Thread: Flathead Newbee Needing Direction!

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My impression was the 8BA blocks were better. With the 8BA the bellhousing can be adapted to many transmission choices. Peace

That is a good point about adaptability to other transmissions AND it may be easier to find an 8BA block. My brain is sort of frozen with the old formula of adding a '39 3-speed transmission to get a floor shift and a synchromesh set of gears, but actually that trans is pretty weak so if you are using a C4 or some sort of sturdier manual trans, the 8BA may indeed be a better choice. Actually folks still seem to be able to find useful flathead blocks somehow although even the Speedway catalog alludes to many with cracks and offers a kit to pressure test the block. Back when I was still hoping to get a good block I bought a '39 3-speed as rebuilt for $300 from a restorer which was a pretty good deal but even a slightly modified flathead can mess up a Ford trans if you wind it up in low gear and then hit a bump, so yes another modern trans might be a good idea.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder