I wish I could remember Bill Burnham's comments on flatheads, something like the only gauge they needed was a vacuum gauge cause they sucked so much? At least that was the jist of the quote as I remember it For those that have no idea who Bill Burnham was he wrote a column in Street Rodder for years and had a bitch'n 29 fenderless Ford roadster.
I remember Bill Burnham and his light blue Roadster and his column very well. He had a lot of memorable quotes. LOL
A 1940 Ford Flathead Sedan Delivery in 1960 Hello, Well, the Flathead motor I had was one reliable motor. No problems for 1000s of road trip miles up and down the Pacific Coast in search of the best waves to ride during our explorations. Just gas it up and go. We even drove it 450 miles at the first sign of some waves in So Cal, down to Baja Mexico for some surf spots that were not well known or even known to the surfing public. Not too many surfers went across the border to surf. If one was under 18, then a certified letter from a notary or lawyer was required to cross the border into Baja Mexico. Coming back was not a big deal, except for the tons of cars at a certain hour or day of the weekend. If we left for our Baja surf trip, and stayed for a week, we had to be back by Monday morning school. But, crossing the border on a Sunday is a nightmare, so we usually did it Monday morning. Most of the time, we missed the 8:00 a.m. start and strolled in around noon. Unexcused absence or excused with a letter from our parents. Written by us and signed by our parents or girl friends. But, the one thing we all liked and me especially, was the reliability of the flathead motor running well and starting with the first turn of the key. It ran on USA gas and a couple of times, we had to fill up with premium Pemex gas. We thought it was going to run badly, but it started, ran well and was as reliable as our normal USA adventures with Chevron or Mobil Gas. Jnaki The one thing the flathead motor required was oil. But, no smoke came out of the rear or were there any leaks on the motor, anywhere. No drops of oil on the home grass parking spot, or on the smooth concrete pad in our house backyard parking areas. It started on the first click, ran fine, new sparkplugs were installed a month after I bought it and did not require another set for thousands of miles. The plug burn was almost perfect color and again, no oil of any kind on the inside or tips. But, it did require a quart of oil per week on the spot. Drive 5 days and a quart of oil was necessary before we went on our weekend surf trips and then another 5 days of school. The whole process started again. Valvoline per can was getting expensive for me. I found out that any oil does lube the metal parts and so, I decided to use the less cost per gallon of oil, that the Valvoline per can cost. It was recycled oil and it looked the same color as a new can of Valvoline and felt the same. It even smelled the same and when put on a metal sheet in our backyard garage, looked the same as Valvoline. The thickness was almost the same, too. So, it fit the teenage pocketbook and the Flathead motor continued to run as well as it did before. It still used up oil as before I changed from Valvoline to the recycled oil. The Flathead expert mechanics in our neighborhood checked out the whole sedan delivery and checked out the motor. They could not find one thing wrong. I took it up to Los Angeles to our friend, who was all things mechanical and ran Flatheads since he was a teen. He went through the motor checks and was as surprised that no smoke, no oil deposits on the motor or in the exhaust pipe was evident. He tuned it with new plugs and did all of the safety checks necessary. It ran as well as it was going to run. And he gave it back free of charge, due to not finding anything wrong with the motor. Even with the new tune, it still ran as well as it had months earlier. So, I kept putting on miles on our surf trips and vacation stays. With recycled oil, my pocketbook was happy. Note: As well as the Flathead ran and was reliable, there was one complaint from me. But, I got over it and adapted easily. The Flathead motor was under powered as a stock motor from 1940. Reliable, check. Instant starts, check… but trying to go up a slight hill or sloping highway in traffic always necessitated the slow lane, due to no power, even with the gas pedal to the floor. Loaded with surfers, heavy longboards, all of our camping stuff and coolers for food/drinks was extra weight, so there is that. Even with the more power from a built up Flathead from Reath Automotive that they always wanted me to buy was tempting. Three carbs, cam, stroked motor and headers with shiny nuts and bolts all within view sitting on and engine stand in the display area. But, the Flathead kept on chugging up those slopes along Coast Highway in the slow lane and in second gear, sometimes in first. We all adapt with what we have. With the original 348 motor that was in the Sedan Delivery when we all saw it come into the drive-in restaurant parking lot, it would have been outstanding. The sale included an approximately 80 hp motor vs. 280 hp. YRMV
Interesting Self-Promoting Entertainment That Would Never Dissuade A True Flathead Lover....Like Myself...
There seems to be a lot of AI videos lately. The shorts are filled with that junk, so I avoid them completely. I saw an article yesterday about a data center in WI. Yes the title is clickbait but the article gives information. https://www.techradar.com/pro/a-mas...an-occupants-and-no-one-knows-who-is-using-it I try to avoid this kind of stuff on general principle, but this kind of energy usage should be a warning.
If we're not careful, between AI and Bitcoin we'll end up burning wood for heat and candles for light. If AI takes over the world, it won't be a revolution like Terminator. They'll just wait for us to go extinct...
Well, I went through my flathead phase 60 years ago and won't be doing it again but still understand the appeal. Among other things I love the "flushing toilet" sound they make while starting.
^^^ me too. I drove flatheads for several years. Long enough to learn all the reasons that they are awful motors. Ford solved the problem by going with overhead valve engines
After reading the majority of the posts here and elsewhere on our site I am surprised many members don't ask the moderators to only allow SBC's on the HAMB. I drive a wicked 76 year old flathead, it doesn't leak, its fast...quite fast, it runs cold, it gets 14 MPG if I keep my foot out of it and it is a show stopper. I have some great engines powering my current collection to compare my flathead to, I'd put it up against any of them. If it wasn't for the flathead you would all be driving inline engines or worse. Henry didn't invent the engine, nor the automobile but he made it possible for all us schmucks to afford, enjoy and build hot rods. And like Forest Gump said "that's all I have to say about that". Long live the flathead Ford!
I remember the flathead in my '50 needing water added every time I shut it off, clothespins on the fuel line in a vain attempt to keep it from vapor locking, and when that didn't work, a rag filled with leftover ice from someone's soft drink set on top of the fuel pump. If I was lucky to be in a grocery store parking lot, half a grapefruit would usually do the trick. A 17 year old's version of Okie engineering at it finest.
I still have the original flathead in my Merc and I like it a lot. With original overdrive it is wonderful to drive on highways. 70 mph all day long and that's enough for me in a 75 year old car. It's still 6 Volts but starts immediately even after the winter. And it has that great sound. The only two things that I have to avoid is"stop and go" driving and steep mountain roads. They were definitely not built for that, especially in summer. I am quite sure none of the two existed 80 years ago.
The Jalopy Journal
