What would you do, guys, to improve a engine in this shape? This one is in my 1951 Merc...It is a Canadian 8CM Flathead...
Is this a good engine that does not need serious work, or a worn one that will be rebuilt as part of the improvement process? Approaches will differ...
This engine is working amazingly well...It is very impressive how these engines were built as really solid stuff...
When souping a good engine as it is, limiting point is the cam...replacing a flathead cam is quite a bit of work, but lots can be done with pure external work. On '49 up, distributor is a serious handicap with poor advance characteristics. Get it an MSD with vacuum or a modified '57--70's Chevy distributor...the machining has been shown on here for that, and advance mods to suit flathead are easy because of available parts and design. Earlier flatheads don't need distributor change. Here's a recipe from about 1953, extracted from an article I summarized on here long ago: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16426&highlight=merc+dyno&showall=1 Distributor, dual exhaust would be starting points. More compression, several choices for that...dual Ford carbs or a bigger two barrel to replace Merc...various Chrysler Co and Chevrolet carbs from fifties and early sixties fit directly. Remember that this is a small engine and you have one of the heaviest cars that used it...it won't be very fast, but it'll be a bit faster and more responsive. If you choose to do cam, you need a fairly mild one like Max 1 or 53 Merc for a heavy car.
What is the machine in your photo?? Looks simple and dangerous, like a proper hotrod. Aircraft of some sort??
This guy is an aviation pioneer from Brazil...I have part of his huge Biography down here as my Signature...That machine might be "Demoisele" an early plane built by him wich people love to build nowadays yet..there are blueprints all over the world...
Bruce, Im reading your past posts and im amazed by the extension of your knowledge...This is the kind of stuff I've been looking for since ever...Just Great!!!
Does anyone know how the carb air cleaner goes in this motor?...I have the original Air Cleaner but I dont know how to put it on...I guess there is a piece missing...
Don't have picture...cleaner lives on a stand near carburetor, hooks up via a pipe and hoses. Lots of Merc owners here...someone will have parts and pictures. By the way...are you sure it is Canadian?? The C in 8CM is part of the USA designation...a Canadian Merc would have C8CN with that cast on heads with a "Made in Canada logo. I've read about Santos Dumont, and seen stuff in the Smithsonian air and space museum. Amazing that people could get together the multiple technologies and skills needed to get aloft for the first time! Like inventing a car if wheels and roads and engines all needed to be invented at once.
I want to post a close up picture of the engine...This is something that intrigues me a lot...Once I posted a Thread asking for information on the informations I have in my VIN plate...It says Ford Motor Company of Canada (Windsor, Ontario)...The cast in the engine says 8CM made in Canada...I Dont Know...I gonna write down a letter to FOMOCO in Canada and try to get information from them... Im huge fan of those Pioneers...Santos Dummont, Wright Bros, Bleriot...All great minds...Always source of inspiration...
Sounds like it is really Canadian. Lots of parts will be made in Canada, but everything will be essentially same as USA in specification and use. Wrights...had to invent or develop everything. Even engine AND materials for engine... anything with enough power was 10 times too heavy...so they developed a high power aluminum engine. Recent tests of surviving bits have shown that it had a crankcase made of duraluminum... which had not been invented yet. They just quietly came up with it on their own in the search for light power. After they finished inventing all the necessary hardware and testing apparatus, they still had to figure out how to control the thing in the air without killing themselves...absolutely amazing what people can do, and did multiple times and places in the invention of flight.
There is a bracket that attaches the bottom of the oil bath air cleaner housing to a bolt or bolts on the head if I remember correctly. Then it attaches to the carb with a screw clamp. Or it may have attached to the intake manifold I just don't remember for sure.
If those are Canadian aluminum heads they deserve to be cleaned up and shown off I visited Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum last summer, where they have moved/recreated Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory and the Wright Brother's bicycle shop. It's just jaw-dropping to see what these guys worked with to create what they did. We take so much for granted today. Awe-inspiring indeed. Good luck with your Merc.
