Technical Are heads worth the cost on a flathead?

I bought a 8cm and didn't have any heads for it and started looking. I found a set of Edelbrock that only had 2 hrs run time and bought those for less than a 1/3 of new price. They look good and will keep the F/H look going. If I wanted Hp I would have gone with a ohv eng.
Cliff your car is what I hope mine turns into. Thanks for all the help.

jim

 

Naw Naw Naw Stereo is not a wise choice& I'd have to think hard about the wheels. Nothing like listenin to the sound of a set of good pipes & the wind whistling in your ear. I like wires best on a 30 era vehicle.

 

That's funny cause I only have one ear that works. My comment was tongue in cheek (whatever the hell that means) as I spent more on my flathead than i do some complete cars. Merry Christmas Bob!

 

Hard to beat the looks and sound of a nice Flatty. So expensive to build for so little HP. One built to 200 hp would probably boil over even when not running!..How ‘bout a nice 303/324 Olds or 331 Cad?..Plenty of power and eyeball and period perfect. JMO

 

Not true. Mine it’s north of 300 on the engine dyno and as members on here can attest, never overheats even stopped in traffic for insane periods of time. Expensive? Oh hell yeah! That’s part is correct

 

Wow!!… That’s very impressive.. I stand corrected!

 

Let's face it....... Anything you do to a flathead is just for looks.

If you are going to race nostalgia drags or build a Bonnieville car for the flathead classes, then what you do makes a difference. If you are building a street driven flathead, its all about "looks" because absolutely no one is going to be afraid to race it. I like the way they look and some of my first cars were flatheads......but nothing (except maybe nitrous) is going to put fear in heart of your competition. Get the heads........Enjoy how they look.

 

Back in 1955 I saw my first drag race. A model A coupe with a 3/4 race flathead against a new 55 Chevy 265 power pack. The model A won .so much for the Chevy small block!

 

Your opinion. I am not an avid street racer by any means but I have been known to run hard from light to light. Like the looks? Absolutely! Like the sound? Puleease! Will it take my 442 off the line? Not happenin! Like the uniqueness of not another SBC roadster? Priceless! (well not actually priceless, my wife kept the receipts for a future divorce settlement)

 

i have a sbc just like that,will only run on high test with octane boost an burns out a chinese starter end of jan. to first week of feb. can set watch by it but if it starts sure sounds good

 

I hope my motor never meets your motor because my motor thinks the grease means i like it an your motor will tell it wiping it off means you like it the more omg you have such a spoiled motor can't be any talking to it

 

Could've had something to do with the weight of the cars.......

 

Certainly you have gotten some conflicting information on this topic. The book Flathead Facts has some really great facts that are scientifically tested on a dyno. The book includes results on heads as well as other speed equipment from the point of view of starting with a stock flathead. The information I found in this book has been a valuable resource in building my own engine. Building a Flathead is expensive so I’ve tried to be strategic in my upgrades that fit my pocketbook.

Good luck with you build!

 

What???

 

That book belongs in every flathead owners library. May I also suggest adding this little gem. Mine was definitely stronger with a single four barrel that we used on the break in and dyno pulls, the strombergs are a show item more than anything.

 

There's still lots of aluminum heads for flatheads in Canada.
Right from the factory.

 

Ok, just read all 4 pages for the first time.
Please shoot us some info on French Blocks & French Valves .
T/Y, Stretch

 

When I was in high school I had a stock '40 coupe. I slapped on a set of finned aluminum heads and 3 97's. It actually didn't run that much worse. Looked great in '58.

 

A fresh stock flathead is a pretty damn good performer in A Model A. If you're not going to race it why not give it try before spending a lot of money on glitz. I have a pair of "A" letter heads that have been milled .060" you could have cheap if you want to go that route. No valve/piston clearance issues on a 59A 221 cu. in. engine. I never got to use that engine so I can't say anything about performance increase.

 

After reading everyones response, I thought to myself, one would need to define WORTH IT. For me since I didnt grow up in the Original Hot Rod days, if my car started off with a 4 banger- With 40 HP and I could drop in a flat head v8 with 80-85 HP that would be money well spent, back then as today. Relatively cheap back then as today. The defining thing here is to go back in time and stay there. Most any modern car engine makes an easy 250-350 HP for a junkyard price of 1000 dollars or less, but we are talking about engines from 90 years ago 1932 and forward! So incrementally making additional Horsepower... 5-10-50 HP more then the next guys car is worth it to many and a waste of time to a few, like stereo guy above posted Thats what makes the world go round so yes its worth it.

 

Tell me more?

 

59 series heads made in Canada were aluminum from the factory. probably lots of them still around, but how good are they now? Its like any aluminum head, corrosion, milled to death, who knows.

 

In 1962 I had this 53 with a stock 6 cyl except for a 2 barrel and a split exhaust. I actually beat a few flatheads now and then but I sure would have loved to have one instead. They're just so damn pretty when done up.

 

Billy, your car and its engine are absolutely beautiful. The engine is a crown jewel and the workmanship is great. But as I said earlier, its more about "the look" than actual speed. My choice for being different will be a 500 Cadillac with some mild upgrades. You can buy a running 500 for about $500. Spend another $2K to upgrade the the cam, rockers/springs, (homebrew pocket porting),Edelbrock intake, and some fancy valve covers and you have 400/450 HP and gobs of torque. They will power everything from a lightweight roadster to a tow truck. Often they come with a usable turbo 400 as well.

While I like the looks of a supercharged (or non-supercharged) flathead with all the fixins, the truth is that (using a nostalgic metafor) for all intents and purposes a finned aluminum flathead is a male version of the flatchested girls that used to stuff socks in their bra. They LOOK GREAT from a distance, but when its "showtime", they aren't as much fun.

All this is meant in good humor........



I think this looks good myself and it can make good power cheaply.


Edit: In the interest of full disclosure, the engine pictured is NOT a 472/500 Cad but one of the earlier versions. I have some of these valve covers and plan to adapt them to fit my 500 in an attempt to make my engine resemble this one.

 

But wouldn't adapting different valve covers to make one engine resemble a different one be the same as, "a male version of a flat chested girl that used to stuff socks in her bra"? lol disclosure: This comment is from a guy that has adapted early style staggered bolt Cal Custom valve covers to his 1971 SBC.

 

Yes, but in this case I would be under-representing and will be able to produce at "show time". Having 110/135 cu in more than someone thinks you have is a good thing. The thing is, most people who know Cadillac engines would be able to tell the difference anyway..........and those that don't know Cadillacs would not notice the difference. In this case I'm shooting for "looks" as well as performance.

 

I totally get it buddy. For half the build cost I could have had much more HP and torque out of a caddy or Olds. I know that. This really wasn't a cost effective power plant. But I love it.

 

I agree. I'd far rather have a 303 Olds in my rod than a 427 Chevy.