Being in Europe can be difficult for Hot Rodders. Parts have to be imported and cost twice as much. But sometimes being in Europe has its advantages. Like when you find a complete, running French Flathead V8 for sale just down the road. With just 300 hours on the work counter and a March 1987 casting date! Yep. 1987! Sent from my SM-G935F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I've heard of replacement parts but which division of Ford produced flatheads in 1987? If it is Ford of France how does it work...as in please explain how this was possible and is it still an ongoing thing?
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/flatheads-still-rule.1029561/#post-11655495 Good Score @edwardlloyd
They were manufactured for use in military vehicles, but are no longer produced. There are some differences from the older designs. In the late 90's a large stash of NOS blocks was imported into the US and made available for sale. Various rodding magazines and websites have stories about these French engines. I'm sure they have been reposted here on the HAMB and/or Ford Barn.
injection units / plug wires are shielded for military radio. most all military rigs have them back to ww2
Thanks @chickenridgerods Theres a link in the thread below to So Cal selling the blocks... Here's one... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/french-flathead-blocks.1077411/
The story was that France inherited a lot of American military trucks with Ford flathead V8s after WW2. They continued using them for many years. The government commissioned a manufacturer to make replacement engines from scratch. They copied the WW2 era engine with a few improvements, the block casting is heavier and can be told from a Ford block on careful inspection. In the 90s they finally got rid of them along with a warehouse full of new engines and parts, this is the horde that made its way to the US. I should think there are still army surplus trucks and motors in Europe, especially France.
So what happened to the castings and moulds, and why hasn’t someone got a hold of them to make more blocks ? Does anyone know ? Thanks
.........Just guessing here, but I would think that Ford might still be able to charge a huge licensing fee if someone were to attempt to build them again. That said, and like yourself, I'm curious if the molds are still around or if they have been destroyed.
Ford cast Flatheads in Germany up until the 1960s. In France they were being cast by Simca up until the late 80s or early 90s. This was to fulfil long standing military contracts. Sent from my SM-G935F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Well that story was written by Disney. Ford had manufacturing plants in Germany, France and England before and after the war. Flathead V8s were being cast before, during and after the war by Ford and Simca who worked with Ford. The Germany military built and used Flathead V8 trucks during the war and fought against French troops in their French Flathead V8 trucks, British troops in their British flathead V8 trucks, US troops in their US flathead trucks and Russian troops in their four banger Model AA Gaz trucks. And Henry earnt royalties on every one built. After the war European military contracts demanded further delivery of Flathead V8s. Sent from my SM-G935F using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
yeah..mine is from 86, rebuilt by french military in 93 with 5kkm on it so at least one hotrodder advantage in good ol europe
I had one until recently, which on inspection had adjustable valves from the factory! Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
That’s what I want Emi-Sul I found one on Ebay Brazil last year but no shipping & too big of a risk for me .
Casting date on mine is 1977 and had the cast aluminum front sump pan too. Mine is 255" with 4" stroke. All SAE threads in the block, but the exhaust studs are 10mm metric on the receiving end. TIP: leave the studs in! They are a bitch to get out, and chance damaging them. I made my own anti chatter rods and there was a provision in the bell housing to drill. Need to use a 59a oil pan.
Looks like the French v8 60 with the heads like an Ardun, I read about it years ago in V8times. Simca built them if memory serves me right.
There were also regular 59A looking aluminum pans, and since French Ford was making flatheads since before the war there are normal flatheads without all the strange stuff on the back corners. There were front distributor ones and others driving the distributor vertically off the oil pump like an SBC. Many wartime German motors had a blocked off location for the early front distributor with a rear mount sparker in back. AND they had a timing pin, like a Model B to make timing painless. German wartime Fords were able to get updates into 1942 production year since we entered their war so late...changeover was from 99 type motors to 21 type as in USA. A wartime story is that the Benz trucks could not survive long in combat because of a notion of precision different from ours: If an engine needed a new crankshaft, for instance, it had to be fitted by a fully skilled mechanic/machinist who could work with bearing scrapers and file to achieve perfection as viewed by Germans--using an essentially 1910 route to perfection. With a Ford Germany truck, any crank and any set of bearings from the parts stash gave you a fitted crank ready to go back to war, and this could be handled by a drafted farmer with a couple weeks of training.
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