Kevin’s Flathead Ford

Kevin Lee was originally planning on running an early 60’s aluminum block v8 Buick in his now infamous modified roadster. It wasn’t until he stumbled across what looked like an ultra clean flathead in an antique store in Kansas City that he decided to switch paths. The flathead was acquired and months later a hot rod was born.

There is a ton of stories behind this car and I’m sure you’ll hear more of them in the coming years, but of particular interest to me today is the story behind Kevin’s L-head and flatheads in general.

Engines are mythical. Sure we understand how they work and we “get” internal combustion and all, but I believe only a few folks on this planet really know engines. So when Kevin hauled this thing home after sitting in this fucked up antique store for god knows how long, let it sit in his basement for months with little more than rags covering the open cylinders, and then expected the little motor to fire… Well, I was more than skeptical.

But fire it did… It was a first kicker too. For the next few months Kevin drove the thing like he stole it. It wasn’t out of the norm to see Kevin power sliding around a K.C. hairpin or burning out down a Brookside residential street. He even drove the thing at lawless speeds all the way to the H.A.M.B. drags this summer, made a number of passes, and hauled ass all the way home again.

One thing lead to another and being a hot rodder, Kevin decided he wanted more. A few weeks ago the tear down began with an eye on a blower motor. It was then that he found two pretty substantial problems. Not only was his little flathead not getting ANY oil pressure (we had always assumed it was a bad gauge or sender), but there was a open crack through one of the main journals as well.

How in the hell did this thing stay together? A testament to the flathead Ford and the mystic hands of the Henry Ford assembly line. It’s a literal fact boys – the flathead will never die.