Projects Which makes more sense? SBC or Flathead

For me, not being a purist, the sbc wins every time. JMO!

 

Your question was answered in about 1960 by thousands of guys swapping out tired old flatheads with 283s. It's an old 4 door sedan, not very high on the pecking order of interesting old cars, so do with it what you will. If you're going to be happy with a wheezy old flattie dragging that car around, and you're not all that enthused, or sure you'll be able to finish it, leave it alone, but dropping a better engine in it (and a 283 is exponentially better) will make it a nicer car to drive. Get on with it.

 

Me at age 17 (In my mind, in my mind) with my other project, which should have been done years ago. It is definitely going to have a flathead in it, probably with the parts I mentioned in post #53. I told the photographer to get my best side.

 

That is beautiful. Keep the flathead , fix what it needs and drive . If its not what you want then sell it . Its too nice to not get on the road soon .

 

Alan I like the sound of a 283 update aka 1960-63 to the original trans minimizing drivetrain updates...

Throw some www's with some period wheelcovers or chrome reverse...are you leaning lowered in the rear with skirts or sporty with blackwalls and chrome reverse?...

@Chris has a way with getting a nice look out of the fat fender Fords...

As with many posts over the years the fordors can look pretty sharp with a little adjustment in stance...

It really depends on your period of interest and as said you're gonna make happy campers no matter what period you do...I have a Hotrod period 1963 by details and I appreciate the power of the smallblock and it's total plausibility as a popular swap at the time is truly a bonus for a period correct option...I suspect if it had a flatty I'd be just as happy as long as it was reliable...How many flatties made it out to Bonneville...driven?...I'll bet LOTS...even today...

If your flathead can take the speed Equipment without a total rebuild that's also an option for a earlier timeframe but I suspect as today that there were Hotrod/Custom folk still hopping them up into the 60s regardless of being outdated by so many overhead options...

So with an adapter to the old trans what needs fabbed...motor mounts, exhaust, generator adjustment regardless of which your using, rad reposition or not, maybe you can pull the front sheetmetal off and do it without removing the engine...if it's truly able to take the Hop up stuff you have it may put a smile on your face till you ready for the Big Sky...you know 20+ more years of fun...just change the oil and fill the gas...

...the 283 will subsidize things but yeah we have seen both period options deliver reliability here over and over at the Hamb...so it might come down to a coin flip...

Whatever you do share the journey right here...I'm in...

 

What a boring car. Wow—an early Ford with a Chevy. Why not put a strong flatmotor in its place—-45 years ago, I had a Flathead in an unpainted t bucket in central Texas—- there was over 150 cars there—the camera crew from the local news loved my flatmotor cause it was the only modified one out of 150 cars. Wasn’t even painted or upholstered, but just the fact it had a flat was rewards enuf. Recently sold my 32 cabriolet but not b4 running 80 mph in the 1/8—-NUF-SED.

 

I understand where you're coming from, I will be 79 in a week and my wife has MS and I still get some time out in the garage working on my project but I'm limited to how much I can do each day. I would put the 283 in with the stock trans and rear end while you can still do the work, then work on the roadster in between driving the Merc and taking care of your wife!

 

Think outside the basket and put in a gas turbine.

 

That's a really sweet car and the flathead is just right for it.

 

It would be a crime to repaint this! Buff and wax the paint…and drive it!

 

My initial gut feeling was to swap to the 283 and later drivetrain. But after reading more and more about your car, your age, and the whole story; I think keeping the existing drivetrain makes more sense. I'd concentrate on upgrading things you've already mentioned, and making sure the flathead purrs along. No sense in going through the whole swap at this point in my opinion. I know it's an easy swap, and when we were younger I could do the whole drivetrain swap by myself in a week. But then the other things will still need to be addressed, and it might take more work to have the swap running as good as the existing engine runs.
I'm a little younger than you are, and I love the 283 Chevy swap; but I wouldn't do it unless the flathead died.

 

A couple of observations from my personal experience.

1. I bought my '51 Ford in 1987. It was kind of weak, but got me around fine. A compression test showed 80-90 pounds of compression on all 8. I drove it around this way (including a trip to a car show in Chicago from the Twin Cities) until 2016, when it started making a funny noise.

2. I took out the original engine and swapped in a good running '51 Merc I had procured just for this purpose 20 years earlier. I added a set of modified Edmunds heads, a 2G on a bored out Mercury manifold, and a Mallory dual point. The car now performs as well as it runs and people who ride in it are impressed with all aspects of the car. I find it to be wholly adequate for daily use and use it as a DD on days when thunderstorms are not in the forecast. I really don't need an more power for my uses, but it sure could use power steering. If I were to decide to spend more time and money on this car, power steering would be on the top of the list.

EDIT : One more thing. When I was 75, I would have jumped right on the SBC/Driveline change project. When I was 78, I would thought about it, done a bunch of planning, and probably not gotten around to it. At my current age (80), I wouldn't even consider it.

Radial tires, a clean block and radiator, and generally keeping the car well maintained will give you a vehicle that is satisfactory in every way with a flathead.

