Yes! One time I lost the spline on the gear drive in the front blower case and the rotors spun with vacuum, but it was a DOG! I just took the belt off and finished the trip of about 1000 miles home.
29 roadster on 32 frame with a 286 (8.5 compression), modified 371 blower (5-6 lbs of boost), Harman & Collins dual coil, Stromberg 48’s, 5 speed trans (2.95 fist gear with .73 overdrive), Ford 8 inch rear (4.11 track lock). Over 20,000 care free miles with multiple 300 mile trips (10-12 mpg). Lots of fun.
Don’t take this the wrong way i love mercy and i own a flatty 51 merc but dollar for dollar you can get a lot more horsepower from just about anything else. Olds Buick Ford anything overhead valve. If my flatty ever gives out in my merc i will probably go ford motor.
I have always wanted to put a blown flathead in a 40 coupe but a little out of my area of expertise. We were in Hawaii for Cruise paradise in 03 and there was a local there with a 40 that had a blown flathead-he said it was very reliable and had driven it many miles-he led us on tours all over the island and it moved right along-I was impressed!
Stock engine is 255 cu in and 110HP. That is enough to keep up with modern traffic and take you anyplace you want to go. IF the engine is in good shape recently rebuilt you can dress it up with high compression heads, dual exhaust, two carburetors, possibly a cam and lightened flywheel and get it up to 150HP or so. If you want more performance than that, best thing to do is replace the engine with a modern OHV V8 trans and rear axle.Think about disc brakes and suspension improvements if you want to use that HP. If it was mine I would leave it alone or if it is due for a rebuild consider a mild hop up but to each his own.
My friends flathead with recent blower addition. Very steetable. Runs like a bat outta hell! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Mine, built by the book. To be honest, I have never driven a flathead without a blower so I have no base line. But I have driven hundreds of V8 OHV cars and this thing kicks ass when all the carbs are squirting. One of you said earlier on this thread something to the extent that there are cheaper ways to make horsepower than building a blown flathead. That is true. BUT that same line of thinking taken to the extreme would have us all driving Subaru WRX's. Now if I was building on a budget...that is another matter entirely. For the cost of this motor I could have paid for my interior, tires, wheels, and quite a bit of the paint job.
This car was driven from Omaha to the Hot Rod Hill Climb. Super cool car with many one off built parts. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
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