Technical flathead should I or shouldn't I

Friend called me up and has a running flathead on a stand , he got it from another friend !!!
He has the motor and transmission thinks it is 48 to 53
Say's it came out of a mercury truck
I don't know much about flatheads but at 300.00 obo I don't think I should pass. or should I?
Is the truck motor and trans same as a car?
The dimple on the balance on the crank visable with the pan on? ford no dimple
I know the early flatheads the rear of the motor covers the flywheel
can the transmission be used in a car?
I have A 26 t roadster I may want to use this in is it suitable?

 

Should.

 

Swoop on it now. Worry about the details when it's at home.

 

Buy it. Then figure out what you'll do with it. If nothing else, it's great trade or sell material.

 

You should be posting pictures of your new flathead by now,
Just sayin'

 

Truck trans may be a problem in a car, maybe not. Running flathead for $300, no problem.

 

Do you want horsepower, or Retro Cool points ?

 

Good price that's for sure.

 

That's what I thought!!!

 

What do you do with horsepower ,where they take your car and license away for anything 30 mph over the speed limit???

 

going tomorrow ,Wednesday to look at and purchase if all looks good !!!!

 

If this flathead has a Mercury crank in it then the crank alone is worth the $300. asking price and you would get the rest of the engine for free.

 

This is an interesting motor: Merc. cars got the 4" crank for sure. Mercury trucks are rare, but are out there. I wonder if they got the same Merc. motor as a car or got a 8RT truck engine since they would need the truck water pumps and other parts for mounting.

Don't assume it has a 4" crank. These motors have had parts interchanged on them over the years. Just because it has Mercury 8BA-style heads, doesn't mean it's a Merc. until you can verify the stroke or it has a 4" crank.

Regardless, $300 is a steal for a running engine.

 

I haven't seen the motor ,do the heads have 8ba stamped on them?
or any other #

 

49 to 53 will have the distributor on top on the passenger side, 48 & down will have the crab style right in front. Sounds like a good deal either way.

 

Jump on it!

 

May be worth that in parts. Do you know if it holds water?? Very important. checking the stroke is easy.

 

I would buy it in a skinny minute! HRP

 

Yea its a "running flathead" I am with HRP here. As far as transmission in car and etc. you're building a hot rod so whatever you decide to use will work just fine, maybe not the same as something else but it will work just fine.

 

If it's a '48 truck motor, I believe they got the 8BA-style (Water outlets toward the front top corner of the heads and a post-style dizzy coming in the side in the front.

Cars still had the 59AB style engines in '48.

8BA-style true truck engines will have 8RT heads. I don't know what heads a Mercury truck would use. I'm assuming 1CM, but those were used with 4" cranks.

Sorry if I'm confusing the issue more, but take a picture and we'll be able to help you some more.

 

I am not familiar with the motor that came stock in a merc truck, they are a Canadian thing. Maybe if one would look there is a web page with specs.

the heads should have the type of head cast into them. ideally if it were a motor that I was building I would like it to have the smooth Canadian heads those and the mountain heads that ford put on fords for sale up around Denver were the best stock heads you could buy.

 

$300 -- good deal. No great deal. Buy it - you'll like it

 

My current engine is out of a 48 truck and it's a 59a block. If it is a 59a and has the truck transmission it should also have a "hogshead" adapter between the engine and the transmission. They are going for $100 to $150 on ebay.

 

I understand the truck engines have lower compressions, slightly less power. Can't be sure that this is the case with your engine though, alot can happen in 60 years.

 

you should

 

300 bucks?
Do it now!

 

Well I went to check out this flathead today !!! motor is complete missing nothing, But it is stuck!!!
Swears he had it running a year ago , I tend to believe him as it had the temporary wires and fuel
can still hooked up , But still it is Stuck , says 200.00 and take it away ????

 

The hogshead and the half-bell are worth that.

 

For 200 bucks,that engine would would already be loaded and headed home!

 

They always ran when pulled. Core block. Pumps and truck trans adapter are good stuff. Check stroke for 4" merc crank. Other then that it's a core in my opinion. Rt heads are low compression heads as mentioned... my 2 cents and I'd probably buy it for the parts.