Featured History Is the flathead making a comeback?

.......I so feel your pain. We must be Bruthas'...LOL.

 

Around this part of the country, I would say that they are not making a comeback. Not enough people with lots of money to build a flathead.

 

When the clouds block out the sun, it’s still out there
so as for the ford flathead v8, it may have been overshadowed by other engines but it has always been there.
In/out of style? The answer is the flathead is the definition of style

 

I think in the last 10 years the flathead has become more popular because price of them and parts have gone up and gotten harder to find. I personally wish everyone would preach and believe these old myths about them and stick with their SBC and the trendy LS engines. That way V8 flatheads and parts for them would become worthless. Then I could buy all the rare speed equipment and hard to find blocks I could ever want. The flathead is a very reliable engine, most guys who talk down on them have had very little personal real experience with them. My uncle and aunt Drove their 50-ford shoe box all over this country of ours and used it for the daily in between all these trips. Due to today's highway speeds the fact is the old 3 spd has got to go as you will kill a flathead engine trying to maintain today's speeds. The T5 5spd is a flathead fords best friend and will breathe new life into a flathead ford. I personally love the ford V8 flathead. I personally own over 35 of them and at this point in my life I do not plan to ever run any other engine in any of my builds.

 

Flatheads have been " in " ever since Bud Bryan installed that flathead in the Rod & Custom magazine 1929 highboy project car. That was back in the late 1970's. Flatheads have been gaining popularity from then until now. The flathead has never been more popular than it is today.

 

Maybe for thee but not for me….never owned one even tho I was a teenager in the 50’s and certainly have no intention at 81. Many friends still have them and I am genuinely happy for them..

 

By the time I was into cars, the flathead era was pretty much gone. A few inline flathead 6s were still around, but that Ford flathead V8? The only one's I knew about were steam gushers, they were lucky to make it across town during the summer.
The flathead inline 6 motors were slow, low power slugs, only suitable for low power or slow applications, like fork trucks or farm equipment.

Not being a Ford guy, a flathead V8 only means trouble to me, I don't ever see myself owning anything a flathead V 8 would belong in, so I don't need to pay much attention to anything flathead V8 related. I do own a couple of Mopars that originally came with flathead in line 6 cylinder motors, neither vehicle came with a running version of that flathead 6, and neither will ever live here with one in them. I did own a running Mopar inline flathead 6 once, I was thrilled to unload it to the guy that was willing to hand me $75 for it.

Is the flathead (any flathead) making a comeback? Only to those that are excited by that prospect and want to see it happen. Some people just like to see old things come back into style, it makes the hoard of stuff they have kept for years become more valuable.

 

And that is me! I love the V8 I have but what I am looking for...longing for, is a flathead, straight 8. Packard, Buick...I want to buy a runner, preferably with the transmission, tins, manifolds and bracketry. Hell...frame, cowl and grille too. Anyone hording some pre 30's Buick goodies? And not you reading this on the east coast in your jammies! I need a Westie to respond. You can't transport over the Rockies this time of year. How about a complete project pre-30 Buick? I'm your huckleberry.

Hell, they're out of date, not as cool as SBC, not fast, too heavy, not desirable, too expensive to work on, not dependable, can't buy parts at NAPA... I'm willing to take it off your hands. I'm doing you a favor here! PM me.

 

It's like asking a Harley guy what appeal is.

'If you have to ask, you won't understand the answer".

 

Flatheads Have been making a comeback for about 30 years now. And for many good reasons. I appreciate your enthusiasm for them. It is surprising to me though, that you just found out about them. I guess that means that they don't get enough exposure in the modern world.

 

so true. back in the 80's my buddy had a Sportster then stepped up to $12,000.00 worth of FXR SP while I rode my $2500.00 1984 Ninja 900 and had 5 times the fun than he did. if I were going to spend 12 G's to go slow I'd have bought a Knuckle or Panhead.

 

Still Love The Flathead After 60 Years...

 

Is the flathead making a comeback? I think it may be more popular than 20 years ago ... maybe, just maybe. I've had a few and am happy I have the one I do today. Fun, easy to drive in a '50 Ford Tudor.

Interesting tid-bit. Over coffee this morning I was talking to a friend that is toying with the idea of putting one in an off topic Pont. Fiero. I won't dwell on it here but it does show that Idea of a flathead as a possible alternative to the original power plant is still alive and well 94 years after it was first introduced. Truly the stuff hotrods are made of.

