Technical 1951 flathead build

i am finaly getting the money to work on my flathead v8 i have a 3/4 race cam in and all new valve train with ss valves and seats the 4" stroke crank and 3-5/16 bore and im wondering what kind of oil i should run through this engine? and any help on the electrical system would be appreciated i am going to rebuild the distributor with PerTronix 1283 Ignitor Kit but what should i get for an alternator and what mounting bracket for it i am a little bit on a budget so im hoping for something a little better priced then what speed way has to offer
thanks

 

You can still use the 6 volt starter with 12 volts. It will crank faster than it idles. Building a Flathead aint cheap but is sure is Cool. Remember to use a 12 volt coil to.

 

You really should upgrade the distributor to one with mechanical advance, like a Mallory, Pertronix, MSD, Chevy conversion etc. Eliminating the points still leaves you with a vacuum-only Loadomatic advance system. The best would be one with mechanical and vacuum advance.
A good choice for oil is Valvoline VR-1. It comes in several straight and multi weights, has all the ZDDP needed and is widely available.

 

Use Brad Penn oil. They have break-in oil and regular oil available through Summit. No problems with mine so far.

 

on more problem im having i have the "1949-53 Ford Flathead Main Cap Support" from speedway and it seams when i turn the bare crank on the block it seems to turn pretty hard and im wondering if those supports are crap or am i doing something wrong or are they always a little hard to turn?

 

is the crank usually a little hard to turn?

 

When the block is upside down, lay a straight edge in all three mains. Use a .002 feeler gauge to see if the block is straight. If you change any one cap, it must be align bored to make it straight. When all three main bearings are in the block and oiled, the crank should turn very easy. When you torque each cap, turn the crank by hand. If one make it hard to turn, you found your trouble. Then take it all apart and put the rear seal in, that will cause it to tighten up some, but not a lot.
With the plans you have for this engine, clean out the four corner exhaust ports. Every 8BA I have worked on had casting crud in the four corners. A little work there will make the headers work better.
Rotella T is what I use in my old engines, because it is available at every truck stop and parts house in the English speaking places I have been. 15W40, or 10W30.

 

was thinking of getting the "Speedway Chevy T-5 Transmission to Flathead Adapter Kit" and was wondering what starter to get?

 

I am a newbie to your forum and to flatheads more that matter, but having spent over 6k on machine work alone on my 49 8BA in the last 12 months I feel qualifies my input. I recommend contacting Mike at H&H, he provided me with CNC steel mains caps that still took a bit of CNC work for my block & merc crank but the result is a tough bottom end. He also sold me a very nice T-5 adapter, clutch, pressure plate and HP flywheel. The adapter being a higher quality than found in parts houses. I purchased the McLeod hydraulic throw out bearing and pilot bushing from Pat at Wilcap who knows the T-5 application very well. good people to work with, good products, Just sayin. Hope it helps,

 

What oil filter are you going to use?

 

You don't require any main brg support with your engine .You won't make 200 hp with that fire breathing dragon.Just use the stock main caps.To answer your question lay the crank and bearings in the motor without the rear main seal in place and when all torqued up the crank should turn with no effort at all.If it doesn't you now have to identify your problem by loosening one main at a time and find the offending culprit.All of this extra checking will pay off with your piece of mind.If all is good now remove the crank and move on to installing the rear main seal.

T

 

Oil filter? What is this oil filter you speak of? Was going to drill the block and run a bypass through a beehive but was advised against it. So now not planning on running one, just changing the oil every thousand miles.

 

That's gonna get expensive unless you're goin 1/4 mile at a time.

 

Get ahold of Mark at Shadow Rods and talk to him about his full flow oil filter system and the modifications needed to use it. It's the best insurance available to keep all of the parts of your expensive flathead where they should be and doing their job for a long time.

Frank