My 1950 Mercury came with a 351 Windsor from a 69 Mustang, the original flathead was long gone when I bought the car. The car has been off the road now for about 6 years, and the project has now got to the point stage where I have to think about which engine to use... As I want to use it on the freeway for long roadtrips rather than just driven to local shows (it's not going to be a trailer queen)...my question is, do I find a flathead and tweak it for modern driving, or use something else period like a Cadillac, Olds or maybe a Hemi engine...or do I just keep the 351 and dress it up to look period /retro and hopefully trouble free. If I can dress it up to look more period, what options do I have...? The reason for asking this questions is that even though the car is currently in the California and will stay there for a few more years, but as I live in Switzerland, at some point I might bring it over here. Now I might be wrong but I've been told the Swiss don't like non original cars (I'd love to be corrected by any Swiss Custom / Hot Rods guys reading this)...apparently the rules are that I can customize the car in anyway I want as long as the chassis is original and the engine doesn't put out more than 20% more power than the original engine. So...flathead or 351 Windsor...what do you think? Thanks
The nice thing about customs vs hot rods is that you rarely open the hood on a custom, so it can have any kind of motor and only you know. There is no one, right answer to this question. What is right for me may not be right for you. Flatheads are good motors and can be built to perform well and be dependable, but it is just a fact that engines did progress technologically as time went by and a later ohv can give better performance and is made to run the interstates day in day out. If you are looking for strictly period correct, either a flathead, Olds, Caddy, or Buick would probably be the best choices. The sbf didn't come along until the mid 60's and were not the most commonly swapped engine into one of these Mercs. But if you don't care about being PC, there is nothing wrong with the Ford motor. Don
I would run the flathead if it were my choice although I have a 365 caddy motor in my model a truck and I love it but customs with flathead motors are bitching cool good luck with whatever you choose
Reliabilty and doin lots of freeway miles?-351 Klass & Kool (with not many miles being doen) flathead.
If you are going on long drivers and are looking for more power go with the 351W. Flatheads look great sound better and can be reliable with some pep, but get your wallet out.
i'd do more research into swiss law. the mods you make today might not fly over there. why not get some enjoyment out of it here with the 351, then put together an engine/trans combo that will pass swiss registration and have it ready to go before you make the trip over. i'm thinking it's probably easier to locate a powertrain here in the states than in europe.
The 351W is a great engine without a doubt, so I would probably keep it. You are the only person that you need to make happy!
Are you going to be driving it in Ca? If your going to be driving it in Switzerland, & not Ca., the 1st thing is to find out what is legal. If it's just the flatty, the answer is obvious. If you'r driving it in Ca "for a few years" & then the flatty is then mandated back home, leave the 351 in it untill you're about to ship the car.
Now why did I think of that...it's seems such a simple idea. Keep the 351 and use in when the car is in the US and then think about a flathead if I ship it over to Switzerland in the future. I think I've been too focused on what the Swiss might want so it's road legal that I've forgotten the obvious! I can find out what is legal over here...but first I need to learn French ;-) I think I'm going to have to enlist the help of friends to get me through that minefield.
Just don't get too used to that 351 when your driving to vegas or wherever. The flathead is like the hot chick that doesn't really put out! TP
Keep the 351w. Torque monster, affordable, reliable. Finned vc's, bat wing A/C and fomoco blue or black it. Period enough and keep hood closed like any good custom
you'll never make that 351 look period and anything you might try to do so will only look like a disguise. but like I think someone already said, Kustoms are about whats on the outside, not whats going on under the hood... a different approach to consider in making the engine look like it "could" belong in the car would be to give it a phony restoration instead of dress it up in finned valve covers and stuff... Imagine this: use the early 260 style breather tube and non-breather smooth valve covers.. paint the whole engine including an aluminum intake if it has it something like ford green, olds green or maybe grey... with the appropriate black brackets ect... simple converted oil bath type air cleaner and all the factory engine decals it might of had.. maybe even some vintage factory looking valve cover decals... just an idea I dont ever remember seeing anyone do. I have a sectioned shoebox Im considering putting a 351 I already have in, and doing something simular to it... my plan it give it a more late sixties factory look tho
If my memory is correct the 351 windsor came out in 69 and is desirable for the fact that the steel in the first couple years of production were more stronger, say nodular????? Any one know for sure? I say keep the windsor motor.
I put a 351w in my 35 tudor. Great motor - strong and durable. I love y blocks and sometimes second guess myself if I should of used one of them. I think they look and sound as distinctive as any motor and more than most - especially with a pair of glass packs. Still would be "period".
Thanks for the comments...I still have a way to go as you can see from the photos. The car didn't look too bad when I bought it, but as with a lot of these cars there was a ton of bondo and hidden rust to be sorted.
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