Technical Not to be left out, the all inclusive Flathead thread

I grind the KiWi-L100 should you choose this cam.
Enjoy your build. Flatheads are a lot of fun.
Cheers
Tony

 

Could be a good block. I have one similar and it was a keystone block. Look at the water passages for the heads. Keystone blocks have the upper passages shaped like a keystone. Supposed to be better quality cast iron; believe higher nickel content but that might be just bs passed on for year to become fact.

 

I only have one at this point in time....

...and it's the best running engine I own. But my big V8 was a lot of fun!

 

So, what would you say is the most addressed issues on a FH? Water pumps? Carburetion?

 

If you clean the block's water passages out (mine were sandblasted clean before machining), and use a good radiator, you won't have overheating problems. Maybe if you bore it to within an inch of it's life you would, but otherwise you will be fine. Don't need no funky pumps.

 

The regular water pumps with the bearings are trouble free. I have not needed anything more than that. If the motor heats, it is not that the water doesn't flow fast enough.

Carburetors can be pretty simple. I run a pair of Stromberg 97 carbs on a couple and they have been idiot-proof.

I would say the most addressed, as in most discussed issue, are cracked blocks/leaking head gaskets.

 

How in the world did you do that? Could you not dip in a caustic vat?

 

Shake and bake.

I’ve seen this sand in blocks along with pulling core wires out.
Wires.... the diameter of clothes hangers used to hold cores in place during production.
Although the vinegar and muriatic acids are miracle rust removers, I’ve used them, they won’t touch this problem.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27636

 

Wow. I wonder what the technical term is for the "shake and bake"? I'll call around and see who might have one.

 

Caution with the dipping bit. I soaked a block in molasses . Machined surfaces may be damaged. I had to deck the block. I think the acid removes the softer impurities in the casting. OK if you can protect the surfaces such as leave the heads on or maybe put down a film of grease. I think it may work with molasses but more aggressive acids may work through the grease.

 

The flathead master who rebuilt it had the blasting done by his buddy the sandblaster master. I guess he just shot the blast stream down each open port from the deck surface. I'm sure there are a couple spots that didn't get hit, but it sure was clean looking when it was delivered.

A regular caustic cleaner doesn't remove rust. And scaly rust is the boon to the cooling system. As well as the supposed leftover sand in the bottom of each water jacket from the casting process. But I've never found much of that leftover sand, just rusty scale.

 

I guess I need to drop it off and have it vatted prior to doing any real work on it. Then I can assess what I have to work with.

 

To clean the block water passages I use a wire rod and scrape everywhere I can reach. I roll the block over on the engine stand and blow all the debris out. Then take the water hose with a nozzle and spray the passages out. My flatty runs cool all the time, hood on or off.

 

Following ,I have some Flathead experiences in my future. Planning on replacing the Flathead in my 1937 ton and a half with the more modern version.... can’t reach or see the points anymore. Last count I had ... I had six flathead engines in my stach!Hopefully there a good one in the bunch! But my projects move sssslllllooooowwwww! Lol






Bones

 

they have the same firing order as a Y block

 

Cleaning a flathead block. First, get a long skinny screwdriver that you can get all the way to the bottom of the water jackets. when you hit bottom, twist and turn, it may go in another inch. Feels like trying to dig in compacted gravel. you will find sand, rust, wire, etc. I emptied out my shop vac, then reduced the hose size to get it in the hole, keep it running while you chip away with a screwdriver, and alternate with a reduced air gun. This pile came out of one side!

 

Dang. I guess 85 years will do that.

 

Hello,

As our teenage history goes, the Flathead powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery played a big part of life for us. It was once a powerful 348 powered sedan delivery. But, the previous owner needed the motor for another drag racing build, so he sold the sedan delivery to me with a stock Flathead and 3 speed LaSalle transmission. Now, it was the sedan delivery that met all of my teenage hot rod and surfing needs. It took us everywhere for thousands of miles all along the coastline of So Cal and 200 miles to Baja, Mexico from Long Beach, CA.

The Flathead motor ran as well as any motor that is continually tuned, checked over daily, coddled, and loved the daily roadwork. The motor never leaked any oil, burned oil or had any nasty drops on my mom’s pristine concrete backyard pad. The only thing it had was a mysterious oil usage that got so expensive, that I started using reclaimed oil from the local discount gas station and kept I in a gallon container for our long trips.

We started with a fill up of reclaimed oil and a short 60 trip to south Orange County used up all of that reclaimed oil. So, out came the gallon in reserve and we made it back to Long Beach, running just fine all the way home.

Jnaki

Our experience with a Flathead for power was good. It never faltered, ran great and was reliable enough to go just about anywhere on the coast. But, when a hill or steep highway grade was in front of us, loaded down as much as we had, 2-3 surfboards, teens, food, drinks, etc. it faltered or we had to do some drastic accommodations to make it up the steep grade and keep going. Sometimes it was changing lanes from the fast lane to the slow lane and drop the gears into 2nd. The final straw was the Torrey Pines grade going toward San Diego and Baja Mexico on Highway 1.

Loaded down as we usually were, the downhill run to the steep hills and grade was a full throttle high speed (?) run approaching the impending grade. Then, downshift to 2nd was necessary more times than we could count. On more than one time going South on the Coast Highway, at the El Morro Beach grade, we had to shift to 2nd, then transfer lanes to the slow lane. Finally shifting to 1st to make it to the top of the long, steep hill grade, heading towards Laguna Beach. We were ever hopeful each time and tried our hardest, but we ended up in the slow lane chugging up the hill grade.

Going North for our adventures was not a problem as long as we stuck to the level coastline from the South Bay Region through Malibu and the beautiful L.A. County coastal drive. But, we tried to climb the steep Conejo Grade coming into Los Angeles from Santa Barbara and we had to turn off before actually getting to the steepest part. We just did not have the power to climb that very steep and long grade. From that first try, we stayed on the level Coast Highway all the way home.

If the age old teenage “Money” situation was high, then we could have added things to make the Flathead more powerful and not have to worry about steep grades. We had seen multiple carbs, bore/stroke set ups at car shows and even Reath Automotive offered a Flathead power upgrade, that would have been nice. But, money was a deterrent, so we just went as fast as possible downhill and downshifted when necessary. It was something that we learned to deal with. The Flathead powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery was definitely not a local, So Cal, Big Bear Mountain road trip vehicle.