Flathead's coming back soon!!!

I share your pain... I was given a 48 Ford flathead by a buddy... cleaned, magnafluxed and was into it for $250.... motor was good. Took it to a local speed specialist for discussion of what was actually needed to rebuild it and the tab hit $4000. It was to go into a nostaglia drag coup...but the HP/$ was very disappointing... so I sold it off and am looking for a 50s olds, buick, pontiac, etc.. but I have no experience with these motors either and believe the tab will be much more that using a boring "350 chevy". Sort of waiting for the new 2011 rules book for displacement groups for salt racing...may go with a small 265/283 or equivalent like an aluminum buick/olds.

 

I've got a French block with a 1986 date code...

 

Bruce, I don't street race[any more] But I do go racin' after work[Irwindale's 1/8th mile] My '88 ranger was a free-be, so, Iv'e got a total of $4500. wrapped up in my project. I had a lot of "stuff" layin' around from back in the day,and do-it-yourselfers do it a whole lot cheeper,and my 304" flat motor sure runs & sounds great. I tell my kids[& grand kids] it sounds just like 1956!............Flathead Ranger

 

That's gotta be the only one.......

I had a '53 Corvette I stuck a flathead in...Even then (1959) the walk-up critics acted like some 'law of the land' had been broken! I loved it! I had lots of flathead stuff kickin' around from the old days too. Sure get snappy with simple trickery.

I'd call that little truck of yours....."The LONE Ranger!"

Wish you'd bring it up to Eagle Field, here in Dos Palos...1/8 mile drags with a flagman!
More than a coupla flatheads runnin', more every time.

 

Waded thru the snow out to the shed & took a couple shots of the homemade tubing. Coulda done better and will next time, but good enough for my girlfriends. Cast soaks up sound, tubes louder than fentons, tractor mufflers, then cam, deep voice boom boom. Most fun part of the project near the end, making the tubes out the back. But JMO

 

A little off topic but does anyone else share the difference in mood/attitude one gets from driving a flathead? When I had my av8 I got such a kick driving it I didn't care how fast it was as it was such fun listening to that thing sing it's song on the open road. The rare stoplight challenge would usually end about halfway across the intersection when the advantage of a 4.11 rearend and lower geared 1st went away and the small block Chevy/Ford came by smoking the tires. Any trip involved how you got there not how fast. In fact more times than not I would look for a longer way to where I was going not shorter.
I've got a flathead project in process now that I hope to be driving in the next year and can't wait to see if that old feeling returns.

Frank

 

I got a car with a 383 and alot more than double the power of my flatty powered pick up...but it's soo nice to look at the flathead, listen to it and it's just something old...
both worlds are nice - the right engine in the right car!