 

Making a comeback? Possibly, but not for me. I spent more money trying to find a good flathead block than I spent on the entire engine, trans and rear end that I ended up using in my latest project. Love the flatties, but kind of lost interest in them after shelling out good money for six different engines...all cracked.
I try not to think about the dual carb '58 Imperial 392 and trans I had originally intended to use...was stolen before I could get it home. Wish I had some of that money back

 

Bud started that project in the late 60's, completed in early 70's...

 

They've always been popular with me, there's always been one around for the last 75 years. Have a couple of good ones dis***embled in the shop now...

 

Just bought one in October, wanted something a little more "tricked out" for my 48 coupe that has a later flathead in it but hasn't run for a couple decades. The most I've ever spent buying a engine but wouldn't surprise me if less than half what previous owner had invested (estate sale). Came with Offy dual carb intake with 2 chromed 97's also. My son bought the coupe it's in.

 

Nobody goes, "Oooooooh!" when they see a small block Chevy.
Andy

 

I do
If its a cool sbc.

 

I don't think Flatheads have ever really gone away, particularly when it came to traditional builds. I do think LS engines have significantly eaten into the prevalence of the Gen I SBC.

For builds where tradition and a period correct aesthetic are paramount, the flathead is always in style. But a Gen I SBC can be displaced by the LS is many more styles of builds.

 

Flatheads are an expensive anachronism. The Ford V-8 was king until the OHV's made them a relic. Nobody wanted to go slower, it was all about power and speed. Today, most guys never saw a flathead until it became trendy again as something different. I'm old enough to remember a flathead under the hood, my father cursing at the 51 Ford that would never start. Now it's guys crying about belly ****on SBC's or LS engines. But remember, nobody wanted to go slow. 250 HP in a hopped up flattie is no speed demon. I never wanted one, but can appreciate them as a period piece. Comeback? Well kind of. In the 60's until maybe the 2000's they were unknown to most. But yes, seeking to be different has flatheads making a comeback. Sadly the prices of the remaining parts supply have become unreasonable. Always loved those copper heads like Federal Mogul with a couple of Strombergs on top. Just not for me.

Now on the other hand a blown Hemi, an Olds 394 engine, or a Caddy with a log manifold seems pretty cool to me. Supercharged BBC is nice too. Nothing wrong with SBC's. Cheap to build, look good and will run rings around a flathead. In Spanish we say "para gustos se pintan colores" which equates to everybody has their own tastes.

 

I like slow cars

 

Actually, depending on the engine, some people do.

 

The only time I’d “Ooooooo” over a sbc is if it has some rare speed equipment or a Rochester Fuel Injection

 

Never built a car to make you go ooooooo

 

I’ve built a few that make you **** all over yourself especially whenever I would leave the wheelie bars off​

 

Dairy Queen has the same affect

 

I'll add in a couple of thoughts:

1. The French military used flatheads into the 90's. Not sure if all the talk about bad blocks applies to those as well, but my pops had a stroked and bored French block flattie with a 3-71 in his '36 3-window. Pretty serious cash in it, and it would occasionally barf coolant despite no apparent overheat. But at least since it wasn't my money, it sounded absolutely bad*** and ran really hard, thanks in part to the T-5 in the same car.

2. Doing things differently is fun, but at least for me, I've kinda been there, done that. I had a 292 Chevy inline six built for the '63 Biscayne sedan in my avatar, and getting right to the edge of streetable power with it sans turbo, it made about 300hp/300ftlbs. Sounded great and ran hard, but the motor was a pain in the ***. After running it for a decade, it was consuming oil at a rate of ~1qt/400 miles, so I pulled it and went to a crate Chevy 350 SP 357. Hell, I even got a warranty with it. Being able to confidently get in the car and just drive it anywhere is a big priority, and the inline just wasn't trustworthy anymore. I imagine a similar argument could be made for a Flattie, especially if a person has more than one flathead-powered car already.

 

I am waiting on the comeback of early Hemi's.

Then maybe anyone who always wished they had one would actually buy my spares.

 

I almost listed this February 1971 issue of Stock Car Racing, glad I flipped it to see what the features were. The Danbury Racearena was one of the last tracks in the USA to race Flatheads on Saturday nights. Sure do miss the races, NEVER shop at the shopping mall that covers the grounds today.