You can't go wrong with either one. I have a Red Ram and a few flatties too. This is just me but if you go with the hemi I'd lose the 35 wires. They're more forties style. Go with 16" solids if you use the hemi. But that's just my .02.
My take is ya cant go wrong with either. I have a blown flathead in a 32 3W...love it. I also have a 330 DeSoto Fire Dome - Im torn b/w pulling the FH (for a potential roadster project later on) and dropping in the DeSoto with a lung and a bunch of carbs on it. Decisions decisions....btw, your Hemi is a 4BBL FireFlite. NICE !! PS: I LOVE my Flathead....still, but only just !!
Life's too short for soft-core porn. The same applies to engines. If you've only got one shot at it, go Hemi. -Brad
Well after tossing it around for a while...looks like i'm going with the hemi. Got things mocked up.Here Are a few pics of the progress. 1st pic is how I purchased it. Next, body sitting on the new 32 frame built by blackboard hot rods, last pic, hemi rolling on www tires and wheels I picked up off the hamb. Got an F1 box lined up. I'll post more pics as it progresses.
"with all that torque you can break loose the rear end whenever you want" No, that's "all that 700 lbs. of cast iron over the front wheels". You have no traction, which is why most of those 2200 lb. cars with 600 hp motors turned 12.0 ET instead of 9.0. But, of course, it's "all about the look..."
We have a very similar situation. It depends upon you vision for the car. Do you want a more nostalgic look- running skinny tires, traditional dash, wire wheels, drum brakes? or do you want to run more power, magnesium wheels, disc brakes (got to stop that hemi), maybe a 60's metallic paint? or a hybrid of the two? Define your vision and stick to it. Flatheads are awesome. Hemi's are cat's meow! You can't go wrong with the Hemi. Everyone is going to look at those value covers and drool!
I ran a flathead for years. They suck. I know its against the rules to say that on this forum but its true. They run hot, the water pumps leak 6 volts leaves you wondering if its gonna start in the last 44 years, MOST flathead blocks I have seen are cracked from the bore to valve seat. Did I mention they run hot? They dont have much power. I dont know about you but I DRIVE my cars every day and I truly wonder how flatheads held up as well as they did in the 40s. On the other hand my 392 Hemi has always been WONDERFUL! Smoke the tires from here to the mailbox and they Always start
i run both. a blown 354 in a 32 and a 350 h.p. flathead in a 35 ford or at bonneville the 32. a t5 works great on the flathead. the flathead uses a 471 blower on st. and a 671 small rotor at bonneville. 10 or 15 lbs of boost. drive on st. and has been very reliable. 156 mph at bonni. have fun. jim
The Jalopy Journal
