
    93

    if it were me i would go w/ offenhauser heads about $500, offy intake 200-$300 ?, 2 stromberg 97 carbs or 2 holley 94's, unless the motor will be really bored out and raced then you could go w/ 3 carbs. also fenton headers look nice if you wanna, i've heard that boring out to 3 3/16 is the biggest to go and still safe, but that's just going by what ive heard . other guys here know more about it than i do. aldo you could get a mercury crank and bump your inches up to 255....

  3. #3
    R Pope is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Eston
    Posts
    2,270

    Don't go crazy on the bore, flatties heat when the walls get thin. 40 over is lots, 30 is better.
    A trick that works is to thump the empty block around on a wood floor, get physical with it till all the crud that built up over the last half century comes loose.The engine will cool much better after this treatment.

  4. #4
    Bob Parmenter's Avatar
    Bob Parmenter is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Salado
    Car Year, Make, Model: 32, 40 Fords,
    Posts
    10,844

    Before you put any money or effort into building up the engine you need to have a qualified machine shop check it for cracks and thin/erroded walls. Too many of these old flathead blocks are junk to start with, no sense spending a pile on machine work and parts before you know. Minor cracks can be repaired by the knowledgable, major ones, and thin walls can't.
    Your Uncle Bob, Senior Geezer Curmudgeon

    It's much easier to promise someone a "free" ride on the wagon than to urge them to pull it.

    Luck occurs when preparation and opportunity converge.

Reply To Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Links monetized by VigLink