Thread: High Power Flathead

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THIS IS A INTERESTING BUILD ON A 4" STROKE MOTOR, 280 CU. IN. BLOWN. IF YOU CLICK ON DYNO REPORT


http://www.tr-designs.com/FlatheadMain.htm

I made my statement above, and so far, I'm not convinced

What I've seen and not made much if any comment on is that 400Hp is virtually a myth - and almost impossible on a "standard" Ford 239 plus whatever bore and stroke flathead without a very high output supercharger. I see people closing on 300 Hp on the site that Ken has shown - and with a nicely built engine. I really haven't seen any numbers anywhere near that mythical 400 number. Three main bearings........BANG.............massively shrouded exhaust, even with a splitter, an intake system that makes today's designers shudder, cylinder heads, even the pretty ones Ken pictured, that can't move air well, an oiling system that is inadequate, a cooling system that is horrible

The last flattie I built was 3 5/16"+.030 x 4" (~283cid) triple 97's, Offie heads and a Clay Smith track cam, port and polish, etc, etc, etc and I know it wasn't more then 225-250Hp, if that. It was replaced in the car with a 312" Y block Ford that was "225Hp" according to Ford lit that could run rings around it - before I did anything to it internally. Now, with that said, these are 'seat of the pants' numbers - except for the 0-60 times as well as quarter mile.

400Hp - please show me a streetable engines set of numbers. Has 400 been made - I'm sure, but who and when and how

Without trying to whiz in anybody's Wheaties, h.p. talk without dyno data to back it up is.......................well, just talk. We sometimes play around with "desk top dyno" numbers, but ever since I did one of those on a 440 Mopar I had in the '64 Savoy I've not been a believer.............it was great for brag, but overestimated in my opinion. And Levi's dynos are all guess or wishful thinking. Neat for conversation but after that............................well, on second thought, it might have value if you're trying for a Nobel Prize in Horse Power.

Originally Posted by IC2

I made my statement above, and so far, I'm not convinced

What I've seen and not made much if any comment on is that 400Hp is virtually a myth - and almost impossible on a "standard" Ford 239 plus whatever bore and stroke flathead without a very high output supercharger. I see people closing on 300 Hp on the site that Ken has shown - and with a nicely built engine. I really haven't seen any numbers anywhere near that mythical 400 number. Three main bearings........BANG.............massively shrouded exhaust, even with a splitter, an intake system that makes today's designers shudder, cylinder heads, even the pretty ones Ken pictured, that can't move air well, an oiling system that is inadequate, a cooling system that is horrible

The last flattie I built was 3 5/16"+.030 x 4" (~283cid) triple 97's, Offie heads and a Clay Smith track cam, port and polish, etc, etc, etc and I know it wasn't more then 225-250Hp, if that. It was replaced in the car with a 312" Y block Ford that was "225Hp" according to Ford lit that could run rings around it - before I did anything to it internally. Now, with that said, these are 'seat of the pants' numbers - except for the 0-60 times as well as quarter mile.

400Hp - please show me a streetable engines set of numbers. Has 400 been made - I'm sure, but who and when and how

DITTO, Let's see 'em

Deafeningly quiet from the 400Hp group

I'm of the age that I recall Hot Rod Mag (1955 or 6) with a cover story extolling the fact that they were able to get 1Hp/CI out of a 265 CID Chebbie on "high test" pump gas and sounding like a miracle had happened.

I appreciate all of the replies. I wanted to build an engine different than the the typical SBC. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem realistic to get a lot of performance out of the flathead Ford. I've decided to focus my attention on building a Hemi.

Okay brother Patterson, your turn at bat!

I copied this off a Rod and Custom article.
Ken





What you see here, however, isn't just a pair of reproduction heads atop a Ford block but instead a brand-new, 284ci, all-aluminum improved block, reproduction Ardun heads, and vintage 4-71 blower (the only old part on the whole deal) bolted to a new manifold from Ken Austin. Yeah, you should be impressed. And, how about 382 hp at 5,300 rpm, roughly four times that of a stock Flathead? We've seen the dyno sheet, which also reveals the 396.9 lb-ft of torque produced at 4,300 rpm.