I don't post on here much, 'cause I haven't had enough progress to really merit it, but today I got running the '41(?) flathead I pulled at Pick-n-Pull (yeah, you heard right) from a '37 1-1/2 ton truck. The quick story is, was a local farm truck, they got it running, but couldn't sell it; went to PnP. I stumbled upon it and got the motor out of there for about $165 carb to pan w/extra parts. Appears to be a '41 (freeze plugs in pan rail); has 59A heads; no marks on bellhousing or intake deck, has late (short) cam marked simply "T"; has adjustable lifters w/drilled bores; was wearing diving bell distributor and a Holley 2100. Actually hoping from the indicators that she's a 99T (one can always hope), but don't want to pull the heads right now to confirm. I just ran water through 'er, filled 'er with oil, added a rebuilt diving bell with the junkyard plug wires, a 12v coil w/dist coil adapter, added a working carb from my uncle's '50, and ran fuel to 'er. Had great compression, so today I tried lighting 'er. The video, if it works here, is proof she ran after a little futzing. If it doesn't, blame my lame cell phone and go to my 'build blog' in my signature. http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg133/hopdup-rpu/twicelucky/?action=view¤t=0912081416.flv Oh, yeah, goin' in a '26 T roadster on A frame, all pre-1950 (mostly pre-war) parts I've been hoarding for years; 1 pic attached, more at the blog. Hooray!
Thank you; I'm thrilled! Everyone told me she'd probably run, but it started up so quickly, it surprised me. I'll try posting the requisite "gunning the motor, annoying the neighbors" cellphone video tomorrow if I get a chance. Gotta hook up the water pumps and radiator so I can run 'er for a while without overheating worries.
if i am not mistaken, 99 should be stamped on the right side front on the intake deck.. that may be a little easier for the moment before head removal..
I think there are a few positive tests to know if it is a 99. Raised intake surface (closely follows contour of the manifold. not all 99 blocks have this, but I believe all that have this are 99's) Trapezoid water passages. "99" Stamping on the deck. Pencil test. (could you rest a pencil on the ledge right above the timing cover?) There may be others I'm not aware of.
My grandfather, who had many flatheads told me when I was very young, "if it will roll over it will start, if it will start,with time,it will go down the road." Now I know there are exceptions to this little quote but the main thrust was a flathead is durable and not much will kill it save for stupidity and/or neglect. Frank
yeah....but does it have oil pressure also i was told that the freeze plugs in the pan rail were pre 1940 tk
No raised intake deck; don't want to remove heads right now to look at water passages; surprisingly, no 99 on intake deck - I looked pretty carefully for this. Pencil test: just tried this; I'd forgotten this test. Thanks for the reminder! It's actually a fairly wide ledge; plenty of room for the pencil to rest. The picture below appears to attest to it being a highly coveted 99T block? (I hope?)
BTTT Any feedback on my pencil test results? I'm not sure if this means 99T, or just confirms pre-war (which I knew by the oil pan rail freeze plugs).
I got about 30lbs oil pressure at cold idle. Haven't run it longer to check hot. You're right about the plugs. I checked back at the Van Pelt Flathead Site and the rail plugs are '38 to '40, perhaps some early '41, before the raised intake deck, it appears. I think mine's a factory rebuild, since there is a star and other seemingly random stamps in the intake deck. I'll get a pic tomorrow. In the meantime, can anyone let me know what the results of my "pencil test" mean? Thanks.
Here's the video. Sounds great, and a nice score at $165! <embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i247.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid247.photobucket.com/albums/gg133/hopdup-rpu/twicelucky/0912081416.flv">
Thanks, Goztrider, for the direct placement. If I know what I'm doing, which is questionable, here's a placement of the longer video I shot just before the one above. It was too long to email to my photobucket account. <embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://s247.photobucket.com/flash/player.swf?file=http://vid247.photobucket.com/albums/gg133/hopdup-rpu/twicelucky/0912081409.flv"></embed>
thats a great score , the only flatty i saw in a salvage yard recently was a boat anchor had moss growing on it and was open to the elements , the rest of the truck it was in was paper thin rust to , and the operator wanted $400 to pick parts off it said no thanks cya
I think you've only proven it to be prewar. 99 stamp went on some '39 and 40's, which generally had the bulges for the lower freeze plugs. '41-2 had the raised surface for manifold...this stuff probably did not exactly follow year breaks, and externally 85 and 239 looked alike. Supposedly, not documented. the 99 stamp allowed the bigger engines to be identified at assembly line, and was dropped when Ford started painting the 239's blue instead of Ford green.
Thanks, Bruce, for the response. I was hoping you might weigh in here. The definite answer will have to wait until I pull the heads, whenever that will be. In the meantime, I'm just pleased to know I got a cheap, running junkyard flathead that runs!
The Jalopy Journal
