Should I put a flathead in my 1950 mercury?

I was thinking of putting a flathead in my 50 mercury, and was wondering if anyone runs a flathead and drives long distances? Are they a reliable engine for road trips? Any problems running air conditioning with them? I want to try and stay traditional. I was going to have a stock 50 merc flathead rebuilt by a guy who only builds flatheads. He has years of experience building flatheads. I don't care about a fast engine, but I just want something reliable. My other choice is to run a 302. Also what tranny do you guys run behind a flathead, and what gears should I run in a 9 inch if I use a flathead? Thanks for all your help in advance.

 

If you don't already have an engine in it and you have the cash or the flathead in hand I would probably choose the flatty over the little ford. I like the little ford real well and normally would say no to the flatty but given the choices and the car in question I am going to say stick with the flatty.

If you keep your gear pretty low and you can lay your hands on a merc 3 speed with an OD that is a good choice or a lot of the fellas like the S-10 five speed. I like the old merc or ford units better in an old beasty like yours.

 

If you plan on running a/c then you don't want the flathead. They are reliable engines but a/c tends to bog them down

 

Thanks guys! I bought a merc to part out, and it has the stock merc flathead with an OD tranny.

 

I disagree,there are a lot of Flatheads with air built right they won't have a problem. HRP

 

You have a starting place then. I have never been a big fan of the later OD automatics that everyone seems to love, but the old Merc/ford od trannies found a soft spot in my heart a long time ago.

It has been a long time ago ( late '60s) but a friend and I had a merc hard top with a flatty and an OD that we shared. We drove that sucker on long trips all the time about every where from San Francisco to Pocatello. Of course we didn't know that it wouldn't make the trip, ignorance is bliss.

 

I hate shifting so I planned to run the Flat-o adapter behind it to run a C-4..as much as I like the flattys, mines going to come out for something a little bit more modern probably a 302 also with some goodies...

 

I ran a flathead in my 52 F1 pickup for many thousands of trouble free miles...First, I converted to 12 volts....12 volt GM alternator...electric fuel pump...Edelbrock 2x2 intake(vintage, not a repop), two Stromberg 97s, Mallory dual point distributor and Mallory 40,000volt coil, new water pumps w/ceramic seals, mechanical oil seal at the front of the crankshaft, stock oil pump, and tubular headers going into 2 1/4" pipes all the way to the back bumper w/ Cherry Bomb glasspacks....The radiator was made by US Radiator w/4 rows and it was spectacular....never got above 190 while driving and up to 220 when in traffic w/7 pound pressure cap....I drove this flathead for about 25,000 miles over a four year span....the only trouble was a no-start one morning...that turned out to be a bad condenser....so go ahead and drive that L head V8 !...Don't be afraid to go anywhere any newer vehicle would go....I used a 1969 Torino Toploader Close ratio 4speed and a 3.92 rear axle ratio....no overdrive either. you might want a 3.50 rear or something more highway friendly...real hotrods have three ( 3) pedals.

 

I have a SBF in my Merc but I always planned to use the Merc flathead for a hot rod project.

 

yes you should put a flathead in your 1950 Mercury.....and yes they traditional....and yes you can drive long distances with them.

 

Put a SBC in it, Im doing that to the 51 my Dad bought brand new! SBC's are like a sore pecker, you ca'nt beat em!!

 

Yes!

 

I think you will regret the flatty.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy

 

To answer the OPs question...

Yes, absolutely you can run a flathead as a daily driver. Tens of millions of people did for decades.

If you're seriously looking at logging lots of highway miles, then you'd want an overdrive setup (sounds like ya got one) or lower rear end gears at least. This comes up because, well, in 1950 there wasn't much sustained 70-80mph travel in this country like we have today.

If you're running an Sanden compressor I doubt you'll notice much if anything, these newer compressors take about 5-6hp to run, that's not enough to really feel.

If you want to be über traditional and run some 50s-60s York/Tecumseh compressor then expect it to slow ya down a little.

I'd do it, and I'd run a Sanden compressor, convert to 12v and make sure I had my block flushed out and flowing well, damn good water pumps and a damn good radiator, maybe an electric fan depending on your driving conditions.

If you have to go OHV, then why not get a Y block or a Olds rocket or early Hemi or something fun like that?

 

Back in the mid '60's I bought a clapped out '49 Ford, Flathead and OD. It had a ton of miles on it. I commuted 70 miles a day in that Ford for three years. That old float boat loved to cruise down the expressway 65 - 70 all day. A good Merc motor will pump out an easy 110 HP with a couple hundred pounds of torque. It'll do the job.

