Hi,I recently bought a ford flathead engine but i am having trouble identifying the heads the casting number is 1CM and the block is C1BA.I'm thinking it's a merc 255 engine but I don't know.can anyone help?
Sounds like a 49 mercury head number (1CM) but I don't know about the C1BA, did you get that off the intake? One way to tell more accurately is if you pull the pan and check the front plug on the crankshaft, it should be 5/8" if it is a mercury and 3/8" if it is a ford. I have 3 mercury motors, 49-50-53 and 3 mercurys a 50 and 51 (4drs) and a 53 tudor. later, 31acoupe
C1BA should be cast on the block somewhere. The C designates it as Canadian mfg. Sounds like you have a 51 merc but you won't know for sure without pulling a head and measuring the stroke. Some Canadian mercs are reported to have 3/8" plugs so you'll probably have to do more than pull the pan.
Too true - heads are too easy to change on a flatty to have any sort of guarantee they're original unless you've got documented history of the engine from new. You can also check the crank by measuring the big counterweight - Ford = 5-3/4" & Merc = 6" (these are approximate) Also, be sure to check out Mac VanPelt's awesome site: http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_home.htm He's got a great section on IDing flatheads
Only way to tell anything for sure is to yank a head and measure stroke--a ruler is good enough to distinguish between 3 3/4" and 4. The head numbers are US if no C at front, block is '51 Canadian Ford which would also have been used on Mercs. I know that at least some Canadian Mercs got C1CM aluminum heads, and of course the Canadian intake was aluminum with dif configurations for automatic and stick cars apparently--at least I have two different C1CM manifolds.
I pulled a head today and measured the stroke,it is 4'',also engine has domed pistons.The serial number stamped in the block on the intake surface(right rear)is PD3500, thought this would tell me the build date but it doesn't correspond with the info I found. Can anyone help?Is this some odd ball engine?
Sounds like a real Merc, all right. All post war flatheads have domed pistons, as do most pre war. Canadian date codes don't match US date codes at all and some date codes are just beyond my ability to decipher. I wouldn't lose any sleep over date codes. They are interesting if they work, but otherwise the engine will tell you what it needs. There were only so many variations of parts made for flatheads, and they didn't vary dramatically in most years.
Sounds like you've got a good start I've got a '50 Ford truck motor that's got 8BA on the heads, a '49 date code on the manifold, and alot of different stampings on the block, none of which make any sense. There's even one that looks like a shoe and a backwards "S". Flatman
[ quote=Flatman]Sounds like you've got a good start I've got a '50 Ford truck motor that's got 8BA on the heads, a '49 date code on the manifold, and alot of different stampings on the block, none of which make any sense. There's even one that looks like a shoe and a backwards "S". Flatman[/quote] Hey Flatman, Can you tell me how to date code the heads and intake? I have an 8RT I'm going to rebuild to put back into a 52 pickup. I believe the engine to be original. It was an early production 52, and the engine is stamped 1BA (1951) on the surface the fuel pump push rod bushing fits into. This would seem right. Any help would be appreciated.
Originally there were millions of those motors; some in cars. Some in combines. Some on irrigation pumps. Some in fork-lifts. Some in boats. Shipped (by FMC) to Brazil/Argentina/Austrailia/and I don't know whatt-alll. There were an estimated 300,000 just in US Government fork-lifts alone. Some are finding their way back home. Some found their way all the way to the melting pot, only to be tossed aside at the last minute. It's odds-on that over half of them were worn out, two, three, ??? times and taken to rebuilders, stripped and stacked. Put together, they culled out the best pieces from the less-than-good, mismatched parts, etc. Now, what was junk in 1960 overhaul shop is gold to us. 50 years of taking out, putting in, overhauling, storeing, added to the mix. So don't think you can ever nail down the DNA, there are just too many variables, but that don't matter anyhow. Be thrilled you have a 4" stroke crankshaft.
As far as I know, the heads were cast in large lots, so I figured ford just used spare 8BA heads on some trucks. My intake manifold was stamped 7/7/49, so I'm assuming that was either the casting date or assembly date. My block is covered with different stampings, I'm guessing that a stamp was put on after each stage of the engine machining. Flatman
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