Bruce, Can I adapt a 59A Distributor instead of using a modern distributor (Like MSD)?...I like the idea of having those reliable parts as a condenser for example...Parts I can change if I have a problem...Different of a Eletronic Ignition...
Ok.....I would start by giving the motor and engine compartment a darn good cleaning since the motor runs so well. Next I would dump the merc intake and carb and put in a 2x2 with 94's or strombergs. If the heads are really alum then I would remove them, maybe shave them a bit, and smooth and polish them. If they are not alum I would be looking for a nice set of finned heads. My preference for a distributor would be a Mallory but to each their own. Also, as said before you will want to look at a cam and the choices shown are good choices. These improvements are not all that expensive and the parts are readily available. Shipping might hurt a bit though. Nice breathers, a little dress up here and there and you will have a sweet little motor to show off. Just my 2 cents.
You can use any earlier flathed distributor if you change cam. '42-8 versions are best as they are easy to work, and this is easiest solution for good cheap distributor on a flathead. Modern choices are '57--72 Chevy converted, excellent choice for easy installation of a good points distributor, or hunt down an old two-piece cap Mallory. Either give you a good distributor with your late type cam. Current Mallory's have shown up with a number of different problems...I think they can be built into a good distributor but cannot be used without a thorough checking out to see if timing is right, wiring properly located (as in not grounded against case right from the factory!) and tune up parts replaced with higher quality ones. Modern bolt on choice is the MSD. Several people conver the Chevy one.
I will probably take one of the MSD solutions...It looks quite nice actually...I was wondering about the color of the engine...The canadians would be green like in the Sam Barris Green Merc? In case of YES wich green is it?
I think you need to hunt down some Canadians...USA Mercs are less well documented than Fords, and I think Canadian colors are likely different. There's a '49 Merc engine in my garage...top layer is red, next layer is mostly grease, will let you know if more colors emerge before I hit rust!
You could have one of two different air cleaners used in '49-'51. (no way of knowing when and why they were used) This is the most common installation.
You have the infamous "Teapot" Holley carb. They were known for catching fire. The good thing is, the manifold has a four bolt pattern that will accept a Rochester or Carter carb. The heads can't really be planed enough to make much difference, since the pistons have domed tops that come quite close to the heads already. Canadian heads were often higher comp. than US built ones. If you do change carbs, you must change the distributor too. The original mis all vacuum advance, no centrifugal, and any other carb isn't equipped to make it work. The original dist. is crap anyway! Any '49-54 three-bolt manifold will work, too, and will work with the stock dist. if you don't want to change it just yet. The engine will work fine with all stock parts, but if you go to multi carbs the dist. has to go.
Alberto Santos-Dumont has always been one of my heroes. That is a Demoiselle in your avatar. S-D was the first man to fly in Europe!
Everyone tells me to replace the original fuel pump for something else...they say the original one is source of a lot of problems...I would like to know why...And wich are the options to replace it....
If it is a fuel pump only, a good one with a good cam under it (I think cam lift is small, like .2" or so) works fine. If double type with pump for vacuum wipers, they allegedly cause rapid cam wear. I think those are actually '52-3 use.
If you are going to replace it, all you need is a single pumper Ford pump (without the vacuum assist). Or if you want to keep the original look you can disable the vaccum side of the pump by removing the return spring in the pump. I have done this in the past and it works. By doing this you effectively cut the spring pressure on the cam lobe in half.
Personally, I think I would leave the motor alone for the moment if it is running well, and concentrate on patching up some of the sheetmetal. In my limited experience of flatheads, I have concluded that they are damn expensive for parts, so....if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Of course, if you're going to take the motor out and start on the bodywork as well, then fine, but bear in mind that that usually results in a great big pile of parts and a whole lot of work!
The Jalopy Journal
