Hot Rods Flathead build advice needed

I'll gladly send you a pair for the postage. Message me. Jack

 

Hey guys ,,,here are some pics of the rod bearings.
I am really happy how it has all come apart so far,,,,not bad at all.

After some checking on the bearings I am sure it has at least had the pan off and the bearings replaced.
In the first pic,,,,I placed a paint mark arrow where the oil hole is in the bearing.
The second pic shows the witness mark from the oil stain on the rod and cap with the bearings removed.
It has a nice black varnish built up on it.

The third pic shows where I placed an eye brow mark above the second oil stain.
There should not be a second oil stain on top of the lower one,,,,these bearings have been replaced with a different kind with a different oil hole location. The witness marks prove it.

The fourth pic shows the side of the rod where I placed an arrow near the bulge on the rod.
I assume these bulges were forged in the rod to give enough metal to drill an oil hole when used for a different ,earlier model?

I know the mains had been replaced,,,and the rod bearings too looks like.
What do you guys think?

Tommy

 

Okay,,,now I need some insight from some experts
Here is my oil filter,,,,it is all there,,,and I need some coaching.

The first pic is all the components.

The second pic is the pressure switch and the fittings,,,all seems well.
The unit has 80 stamped on it near the bottom on the brass,,,,I assume it is an 80 psi sender unit?

Now the third pic.
I had read that there is an orifice that controlled the flow through the filter.
There is a small hole about.063 thousandths ,,(near the paint marks),,in the housing tube and another hole 180 degrees around on the other side of the tube..
That is all the flow that it gets !
Did I miss anything,,,surely that is not all there is?

Tommy

 

Tommy, what are your plans for this sweet old girl? Will it be stock when you’re done? Thanks for all of the pictures, I’m a Chevy Engine guy, but Flatheads are super interesting.


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That's why it's called a partial flow, even with that orfice there is more oil than you would think moving under the pressure. I'm not sure on the sender but 80 psi doesn't seem right. A lot of motors back in the old days had no filter and ran non-detergent oil! Lots of them are full of sludge when taken apart.

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looks great Tommy, while its down I would do the 95% oil filtering on the block. Then you can run a modern filter. That block looks really great so far not even the standard "Ford" cracks in the block. Take the top plate on the oil pump and make sure its flat the gears clearance on that and ya should be good to go. ya can always add a shim on the pressure relief to increase the pressure. Good luck and glad your son may have gotten the "bug"..............

 

The two holes in the center tube are how the oil drains back to the pan. The brass fitting on the inlet side of the filter is where the restriction is that regulates the oil pressure. Make sure you tighten that top bolt down really tight before firing it up or the top will leak. I found that I needed to use two gaskets under the top to stop it from leaking. Much more pressure in that filter than you might think.

 

I was always told the oil filter restrictor was in the fitting on the "in" side of the canister. Basically a 1/16" or so hole to slow the flow and keep the pressure up in the rest of the system.

******* Research that hole size before anyone takes it as gospel.

 

On my 59AB, it's on the outside. Because the threads of my original restrictor were damaged, I had to source a fitting from NAPA with the right size hole, then add a flare nut adapter so I could fab my own lines. The restrictors are in different spots depending on the model year. There are many threads on the topic over on The Ford Barn, here's one example: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=195393&highlight=restrictor.

 

Here are pics of my the oil pump,,,before assembly.
The parts all cleaned up nicely,,,and check very good on the clearance side.
Also,,,I relieved some casting flash from the body at the opening near the drive gear.
I have a gasket kit coming,,,but I decided I could put the main pump assembly together.
All I will like is the adding the cover plate and the pickup.
Also,,,I see some casting numbers on the body,,,they look like 8BA 8604.

Tommy

 

I lubed all the bushing and shaft,,,and fitted the gears to the housing.
I use assembly lube and oil,,,,red assembly lube on the bushings and plenty of oil on the gears.
The drive gear to housing clearance checked out at .012 thousandths,,,I had about .020 to start with. I realized the shaft had moved in the gear a little.
I placed the shaft and gear in an arbor press and gently reset it. Then restaked the lockpin in the shaft at the top .
The gears to oil chamber clearance came out to about.0035. A 3 feeler would go,,,a 4 feeler would not. Very good in my opinion.
The top clearance will be about whatever the cover gasket thickness is,,,,the gears are basically flush,,if not .001 above the surface.
I am amazed at how tight the tolerance was held back then.
These clearances are tighter than modern day checks are.
Most pumps service limits are more than twice the gear clearance that I have.

Tommy

 

>060 orifice and 80 lb sender are correct. The spring in the pump is usually set at around 50 - 55 lbs. I built a rig to test the oil pumps and check the relief pressure.

 

Thank you Flatjack,,,from what I had read,,I thought that was correct.

