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Am I looking at a boat anchor?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by msalamanca, Aug 15, 2011.

  1. msalamanca
    Joined: May 25, 2011
    Posts: 526

    msalamanca
    Member

    So I recently bought this Flatty.
    I opened it up yesterday, didnt see any cracks. Not looking for a full rebuild but to freshen it up, clean and drive.
    What do you guys think?
     

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  2. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    looks like one burned valve at least, can't see cracks in it, but it is pretty dirty still.
     
  3. chaddilac
    Joined: Mar 21, 2006
    Posts: 14,021

    chaddilac
    Member

    That a pennzoil flattie??
     
  4. dlotraf
    Joined: Apr 7, 2010
    Posts: 112

    dlotraf
    Member

    Sludge is better than Rust.........
     

  5. Wow that's grungier than Kirt Cobain.
     
  6. 32Gnu
    Joined: May 20, 2010
    Posts: 538

    32Gnu
    Member

    Hot tank, and crack check the block, check the bore and get your wallet out..... If the bores are good and theres no cracks should be straightforward.... Put GOOD pumps on it from speedway or skip...
    My old engine looked worse and after the tank we found out the jackets were cracked...
    What year is the engine?
     
  7. 32Gnu
    Joined: May 20, 2010
    Posts: 538

    32Gnu
    Member

    Nevermind ... Missed the first pic... 8ba
     
  8. N2hotrods
    Joined: Jul 6, 2010
    Posts: 150

    N2hotrods
    Member

    clean it up, throw a good oil pump in it, throw on some aluminum head and a manifold and drive it.
     
  9. msalamanca
    Joined: May 25, 2011
    Posts: 526

    msalamanca
    Member

    Taking it to get hot tanked and fluxed on Thursday.
    Hoping for no cracks.
    So if there are no "major" cracks, then oil pump, new water pumps, a dizzy, seals, carb rebuild,
    anything else?
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2011
  10. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    Your doing this without a disassembly??

    You might as well rebuild since your engine must be disassembled to get a proper cleaning and magnafluxed. You cant see cracks on a block that has components in it!
     
  11. HEATHEN
    Joined: Nov 22, 2005
    Posts: 8,562

    HEATHEN
    Member
    from SIDNEY, NY

    Honestly, I've never seen an untouched flathead that DIDN'T look like that in the lifter valley when I removed the intake. Non-detergent oil, a substandard filtering system, and running too cool for it's own good most of the time equals black puddin'.
     
  12. msalamanca
    Joined: May 25, 2011
    Posts: 526

    msalamanca
    Member

    Yeah at this time a full rebuild is out of the question.
     
  13. msalamanca
    Joined: May 25, 2011
    Posts: 526

    msalamanca
    Member

    Is there anyone in the Orange County, Ca area that would be willing to take a look at it in person?
     
  14. alchemy
    Joined: Sep 27, 2002
    Posts: 20,407

    alchemy
    Member

    How do you hot tank it without disassembly? And if it did get all clean inside those bearings, what prevents them burning up when it is spun the first time again?

    You need to take it all the way down to clean, then if all is OK, you can reassemble with new lube and seals at the very least.
     
  15. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    Pull the pan and check the pan rails where it bolts up. I've seen a few that cracked between the bolt holes and can run up inside the crankcase. The crack was hidden by the pan until it was removed. If the block is cracked there it is a boat anchor.
     
  16. msalamanca
    Joined: May 25, 2011
    Posts: 526

    msalamanca
    Member


    The only reason I was saying that, was I called a local machinist and talked to him about what was going on, he said "no problem, you can leave everything in it"
    So I will for sure not go to him.
    I can rebuild a VW engine with my eyes closed, I am having a hard time with this. thanks for all the insight.
     
  17. msalamanca
    Joined: May 25, 2011
    Posts: 526

    msalamanca
    Member

    I ordered 3 books, so I read thru them.
     
  18. Mart
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 4,893

    Mart
    Member

    Can't see burned valves from the pics, unless I'm missing what others can see. Do the valves look ok close up? I'd be more concerned about bore and piston wear. I can clearly see the top rings down the sides of the pistons. Man that thing is WORN! I had one similar to that in my 40, and while it did run, it was really fumey and smoked from the breather.
    That motor has a lot of miles on it, and while it could probably be run, (assuming not cracked) it wont run great because of the wear.

    It's not a boat anchor, but is probably past it's best for running like it is.

    You'd probably have done better to have left it in one piece, and just run it in blind ignorance. Now you've seen the wear and gunge buildup it will put you off running it.

    Lastly, the amount of wear and crud in it is exactly the amount it had the last time it was running. It doesn't wear out or crud up by standing.

    So the question is, how well did it run the last time it was running???

    If you can't afford to rebuild it, and want to run it then fair do's, just go for it. You can't really do it much harm. But you would only be able to sort of cruise around - it won't take kindly to wide open running and high revs, because chances are the bottom end is as worn as the top.

    Mart.
     
  19. bobscogin
    Joined: Feb 8, 2007
    Posts: 1,771

    bobscogin
    Member

    Clean the oil galley tube properly with a rifle bore cleaning brush. This means taking the plugs out of each end and driving out the fuel pump pushrod bushing. You wouldn't believe the crap that can hide in there.

    Bob
     

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