I never even dreamed about AC back then. Always thought it was cooler to hang my arm out the window. Got too hot, I just flipped the wing vents around and scooped in the air, bugs and all.

 

What did people who bought these cars new do? Replace with an overhead? No....they drove them. To work. On vacation. To pick up and haul lumber, furniture, hookers, etc.....it worked in 1950, why not now? Do you have functional vent windows? If so, you have a/c.

 

The biggest drawback I had with mine, was if issues occured while cruising. We drove my buddies 51 monarch all the way from Michigan, and it almost made it all the way. Had to make a few fuel bowl gaskets out of stuff along the highway before we found a parts store, then had to make one out of cork since they didn't carry it.. that's the fun part. Availability when you need it...

 

If you have to ask ….. Then the answer is no.

 

Ditto! A top notch improvement.

 

put what you want but a sbc is a good choice

 

"and what gears should I run in a 9 inch if I use a flathead?"


Why on earth would you go to the expence and trouble to put a 9 inch Ford rear end in your car when you plan on running a flathead or sbf....? The rear end in your car is a Dana 44 and very reliable and tough...parts are available as they used them up into the mid 70s, plus you don't have 4-1/2" bolt pattern in the back and 5-1/2" in the front. The stick and overdrive that you already have is good for going down the hiway at 75 MPH or more. I have a 50 Merc with a Caddy/Hydro and stock rear end with no problems and many miles...Forget the 9 inch, keep the Dana 44.

 

SBC ??? Eech , Yup like sore pecker NOBODY wants them.

 

As great as a sbc is, it is not always appropriate. A sbf is also a great engine, easy to find parts for, and relatively inexpensive to fix/maintain. The flatty would be bitchen in your merc, and I hope to have a flathead merc myself some day... However I do understand the resources involved in getting one together would be greater and more expensive than the sbf. Don't be worried about driving any of these motors every day... People did when they were new without hesitation and neither should you.

A cookie cutter sbc seems to always disengage my interest at car shows... Just my opinion.

 

More than a cookie cutter custom? In the rows upon rows of custom mercs at a car show how many of them are really any different than the next one.

While I don't think that the SBC is the best choice for the merc I do believe that it is at least as good a choice and certainy a more traditional motor than an SBF. If I were going to throw a valve in head in a merc custom and wanted to remain traditional I would lean toward a tricked out cadillac or olds. They look more correct, fit the engine bay well and in reality, aside of from the initial cost of getting it restified, it is just as reliable and econonomical. Most of what you would need for a roadside repair can be carried in the trunk and should be whether you are running a ford or a chevy or a ??? anyway. Very few people that are cruising are actually equiped to do major repairs on the side of the road and you very seldom break down in front of an autozone.

Oldsmobum,
This is not directed at you it is just a general bit of food for thought. To say cookie cutter or belly button chevy as a rule just makes one sound like a parrot. As everyone is well aware parrots are not the most intellegent animal in the world they just have a knack for repeating what they have heard. Often what they repeat is not something that they have heard from someone who is very high on the IQ scale and some of what they repeat they have heard from someone whose family tree has very few branches.

It is hard to call anything a belly button until you know what is on the inside, the external is just a little superficial. What you are calling a belly button may very well have an offset crank, one off heads or even camshaft. It may be balanced and blueprinted and well capable of pulling stumps all the while being dressed for the ball.

Well you can get them in a crate can't you. You can also get a mopar and a ford in a crate. Well lots of people use them, on this site lots of people use flatheads and hemis as well. None of those are valid arguements.

Maybe it is time that we stop being parrots and lend a little thought to what we are about to say and why we are going to say it.

 

Just stuff a small block Chevy or Ford in it with an overdrive and leave the hood closed! Customs always look best that way anyway. Flatheads are beautiful, but if I'm gonna put up with all the crap that it takes to make them run hard, it's going to be in a small light roadster where it is part of the theme of the car. Like I said, a custom should never have the hood up anyway...

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Amen! As I said in an earlier post, if you put/leave the flathead in the Merc you will regret it.

 

You must have good reason why he would regret the flatty in his merc.

If not I guess its Squaaak Squaaaak, Polly want a cracker.

I will be the first to admit that I am not a flathead guy because I like the extra zot on tap. Never the less this is what he said:

I am thinking that he wants to remain traditional and doesn't care if it is fast. My biggest concern with a flathead properly rebuilt is the fast part, I like fast. Properly built a flatty is just as reliable as any other engine that we use, maybe more reliable. One thing for sure unless he builds it for the salt flats it will never rev high enough to come apart.

They are a belly button motor though. No one wants a belly button motor.

 

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