My history with the flathead is relatively short. Sure, I admired them like any other self respecting traditionalist, but my a...<P><P>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Thanks for the compilation. I used to know nothing about flatheads, now I just know very little. Interesting stuff.
thanks for all the info. I really should know more about this engine design then I do, now I have a study guide.
Very cool..... Turns out, just today we needed to know what year the changeover was from 21 to 24 studs....
Excellent 101 book for FREEEEE! http://www.flatheadv8.org/rumblest/intro.htm Go to the bottom of page and start printing chapters... Next, go to Fordbarn and figure out how to buy Ol' Ron (Ron Holleran)'s book, the best single coveritall book. With those two, you'll have 90 % of what you need...and I say that as someone who owns probably $10,000 worth of 40 years collecting of USA, GB, French, German, Canadian, Australian, New Zelsh, Dutch, and Danish Flathead books.
Good stuff. I'd love to do a flattie but I've got nothing to start with. On the other hand, I've got a garage full of SBC stuff. Whadaya gonna do?
Thanks. You can never have enough information. Ask my wife, I still got a 3 foot stack on the bathroom counter to read while on the can. Now if I'd only read stuff for work, I'd be all set.
in 1995 to 98 i had a 22 foot car trailer with 12 flatheads on it , all runners and start panels and little metro radiators, from the tin side 32 to 2 v8 60's, couple of mercs 4 newer 50 to 51 ,wit hsome hotrod stuff on them, all ran , all taken apart cleaned checked out couple of the all prettied up, it was a blast to go to the swap meets and some pioneer power shows to run them, they had tranns on them also,,,got them all from a old construction site a buddy had bought,, just a mother load of flatheads and other vintage machines all sitting around the woods and ravines , taken out and replaced over the years from cars to bigger model 99 ford trucks never intended to sell any, but after some great offers they slowly got sold off. had heads carbs intakes, nothing but a bigwall of flathead stuff , until the tornado came in 98 alot just sort of blew away, i miss my flatheads
Just to ADD a little something ... Production of the flat head ENDED in the United States in 1953. BUT, it continued to be produced in Canada until late 1954. They were identical to the U.S. produced 1953 engines in ALL ways; BOTH the Ford version and the MERC. (displacement, HP, etc.) If you really wanted a flat head in your Canadian 1955 Ford - or Merc - you COULD special order one until around May of 1955. (VERY RARE to find one still in existence now days) These were people who didn't trust the new engine. They sort of had the opinion of, "If it isn't broke, why change it?" "I have had a flat head engine in my cars for years and they work just fine!" Ford - motor company and Henry - never believed in wasting ANYTHING; so much of the remainder of U.S. production of 1953 flat heads - and parts - found their way north to Canada and were used until they ran out.
It was nice to click on the link about the Tardel/Cochran coupe and read the story all over again. Thats a great read. Good to see you back online, how ya feeling?
Guess it doesn't take much back to push buttons on a laptop in your bed boss. Hope you're getting up to snuff and glad you're back with us. Jim
It's neat to see this thread brought back to the top... . As far as specifications (including horse power and compression) go, There were several variations per calender year depending on what the engine was going into. From 1932 to 1940, as many as 4 different configurations of engine were available in each of those calender years. This may clear up some of the discrepancies that were origianlly listed at the start of this thread in 2007 (like the odd raise in horse power for 37 and a drop in 38) Here are corrected hp ratings for 1932 thru 1940+ including variations the Ford, Merc, Commercial and Truck Please note that this is by no means a complete list of the early V8's and their specs as Many other variations in head and compression ratio exist prior to 1940 including the 81AS-6049 Cast Iron head that featured 7.5:1 compression ratios This is simply a decent 'look' into how many variations of early V8 did in fact exist in and amongst each and every model year. The list is by no means complete. Ford Passenger (referred to as the "85") year Compression Head Hp@RPM Tq@RPM Compression(max) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1932 5.5 Cast Iron 65@3400 139@1500 114 1933 6.3 Aluminum 75@3800 145@1500 145 1934-36 6.3 Aluminum 85@3800 147@2000 140 1937 6.5 Aluminum 85@3800 170@2200 160 1938 6.5 Aluminum 85@3800 170@2200 160 1939-40 6.15 Cast Iron 85@3800 155@2400 