Projects 1934 Ford - Need advice- Rebuild engine or buy another?

Hello,

I am in the process of rebuilding my 1934 Ford Cabriolet and it has the original 21 stud motor. After disassembling the engine, there is a good amount of rust and scaling in the cylinder heads and engine block. Car sat for 35 years in a garage and the fluids were not drained. The sad part is the engine was rebuilt right before it was put into the garage but the restoration never proceeded.

I am not planning on making this a period correct or concourse type restoration. It will most likely be a hi-boy for a while until I can finish all the body work on the fenders.

Question: is there any value to rebuild the original engine or should I replace it with a 59A flathead?
Either way I go, I will not be focusing on making it a race engine or getting the most horsepower. I am more concerned with drive-ability and reliability. This is my first experience with this era of hot rods, I am used to 1960's classics where matching numbers to make a big difference.

It will cost me $2k+ to clean and machine the existing motor, plus new valves. Plus there will be all the cost for new parts, like water pumps, electronic dist, alternator conversion, new dual intake and carbs etc etc etc. Easily another $2k in upgraded parts.

To get a completely rebuilt 59A with all parts it would be $5-8k.

I do like the idea of having an original engine, but I feel the reliability of a later 59A is better.

Looking for advice or insight as to which way other people have gone.

Thank you all

 

If it was rebuilt just before parked why do you need to replace all that stuff? The valves should be easy enough to clean up as will the block,crank and the water pumps will need new seals, not new pumps.

 

Let me correct my original statement. "Allegedly" rebuilt. There is a good amount of carbon on/around the values and not all are sitting correctly. Also the water pumps are full of rust and deteriorating. I have removed them and soaked them in a rust remover which helped but they are still in bad shape. Want to upgrade them anyways to modern more efficient versions.

 

I had the same conundrum when building my 34 pickup. I decided that the original 34 engine had too many drawbacks like it being a babbitted engine instead of having bearing inserts etc. I decided to use another engine. It takes a lot of money to build a 34 flathead to get no more power than you will get out of it in my opinion. You could keep it in case you ever wanted to go back original and restore it.

 

Ho Boy, I'm glad it's not my choice. It's hard to judge from a keyboard, but if the rust is not deep as in pits, maybe the engine could be salvaged without machine work. If it turns over, wipe out the cylinders with a mild scotchbrite pad; lap the valves with a little clovers and replace the waterpump seals. Oil it down and start it up. Bring it up to temp and let it run in a bit. change the oil and try it again. Check the compression. Check for leaks. What is there to lose, but a few quarts of oil. You will gain knowledge and experience, and you may be surprised. Good luck!

 

It may take a little time but I believe you could look around and find a decent, running, sound 59AB or 8ba for a fair price. Done.

 

I'd replace it with a later model 59AB. My '34 pickup had the original '34 replaced with a '48. Still have the original, but I'd never go back.