This technology is getting better and possibly cheaper every day, I think that it will be fairly common in the future to be able to manufacture your own needed parts. I know it's possible now if you have the funds to make a wild variety of items on 3d printers and Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machines. As time passes I think this technology will become cheap enough and widespread enough that the persons with more available fundage, it wont be me, will be able to just manufacture a complete flathead engine at will. I'm thinking that hard to find parts will become much easier to obtain in the future. It's happening now but as time goes on it'll become less expensive and more widely available. http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2013/05/parts-making-with-your-cnc/
CNC-machines has been around for a long time, but sure, they become more capable for every year. Still, they are very expensive so manufacturing complicated items in them becomes expensive too. Even just the metal billet to mill an engine block out of would cost quite a bit, I think.
Irony, oh IRONY! I started with 2 big, baddies in 1957. I was young, and older members of my local hot rod club came to my rescue with all kinds of cool parts...59L block, punched .125", WITH Silvolite pistons...Merc crank came from another member, (these guys had "Gone Overhead"...Olds, Cad, Chrysler hemi...and 2 Desoto Firedomes, all took the places of their 'Father Flatheads'.) I bought some stuff, (set of Edelbrock 9.0 finned heads, $20...Edelbrock 3 jugger, with 97s, $25.) Harmon-Collins ducoil ignition and Weber F-2 cam, Johnson adjustables from an older 'mentor'... I had a 274" ready to go, and the BIG one was 304". (older guy (25!) had it in his '32 roadster, sold it to me for payments, $10 a week, 5 weeks!) Took me a FEW YEARS to 'break free' of flatheads, then kept 'going back'...you know how it is. (Diehard?) Thought I'd 'kicked' them, but pal Larry M. brought one over here from San Jose. It was in a '34 pickup... Torn down, for one piston with 'stuck rings'! Now I've got everything (again!!!) it's .040" over, stock crank. Pistons are new, or I'd stroke it... I have Hemis, Olds, Chevies (small & big blocks) FE's, Y block 312, full race BMW 4 banger w/Weber side drafts... 460 Ford/Dove heads, and other flatties. Had NO flatheads, NO MORE! Then...Suddenly, I'm right back in it... Oh well, it'll give me somewhere to put one of these '39 boxes...
I doubt it will ever get cheap enough to filter down to the 'average' guy. Billet blocks have been required in NHRA supercharged fuel and alcohol classes for about 15 years (look up Eddie Hill's last run in a fueler for the reason why) and those cost $8K and up just for the bare block.
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