This question probably has been asked before ,but....... how much HP can a Flathead V-8 make.Like a modified but streetable engine using maximum displacement and no supercharger,thanks
I know guys that spend as much as 10g's to get 200 hp. Kinda lame if you ask me. They are pretty but not very powerfull compared to most any OHV engine.
Not very much. They aren't a very efficent engine. But flatheads aren't about power so much as they are about a look and sound. They are distinctive to look at and and have a sound all there own. If you have a power goal, a flathead may not be the best engine for you.
Without going nuts, a well assembled street flathead with the usual array of speed equipment (heads, intake, cam, headers, ignition) will probably be in the 160-170hp range.
Heathen has got it right. I just built a nice flathead for my brother-in-law and I'm also fortunate enough to have access to a dyno. Here's what we got: 3-5/16" x 4-1/8" SU1A cam Nice valve job factory relieved block Edelbrock Super Dual intake with 2 Stromberg 48's Lucas ignition Home made headers His cost if I didn't do everything for free....$7,500.00 H.P. was 176 Build a flathead because they are cool. Build it because they have "wow" factor. Build it because they are the Harley engine of cars. But don't build it on a budget looking for the most HP per dollar. Matt
...and if you don't think that 176 horsepower will do a good enough job of getting you down the road, keep in mind that when the horsepower race got into full swing in the mid to late '50s, some of the Detroit automakers were a bit "liberal" with their ratings, to say the least. There's an article in a 1958 Hot Rod about hopping up the new Ford 352. The factory rated it at 300 horsepower; the best the HRM staff could get out of it on the dyno was 203 horsepower!! This worked to Pontiac's advantage in super stock drag racing, when NHRA took the factory ratings as gospel. Pontiac tended to rate their engines closer to the truth than some of the other makes, and therefore had a 30-40 horsepower advantage over some of them.
I drive a flathead powered coupe and it's not about the horsepower.........it is about the traditon and the soul that a flathead posesses......they ruled the dry lakes and Bonneville in the '30's and '40's, up until 1953 when the OHV motors took over....... Don't build one if all you want is speed and HP.......build one for the look, the sound, and the soul! Brucie
I'll add this: The almost stock, early, flathead (dual intake, headders) in MBL's 26 T roadster HAULS ASS! It's a power to weight thing I guess. My buddy has a 31 rpu with a flatty with a PM7, Baron heads, and I don't know what internals, and it flys as well.
The following article may shed some light on flathead horsepower performance: http://www.fordbarn.com/earlyv8/forum03/messages2/5034920.html
Don't build one if all you want is speed and HP.......build one for the look, the sound, and the soul! that is the most correct and well said qoute i have read all year.
I asked the same question a while back on the MSN Flathead site. Ended up hearing the whole story about a 500hp flathead, saw pics and 1/4 mile times, etc. But, you could hardly tell it was a ford flathead in the pics. They ported the center exhaust out the top of the engine, strange looking dual plug heads, it was all modified. I like how Fox Valley put it, these engines are the Harley engines of cars. If you wanted acceleration and superb handling in a motorcycle, you're not going to buy a Harley, would you? (btw: I just joined the group of people who've spent a lot of cash on a flatmotor, to get about 150hp if I'm lucky....I was wondering if I'm crazy, but the sound and the cool factor is just plain unbeatable) Gary
I run a souped up Flathead in my Deuce 3W. that I put together. If I had two bob for every time I got asked "what kinda motor is that?" I'd be retired by now. I have a lot of gearhead mates who know nothing about flatheads, but you should see their face when I fire up the old Flatty and take'm for a fang around the block. PRICELESS. As far as Im concerned, unless I luck onto an early Hemi for without re-mortgaging the house, the Deuce will only ever have a flatty b/w its frame rails.... Cant beat it for nostalgia feel, sound OR period correctness. No way !! As the ad says......PRICELESS !!
Does anyone have a good video of a flathead running, I hate to say this but i've never heard one run. I've seen a vid of a banger run and thats interesting to say the least. I've always thought that if I ever get around to affording to build a rod then it would most definatly have flathead power because of the soul and heritage that is in them.
you can go fast in a flathead but it wont be on any budget. nitromethane, ardun OHV, 8BA or Merc block with a girdled bottom end, aftermarket crank & rods. really expensive stuff. but these days, a guy who runs a competative flathead probably does it for self satisfaction not because its economically (budget) safe. nitro, ardun... runs in the low 8's @ 160mph on the 1/4, digger now belongs to don ferguson... i was told $28k-$32k for a competative OHV'd flathead, w/o a chassis, (this includes the price of the Ardun heads). these guys got a lot of mileage from this particular motor both at the lakes (bville/el mirage) and at the drags. sorry, went on tangent!
Yeah there is just something about a flathead but they are sick expensive these days. If you want a vintage motor that is more powerful but you are not going to see look at some of the other obsolete engines out there. There are still small hemi's out there in just yards and barns and there are TONS of y-blocks. I am really loving my y-block. Desktop Dyno says it will pull around 310 hp and 375 ftlbs with parts that I am pulling out of swap meets and ebay for cheap. The only thing I am paying a ton for is the custom headers with jet hot. They stuck one in a hotrod on overhauling and it looks awesome. If you are going for pure style though... get the flathead. BTW Nice to see you Fox Valley... Its Chris Breton
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