Thread: ford flatty powered fiat?

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Well it may be my third or fourth error this year but on one of the Flathead V8 sites the weight of a '53 flathead is listed as 569 pounds with the early '32 V8 at 525 pounds including the cast-in bellhousing and iron heads. The '53 would be an 8BA so I guess the 569 pounds is with manifolds, iron heads, generator and water pumps, but surely you would only save a little with aluminum heads and tubular headers; if that saving is 100 pounds your 460 pounds would be about right. Anyway I guess I am saying that a rebuildable 8BA with an OD trans would be worth a lot to some people and maybe you should just think about another car/body. I certainly understand the idea of using what you have. I have seen a Ford V8-60 in an MG-TD and also a Buick 215 in an MGB but they are much lighter engines. I am just chatting, you make your own decision. I also recall seeing a VW beetle with a SBC in the front seat so anything is possible, but this engine looks to be a bit too heavy in my opinion. On the other hand it might be fantastic on the straightaway!
Hey you say the engine is out of the Merc, so the 8BA is a Merc 255? I can't believe that would be lighter than the Ford 239 engine, but the combo of 255 block and OD transmission would really be interesting to someone building a resto-rod. Anyway the Merc would certainly weigh close to 600 pounds; the crank is heavier if nothing else. Suppose the OD trans is from the Merc but the engine is a Ford 239, that is still a combination I would have bought for my '29 roadster-to-be before I made the decision to go with SBC350/350 and someone else might offer you a good price for it and then you could replace the Fiat motor with a rebuilt Fiat, just an idea.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don Shillady