Thread: how do I know what flathead engine i have?

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To confirm the '49-'53 heads the water fitting should be in the forward upper corner. Also the earlier 59A blocks had a cast-in bellhousing but the '49-'53 blocks used a stamped metal bell housing and the cast iron block would be flat at the flywheel and 8BA was the designation for the '49-'53 Ford V8 which was a 239 c.i. V8 compared to the 255 c.i. Merc. I am trying to scrape up money to build a Chevy 350 after giving up on finding a good flathead block, but if yours are free of cracks maybe I can interest you in a 4" stroker crank with rods and 3 3/16" pistons from a '49-'53 Merc. I am within 100 miles of you so shipping would not be a problem. New cranks are available from Speedway at higher cost, but if you are going to build up a flathead check back with me and we can negotiate a price. I would like to see the stroker crank go to someone who will use it rather than sit in my shed. It has been coated with STP for about 10 years in a vertical position and as far as I know the last time I had it miked all it needed was a 0.010" cleanup grind. I wanted a stroker flathead for a long time and actually bought three engines before I gave up; all three turned out to be cracked and the usual place is between a valve seat and the cylinder. Some shops say they can repair this, but if you take the heads off for a look see, maybe you have one or two blocks that are original crack free. My guess is that a lot of them were rebuilt, rebored and then overheated due to thin cylinder walls which led to cracks.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

In Edit: Well I looked at the address of Henry Rifle who is within 100 miles or so, but if Tigard is in Oregon and I am in central Virginia that is a lot more than 100 miles? Anyone else want a 4" Merc crank for a flathead?