Alright. i'm pretty excited. next week i pick up my first hot rod. 41 ford coupe. no engine. no trans. body is ok. but here's the dillema. cant find a flatty anywhere in my budget. so what i wannta know is, would it be worth it to throw a 351W in it? i know a gut who knows a guy who's got one layin around, or should i go with ole reliable 350 chevy? i wanna run a dual stromberg setub on it either way, does anyone make a manifold for a 351 that will hold double 2 barrels? i have absolutely no clue, up until last week i never had any reason to look into ford motor stuff, always been a chevy guy. help a rookie out guys.
Depending on what you want your car to do, the sbc is going to be the cheapest as well as the easiest way to go and I know they make multible stromberg carb intakes for them not sure if they do for the 351w. The problem with a sbc is that everyone has one. I'm a fan of flatheads myself. I run a dressed up flathead 6 in my 50 ford. The motor's a real crowd pleaser. Goes down the freeway just fine, gets good mileage, the only thing is she's not fast but I have her set up as a tail dragging cruiser. So like the commercial says "whats in your wallet?"
exactly the thing. A flatty is WAY out of my budget right now, i'm only an apprentice, so ya know the kind of money i make, haha. I already have a SBC sitting in the garage, but like ya said, everybody has one. thats why i was kinda leanin towards the 351, but the same guy who has the 351 has a 289 layin around too. i'm not too worriedabout tons of power, just enough to cruise and have some fun ya know? so if there's anyone out there that has some info on manifolds for either a 289 or 351 lemme know!
dual strombergs look just right on a flatty, but they look really weird on a small block ford. 3 of them look good on a small block chevy IF the engine is an early one, with the early heads, small damper, no pcv, a generator, etc. Maybe you should take your time and do some more looking around, you might get lucky and find an engine that fits more with what you want the car to be?
makes sense squirrel. no, my sbc is a newer one, w/ pcv. guess i'll just finish the chop and the floors while i'm researching the engine goodies, but i'm open to other opinions i'm thinking of te 351 tho, just cuz a 41 isnt exactly a light car, and i'd like to keep it all ford motor-wise, because the SBC is kinda overdone. next question- any other ford motors i might consider? i know a teacher of mine used an old y-block in his 32,i think it was a 292, not sure. he said it was a little underpowered but it had the right look in my opinion. i dunno
Everything but a SBC will cost more than a............SBC. SBF is your second cheapest option. Be pateint, network with the locals, you will gather up the parts.
hi Potter ,personaly I'm going to use an fe based engine (390etc)in my 42 ,but for a later engine I like the 351w,I've toyed with the idea of using the lower 1/2 of a 80's -90's fuel inj manifold ,a little welding & grinding ,and see if it would work for multiple carbs,sure would like to see some one try it,combined with some early cal custom rocker covers you would have the basic look with a reliable engine
Guy on the HAMB was selling those intakes about a year ago, new cast or modified factory ones I believe?
The cheapest quick engine available today in large numbers is the `87 -`93 Ford 5.0 H.O. The `41 has more room under the crossmember and the engine compartment is a little longer. A Ford is an easy fit here. The reason I say 5.0 is because they are factory equipped with a good cam decent heads and a sturdy bottom end. (Hey a million 5.0 racers can't be wrong, right???) Anyhoo they are easy to find, they are about 50- 75 pounds lighter than an sbc AND a whole bunch of old looking parts will bolt right on the outside. P.S. the triple carb intake can be accomplished a couple ways. First Lance and Angie Hartwig produce an adapter that will allow you to bolt three 3- bolt Ford or Stromberg or 4- bolt Rochester carbs to the fuel injection base manifold. I have one and it's an excellent piece. Inexpensive way to do it too. Second there were many tri-power intakes made for the small block Ford with the Holley two barrel carb flange. These can be made to accept early carbs via an Offenhauser carb adapter.
pics Offy # 3860 My `41 and I which incidently hauls a surprising amount of ass with only a stock 221" Flatty 12 volts and dual exhaust. Oh that second gear pull is so nice.... and that sound! who needs a radio????
The 302/351W would be the cheapest to do. The flathead, Y block, Cleveland, & the big blocks would cost more, but be good engines. 2X2 has never been popular except on the flathead. 2 97s give you only 300 CFM, a bit light for anything bigger than a flathead. My favorite is the Cleveland, but most any Ford is a good engine + it keeps you away from the bellybuttons!
wow, thanks a lot guys, i'm pretty sure i'm keeping it ford, since ya know, it IS a ford, so the SBC idea is out the window, even though i already have it. I'm gonna talk to that guy about the 351w although i never even considered the 5.0. i guess i'll do some digging. I'd like to run 2 or 3 2 barrels, yeah i know it aint a flattie, but i love the look of it, and like i said, its just gonna be for cruising, not building a 10 second car here thanks for the info guys next question: wht tranny do i look for? assuming i go with the 351w haven't really decided whether or not i want an auto or a schtick.
If you are looking for multiple carbs, Edelbrock is making a dual 4 intake for the 351W now. I think they are the only folks making one. The part number is 7585. That will keep up with the demands of the engine and have a vintage look.
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