Hot Rods Frozen 8BA Revisited...

I think you will have a very good engine when you are done .
The block looks good and it also has the factory hardened valve seats,,,,if it wasn’t for the getting damaged from the water,,,I bet it was a well maintained engine,,with low miles .

How are the crank journals,,,,do they mic well ?
You might get away with just a clean and polish on the crank ?

I am also wondering about something,,,,,the dimple in the crank counterweight for the Merc stroke .
Are the Canadian Mercury cranks the only ones with the dimple cast in ?
If so,,,would this be to distinguish them from Ford cranks,,,at a glance ?
Maybe to help in assembly,,,or when repairing at a dealer shop .
I am just curious from anyone that might know .

Tommy

 

Is this for sure correct and have you ever seen a flathead in a 1955 ford? Not doubting your word, but I am always interested in obscure automotive history.

 

A flathead in a Canadian 1955 Ford was an option when ordering a new Canadian 1955 Ford. Probably Henry Ford trying to use up some of the leftover factory flatheads. Personally I have never seen one.

I did have a full set of Ford 16 inch wheels a couple of years ago, that had the later 4 1/2 inch bolt circle to fit the new 1949 drums. These wheels were offered by Ford for only a couple of months before the changeover to 15 inch wheels. These wheels were standard equipment only on Canadian Meteor and Mercury cars in early 1949.

 

From what I have learned in my research the dimple is the big identifier as well as the width of the large counterweight with the Merc being 6-6 1/8" across the flats and the Ford being 5 1/2”.
The crank looks good but I didn't mike it. However the manager at the shop did a quick check with his finger and said it looks pretty good. I then asked him when was the last time he had his finger calibrated...

 

Yes it is but I presume someone installed a Merc cam at some time of me.

 

Well the block had its bath and when I stopped by today they did the magnafluxing. A couple of smallish cracks with Ford part numbers as the joke goes, one smal crack just enters a cylinder so a sleeve will be installed, and an interesting double crack. No big concerns but I was kind of hoping for a perfect block. They had a block of the previous design in the shop with no cracks at all! But next step may be a “heat and blast” and then the machining. Take a look at the pics...

 

Oops... only one tiny crack and one medium despite the extra pics.

The two shadowy area around the centre water outlet have cracks but no biggie. Just a teeny tiny disappointed, hey it came with a Merc crank! And they are not at all concerned with the valve seats. Got to pull the plugs and clean the crank and then magnaflux it...

 

No one interested...? Ah well.

 

Just noticed this is a Featured Thread! Wow... Now get in line and show some respect by commenting! LOL

 

Congrats and much respect...

 

Haha!

 

Sorry man,,,,I was out last night and just got home from work today .
It will work great,,just a few smalll cracks .
What about the one into the bore,,,I didn’t see a pic of that .
Either way,,,a sleeve will save it !
It should make an excellent engine !

Tommy

Ps,,,,I got lucky with mine,,,,,,it was crack free,,,I had heard from all the others about horror stories of buying several blocks to get a good one .
I was prepared for the worst,,,the big Boss was smiling on me !
I think you came out great .

 

I feel the same way. And those horror stories about cost have me puzzled. Boring is boring, grinding is grinding, polishishing is polishing... perhaps some have been taken advantage of having a venerable flathead worked on? I have another block that I can see some small cracks but it may well end up as a display piece.

Fine display of respect by the way towards a "Featured Thread"! LOL

 

I was surprised to see that Alec's Automotive is still around, so I looked them up on the Interwebs. Depending on how you look at it, they're over a hundred years old, unfortunately had to move out of town due to "progress".



https://theprovince.com/news/local-...ving-vancouver-to-make-way-for-rental-housing

Oh yeah, how about a picture of the crack to the cylinder?

 

Yep, they went from Fraser Street in Vancouver to Russel Avenue in Burnaby which is only a handful of miles to the east and very close to my neighbourhood.

 

It's really cool to see one of these little flatties being built...You might be interested in the little trick this fellow is doing with his block...https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1932-henry-ford-hot-rod.1182783/page-3#post-13481290

 

Are you using aftermarket 3 ring pistons and modern moly face rings?

 

I haven't got that far yet but I was thinking about it.

 

I have been keeping an eye on that thread already but thanks for watching mine!

 

Hey Nailhead, thanks for all those likes! Did you buy them in bulk? LOL

I spoke to the owner of Shadbolt Cams today. He advised me on getting his M60 profile which is similar to Isky's Max1. I'll drop off my stock cam to get reground next week. Shadbolt's have been around since the mid fifties and they have a cool decal! I have to see if I need different valve springs.

They will also resurface a set of original Johnson adjustable lifters I have in another C8BA block I have that was rebuilt at some point. I'll check the cost of new ones in comparison and see which is a wiser move. Of course I have to get off my but to remove them.

 

lookin good so far, spend the time to remove all the gunk in the water passages, time well spent........

 

The block will be heated and blasted...

 

I had my cam reground with a 3/8 Potvin profile.
The lobes look beautiful,,,,,excellent machine work .
Pete in Washington reground it for me,,,he’s on the Barn,,,,as Pete,,,,I think he is on here as well,,,,not sure if he has the same handle here ?
If you need it,,,,I can look up his contact info ?

Tommy

 

Oh yeah,,,after I had my block cleaned,,,,it was awesome .
You still need to wash it out well though,,,,,,after the baking,,,my water jackets had lots of funk in them .
Simply wash the cavities out,,,,lots of junk came running out.
After that,,I air dried it with a hose,,,,,the water jackets look almost new !

Tommy

 

Pete1 contacted me about a grind. I believe it was $225 plus $40 shipping but with the Canadian dollar at $.72US (Thank you Covid 19!) that comes out to roughly to $366 CDN so a $210 grind locally is way better.

By the way, I stopped by Alec's to chat about the block this afternoon. They'll send it out for a "heat and blast" next week. Monday I'll drop of conrods, oil pan, oil pump, etc for a bath. I'll have to see if the oil pump is in good enough shape to re-use. What should I look for?

Rob at Alec's is not wanting me to spend a ton of money which is a nice change. As an example, he advised me to bring in the set of original Johnson (sp) adjustable lifters for an inspection and a re-surface if practical rather than buying a new set to save me some money. He's working with me rather working to increase his profit. Very nice in this day and age!

I retook the pics from last week which I'll post. Three tiny "Ford part number) cracks, a tiny one that goes into a bore so a stitch and a sleeve, and the two weird ones at the upper centre of the deck which will be stitched.

I'm in no hurry and I'm enjoying the education!

 

Sorry man,,,I didn’t think about the exchange rate,,,,,either way,,,,Pete does a very nice grind .
He completely ground the shaft between the lobes and the reground lobes were perfect.
And for the price,,,you can’t hardly beat it,,,in America.
Canada is a different story,,,,that is a very good price for the work in Canada .
Is the guy in Canada giving you a special rate ?

Tommy

 

What grind did Pete recommend? What ever he recommends go with that. I ran a 1007B he ground for a 286 I built and it was a great motor. Sounded great pulled hard and was still easy to drive on the street even when I had a 3.12 gear in the rear. I think a lot of guys over cam their motors then end up disappointed with the performance.

 

here's a couple more for ya lol ...I always appreciate detailed pics of this kind of stuff and seeing something saved instead of replaced

 

That was the standard rate but speaking with the owner last night, who happens to be a club member, he mentioned somewhere in the 10-20% discount so I'm doing pretty good. And they have been around since the mid-fifties so they know what they are doing.

 

Yep, I've heard that from the owner of Shadbolt's.