What kind of fuel efficiency would one expect from a V8-60? I am meaning one in a 1938/39 Ford Tudor/Fordor. I am looking at one for a potential project. Thanks.
sorry, early in the morning,,,,, I think v-8 60s are cool motors.... have you ever driven a 38 2 dr sedan whith a 60 in it?.... not much fun........ and honestly ,,,,its ok for a early sunday morning drive like going to church but it is uncomfortable on the interstates and local highways. They are the perfect motor for early midgets /sprintcars ect. It would not make a difference if it got 50 mpg...to me....economy and hot rods don't work for me....just my 2 cents
Real world driving, about 25% better than the 85HP. In other words 22mpg instead of 18. And 30% slower. Might be cool in a very small light car but not a full size 38/39 Ford.
My friend had a 60 in a model A that would get about 18-20 mpg. When it let go it was replaced with an untouched 85 and the mileage stayed the same. Nothing wrong with a 60 horse but it's going to work harder for less performance than a slightly larger flattie
so, is the 60 already in the sedan? since you are concerned with mileage guess you are planning to use it for long drives? loaded with p***engers? small motor with small power. hope you will not be going up any steep hills. either go for a bigger flathead or maybe a two speed rearend.
both of my grandfathers bought new 1937 Fords with 60 horse motors. both told me those engines are unsatisfactory
Backward thinking, even though the numbers crunch, it does not work, less HP better mileage The 38 Tudor is a 2800 lb car, with no cargo or fluids. The 60 hp is going to be working as hard as it can to move it and that is not a mileage maker. With optimal gearing you may get as much as 16 mpg and you will be lucky to get 12.
Thanks guys, I am contemplating a car in the area either as a donor for the engine or keeping the engine in the car and just using it for some driving around town. I guess maybe I should hold our for a bigger flattie and skip this one. However, I could always use the engine in a project (speedster would be my ideal project) and plop a bigger flathead into the sedan. Anyway, I like the car that I saw, so I might get it just because it is affordable and pretty complete. Can't beat it for driving around town. My off topic "car" (lifted Jeep) gets 16mpg on a good day...
I agree with the consensus...the engine will be much happier in something that weighs closer to 1,500 pounds, the Ford will be muchmuchmuch happier with a 59A. Ford in the 1930's published actual standards for car economy, top speed, and acceleration with instructions on the testing; this was so that if a customer complained about performance, the dealer could in a fairly empirical and repeatable way declare the problem to be mechanical or driver related. Tests were run on level roads to eliminate some of the variables, and economy was measured at steady speeds using the standsrd Zenith mileage tester that is detailed in Model A and 1932 bulletins. The 1938 60 HP was expected to get: 31.6MPG at 20 28.4 MPG at 30 25MPG at 40 18.6 at 60...4.44 axle! This is level road, staedy speed, so eliminates much of the real world problem of acceleration and climbing ibn a car that was too heavy for the motor. These were MINIMUM standards...in other words a car that could not pull those numbers needed work. Since the big problem here is working the engine hard to accelerate or climb, I suspect the 60 figures would be MUCH worse in general driving.
Modern speeds were not an issue of that era. The "freeway" speed was 55 until not too long ago. I imagine when these cars came out, traffic flowed slower and they were actually just fine for regular traffic driving. That is pretty interesting information about performance! Thanks!
The 60 was a good engine--they put them in Simcas (French Fords) up until '59. The only thing wrong with them was that they were put in a car that was too heavy for them--they even put them in trucks up to 1 ton. I can only imagine what a slug a 1 ton truck with a 60 HP flathead would have been, probably right up there with the '41 and '42 pickups that had the 9N tractor 4 bangers. In the heavier vehicles, they had to use stump puller gear ratios so they could pull their own weight. In something very light like a sprint car, a T bucket or A-V8 roadster they were great. Not unlike the '85 Caprice wagon we had with a 305, it would have gotten better mileage with a 350, worst slug I ever owned.
Welll...an 85 was generally geared at 3.78, a 60 at 4.44 because it needed the gear to give it some pull. Huge difference in cruising right there... Accel to 60 was about 10 seconds longer for a 60, top speed 10 MPH lower... AND because of the gearing, at 60 MPH there's only about 1 MPG difference in economy! The 60 simply needs a much smaller home.
My son recently was asked to remove some s**** for an older gentleman, he had a complete V8-60 motor from an old 34 5W race car....unfortunately the block was cracked and JB welded....they pulled the motor out of the creek behind the old guys house. I'll most likely clean it up and put it on an engine stand for display.
I have an 85hp one out of a '36, but need to somehow get it onto a stand and pull it apart. Its just kinda shoved into the back of my garage on an engine stand right now. It moves freely, just gotta get a place where I have space to work on all of my projects
A 60 hp has only a 134 cubic inches. The model "A" engine is a little over 200 cubic inches. I have two v8 60hp engines on display. I do not think they will ever run again. They are cute. One has a welded side plates on both sides of the blocks. They were manufactured by Ford this way. A friend built a bucket T with a 60 HP. It is cute.
"I'm keeping a flathead V8 to run on a stand in the garage. I wont ever drive another" Blasphemy.................. <!-- / message -->
The "tin sides" were an effort to lighten the engine. Same with the '37 tube axle. Ford knew the little 60hp V8 would be over worked in the heavy full sized cars, and made the half hearted effort to lighten them a bit. The tube axle was dropped in '38 for cost reasons. The welded sides lasted 'till mid year '39. Also dropped for cost savings. Ford had developed the process and machines to weld the stamped stainless sides to the cast iron blocks, The welds are beautiful, but cost time and money, and Henry hated losing money. The guys running midgets and 135 hydros preferred the cast iron sided blocks as they were stronger. The '40s had .100" larger rod journals. The sharp engine builders would use a '40 crank, offset ground to '39 bearing size, in a late '39 block to create a stroker.
Ford of England had big economy concerns since they were selling American iron in England and on the continent, and put the 60 into use almost 2 years before it was available here...but they were no fools. They ignored the availablity from Ford of the 60 for big trucks and simply kept the Model B engine in production as the economy truck engine, up to at least 1940 while Ford USA continued to push the ridiculously mis-applied 60 and the the N motor as economy power. Ford England also developed a line of slightly downsized Fords, the Model 62 introduced in 1936, especially for the 60 and this became a successful car line built also in France and Germany. Big English Fords continued to get the 85.
You must be a youngster. The 55 limit came out in the early '70s as a result of the Arab oil embargo and was meant to save gas. Prior to that, most states had speed limits of 70 and most western states didn't have a speed limit at all. To the V8-60 - great little engine in the right car. A late '30s sedan is not the right car. Give it to me and I'll stick it in a Model-Y where it belongs!
A guy here in Houston put a V860 in a 27 Ford T roadster along with a Model A Ford rearend and frontend and drove the car for 30+ years, then sold me that engine and installed the V860 "crate motor" he had bought all those years ago. I hope he, or someone in his family, is still driving that car today.
I had a 60 in a half ton pickup with 4.44 gear. It needed that gear just to get moving and up hills if I was carrying anything at all. I wouldn't dare drive it on the interstate. Anyway, those old Ford speedometers lie like a rug so you think you may be going faster.... But I doubt it would do 60 without killing it.
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