This is the flathead I purchased and all I know is its a 59. The current owner said he purchased it from a friend who had it built by HandH but they dont have record of it but it is in its original crate marked handh. The question is do I open it up to see whats inside or do I finish it and start it up?
i would double check the valve lash, i see they drilled the holes in the lifter boss to hold the lifter, thats a good thing, then if its dry, swipe my finger around inside the oil pan to see what comes out on the finger, flashlight in there maybe, and if its all clean fire it up
Being fresh, if it was mine I’d at least pull the pan and have a look around. You can see if the pistons are cast or forged, check torque or even check a few clearances to set your mind at ease. Any details on the cam? Take note of the lash the lifters set at.
Mercury 4" Crank Rebuild Mercury connecting rods New Miling HV oil pump New oil pump drive gear New rod and main bearings New cam bearing New timing gears New camshaft New Johnson hollow adjustable lifters New Isky HD valve springs New locks, keepers, retainers, vavle guides New stainless steel valves New ross racing 3 ring pistons with new rings fit to bore New water pumps Used oil pan install Bore and deck block Line bore block cam bore hone two angle valve job hone to fit piston clearance Balance rotating assy paint and assy engine This is the proposed build list
if you take the pan off, i would ditch the high volume oil pump. these are really made for race motors which have the bearings set up a little looser than a street motor for constant high rpm, therefore you need volume. normal bearing clearance with that pump will make lots of unneeded, power robbing pressure, IMHO.
Looks and sounds like an engine you’d expect from a builder who would back up his work. BUT... always a but. You have no idea who the builder is and you definitely know there’s no one to warrant it. Pull the pan and check it out. Nice engine. Check for cracks on the pan rail and under the head surfaces at the block.
Proposed build list for an engine that looks freshly rebuilt? And by H & H flatheads at that? Are you sure? Before any meaningful recommendations can be made, we should have some more information : type of car it's going in? Street, all out-competition, or something in between? I would check again with H & H. If they have no record of it versus "it could be one of ours" would going a long way on determining how to proceed, If they say that it is a definite fake, I would think a complete teardown would be mandatory.
The whole thing is that I am not sure. Its going into my 34. The story is the guys friend ordered the engine quite some time ago and he purchased it off of him a few years ago. He does not have the order number and H and H says they cannot help him. Its obviously been rebuilt or its an elaborate fake but in the year 2020 its pretty dangerous to fake things like this for legal reasons.
In the year 2020 I would suspect it more than ever . People will forge anything for money,,,,especially in modern times . I can’t imagine that HandH doesn’t have any records of this build,,,if indeed it is from them ? Judging from those numbers stamped into the top deck . I’m certain that a shipping crate could easily be stenciled HAnd H and look legitimate. For what a good Flathead goes for ,,,I would definitely verify if HandH is the builder or not,,,,and if not,,,,I would check everything on this one,,,,everything ! Tommy
Open it. It looks pretty but once unwrapped, you can tell if it's going to be bitchy and conniving or exactly what you're looking for...
Its super easy to get your money back nowadays so I dont know why anyway would go through the trouble. I will open it up ASAP.
Easier to open it up and verify what you have then pulling it back out and dealing with a oily mess if you install it.
Open it up and recheck everything while it's still out f the car. Once it's installed, you could be in trouble.
You sure are a trusting soul. I wish you good luck in your future endeavors. "The Ford Barn" has a couple of threads going right now about "Engine Builders" taking people's money and not doing anything AND keeping the parts. And if you check those threads out, you will see how difficult it is to get your investment back. In most cases, local law enforcement has no interest in getting involved with these sorts of things, no matter how much proof you have. Good thing you're going to tear it down and look it over.
Dang - is that high dollar built motor that has been floating around a while ? Sure wish if it is it will finally find something to run in.
The Jalopy Journal
