This will be my first flattie project so PLEASE any input would be appreciated.... I found this short block for sale and brought it home yesterday. It was built 25 years ago and the guy had it wraped and sealed up and in his house the whole time. I do not know the entire specs but it is .030 over. appears new pistons. adjustable lifters. isky 3/4 (?) cam. new springs. block was checked and dipped. no visable threads stripped or frigged up. stamped 1BA in a few places. this is going in my 52 f1. and he said that is what it came out of. I have read around a little on the hardened seat thing and this will be a weekend driver so from what I've read unless you are doing a radical build or really work the engine the hardened seats are not required. also someone told me to add a little (100 to 1 or so) ATF to the gas for the cushioning. any thig jump out from these pics that dosnt look right or anything I should check for sure? It spins over. no visibale marks in cylinders. cam seem to have some assembly lube on it still. a little crap in the water jackets but not much. inside of oil pan is clean etc...
I noticed that the isky lifters are the type that were used with the Isky 404-A cam. That is, they do not rotate and have a groove which keeps them in a permanent position in the lifter bore. I don't know if this type of lifter was used with any other Isky cam so you might have one of Isky finest and most radical. Also noticed the the front of the crank shaft, where the seal is and the spiral groove, looks a bit rough so you might want to take a closer look at that. Otherwise it looks like you scored a great find. Let us know how it comes out.
I haven't been around for a long time but it looks like the person who rebuilt the engine reused the connecting rod nuts. I alway thought that was a no-no.
flathead con rod bolts are integral with the beam, so you don't have a choice! make sure the threads of rod adn nut are super clean, wiping out a thread with grit will ruin your day.
I believe only mercury pistons have that notch on top. I would suspect 4 inch stroke crankshaft. Looks like find.
Hello there, Neat find, but since your asking, and it is looking new, you don't know who built it. Finish tearing it apart and inspect every thing. Then you know for a fact it is right. That means magna fluxing, a extra few bucks investment, because if it's not, you'll turn that little jewel in to swap meet material. Second, I'm not to fond of the little stamped lock nuts on the conecting rods, harmonics in the engine might vibrate enought to make one fly off, and where it might go? So new modern rod nut/bolts might be on your shopping list, also, not being a Flat Head expert, did they make forged cranks for those raskles? 3/4 cams don't mean anything, look at the specs, re-cam to your liking if needed. Good Luck DUB PS, I have a soft spot in my heart for 58-59 Chevys, photo was taken about 1974 By DieselBiker
the guy didnt know anything about the crank the pan was on it when I got it and he never took it off. I paid 2650 and drove 16 hours round trip to Hotlanta to get it.
Nope. you should send that Fenton intake to me as it will match my heads. Nice find. Good luck with the motor.
I do some offroad trail riding around here so I built a rig to suit my needs.... far from traditional with this one!!! I will redeam myself with this F1
got a butt load of pm's on both heads and intake but I love the old performance parts and would like to use them. the intake seems to be ok I am concerned about the pitting on the heads
The heads and intake look a little scarry, they would look good on a mock up or display piece. DUB Neat ride
I thought so also.. I have a new offy intake, heads and 2-2's for it and I am pretty set on using the new stuff now that I have looked at the stuff that came with the engine. I had hoped the old stuff was in better shape. thanks for the comment on the 58 I figured I would get a bunch of shit for it. espically in a flattie thread!!!
That intake looks fine, but the heads look a little rough and would take a lot of work to make them usable. I don't have alot of cash, but if you wanna get rid of the intake, PM me. I like the look when the heads and intake match on a flatty.
The lifters are located by the "pin" sticking up from the side of the lifter bore. So I think flathead4d is correct. In addition to the "keyed" lifters; the picture shows DUAL VALVE SPRINGS. So this would mean a fairly radical cam. As far as the rod nut "keepers"; Ford and Merc used them quite successfully. A possible "upgrade" would be to use ARP ROD NUTS. It looks like most of the broken fins on the head(s) are adjacent to head stud / bolt holes; so maybe "blending" the rough areas like the ends of the other fins would be all you need. However the pitting shown in the head pictures, might make them unusable.
think i will run the offy stuff... what is the deal with the spiral grove in the crank? what is it for?
Not necessarily. After market pistons are often marked with a "notch" or an "arrow head" to indicate the position the piston should face. (forward) A quick way to determine if you have a Merc crank - 4" stroke - is to measure ACROSS the width of one of the LARGE crank counter weights at the FLATS - at RIGHT ANGELES to the axis of the crank. If the width is OVER 6" - 6 1/8 approx. - THEN it's a Merc 4" stroke crank. If the width is UNDER 6" - 5 7/8" approx. - THEN it's a FORD 3 3/4" stroke crank.
Noticed the keyed lifters and double springs straight away. But also look at the shape of the face of the lifter in the pic showing the cam. Is that a big groove worn right down the center of the lifter?
Me too,but the lifter should be OK if that is the cam it belongs to and it looks like a trick of the light. I can see no real reason to pull it down,it's a flattie, not some SBC grenade! put the heads on and light her up!. The Spiral groove on the crank should be filled with vaseline or assembly lube if you are not going to start the engine is a hurry. the oil pan should not be allowed to run dry on it.
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