Thread: 51' flathead worth?

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Tim, Tech has the right of it; you need to find out if it is fatally cracked, before you can reasonably set a price. If it has cracks from valve to valve, valve to cylinder, or cylinder or combustion chamber to water jacket, or in the main bearing webs, and considering that it is a Ford, and not a Merc, I would not give anything for it, unless I needed a crank or rods, or other misc. parts; it's value is basically scrap. Sometimes, you can determine if one is cracked just by pulling the heads - not too much of a job, and cleaning the block deck and combustion chambers with degreaser and a fine scuff pad. Then take a bright light at a low angle to the surface and perhaps a magnifying glass and check the spots I mentioned. Quite often, cracks can be seen with the naked eye. They also often crack along the pan rail, in the lifter valley, and sometimes around the soft plugs. Otherwise, if you just want to peddle it without inspection, I doubt anyone with any real knowledge of flatties would give you more than maybe a couple hundred, if even that. If on the other hand it proves to be good, your $700 might be doable for the right buyer. JMNSHO.

Oh yeah!! About that tranny: If it has shift levers on the side, and a solenoid can on the tailhousing, it is an OD - no solenoid, a straight 3 speed; if it is a top shifter, it is a truck three or four speed.