As of tomorrow I will be the proud new owner of a 8ba motor! Getting pulled out of a 49 shoebox. I get to go for a ride in the car before it is pulled, so it is a runner and complete from the top down. PO has used the car as a daily driver for the last few months. Says "it burns a little oil" Now I know that can mean, it burns a little oil, or I have to add 3 qrts of oil ever 3 miles I drive the thing. Once I get my grubby little hand on it I have a lot of time to get it all in order, I am not in a hurry on this one. Eventually it will be going in a model A. I do not need a race motor, not planning on breaking any land speed records, just looking for a nice reliable motor to cruise along with. I guess my questions are this...Once I narrow down the oil burning issue, weather it be valve issues or what have you, what can I do with this motor to clean it up (internally) and make it a reliable driver. If I have the time and patience to take the thing apart and get into it, what things would you all replace/upgrade. Thanks for all the help
If you are not in a hurry .... You might consider a full rebuild. Maybe it really is only a little oil, If it runs real good but burns a quart every 1000 miles I would live with for awhile. If it generates a smokescreen tear it apart! Even upon tearing it down , tou might be able to get it honed and replace the rings ( probablly not the case ) - If you gotta bore it go ahead and replace all the bearings . Stock cam will probablly be ok - might consider a MAX1 Isky though... ) I doubt the valves are the issue
I am reading that cracked valve sets are an issue that is often times a deal breaker...would this cause oil burnage?
No it will cause water loss . It is repairable, but it's not advised for a race motor, for what you're doing you'ld be fine getting a crack in the seat area pinned , seat rplaced , and possiblly cylinder sleved Your oil burning is most likely form worn rings ann worn cylinder walls.
valve seats do not caure oil burning. Oil either leaks from bad gaskets or is burned due to worn rings.
This will be very unpopular with all the perfectionists but do a leak down test or check the plugs carefully. If you find one cylinder burning most of the oil, you can try pulling that piston and replace the rings on that piston. I did this with excellent results on a 283 in a 36 sedan back in the 70s. When I grew up using a quart of oil every 1000 miles was acceptable. On a weekend warrior that will take a lot of time. I drove it to Memphis in 1980 with no excess oil consumption. First you need to figure out exactly what kind of car you are building. Of course it's not the thing to do on a show car. It can work well for a weekend warrior beater type. I'm still stuck in the 60s where this was done a lot more often than today. I remember all the less than perfect cars that we had fun in. I cherish those times. I like to think that there are some HAMB members that don't have the deep pockets to build a perfect show car so I like to explain some less costly options that are blasphemy to the perfectionists. Only you can decide.
There's great info here, but if you're gonna be a flathead guy, you might want to join the FordBarn site. There's a lot of old flatmotor wrench turners there.
I'm with Tommy on this. You've got an oppurtunity to really check out the engine's vital signs, which most buyers of flatheads don't get to do, as they're buying them out of garages, barns, and fields. I'd replace the head gaskets if it were mine, just because it's so easy to do on a flathead and I don't like sixty year old head gaskets. Oh.......get rid of that stupid loadamatic distributor and get one with advance weights, even if it's the only modification you make.
Buy a good book on flatheads, and the pickle fork tool for when you tearing down the valvetrain. Othere than that there isn't much to these. If your not gonna tear it down for a full rebuild and just fix a few things, I suggest getting some new waterpumps from speedway. They worked much better than my old ones and you'll need em eventually to mount your motor in an a anyways.
In the '60's, we considered ourselves very lucky if we found a flattie (or any other car, for that matter!) that would go 1000 miles on a quart of oil.
Don't do a half ass job on the motor. Take it apart, check to see if a bore is required, have the valves serviced, crank turned, whatever it takes to put it in top notch shape, BEFORE you install it in a car, will save you much time and effort sometime in the future. Being a hot rodder is not a cheap hobby.
The Ford Barn is full of info, but you might get some grief from the resto crowd. Another option is the Flathead Forum which is all things flathead from resto to FED and the salt. A leakdown test will show bad rings or valve guides, see if you can take off the radiator cap while running to look for excessive bubbles which could indicate a blown gasket or worse, crack in the cylinder wall/ exhaust ports. IF you pull the heads, wire brush and look carefully between exhaust seats and cylinder for cracks. Cracks between the head bolt holes and water cooling hole passage are usually not a problem and exist in about any block. If you do have it remachined, make sure that the machine shop is familiar with and has done flatheads. Good luck, sound like a keeper. RB
Since it runs, you should take compression readings now before that baby is yanked out. Hot and cold, wet and dry. I'd also hook up a vacuum gauge and see how she behaves, and if you can, take a drive with the vacuum gauge plumbed to inside the car so you can read it. Vacuum gauges are a GREAT diagnostic tool. Do an internet search and find one of those charts that tell you about engine vacuum. Write down your readings, they'll be helpful later.
No, cracked valve "seats" would mean it is loosing coolant but don't have anything to do with the oil consumption. As long as he has been driving it and not having to add coolant or having cooling problems it is most likely a good engine. You have to remember that on the flatheads when they were new oil changes were done every 1000 miles and quite often they used a quart of oil in that 1000 miles. That would be considered normal by most guys in those days and using less oil in 1000 miles was considered great then. It sounds like a winner if the seller has put a fair price on it.
Also many old cars burn oil from simply sitting around too much, with rings sticking. If it runs OK, pour in an excess of Marvel Mystery oil and run it with that in there for a while.
Alright...went and saw the flathead today in its natural habitat... The 49 ford. Started right up after sitting for a few weeks and ran incredibly quiet. I could hear one tiny little valve tic, besides that it was almost silent. As the po had said, the thing burns oil. There was a steady stream of white smoke coming from the oil filling tube. The po says it is burning a quart every week or so as a daily driver.
10...but that is on the stock gauge, so not sure how reliable that is. Starts by reading about 30 at idle, then drops to ten...30 while driving
I would fell fine with 10 psi warm at idle flatheads arnt known for massive oil pressure. In fact my spare motor has 10-12 psi at idle warmed up, and that is on a mechanical gauge. I might end up running it untill my blower motor is finished. DO a compression test. do it cold. then do it warmed up . But really it sounds like you've got a good motor.
That is what I wanted to hear! Thank you all for the replies and advice. Now the million dollar question, what is a fair price for this motor and tranny (not that I think I'm going to be using the trans)
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