DrAndy,,,,,well,,,,this would probably be an excellent candidate to rebuild stock.
But,,,I just have to hop it up somewhat,,,,nothing radical,,,but definitely not near stock.

Johnboy,,,,this engine didn’t have a lot of sludge in it,,,,some,,,but not an enormous amount.
Have seen engines from back in the 70,s,,and 80,s,,,,when Quaker State was used that ,,,,would ,,,just break your heart!

Ritzy,,,,I like your engine,,,,and I really like those Fenton’s on the exhaust.
I could go for those type,,,really easy !

Tommy

 

Back on the previous page John Lee asked about my bellhousing.
I didn’t find any numbers on it,,,,,59L or 59Z,,,,maybe I need to clean first.
It is from a 50 Mercury,,,,the flywheel too.
The flywheel is very nice,,,,has a wear pattern about.010 - .012 deep from the disc.
I plan on having it surfaced and redrilled for a B and B pattern,,,,probably use a 10.5 diaphragm for ease on my leg.
Or I might use a Long style pressure plate and use a slave cylinder to rest my leg ?
Any ideas on that ?
The bellhousing is in fine shape as well,,,I was lucky to get them both when I did.

Tommy

 

Tommy, get some Lubriplate White engine assembly grease and pack the oil pump with it before you put the cover on. It lubes the pump gears and helps with oil system priming upon start up.


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Lubriplate is awesome grease.
However,,I have never found a need to pack a pump before,,,,,all my pumps have always primed fine without it.
This time might be the exception,,,I hope not.
I always lubricate them by hand inside and then make sure the gears are wet before installation.
This is my first Flathead,,,,hopefully I won’t ruin my record,,,Lol .

Tommy

 

Those 59 casting numbers are for pre-48 flatheads. Nobody has really found any significance to casting numbers on the post 49's.

 

Thanks Alchemy,
The guy asked and I wasn’t sure if stamped bellhousings had any numbers or not.
When I get it cleaned I will check again.

Tommy

 

Well guys,,,,back several posts some of you suggested buying lottery tickets if it turned out to be a good block.
Well,,,,,,

Tommy

 

Brethren,,,,,,
Congratulations are in order !!!

Got the block back tonight,,,it got a clean bill of health !
No cracks and it looks awesome after being cleaned.
Here are some pics.

Tommy

 

You did great! Cleaned up very nice, and no cracks is just mind numbing for your first foray into flatheads! I don't know if it's just the early ones but a lot of folks don't recommend it be on a motor stand that way. Most use the exhaust bolt holes.

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Thank you Johnboy,
It came out of the mid west,,,,when I saw the pics from the seller,,,I just had to take a chance.
I am really excited about what I can do with it.
From what I have read,,,the stock rods are very capable of being used again.
I would like to use them if at all possible.
The power won’t get over 200 at the most,,surely they should stand up to that?
To be honest,,,150 or so might be closer.
What do you guys think?

Tommy

 

I think you'll be fine, those motors are tuff buggers. I still recommend not going overboard with boring.

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Okay,,,,opinions on main bolts and washers.
Here are some pics of my main bolt lock washers.
Out of 6 washers,,,4 were cracked.
I marked the cracked areas with a paint marker,,,,one has three marks because it has three separate cracks.
I don’t want to use studs in the mains,,because for my application it is overkill,,,,and added expense.
I would rather use the stock bolts if at all possible.
Should I use a hardened flat washer,,,or just buy new lock washers and go with it?

Tommy

 

Just get 4 new lock washers for the back two main caps. The front cap is installed without any washers. (oil pan clearance on 8BA)

 

Sorry old buddy,,,,mine is a Mercury.
It has lock washers on all the main bolts,,,,clears the pan with ease.

I just needed to know if it was crucial to have them on there.
If not needed,,,I can just leave them off ?
I just didn’t want to screw up and have a failure later!

Tommy

 

Here is a fine example of someone here on the Hamb,,, and them reaching out to help me.
These just arrived in the mail today,,,they look outstanding!!!
Thank you to Flatjack,,,,I hope you realize how much I appreciate this?

Tommy

 

Okay,,,for you veterans of Flatheads,,,,you already know about this,,,this is for the new guys to Flatheads,,,including myself.
This is the vent tube in the tappet chamber,,that connects to the intake and the road draft tube.
It stands upright,,,and is pretty tight in the block,,,it doesn’t really want to come out after such a long time.
I wasn’t sure how to remove it without possibly hurting it.
Then I decided to insert a large screwdriver handle and wiggle it back and forth.
After 10 or 12 wiggles and rocking motions it came free.
I know this sounds silly,,,but I wanted to hand this on to the new guys.

Tommy

 

Same block

 

Different pan.

Tommy