When is it time for a "SBC"????

I have been working on a 46' Ford Business coupe for the last 2 years and finally get it to were i think i can drive it and enjoy it. The first flathead engine pucked a valve seat so i swaped a 51 Merc i bought from a friend and installed it. I had fuel problems, carb problems, ign problems, etc...
I did infact make it to Goodguys in Loveland, the Road Knights run 3 weeks ago and a swap meet last weekend.

On the way home from the swap meet we thought we would run by my dads shop and check out his progress on a progect and about 1 mile from the shop i pull away from the stop light shift from 1st to second and a quick rev and clunk come from the engine, but it still ran!
Well here is what i find today, enjoy the pictures!
Broken Crank!

I get all done removing the engine and survey the damage and my dad asks me what i am going to do? I told him put a small block Chevy in it!
I was joking, but i am taking a beating on this thing.
In the end my dad did offer a 350 we are pulling out of his 32 and to be honest, I am thinking about it.

What would you guys do? I have tried to stay with the Flatty but man i'd like to drive it more than lay under it.

Best part of today was my son got a little more wrenchin experience. he just turned 6 and he has already pulled two engines!

 

You know... if you really wanna be able to drive it a 350 is probably your best bet. Reliable, and easy enough to get parts for!

 

I would say now is good a time as any. Seriously if you want to use it as a real world driver, put it there close the hood and never look back.

 

put a HEMI in it!

 

No way in hell I would ever consider it myself, just too much the easy way out and just too common for my tastes. But, if you are going to do it, you should make that SBC one kick ass sweet looking SBC with finned valve covers, multi-carbs, vintage 50's, whatever, etc. But, don't just stick some 80's looking Camaro motor in there just because it is the easy/cheap solution. Keep in mind, your Dad is taking it out for a good reason probably.

If it were me, I would have your motor rebuilt properly. Might be lucky enough and just find a new crank for it and put it in. But if not in the cards, find another complete running flathead and just bolt it in.

 

I'm usually against this sort of thing, but I gotta agree there just comes a time when a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do.

I would feel a lot better tho if you went with a ford motor, but I understand you already have access to the chebby.... A 289/302 decked out in shelby covers would look cool.

Is the rest of the driveline and chassis up to the SBC power?

 

Get another crank and bearings, and put the flatty back in it. If you want a car that will run forever and you don't have to do anything to it but change the oil, sell the sedan and buy a new Kia. If you want an old car that is still and old car...get that flatty up and runnin. Part of owning an old car is working on them, sometimes because you want to and sometimes because you don't. That crank is no big deal, and a very rare thing to break like that. Throw a worthless 8BA crank in it and get her down the road.

I have only owned one car with a SBC in it...a 39 Ford coupe. I still have the coupe but yanked that borring 283 out it, and it made me feel sooooo much better

 

When they run, do the flatties meet your expectations? Or is it getting to the point where the amount of wrenching makes you want OHV power? That's how I'd answer it. good luck!

 

it's time when the OE engine IS a SBC and needs replacing...even then i might stick something else in there other than that, put something cool in there. or do you not already have a bellybutton?

 

35ratbstr,

Don't think twice about putting a small block Chevy in you '46 ford. The SBC is by far the best production engine ever made. SBC has been in production since 1955, wonder why that is : dependable, fits well, pentiful parts supply, easy to hot rod, runs forever, looks great dress up. SBC maybe like belly buttons, but I'll take one any day over other engines. SBC have proved that it's the coolest engine out there.

CRUISER

 

a pierced belly button is still just a belly button...there's many other places to get a better view

 

Small block the crap out of it !!!

 

**All depends on how you dress up that pierced belly button, the view would be great just stand up and take a good look.**

 

Anytime is the right time for a SBC.

 

just remember they break too

 

Not again!!!

 

I'd grab the SBC and close the hood.....turn the key and off you go....

