Ok, this weekend I got a Ford? flathead V8. Im not sure of the size, but it had a 3 1/4" across bore(Gr***hopper, is that right?). I pulled the heads and the cylinders looked nice. The oil pan has oil, but it whould not turn over. Im guessing it needs a backyard rebuilt. Gr***hopper mentioned that I should take the block to a machine shop and get it hot tanked to remove the rust scaling in the water p***ages. Will this hurt the cylinder walls? Are rebuild kits easy to find for most of these engines? What about valves? I noticed that one or 2 had rust on the valve shaft. Any good online site for flathead rebuilds, with lots of pictures? I will have more to come with some pics maybe.
Hellfish, Standard bore was 3-3/16" (3.1875). Hot tanking and magnafluxing are good ideas as there could be cracks that could cause the block to be useless. Being stuck could be caused by the rust you see on the valve stems. If you decide to hot tank and magnaflux you need to dis***emble anyway. Parts are available but fairly expensive. There were several versions of the flathead some with 21 studs (holding each head on the block) and 24 studs. Water pumps mounted on the heads? or on each side of the front lower part on the engine with the crank pulley in between. Distributor mounted on the front of the engine? or sticking out at an upward angle from the front of p***enger side head? I would start by putting the engine on a stand (odd special stand that mounts to the holes for the exhaust manifold bolts) is the best stand to use; pull the pan and look at the crank and bearings. Also pull the intake manifold. Spray Marvel Mystery Oil in all the cylinders and valve stems and let it sit for a couple of days then try to rotate again. Lot's of help on various websites but I don't know of many pictures for the wark you want to do. Several books available on rebuilding flatheads. Get back with a post as to distributor location and studs and we'll try to help you more.
Hell Fish, check the TECH-o-Matic here on the HAMB. Look for the thread, "MOTOR, flathead build .. tips and tricks" Should keep you busy reading for a while.
The water pumps are on the block and the distributor sticks out the front of the engine. We hit everything with some oil and put the heads back on to sit. Thanks
sorry to hijack the thread, but I also just got a flatty block, nothing in it but the cam and the main caps, but the price was right. My guess is it's a later model, because of the short bellhousing area. Has 24 studs. The marking on the back of the block says 36M-1 The bore appears to be standard 3-3/16" Can someone tell me what year this might be? I noticed a crack at one head bolt hole to a cooling hole, I haven't looked it over very much though. The lighting was pretty ****py when I took these pics...it's actually grey, not brown!
Hell Fish and Squirrel, this site has a lot of info on flatheads. http://www.btc-bci.com/~billben/flathead.htm Here is another .... http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_home.htm
[QUOTE I noticed a crack at one head bolt hole to a cooling hole, I haven't looked it over very much though. The lighting was pretty ****py when I took these pics...it's actually grey, not brown![/QUOTE] Common comment on these type cracks is that Ford ***igned them part numbers as the were so common. They usually don't hurt anything sealant on the stud or bolt combined with the head gasket usually seals them ok.
Hey! Can I use that one!? Let's see ... crack near #1 cylinder; PART #8BA-CNC1 NI (not important!! ) Made my morning!!!
Late model flathead. Earlier model flatheads had an integral bell housing, and earlier flat heads didn't have those elongated water p***age holes next to the cylinders. Mike
Got a little info. The block has a a cast into it J2781: The bell houseing is a molded piece and has a 59 cast in it and the heads are 24 bolt.
Squirel that block you have is 1949 to 53 in a "u.s.a."of 1949 to 54 up here in canada .make sure if ya tank them ya get all the sand from the orginall castin . take a long piece of coat hanger . and go thru the collant holes to bottom of water jacket and s**** out well . it will help ya for coollin her .
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