Thread: Opinions wanted regarding '36 Ford Slantback

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Originally Posted by techinspector1

Never did one, but I was just thinkin' that one way to extract some decent hp and torque from a flattie using a streetable cam would be 5 psi with one of the smaller blowers or a vintage Paxton/McCulloch with a blow-through carb.

what is spooky is 3 main caps scat makes cranks rods so you can make it hold up ? crower makes roller lifters for then to$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

As I have said before I gave up trying to find a good flathead block from junkyards and local advertisements after looking a about five or so with the heads off and close examination. The most common problem is a crack between a valve and the edge of a cylinder but as Pat said the limit of only three mains is a problem with higher HP. Just for fun here is another site we have seen before that indicates the block will probably hold up to 175 HP but Ardun heads are not cheap!

http://www.oogabooga.ca/oogaboogapag40.htm

I recall some recent article in the last five years that compared a fully built up flathead bored, stroked, ported and relieved in which the two cams from Iskederian were compared. Both cams produced similar numbers for what I recall was a 284 cu. in. flathead and they both produced about 250 HP. What is interesting about this particular car is that apparently the block is OK as is and might be free of cracks. A cracked block may still run OK but if it consumes water rapidly it is probably sucking water into a cylinder on the intake stroke even if it does not fill the cylinder when the motor is off. There is no doubt that a simple rebuild of a SBC 350 is much cheaper and will produce more HP than a flathead but then that means an upgrade for the whole driveline. If it runs, as it seems to, I would really enjoy the time warp of driving the car just like it was "back in the day", but I would at least convert the brakes to hydraulic. I can recall coming over a hill in a '31 Model A to see a red light at the bottom of the hill and using both feet on the brake and just barely stopping. Later mechanical brakes were not much better!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder