tearing down my first 2 flatheads for a project. I was gonna be doing these with my dad, who worked on flatheads when he was younger, but he died before we got the profect off the ground. I have bought several flathead reference books and looked at quite a few internet sites, but cannot find anything that shows how to remove the idler gear that sits between the rear cam gear and the oil pump gear. does the pin come out of the block, or does the br*** bushing pull off the pin? I think my references are a little lacking. the parts don't really match up to what they told me to expect. the first engine came out of a 51 sedan and had a 3spd fordomatic transmission. It had hollow body adjustable lifters in it, and the timing cover on front did not have a boss for the base of the distributor shaft, although it was aluminum. the water pumps did not have motor mounts, either. the second engine is a ford truck engine that came to me with mercury 8CM heads on it. It had domed solid lifters in it and the gear on the front of the camshaft was aluminum, not fiber. according to my reference books, these things listed above do not match. can anyone tell me how to remove the oil pump idler gear, and recommend a GOOD reference book on the engines? thanks, y'all have a good day! Keith
The oil pump idler gear shaft is pressed in the block. It has a threaded hole in the back. The easiest way to pull it is with a slide hammer. One of the best books on flatheads can be had from John Lawson at: johnweld@windstream.net Tell him Pete sent you.
John's book is excellent. However if you are looking to identify parts, check out Mac VP's site. You'll also find that whenever you open one of these up, everything inside will not necessarily be as Henry built it. How many times have they been rebuilt?
thank you pete1! I've sent an email to the address you posted, and will pull the idler gears tomorrow. didn't want to break out hammers till I was sure how the gear went on. y'all have a good day! Keith
Keith, My brothers live in the bottom of Ala., like it there but that stuff is harder to find than up here. What i know is the truck engine is 8RT and the Merc is 8CM and the heads supposedly will provide lower compression with merc heads on a ford as the allowance for the longer stroke. So maybe the truck engine is really a merc? Also the truck motor will have a pan that has a plate that can be removed to change or clean out the oil pickup screen, a good thing to have as that is the common death of flatheads. And the goofy right angle merc carb works like ****, but you can put a carter, maybe a small block chebby carb on a merc 4 bolt manifold and make a performance increase. The 51 motor may have been a replacement, as the one I have had a tag identifying it as such, and it had the adjustables and alum cam gear. These motors are like a box of chocolates, never know what you will get, but they are fun and can be real bad and still run pretty good. The late motors parts can be bought at NAPA and they are cheap on ebay, I do early engines and the prices are brutal.If you need a valve bar I have some can loan one, if you are going to take them apart they are a must. Got a radiator? I made and engine test stand on wheels, start & run it see what happens
Oh, also there is a tube under the intake end to end, behind the idler gear is a plug, also behind the cam gear. Pull them out and you can rod the sludge out of that tube with a gun cleaner. Feeds the cam and thrust surfaces, maybe fuel pump rod.
thanks again for the info! went to the web site and looked up the info on different engines. not much yet on the lifters, but the water pump I.D. sure helped! the good block I have is an 8RT. does have the cleanout on the oilpan. the heads are 8CM and are painted blue, the rest of the engine is a reddish/orange. I've been planning to put a 2/2bbl manifold on it, and a whole new rotating ***embly with an aluminum flywheel. debating on a 4 speed transmission with o/d or a t-5 5 speed. not wanting to build a monster, just something that'll do 75mph on the interstate (been doing a lot of driving where that's the speed limit) without having to run high rpms. also been looking for a way to put power steering and an A/C compressor on it. not exactly something i've seen on a lot of hot rods, but with the summer heat here in the south an A/C is something I'd really rather not do without. the second engine has the oil plug at the rear of the pan and didn't have a flywheel. just a metal plate that bolted to the torque converter for the auto transmission. I found a shop locally that will rebuild the transmission, but wonder if it's worth it since it doesn't have an overdrive. y'all have a good day, Keith
The easiest way to remove the idler gear is to thread a piece of all thread in the shaft and a steel bar with a hole drilled in it to lay across the back of the block. Run a nut down on the bar and tighten. This will pull the shaft and gear out smooth and easy. I just did it last night after scratching my head for a bit. P.S. space the bar out from the block to allow room for shaft to be fully removed.
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