Flathead vs smallblock power estimate ??

SPEED KILLS !!! Play it safe, go with the flathead.

 

Like the guys say, flatheads aren't about brute power. It's the look, the sound, even the smell. I always smile when I hear a flattie starter turn the engine over.
Put one in a light car and it will go good enough to be fun, without tearing up the drive train (or the pavement!.

 

a pretty motor is like a pretty girl that doesn,t fuck the looks factor is way cool and a flathead is the pretty girl of motor,s just my 2 cents if it,s a open hood car and looks and cool factor is you thing then flathead if you want a good looking ,runs good then a sbc is the way to good but most of all it,s your car and your $$$ so put what you like and drive the shit out of it

 

I'm thinking about the average guy building a Flathead engine in his garage and using a local machine shop for the machine work.The usual stuff I read about here ,around 270 cubes,aftermarket heads,a coupla carbs,headers,a streetable cam and tweak this and that,about 180 or so HP? Or the same guy building a 283 SBC might wind up with 250 actual HP using bolt on parts and likely spend a lot less money.Yeah,there's one off Flathead engines build by experts where cost is no object making a lot of power.And there's turbocharged SBC's making nearly 5 hp per cubic inch.But most of us do it ourselves on a budget,yes?
I'm not a Flathead guy....But in a traditional hoodless car the Flattie looks fine.

 

I love Flatheads..because of the look, sound, history, etc., but not because of their neck snapping performance. The combination you described, sounds about like my set up, and from what I know, and what I've been told, I might get 150hp out of it, if I'm lucky. So, the stock 283 -170 hp will out perform it, at a much friendlier use of your cash. If it were all about horsepower, I would have built a small block Chev..a Hell of a lot cheaper.

 

Flathead is way cooler. I am a sbc fan, but the flathead would be the way to go.

 

Don't get me wrong I love Flatheads but the Flathead / Chevy comparison is apples and oranges. 250 horsepower formula: Flathead - bore, stroke, port, relieve, supercharge, hot cam, multipal carbs, and cross your fingers. Chevy - turn key.

 

You don't always have to yawn when you open the hood on a Chevy motor....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=430018




I love Flatheads. They are probably my favorite engine but they take money to build and even more to get some decent HP out of them. The motor in my '52 has probably $2500 into it and it's probably not more then 120 hp. My 265 Chevy on the other hand with probably have $1500 into the whole sha-bang and be more like 200-220! There is a reason why anybody who was anybody was running a 283.

It really comes down to what you want out of the motor and how much you are willing to spend. My '32 will get a pretty nasty flathead but my '35 is going to get an equally nasty 265 and do it for 1/3 the cost. What ever you like!

 

As a lot above said, the Flathead is more about the feeling, the sounds, the looks, history and nostalgia then going awfully fast!
I myself would like to maybe someday build and run a traditional looking SBC with a couple of 97's and finned aluminum rocker covers, that would look and probably run sweet.
But the Shoebox is definitely going to be Flathead powered, hood or no hood

 

It all depends on what you plan on for your car. A nicely stock dressed 283/327 w/3-deuces, rams horn exhaust, stock "chevrolet" script covers, always looks good to me.

But a flathead is different as it screams the early days of racing and cruising in the 30s, 40s, and early 50s, and it has a distinctive sound when equipped wth duals. It's also something of a challenge to build and drive one not so much with horsepower in mind but being able to cruise slow with it or go 80 mph down the highway, have it be reliable, and not to overheat. Yes, it costs more but it depends on the soul of the car you are building as well as the person who builds it. So you see, it's not just about horsepower.

There are many on the HAMB, myself included, who drive flatheads long distances quite reliably and at speed. If that's what bothers you, no worries there as that formula requires a 5-speed, 3:50-4:11 rear gear, a stock or mildy warmed over flattie, and a decent size rear tire, all looking to give you around 25-2900 RPM @ 70-75mph. It will not win any drag racing contests against a SBC, but it will do very nicely at speed and will have plenty of zip for passing.

 

Guys dont build flatties only for power. They are cool. It takes alot of money to make them go fast. A stock 283 will beat a mild/ hot flattie with ease.. Id always take a flattie over a small block but thats just me.. Im not a traditional hot rodder but love the flattie look....

 

I love flathead v8's,but there is a lot to be said about keeping $ down and still having fun,flatheads do cost now days. SBC is good power cheep and still cool.
Now talking about power on the street,if your rod is under 2500 bl. total, then even v8 flathead fairly stock HP will burn rubber and pretty much brown the pants of any one riding with ya= fells super fast and is!

 

I have take a couple.

I always tell my friends, "the tickets all cost the same over 55". lol

Fourdy

 

PARTIAL TO FLATHEADS
I have a flathead in the roadster, one in our '49 2door, one in our '36 2 door, and one being worked over at the machine shop. Got another one in a '37 Harley (the 2 piston kind). My gear head son kids me about getting another "boat anchor" for the collection. He likes em but it's something to kid dad about!

 

Sounds just like my Son and myself. I get him at car shows though. Seems flatheads gather a little more lookers than his 350 sbc. lol

Fourdy