I'm looking to pick up a 8BA from a local guy. He says its and industrial Flathead. He said those came with Merc cranks.Does anyone have any input if that's true? Any input would be good.
If it's an actual 8BA and original, no. I think the engines sold as industrials were all Ford truck engines, like 8RT's, and everything I can document is a Ford engine...but I certainly don't have all the documents on Ford purpose built industrial engines. If it's a home built, someone made a special rig to hold a flathead and make it run something, it could have been based on anything out there. Now that's just discussing what WAS. It is now 60 years later, and damn near every flathead in existence has been fixed, rebuilt, traded in, messed with...so ALL bets are off. The rules of thumb: It ALL interchanges, and any external part can be on any of them...so whether it has Ford passenger, Ford truck, or Merc heads is utterly irrelevant. If you have not removed a head and actually measured piston movement (a simple check with a ruler is enough to distinguish 3 3/4 from 4), it should be regarded and paid for as a FORD. Period. You can tell by removing pan or by removing head. If you cannot do that, do not pay a cent for an alleged merc crank, and of course the block uninspected is also a crapshoot.
Ford Flathead with heads on, pan on, doesn't rotate: $50 if you are in a gambling mood. Same rotating, more. Same with heads off and pan off, block scraped, wire brushed, carefully scrutinized by someone experienced: A bunch more, but much less than a magnafluxed and pressure tested one. Verified Merc crank that you can actually see: a bunch more, at least 2-400 for good crank. Add in twenty-five cents if buyer swears on his Grandmother's Bible that it is a Merc with perfect crank and block, fully rebuilt by Don Francisco before it went into dry storage.
When purchasing a flathead, I always assume it's a Ford and not a merc. They can't prove it without showing you the stroke or crank and usually they don't want to open a motor up. I recently purchased one as a Merc with 8BA heads on it pulled running from a mercury car. Just like I thought it was just a simple 8BA flattie.
I couldn't agree more with what has been said already. Proceed with caution unless known otherwise. I can't tell you how many "Merc" motors I've looked at on garage floors and all it turns out to be is Ford motor. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Biggest difference is about a $500 core charge.
My experience has been that only 1 of 4 flathead blocks you find is usable. In the long run it is cheaper to pay three times the price of a block lying on the floor for one that has been pressure tested and found to be good.
I had one of those (Industrial) engines given to me. The heads were not with it. It came from a warehouse in Oakland, CA and was used all day long to operate a moving man elevator (kinda like a moving ladder). It was started and ran just above an idle all day long. It had a Merc crank.
flatheads are the most expensive HP a guy can buy and you do not get much for your money IMHO IMHO that don't mean shit, flatheads the most fun you can have with your money, hell its my money.............
Heads are easy to remove.....so get the seller to do that,...and bring your tape measure. You'll also be able to make a cursory inspection for cracks. 4TTRUK
I have an8 BA industrial in my shop. Came in an industrial frame and has an in/out clutch housing for a pto on the back. I'm sure it didn't come with a Merc crank anyway there's no indication of such?
The Jalopy Journal
