My dad and I recently aquired a pile of old Ford parts. In the load was this engine that had been sitting like this for 30-40 years... I noticed the large intake ports and valves right away. We figured out that it was .030 over 3-5/16" bore by 4-1/8" stroke (289 cu in). Once we got the load home, I started gathering the loose parts together... The ports on the intake manifold matched the block, so figured those went together... Kinda the same deal with the heads. They were flycut for valve clearance... to match the 1-3/4" intake valves... I got things cleaned up and found some more interesting bits... Probabbly the most distinguishable part is the welded bellhousing... it's a pretty clean job as seen from the inside. Looks like the block and replacement bell were milled or ground for a tight fit-up. The intake ports measure a pretty consistent 1-1/2" all the way down... I made a quick pattern to compare to a block with stock ports, which measure 1-1/4" accross... The tops of the guides were machined down to match the bowls a little better... They did break through on one port, evidenced by the brass... Exhaust ports are all opened up to 1-9/16 from the 1-3/8" stock... The cam is stamped Potvin and I measured .402 actual lift on both intake and exhaust valves, with .013-.014 valve clearance. This doesn't seem to jive with the specs I have seen for a Potvin 400 or 425...seems to be right in between? Any ideas on the cam grind? As near as we can determine, the previous owner aquired this engine as is. I'd like to find out any history I can. Does anyone recognize the port work? Or the bellhousing repair? A friend said there was an article in a magazine about welding the bellhousing back on a flathead with extensive portwork. Ring any bells? Any info wpould be appreciated. Thanks, Neal
gotta follow this thread...and hope the vast knowledge base of the HAMB steps up and solves the mystery in three pages or less. dj
We still have a few more engines to look through...I will keep you in mind. I got this response over on the Fordbarn... I have some 1959 and 1960 issues of Hot Rod but not a complete set. I checked Feb, Mar, June, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov 1959 and Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, June, July, Aug, Oct 1960 issues and no luck. If someone has the other issues and could check, that would be great. I'd love to find out more about this engine. Thanks, Neal
Neal- I checked the issues you didn't have (kinda thumbed through, and checked each Table of Contents)- didn't see anything remotely close. On the Potvin Cam- you might check with Vern Tardel- Steve
The article is in the July 1961 issue of Hot Rod, page 34. They quoted the flat rate for labor on this job was $30.00 and you supply the junk block for the bellhousing.
OK, I just found a copy of that issue on Ebay...guess I'll hafta wait a few days to see it. Does it say which shop was doing the work? Neal
So it took what ... twenty minutes to do the job? (At todays machine shop prices $30.00 gets you maybe fifteen minutes work) Just kidding. @ probably $10.00 bucks an hour that would be be roughly three hours. I don't think you could flat rate it. It's amazing what could be done back then. Wonder how much a job like that is today (if it is still done). John
Thanks so much for the lead. I just got my copy of that issue... It does not appear to be my engine in the article, but I would say that Cook's Machine did the repair work on my block. The repair looks identical. Pretty amazing what they did in that big old lathe... Neal
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