Features Had to have this 31 A! (Update!)

Must be nice to have extras Larry! New to flatties so I haven't reached that point yet lol

 

Hey, 31PICKEMUP,
Here's a running flathead in Cleveland for $1200.
Running, bet you can get it for less.
On CL. here's the link:
post id: 4758951812

 

Yeah I saw that. It's not a 59ab

 

The valve keepers were probably just poorly installed

looks like it has adjustably lifters, sure it wasnt just loose lash? what do you mean by "dry cylinders" sometimes a motor might not be the prettiest inside but will run ok, did you do a compression test before your tore into it? why not just replace the couple valve keepers, adjust the valves and stick it back together, a pair of head gaskets and intake is relatively cheap.

 

^^what he said^^

It would indeed be YAHTZEE(!!!) if she responds to just a tinker or three. Cheap fix luck could be possible......while catastrophic rebuild always lies in wait. Tomorrow be better then today maybe ?? Good luck either way !!

 

Love it looks great Rog Mn

 

Ok I've pulled the 59ab apart and it looks a bit rough. Im looking for a good replacement. My question is should I only put a 59ab back in its place or should I be open to a 8ba? I actually have a 1953 Merc sitting on a engine stand that I could use.

 

My $.02 You got it you use it.
It only brings minor change and you already know
the car was built in '59 so the Merc was around, and had more HP.
I will also ad that anybody who has been around
cars a while and is honest knows that a vast majority
of most kinds of enthusiasts type cars get modified
during the course of their lives.
Look at it this way: If your car was at the point
it is now in '59, what would the builder have done
had he kept it? Don't you think that more HP was on everybody's
mind in 1960? And swapping engines with more HP was always done.
You run your car till you get beat, then you go after more HP.
Was then, is now, and forever will be!
Geeze sounds like Church!!!

 

Well little update. Finally got the engine out. Thought it was a 46-48 59AB but it ended up being a 41-42 raised intake type block with 46-48 crank pulley and water pumps. Already has a 3 3/16 bore but isn't a Mercury. Not sure how much more these blocks can go. Learning more and more. Here are some photo's

 

Some real oldtimers said "bore 'till you hit water, then sleeve it!"
In reality 3-3/8" is practical.
In my humble opinion.
The 4 inch Merc crank is the rest of the story.
By the way if you haven't heard, 8RT truck engines
also had Merc cranks, (some not all) just because they were "truck" engines.
You'll probably get more opinions!

 

BTW.
go over to thr Ford barn.
There's tons of Flathead info.
One I remember is "boring a flathead."
It's about 5 years old but the info is still good
and the guys writing are the "REAL DEAL"

 

I have one of those blocks in my sedan and it's currently bored to 3-3/8". Stick your finger inside the water hole and you'll see how thick those walls are.

 

Fix the engine and don't alter anything else... keep it in a "Controlled state of decay".

It is what it is... a classic hot rod ... not a resto-rod... not a street rod, not a pro-built traditional rod (that always miss the mark!) a true home built Hot Rod!

 

Interesting thread, I'm watching.

 

Hey I just noticed, 31pickemup's car has cross steering!
Pretty cool for 59!

 

Yeah it's been updated throughout the years, who knows when that was put in. Holes all over the place lol

 

It all adds character, and a hot rod is never "done"
This is yet another defining characteristic!
We are really just caretakers and keepers of the flame!
If we don't do it, nobody will!
Do what you want while you got it.
Don't wait too long to drive it!
I just bought a 56 Studebaker Golden Hawk that
was driven into the "barn" in 1977.
37 years later the guy's grandson sold it to me.
The owner died, the son died, the grandson is 65!
He sold it to me 'cause the property was being sold.
Stuff like this is why my signature reads as it does!

 

I hear you Tony. I'm rebuilding the motor putting it back to green the way it was originally and removing the red paint off the linkage and bottom of carbs that the third owner put on. Fixing some wiring and off I go.

 

Wouldn't change nary a thing(sorry, been listening to a Celtic rock bad, the Real McKenzies). Quite a find and a rare look into early rod building. Enjoy!!

 

Ford used cross steering early on, my Model A has a 1941 box.

 

Very nice car. I like the faded paint. Wonder if my car may look that 50 years from now?

 

Wow that is vintage cool all the way, I wouldn't change a thing !

 

I was hoping it was Ford steering but a vintage Vega box found it's way in at some point

 

Leave it!

 

It's not going anywhere

 

Way too cool. I love your coupe. looks like it made it to the perfect home.

 

I absolutely love this car! It just screams east coast. Here in Jersey I know of a few old timers that still show up to the local cruise nights in cars the built 50+ years ago! and that thing is so beautiful. It's got the look, too bad the motor is toast, but it's a good excuse to freshen up the flatty. Good score.


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The motor is underway being built. I was the lucky the 1941 block was savable. It was already bored to 239 and I had to go 30 more over. But I had the wall thickness and the block had zero cracks. Pete's grinding up a Potvin 3/8 camshaft for me that should sound real nice.
Master cylinders were pulled apart and they look like I should be able to clean them up and just put in rebuild kits. I'm lucky because I couldn't find any place that sold chrome 52 masters.

 

Enjoying the project, the car deserves a loving hand.

 

That is one nice car!.....it's perfect in my humble opinion....I think I could just sit and 'look' at it all day