147 Commercial - 3/4 and 1 ton (85) year Compression Head Hp@RPM Tq@RPM Compression(max) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1932 5.5 Cast Iron 65@3400 139@1500 114 1933 6.3 Aluminum 75@3800 145@1500 135 1934-35 6.3 Aluminum 85@3800 147@2000 140 1936 5.32 Cast Iron 80@3800 138@2000 110 1937-38 6.12 Cast Iron 85@3800 150@2000 140 1939-40 6.15 Cast Iron 85@3800 155@2400 147 Truck and C.O.E. (85) year Compression Head Hp@RPM Tq@RPM Compression(max) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1932 5.5 Cast Iron 65@3400 139@1500 114 1933 6.3 Aluminum 75@3800 145@1500 135 1934-36 5.32 Cast Iron 80@3800 138@2000 110 1937-38 6.12 Cast Iron 85@3800 150@2000 140 1939-40 6.15 Cast Iron 85@3800 150@2400 147 Truck (referred to as "100") year Compression Head Hp@RPM Tq@RPM Compression(max) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1939-40 6.5 Aluminum 100@3540 180@2400 160 Mercury (referred to as "95") year Compression Head Hp@RPM Tq@RPM Compression(max) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1939-40 6.5 Aluminum 95@3000 180@18500 160 Lincoln Zephyr V12 year Compression Head Hp@RPM Tq@RPM Compression(max) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1936-39 6.7 Aluminum 110@3900 186@2000 146 1940 7.2 Aluminum 120@3500 226@1800 154 1941 6.7 Aluminum 110@3900 186@2000 146 1941 6.7 Cast same as above 1941 7.2 Aluminum 120@3500 226@1800 154 Many variations in early V8 Piston also effected power and compression. While not a complete list, here is an abbreviated list of what was offered: 1932 to 1936 Ford used a Flat Top piston for use in conjunction with both Aluminum and Cast Iron heads 1937 to 1938 Ford used a Spherical Top piston for both the above listed and with both 21 and 24 stud engines (1938) 1939 to 1942 Ford used Combination Top on both cast and Aluminum heads 1939 to 42 Mercury used it's own specific Combination Top piston for both Cast and Aluminum heads, several part numbers specific to Mercury are listed thru to 1944 All 1932-33 V8's used a single barrel carb, and a 2 barrel was introduced for the 1934 Ford (V8) production year. Strombergs were introduced for the V8's in 1934 and ran into 1938ish Lincolns received Stromberg 2 barrel carbs as early as 1931 The "94" carb is often referred to as a Holley but from what I understand the Design was all Ford and the earliest versions were subcontracted out to Chandler Groves The Ford/Chandler Groves '94' was introduced in 1938 for both Ford and Lincoln Autos Henry saw fit to seek a lower price on all things including carbs so he shopped his design around. When Holley was approached, Ford asked if they could supply x amount of units (per day) with very close attention paid to tolerances/specs. Holley replied that it was utterly impossible to build any carb with such close tolerances in the vast quantities required. Henry fired back "It's not impossible, we are doing so right now". In order to fulfill Ford's commitment to Dealers and customers alike, Henry would supply the tooling and all machine work to companies like the fledgling Holley Corp "on loan". The tooling, lathes and casting equipment was never returned nor did Ford ever ask for it back (this can also be said about many other 'fledgling' companies that Ford helped to get established) Fords strong sales (from the earliest days of the Model T) demanded that he needed so many cars at the dealership per day without exception but old Henry couldn't build factories and hire men (as well as build them houses/cities/hospitals/schools to occupy) fast enough but Henry did have the intestinal fortitude to find fledgling companies (there were many) and supply them with casting equipment and tooling at which point, those companies could hire their own staff and supply Ford with the tens of thousands of each part he needed per day. This was even more true of the years that Ford/America endured during the War effort shortly after the japs bombed Pearl Harbor. The story of the massive Willow Run Bomber Plant, Airfield, Pilot Training facility, and the tens of thousands of houses etc. needed to house the workers of the bomber plant makes for a fascinating read but that's another story. jmho moe .
Forgot to mention, I have seen several versions of the '59' or 1946-48 engine cast as a 221 cubic inch engine. They retain everything that the later 46-48 engine does except the bore was reduced. A local master machinist told me that there is not enough meat in the cylinder walls to bore them out to be a correct 239 cubic inch motor. We've found little info on this rare engine other than it *might* possibly be a late 1945 casting or early 46 59 casting (depending on how you look at things) and that it may have been used in tanks. .
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