 

I'm all for the sbc, more power, better reliability, ease of finding parts, less cost, less likely to overheat, more peace of mind.
Put it in and enjoy your new spark of life in your old boring flathead car.

 

In a near unbelieveable way in all my years I've never experienced the power of a Flathead Ford V8...I have seen a few that just took off ahead of me and I wasn't interested in trying to keep up...

I'm not one who pounds the pedal so just adequate pickup and cruising at highway speeds without issue works for me...the Flathead into the 50s was and still is a capable and Hop-able mill...there is an ambience to them...

I get both realities and the flatheads have earned a respectful consideration here to keep delivering what they were known for...A 12 volt upgrade if they weren't by then might light up Bambi better at night...

Then all Alan has to do is adjust the stance and shoes to suit his vision...

Alan I can't imagine a seat and headliner couldn't be whipped into shape to undust the tattiness of a deteriorated survivor...

Or a second hand one...buckets are always replacing the old stuff...I 'm sure there are many bench style donors that are of similar width and better comfort...heck maybe even a Tudor bench might work...who cares if it folds...

 

Have a few flathead powered cars and wanted to use the 36k mile 265 out of my ‘55 210 in my ‘33 5W.
Just had to notch the firewall, and use adapters to bolt to my ‘39 trans. Pretty simple.

 

Is that a Speed Gems adapter? I have one and a two piece steel unit to work with. Did you have to re-drill your flywheel for a Ford pressure plate or did you use a Chevy pressure plate with a ford clutch disc? It's a nice set-up you've got there.

 

Flat heads are cool... S.B.C's are cheap... which is more important to you?
I had a '38 Ford coupe with a flat-head in it. Awesome smooth running engine, very reliable, super cool.
At the same time I had a '39 coupe with a S.B.C. in it. I drove the '39 more often, especially on longer jaunts. I ended up selling the '38 because of cash flow and still have the '39.
I often regret selling the '38, but I think I made the right decision by keeping the '39. It's all about you and what you want in a car. Give it some thought and the right decision will come.

 

Offenhauser adapter, and a '49 Merc pressure plate bolts to the Chevy flywheel, with a 10" Ford disc.
The front mount is a Hurst.

 

Thank you for that. I'll have to dig through my stuff and see what I have. The '62 283 had side mounts, I wonder if I would be better off using CE front motor mount setup? If so, then I could use a mechanical fuel pump without the interference with the Hurst unit?

 

If you were 65 or 68 instead of on the far side of the 70s, I could see going with the sbc, and maybe even the driveline upgrade, but, you have an ailing spouse to maintain, and your own health doesn’t sound great.

Spend your time and efforts on what it takes to get the car on the road so you can enjoy it with your spouse (if that’s still possible).

Do the brakes, glass, make the interior functional and drive it for a while. Maybe even do a little bodywork to make it a twenty footer. If you have it on the road for a while, and still feel up to it, do the engine swap, but retain the original driveline.

Just don’t do a lot of burnouts, especially with sticky tires.

Fix what’s broken to start with. The days aren’t magically getting longer as time passes. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

 

A four door sedan isn't exactly a light car to run a flathead in.

 

The Automobile Catalog shows the curb weight as 3420 pounds.

 

...Mildly hopped up Flathead and adjust the stance and crack an ear to ear smile All Day Long @alanp561...



...it has been suggested to buff the paint up and this pic taken by @chryslerfan55 highlights why that may be a really good idea...

Credit to Photographers, Owners
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@Flatheadjohn47, did you build the manifold in the first pic? That's pretty cool.

 

That dual trim on the Mercury fenders is a nice touch...

 

There is very little damage to the trim. I think I can straighten it out fairly easily.

 

We all know how projects tend to snowball and when we start doing multiple things at the same time, seems like nothing ever gets completed...........and the project sits. Given your age and other limitations, I would flush the gas tank and replace the fuel line and add a good filter.....and get the car running again. If it needs wiring, then there is no way around having the car sit for a short period of time, but don't get into multiple fixup repair and conversion.......just get that one thing done and continue driving. Then start picking one thing at a time to work on.......but keep it driving as much as you can. When you basically have worked thru all the things that you want to do (while enjoying driving it)............then think about the engine swap.

If you do the engine swap first, it most likely will mean the car sits for a pretty good while. Even if you just adapt the engine to the stock trans, you will have to convert to 12 volts, make/have made exhausts/possibly change instruments to 12volt/maybe a radiator and/or an electric fan/and the actual engine installation too.
I'd just enjoy it first instead of last. If you were much younger and had a lot of friends to help you, then I'd say go for the swap.

 

^^^^^^^^Agree

 

It's a running car, with some work can be a driving car. It IS a 4 door. Keep it together, get it roadworthy, enjoy it for what it is.

 

if the flathead runs good with a tuneup… just throw a blanket over the seat and enjoy the booger. and wiring? liquid tape over the bare spots. that’s what i do to keep my cad on the road. and paint? IT AIN’T A SHOW CAR.