Hey! I’m building a 32 roadster with a flathead motor. Now its time to put the motor in the frame. I have a 59ab engine with what I think original water pumps. When I put my engine mounts to the water pump, I cant lower the engine between the frame rails. For example the Firestone roadster have the engine mount circa 1 inch from the top of the frame.. Are there various water pumps? hope you understand what I meen.. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'm not exactly sure what you are asking but on my car I wanted the flatty lower inside the frame so I built my own mounts (bolt on) and placed them as low as possible. The water pump mounting surface is just below the top of the frame rail now. You can see from this early build photo what I did,
Just that! But why cant I lower my flatty down between my frame? As you can see at the pictures my mounts dont fits between the frame rails.. are my frame to tight? Your water pumps, are they original? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Dont remember the word, but where the front spring is fixed, are from a model A.. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
To me it looks like your rails were brought inward at the front a bit more than a stock 32. That would cause the problem you are finding. It doesn't matter if you use a stock 32 front crossmember, or an A, whomever built the frame might have narrowed it and pinched the rails. It's kind of common on modern hot rod builds. Not so much on traditional style builds.
Oh, I get what you saying. Sorry, I wasn't following you. I clipped this photo off line It is definitely narrower than mine
Can be just like you saying! Need to look at a original frame or Google some frame dimensions and compare.. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
No idea on fitment but here is the website. I'd check with Mike at HandH or maybe flathead jack. I've spent money with both and they have a lot of knowledge. https://partbull.com/auto-part/a1-c...MIqpujte6b1wIVDnR-Ch0qngQ2EAQYBiABEgKHEPD_BwE
I am like Billy Bandit in thinking that there are more than one water pump design with the other having the bolt holes for the mounts inset somewhat. The other option an possibly simpler would be to source a smaller diameter rubber mount. The rubber part for 55/57 Chevrolet mounts are 2 inches in diameter 7/8 inch thick and have a 7/16 inch hole. 4 of them would make a pair of 2 inch diameter mounts. They should be available in Sweden from vendors who sell parts for American cars. They look like the ones in this link. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ani-2123/overview/year/1957/make/chevrolet/model/bel-air
How wide is your frame at the front tip of the front horns? Stock spreader bars are just a tad under 23.25 and the pinched spreader we use in our chassis is 21.5. Add 1/4 for the total thickness of both rails. Also depends if the chassis builder used the 1/8 inch thick spreader bar reinforcements between the spreader bar and the rails. Most boxed rails are 2 inches wide but I recently changed frame boxers and now they are just under 2.25 wide. Lots of variables.
What year flathead are you using? A pre-48 uses a different pump than the post-48 truck style pump with the similar foot. They look very similar but the dimensions are different in some fashion (wish I could remember exactly how). I just ran out and looked at the flathead (pre-48) in my 32 and it looks similar to yours, but maybe not. I mounted mine a bit lower than yours, more closer to original height. The top of the biscuit on mine is even with the top of the rail. But my feet on the pumps don't look as wide as yours. The biscuits are definitely partially covered by the top of the rail, but maybe not as much as yours. It's hard for me to tell because my fenders cover up and overhang the rail a bit.
the 8ba's pulleys stick further forward for the belt to clear the distributer shaft... 59ab's don't...
Put a plate on the inside of your frame on the inside bottom, gusset it to the top and mount your engine.
When we build a flat head chassis we use the same mock up block and pumps for an early or late block. Never any fitment problems to date.
I know the 52 merc flathead I picked up had wider mounting points than a earlier flathead Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The early '38-'48 car/truck pumps have the same basic design and mount spacing as the '48-'52 truck pumps. The differences are in the pulley position and support extension.
The '49-'51 Mercurys used truck-like pumps, except the mount arms or tabs were higher on the casting, and about 1" wider overall in spacing vs the truck pumps. The '49s were wide belt, '50-'51 were narrow belt. The '52-'53 Mercurys used the same narrow belt pumps as '50-'53 Ford cars. (The '49 Ford pumps were wide belt) The '53 trucks used the '49 car pumps, because of the new F-100 front center engine and straddle mounted bell housing mounts.
Okey, there are some different water pumps and mouldings.. which pump do you think this one are? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Just ran out and stretched a tape on our 32. We have approximately 22.5" from the left frame rail to the right frame rail. Measured at the top of the rail at the edge to the opposite frame rail edge. This 22.5" is the distance between the frame rail edge at the motor mounts. Hope this helps.......................
Looks like we have the same distance.. have you lowered your motor between your rails? Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
My flathead is placed 3/4 inch above stock Ford at the front so I could still use the stock transmission mount, but I needed a little bit of upward clearance for a tack drive off the nose of the crank, above the crossmember. If you are using something different for transmission, you can place your engine as high as you want. You have a clean slate.
Another option is to setup the front of the block to use original 32 mounts - which are inboard, bolt to the front of ALL flathead blocks and have nothing to do with the water pumps. Then, you can cut the "bull horns" off the water pumps. To me, this is the best looking setup and matches the way that Henry originally did it.
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