We're building a flathead for dad's '37 Ford pickup (see the Feb. 2022 HRM story & my thread). I've never built one of these before, so I'm a flathead v-8 rookie. We have a few engines and extra parts, so we're in the process of picking out the best parts and pieces to start with. Here's some pictures of a toasted Merc that Dad had behind the barn. After a couple of hours of beating out pistons, we pulled out a virgin Merc crank that was in pretty nice shape. This block is a goner though. I have a '50 - '53 Ford engine sitting in the shop that hopefully has a good block. If not, I'll try another. As far as the Merc crank goes, do I need to use Merc rods & pistons or will Ford ones work?
Thanks! I have 7 rods from this engine. One is, um, short. Know anyone who might have a spare? As far as pistons go, is there a specific pin height, or will any Ford piston work?
On an 8ba series blocks Ford and Merc rods are the same. The piston pin height is different on the Merc Pistons. You'll need Merc pistons to go with a 4 inch crank. SoCal Speed shop in Sacramento used to sell new flathead rods for about the same as the cost to redo original rods. But last time I checked I didn't see a listing. For a single rod you might check with Michael at 3rd Gen but I believe he is on vacation until after the first of the year. https://thirdgenauto.com/ Another source might be Fred at Southside Obsolete. http://www.southsideobsolete.com/southside/Welcome.html Or finally, Mac at Vanpelts http://www.vanpeltsales.com/ The Vanpelt site has lots of good flathead info and specs.
I think you will be able to get the parts together and have nice motor eventually . Like the man said,,,,,8BA rods,,,,Ford or Mercury will work,,,the Merc are technically 8CM,,,,,but still the same rod ,,,,also,,,,have Ford markings on them . Piston is the difference . Lol,,,,,always be cautious when using the word Virgin,,,,it’s only that once . After the first time,,,,,,never again . Maybe good condition,,,,even excellent condition,,,,but not virgin ! Makes me wonder what is told to some unsuspecting people from out of town sometimes . Tommy
One of my flatheads is a '48 model, (59A-B) with factory relief... .040" over. One piston was bad, (P.O. had hammered the head flat driving it out the bottom!) Thankfully, the rest incurred no damage. Found a piston, was .045"...sized it on my lathe with crocus cloth. Was ready to assemble, but a bud gave me a '53 Merc engine, complete... Want to use the 4" crank, so need a set of .040" over Merc pistons. LOL (unusual oversize...most are .030")
I stand corrected! So how about "standard size journals" instead of "virgin"? That's good to know on the rods. I have a couple of 8BA donor engines sitting in my shop now, so I'll dig a rod from one of those. Thank you all for the advice!
Lol,,,,yeah,,,the virgin term gets used a little much sometimes . I know you didn’t mean it like that . Many years ago here,,,,a out of town ,,wealthy businessman bought a local company . He had a young son,,,,early 20’s at the time . Met a beautiful young local girl,,,( she was gorgeous),,,,boy,,,,,,I don’t know if he ever realized he had been taken or not ,,,,I don’t think the marriage lasted long anyway . But ,,,you know,,,,,we are men,,,and we are stupid,,,,,,LoL . Tommy
True this! The rods are the same, the pistons are not. I've heard of people getting their virginity back tho I doubt it actually works. Quite frankly I think Virginity sounds best on paper.
If one of your donor engines has a good complete set of rods I would use all 8 as there may be a better chance of the weights being closer and having less affect on balance. I know people throw all kinds of different parts around and never had any problems but just my 2 cents. And regarding getting the virginity back would welding the journals back to standard count.
I recommend magnaflux that Merc crank. My friend had an old Merc motor that threw a rod, crank magged with a big crack.
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