For some time Ive been thinking I wanted to build a wooden boat. Then I got distracted trying to stuff a V12 in my car (an 84 ferrari 308) and now that the end is at least in site on that project Im thinking about the boat again ..and V12s ..so last weekend I drug home a Lincoln V12 thinking what could possible look and sound better in a 1940s looking boat than a 1940s looking engine. Now heres the problem .I know very little about flatheads in general and nothing at all about Lincoln V12 flatheads. A quick search of the forum found me a few V12 projects but not a whole lot about the engines themselves .so Im thinking a V12 build thread is in order. Here's a few shots of where I'm starting from:
Are the Lincoln V12's as prone to having cracks in the blocks as are the V8 flatheads? What kind of boat?
Literature you need: FoMoCo book "Repair Manual Lincoln V-12 Engines, H-series, 1936-1947" And join the LZOC, lincoln Zephyr Owners' Club, tellem you are rebuilding one, don't tellem you are not restorin a LZ...
Here's a couple shots of the V12 that is just finishing up. It's a 1982 ferrari 400i block, with 1984 testarossa heads force fit on it then the that force fit onto the 308 trans. ....lots of sawzalling and welding and re-machining but now on to flathead Lincolns edit: added the finished bellhousing and heads shots
no idea??? something like this I'm thinking: https://www.boatdesigns.com/19-Monaco-classic-mahogany-runabout/products/240/
OK, found a used one at amazon and bought it. I bought a could flathead ford hop-up books yesterday thinking at least some of the info will translate to the lincoln. I have a flow bench I built which should help with the porting and head selection....if I can figure-out how to get the block lincoln on it and connected.
I wouldn't think you would need a lot of port work. The engine will run very well at 3500, and you wont want to run it faster for long periods anyway. At that speed, it WILL be the best sounding boat on the water.
Well looking at the block that you have I can see that it is between a 1946 to 1948 block which is the better one to use for your project. Also when you are tearing down your engine look on the inside edge where the oil pan bolts on usually there are issues where some cracks were found due to water left in the block from sitting for a few years mostly due to cold weather. If you need more info do not hesitate to call me anytime at 1 (800)7640406 I can help you with this one. Frenchy
Yep..."56H" is exact Lincoln parallel to "59A" over in the Ford line. The siamesed ports lead you into strange waters...there are books from Enland on souping Austin sevens and Ford bangers with thinking on porting theories/guesses for those.
Guys, Anybody deal with these guys? http://empiremotorsinc.com/Car-Heads.htm The guy I spoke tells me he saves orders and runs zephyr pars about every 12-18 months.... and he's running zephyr parts like right NOW. He makes stock or finned aluminum heads as well as smooth or finned 1, 2, 3, 4 2 brl intakes. I'm thinking finned heads and a finned 2x2barrel intake. Thoughts?
I've done a little port work on Harleys and have a buddy who does these for a living so I'm hoping between us we can figure out something that works. On the harleys there is definitely some specific stuff that needs to be done at the split, but at the cylinder itself it's pretty standard.....so I'm hoping that the basics of ford porting apply....hoping......
Thanks for the ID help! The guy I got is from was thinking it was the original engine out of a 1940 he bought that had been fitted with a hemi (of some kind). I will absolutely give you a call! Thanks!
You're right, 3500 is where it will see most of it's life...but it sure would be nice to be able to run to 4500 every now and then. Also I'd like to see the torque up a bit. I know the easy way to get what I'm after is a blower but I'd really prefer to get there with cam, flow and compression....I just don't like the whine of a blower anywhere near as much as the exhaust crackle of hot cams
I love seeing an electric saw sitting amidst Ferrari parts. That is my kind of attitude. Large Balls. You have my respect. Dale Cleveland OH
I got pointed towards this thread on the issues with emi: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=508310&highlight=empire+motors Thanks! I think I can make heads if I need to and I know I can make anything I need for an intake.....I just need to actually do it I guess.
