Can you imagine seeing an endless stream of brand new flathead motors rolling down the****embly line all day long? Up to eighty fresh engine blocks every hour? When I think of the sweat equity that was literally poured into each engine part at the Fo... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Amen! Mine's still ticking along. Could use a valve job, but it's all original and I can set my watch to it. Thanks for sharing!
Coolest engine ever. My first one is in my '52 Merc right now and I am excite about driving that thing all over. I'll for sure have another in my '32.
Goo-goo, gaga! That rules! Speaking of birth, I just fired my first one up for the first time on sunday. It's like nothing else I've ever owned. It sounds like a pure pillar of soul.
This brought to mind something that an olde time mech told me. He had a one man garage and I used to go to him with questions on workin on cars. 'Ol Charley' at his Red Star' garage. I was about 17 and my buddy needed a valve job on his 48 merc so Charley said he would give us a deal if we did the grunt work. we tore the flatty down and then since he was too busy he eventually showed us how to do most of the job, even the grinding. He said that flatheads usually needed an overhaul by the time they needed a valve job. Well, we didnt have money for that, but ol Merc ran great cept for a little more smoke. I wished I could go see him again, he had a wealth of information about all old cars, course they werent so old then.
If it's history and film you like about flathead Fords try any of Loren Sorensen's compilations: Yokohoma Model A The New 1932 Ford V8 The 35-36 Fords The 37-39 Fords It's Ford for 1940 The 49 Ford in Your Future These are the ones I have on videotape. I'm sure he has offered them on DVD? There are others for later 50s cars and probably 1933-34 which wasn't out when I got the others many years ago.
That threading pic reminds me of something. Anybody ever wonder why we have to be sooo careful when threading a new hole and still break a tap occasionally but the factories could and can thread multiples holes really fast? I know they must break a tap too but certainly not all the time.
there is a foundry just north of here that if the fire were to go out, they would never get it to run again. Cool stuff
We have a melt grid that was made around 70 years ago (give or take). There is new easier technology around but our customers demand the material still that this old grid makes. It's tempremental to start up and takes 8-10 hours as opposed to 15 minutes with the newer stuff but once running, it just runs and runs. In certain products we have little to no competition because this old technology just can't be replicated today in a cost efficient manner. Not everything new is better.
"Can you imagine seeing an endless stream of brand new flathead motors rolling down the****embly line all day long?" This made me wonder if anyone is, or is planning to reproduce flathead blocks? Several other old blocks are made brand new again, how about the old flatty? Seems like everything else for a flathead is reproduced.
Having worked in a cast iron foundry for over 25 yrs. and being on both sides of the ladles and the furnaces that supplied them, I definitely understand what 'sweat equity' means. I used a little more safety equipment than Dewey,but the job's basically the same as when he did it. Believe it or not, I sometimes miss it, Cat!
Flathead is definately the coolest motor ever made...I just started building mine...59ab with a 304ci stroker kit...edelbrock 4x2 intake, harman collins mag, harrell heads
done 80 times an hour.....in 1950, AWESOME. Working with production builds, this kind of achievement in itself is amazing. More photo's please... Cheers, Drewfus
I go to hear my flathead run for the first time tomorrow . Its finished and ready to come home ... I can't wait
One of our club's members just last week told me the story of the big US-sourced machines finishing the flathead surfaces over here in Cologne's Ford plant. Remember they still made fresh flathead V8 in 1961..... Actually I have a VHS tape of the German flatheads being built and tested in 1936: http://www.historischer-filmservice.de/ford-am-rhein.html
The Rouge plant was simply an industrial revolution masterpiece. 8,200 workers turning out 90,000 casting per day. That's insane! If a modern day foundry were to tool up and produce flathead blocks (with a few improvements) we'd see a lot more flaatty powered Rods on the streets.
I've just scored my first flattie, a "59AB". I don't know much about it yet, except that it resembles a boat anchor right now. But with the******* attached, and for only $120.00, IT'S BEAUTIFUL!
On my recent trip to Detroit last week I drove by the Ford River Rouge foundry and gave a big tip of the hat. Amazing when you think about it. Slim
I was raised with flatheads, Daddy had em, Ive got 3 in my fleet now. A 59AB in my 46,an 8B-A in my 51, and a 8EQ in my 51F-8. They all run like a top. Thank you Mr Ford."Real motors don't have valve covers." Just in case, there are extras for each vehicle, motors and*******s. He who dies with the most flatties wins.
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