Technical Convert overhead to a flathead?

Yes, Jimmy ran without cam bears-I don't know how Ron was set up.

And I agree- most of all of grinds on vintage engines are based on Winfield grinds, but they work great.

I'm also curious about the exhaust on the above flathead. Etwheels, can you provide more pics and info about the exhaust?

 

All in all with the many questions its still way 2 cooolll IMHO

 

I'm guessing he did it just to do it. Which is a very good reason. But I sure hope we find out from the builder.

 

Wow, that's just wild!

 

We made the engine for street rodders that wanted a good strong bottom end, and that could use late model overdrive transmissions, and was a true flat head with looks of a vintage flat head. We didn't go for any class at Bonneville and didn't know if it could run in any flat head class as the that time it was a one-off engine. The project was started about 10 year-ago and rolled over in the corner 5-6 years ago. So all of this talk is kind of funny for us. The pictures are early in the project.

Blaine

 

Progress.

 

Thanx for posting Nailing It.

This is hot rodding ingenuity at its best - overcoming challenges and making it work.

Well done for having a crack and making it happen and don't worry about the naysayers.

Rat

 

As for the "special" cam, somethings just have to be special. It's a stock 351W blank, with the largest lift for a flathead using a factory hydraulic roller lifter and a SBC valve pattern. Even the big name cam grinder that we used said "we get funny requests but what? are you sure!"

The only special machining on the block was some notches at the ends of the valve alley for the middle two cylinders bolt in exhaust manifolds.

 

Excellent work - very impressed indeed.

Did it still have that flathead sound? That's one of the major attractions of the engine for me. A strong bottom end and better cooling would be other plus factors.

Also it looks great...

 

Thanks for posting. If you have any more pictures showing the engine with the heads off or any thing, I am sure many people would like to see them. I know I would.

 

Yes not no more conjecture.

A quick question that I am sure would answer itself but no guessing here, do the pistons climb up into the deck extensions? It is all piston top and not the ring lands?

 

Very cool project.
I like.

 

I see the center 4 cylinders exhaust out the top. And the end four out the bottom. Is there a reason you didn't go out the side with the end 4 as many aluminum filled Flatheads do. Would shorten up the port.

 

1. Compression ratio would drop heaps = much less power.
2. Why would a 351 suddenly become a 409? The capacity is based on the bore x stroke - adding a bigger low compression combustion chamber doesn't increase capacity.
Why the hell would someone want to do it, and if they did, why the hell would we (hot rodders) want to celebrate - just because it was done?
This thread sounds like bullshit to me.

 

Well the whole idea of another continent on the other side from us and people walking around upside down sounds like bullshit to me.

 

I think it's marvellous. (Lots of heavy tech can be seen in 'Street Rod circles', as witnessed time and again at Goodguys' events.
Dick Beith being the kingpin here validates it for me, in spades.

Conversely, I also recall another 'flathead' venture at a Goodguys event: Pleasanton, 1989. We were in the main Commercial building, walking past the booths...
Here was a flathead, on a stand...Brilliant candy apple red paint, Chevy water pump...
Hey, Waitaminit! This SBC had a pair of 'valve cover hats' (cast aluminum finned heads, actually) that bolted onto the Chevy heads, at a glance it looked like a 59AB!

Never saw anybody run 'em, but Mr. Beith's flattie is truly a flathead. I love it, and don't care how fast it goes.

 

As for the pistons Dick found a manufacture of some SBC pistons that had an extra .200" on the entire top of the piston dome for someone to do their custom dome, we left all of it on and let the top of the piston come up out of the block by .200" and fill the combustion chamber. We never did calculate the combustion ratio.

Because we added the conversion plate to the top of the stock deck we stretched the rods by that amount, so yes it has a very long rod if I remember right 7.5". For the crank we used a Scat crank with a 4" stroke and the it has a 4" bore. That is why it has 402 on the top of the cylinder head, as the engine has 402 cubic inches.

As for the sound Dick said that it had that flathead sound.

 

We (hot rodders) should celebrate it JUST because it was done!

That's hot rodding at it's finest. Doesn't matter if you like it, don't want one, etc. The work done is the very essence of hot rodding!

Sometimes it OK to do it just because you can!

 

As for why the exhaust didn't come out the end of the heads is it was not built for racing, it was built to look like a vintage flathead in a street rod. And if you wanted to go for the racing look with a blower on top you wouldn't have to think about the bottom end taking it.

 

Thanks for posting-the more I study it, the more cool I think it is!

 

Was the work done CNC or by hand? If you can replicate it -- I want one.

Outrageously cool.