After the Furrarrie project, the Lincoln should be cake. They are extremely agricultural in comparison. It would be interesting to see some H-D KR 750 port and head science applied to the Lincoln. Yes, the Lincoln V12 has a smooth, sexy sound. No, it doesn't make any real horsepower or torque. Maybe, make it pretty, because it certainly won't be fast. Your late 292" was the best version, including an improved oil pump which helped. It's highly unlikely you would have the overbored 306" version produced for a short while, because most of those died an early death from overheating. Today's better oils can help the original short life span. Frenchy and the LZOC guys have some methods of improving crankcase ventilation which will help greatly. Which brings us to the next point; don't bore it any more than absolutely necessary. The walls get too thin Overboring a V12 causes overheating in a car. Since you have the whole lake as a radiator, you can control the temps, but notice the water inlet is on the front of the heads and notice how far it is the rear cylinder. Even with putting cool water in the front, the cylinder temps can still vary too much front to back when run hard for a while, which is how a boat works. Definitely have the block and heads pressure tested and magnafluxed. All the Ford flatheads have some cracks. The good news is many don't hurt anything. Those between valve seats or from a seat into the cylinder or the seat into an intake port can be a deal-breaker. jack vines
After seeing all the aluminum and the saw, I'm a little surprised that the plan doesn't involve saw, 3 Ardun heads, and 50 pounds of welding rod...but it will look better flat!
I don't know a lot about the KR engines (I had an XR) but I can probably find out. What I was thinking is the crazy Y manifold the the H-D street bikes ran for years and years might be similar porting wise to the lincoln.....maybe. Ferrari has been pulling the the coolant out the center of the heads on everything since the 1970s I think.....maybe something I should be considering on the lincoln. If I'm going to make the heads I can put the water outlet any place I please I guess. It would also not be a big deal to switch to a pair of modern waterpumps that have dual outlets then feed the block fromm both ends...or feed the heads and take the returns form both ends. I have the believe this would make a huge difference in the cooling. also....has anybody mess with lining the through block exhausts with anything like a ceramic coating or maybe just a SS liner? i have to thing this would help too???
LOL....I only used about 15 lbs of welding rod on the ferrari I'm thinking more and more the plan will involve weldment heads....maybe taller than stock and certainly some time spend looking at water flow and distribution. I'm also thinking stroker crank...has anyone done a 4.25 or 4.5" crank for one of these with any success?
If you've looked up the exhaust ports, a hard liner is next to impossible. A flathead V8 guy I know sprayed the ceramic coating in the exhaust ports. Seemed to help a bit, but he said he wished he had tried to get it on thicker and done the valves, pistons and combustion chambers too. Also, for the sustained higher RPMs a boat will be turning, you'll want an oil cooler. jack vines
Thanks Jack. I just started the tear down last night I'm going slow and trying not to break anything so all I accomplished is the starter and oil pan off. Question - what do you guys do for an engine stand? When I hung the ferrari V12 on a stand for the local autoparts store (it was like $50) it bent the stand and I know the lincoln engine is heavier yet. My solution was 2 $50 stands plugged together and just grab the mounts on the side of the block and is really solid. The 2 stand creation is a little harder (possible though) for the lincoln though so I'm wondering if one of the "heavy duty" $129.95 type stands from summit, jegs, etc, actually hold this engine safely?
I would want double support, either sideways or lengthways. Even short, stiff engines like 350 SBC sag measurably with single support. Someone on Fordbarn pubished a simple tech on modifying 2 cheapies...I would think only real issue would be slightly changing the axial tilt of the holding part. There is huge use of coating tech in NASCAR and I know there have been good articles in Circle Track.
So I've gotten several emails and a call after I told the Empire guy that I would not be placing an order. What I told him today is that if we can agree on a price for the bare castings and if he wants to cast a set of heads for me at his own expense and let me know when they are ready I'll pop down to inspect them and buy them if they are as good as he claims on the phone. .....I suspect that deal is not what he's looking for though
I'm thinking you're exactly right...I was just hoping to hear "oh yeah, man you'll be amazed how good the heavy duty stand is" All i did to use 2 cheapies on the ferrari was to plug them together then sawzall and re-weld the heads to point at each other. It was pretty easy, probably 2 hours for the whole project. I'll see what google finds. It seems like anything should be better than nothing but the skeptic in me wonders how much can a coating that is only a couple thousandths thick actually do? I guess I've got some reading to do.....
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