 

Guys I love my SBC as well as my Flathead - but that break is a rare deal.

If a crank was mildly cracked (SBC OR Flathead) it would'nt make any difference - you'd be in the shit. That crank looks like it had metallurgical issues to break like that.

ANY engine with a faulty crank is gonna go to shit - SBC, Flatty or whatever.

Grab a cheep 8BA crank, grind her .010" or .020" under and away you go. NOTHING wrong with a Flathead - they powered MILLIONS of cars for MILLIONS of miles for over 20 years on crap fuel and crap, archaic lubricants/oils/coolants....so in my books theres nothing wrong with them.

My blown Flathead tells me so.

Rat

 

He beat me to it! ;-)

Seriously, don't feel bad putting a SBC in it. IMO I'd build it traditional style. This is YOUR car, do what you want!

 

since when do used 350s never break down? lol small blocks arent indestructible, even if SOME parts are easier to get then most. they still can break down.

today me and my buddy got points, condensor, cap and rotor for a 239 Y block. off the shelf at autozoo. ive also gotten 216 and 235 parts off the shelf, and a gasket kit for my 331 off the shelf.....

so... you throw a rod in a chevy 350, or you throw a rod in a 390.... youre still in the same craphole.

 

I see my SBC as a 'place-holder', just until I get a Hemi in running condition. Maybe you could do the same, until you get a proper reworked flattie, because IMHO, that is really what should ultimately be in a '46 Ford.

 

Exactly my point brother !!

Rat

 

you have to do what your gut tells you to! you wont be any better off asking this question here because your gonna get a 50/50 response from every chevy lover and every ford fanatic out there! dont even read any more posts on this subject. just go start fixin that car the way YOU want it!!!

 

Save the flathead but put what you want in the ford,from Hemi to staight 6.they all can be used with the room under that hood. I choose to go with 1960 389 pontiac,not a belly button by any means ,still working on it after 18 mos. and 10 thousand bucks.Consider ,do you have all the things to go with SBC,split bones,Transmission,bellhousing ,driveshaft ,MII ,steering ,open rear,you will snap the axles unless changed.Brakes that will stop that puppy? Unless you use the flat head be prepared to sink a few thousand in all these components.Your cheapest way to go is with the flathead ,done right.

 

As much as I love the look, sound and feel of a flathead I'm putting a 283 in my 38. It will look very stock right up to the air cleaner similat to what a lot of guys did in the mid 50s. They about doubled the horesepower of their cars just by putting in a stock junkyard motor. Thats was hot rodding on a budget.

 

It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. You can always put something else in after the SBC craps out in 15 or 20 years (or when parts get hard to find for the SBC in about a million years ).

 

Good move-after the reality and/or adversity begin to suck the life out of a project, a small block Chevy can be the cheap, fun, easily attainable, adaptable, dependable, common-sense, powerful, efficient, (stop me if I'm hurting anyone's feelings) repairable, attractive, up or down grade-able powerplant that will get you back on track. I have 2 nailheads, one 324 Olds, a straight 8 Buick, a Y block, a straight 6, and sooner or later, there is flathead in my future. I like and appreciate alternative (or original) engines, BUT-give the little orange motor it's props. It has a history as long as almost any engine on the board, a production longevity and interchangability we wish Hemis and Nailheads had, and a racing pedigree that can only hope to be equaled by other makes. So-run it and be proud. Running a SBC does not mean you threw in the towel, gave up, or couldn't make something better work. It means you are going to drive your car for looooooong time. Best of luck with the Ford.

 

Couldnt you have rpaired the valve set in the first motor and had a spair? Anyway for me the SBC came when I decided I was to old and tired to do something else. I just wanted a runner. Well it didn't quite turn out that way. It never stops what ever you use.

 

Man, if a good, running motor is the only thing between you and the road, why the hell not put one in? May as well be driving it!

~Jason

 

put the 350 in until you get an flatty that runs good and then swap it out.