What would it really cost to build a flathead?

So I've been reading all the threads here about how much it costs for people to rebuild their flatheads and I just don't get it. It seems like it runs the whole gambit from $300 to $10,000 or even more... Is it just a case by case deal where everybody is different? I mean yea, some guys go all out and buy tons of speed parts and thats where the bulk of the cost is, but in general is what I'm talking about.

Now I'm thinking I want to do a flathead, and I'd be willing to spend around $3,500. I just want a simple motor, pretty much all stock but a nice carb setup. (I can do all the fun HP stuff later when I actually have a car to speed up!) I just don't want this to turn into some story where 5 blocks later and $5,000 I've got a runner. Maybe a French flathead is an option to think about? They're like $2,500, right?

How many blocks did you guys go through before you found a good one? How much do cash do you have invested?

 

Yeah I've been wondering the same thing. Everyone keeps saying there so expensive, but all the parts I have seen cost the same price (if not less) than it would cost to build any other mill. How much does it cost to have the block re-done though? (cleaned, bored, ported, relieved etc...)
-Dean

 

I too want to know as I'd like to put one together for my project. I'd like to stay around $3500. Possible??

Josh

 

I stripped 5 before I got a good one. I must say though the first 4 were already partially stripped and lying out in the rain so that should have indicated that there was something wrong with them. When I finally located another 4 engines (2 8BA & 2 59A) that were complete and had been stored in a shed, the first stripped was ok. I will not buy them anymore, but I offer the owner $150 for every one I strip that is not a throw away block, take it or leave it. Cost to do up,, depends on your taste, mine will be around $10,000, that is blown with a 4 inch stroke, electronic ignition, ali heads and waterpumps, new oil pump etc etc.
If you keep it simple you should not have to spend more that $3500/$4000, for a strong flattie.
32V8

 

Acid cleaning, about $70
Boring,,, normal price
Porting,,, easy to do yourself with a die grinder
Relieving,,, easy to do yourself with a router

I suggest you buy a couple of books and read up a little, Tex Smiths Ford Flathead book and Mike Davidsons Street Flathead books are good.

PM me if you want details
32V8

 

That sound like an accurate estimate.

Machine work should be close to that of SBC.

The expensive part is the parts. Sit down with a parts catalog and add it up. Bottom line depends upon if you want new finned heads, multiple carbs, etc.

I think I can build three SBCs for the same price as one flathead!

 

This is what it ran for mine

Presser test block 70

Bake and tumble block 70

Bore and hone 150

Surface decks 150

Drill 6 intake holes 60

Blend bowls and pockets 128

Cut and install big seats 192

Drill and tap for full oiling + fittings 90

r&r cam bearings 50

plug water holes for early heads 10

3 angle valve grind 160

reface my Johnson lifters 85

degree my crank gear 35

4 1/8 merc crank - 3 3/8 Ross forged pistons and pins - 21 a rods - bearings and rings all balanced and reconditioned 2000

stainless valves 160

valve guides 56

valve seats 80

keepers 6.50

guide clips 12

cam bearings 30

M-15 oil pump 120

Big bore head gaskets – copper 60

One piece front seal 20

Isky 400 jr cam 250

Isky springs 95

Chrome molly retainers 50

Valve shims 16

 

I'm too lazy to add all that up. What's the grand total?

 

$4205.50

Dawg

 

About a week back there was a really *****in post about building a flathead. I forget what it was called, but t was a really long post, and quite informative. Makes you wonder if the cost is worth the cool factor. That is, until you hear a flathead that has been done up that radically.

 

I figured about 3 to 4 grand to complete mine. I've got 400 in it now and it has'nt even made it to the machine shop yet.

 

I realize this is no longer relevant but I gotta tell you...In high school I bought a complete 53 Merc motor [3rd motor I bought due to cracked blocks] for $15.
Rings, bearings and gaskets were $36. [buddy had an uncle with a parts store]
Machinework? HA! Handlapped stock valves, borrowed cylinder hone, dad's solvent tank at work and the ol' man's bench grinder to grind/set valve lash.
I think my age is showing...

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53308&highlight=flathead+cost

That's the post that got me thinking about all this. I was all gung ho, about to run out and find a flathead no matter what, then I started to research it here and found that and a few other posts and it got me thinking about what I'm really getting myself into here. I think I'm just gonna take the dive and do it. If the **** hits the fan then I can, at the very least, sell the parts and recoup my losses to a degree.

How wild are you going with yours?

 

=alot of money.....

 

hey mate - here is my advice. find a nice running motor and spend the money buying that. you'll get alot further along this way then starting from scratch with a full rebuild. if your going to end up with a "pretty much all stock" motor, why spend the money rebuilding it? parts cost amost the same whether stock or mod anyway so if you choose to do the rebuild, go as radical as you can - bore, stroke, big cam etc.

if you start with a stock running motor, you can always add the speed parts as you go along. and if you decide to redo another motor at a later stage just take the parts of and put them on the new engine.

lets say you start with a stock 8BA - you'll need to upgrade the dizzy to work with duals... so you take your mopar small block dizzy and get it machined to fit. couple hundred bucks (well here in australia anyway). next you find a dual intake and some cheap 94's. rebuild them and put them on. same goes for the heads you find at another swap. it wont take long to get a dressed flatty this way and in the mean time your enjoying it and getting out there.

The thing is all the HP stuff is done DURING the rebuild, specifically the machining stage. you'll get the biggest HP increase through machining the bores out as big as they can go and putting that 4" or Merc crank in there. The heads and duals will add some HP but not alot compared to the bore and stroke.

Danny

 

The 8BA I scored was running when I got it But barely. Total rebuild was $2300. Its .80 over and for now basically stock. It took four months for the rebuild cause the shop owner sold out to his young helpers would come in from his retirement when he felt like it. He knows old stuff where as the kids only knew SBC and lots of jap tuner stuff. Engine had been converted to 12 volt prior so that helped.

 

What's the matter with rings, rods, mains and a new oil pump....as long as the valves are ok (lap 'em in if needed), do a cheap rebuild and DRIVE the car...you can always build a fancy motor later...it just seems to me that so many people get carried away with all this "rebuild this...gotta replace that...that needs to be modified..." and they get confused, overwhelmed and nothin' gets done..."back in the day" we couldn't afford all that stuff...we fixed what broke and kept driving it...if a flattie could get 75,000 running all sludged up from using that old non-detergent oil, today's stock rebuild outta go at least that far with all the new higher tech metals and stuff in the rings, bearings and such. And how many miles to most rodders put on their cars per year...2K...3K ? Even the ******** guys seldom go more than 20K...Seems that would be FOUR YEARS of driving for about a $1,000.00 overhaul....Excuse my rant...

 

Im with Krooser....if u can get it on the road for less dinero do it but dont skimp on stuff THAT WILL KEEP IT ON THE ROAD !!

Even though ive spent a bit on my 8BA.....it wasnt anything different what the average dude would spend, reground L100 cam, Offy heads, rings, bearings, gaskets and overbore/deck. Good machine work is expensive ...regardless of whether its on a SBC or a Flathead or Hemi. If you can buy a runner even better, itll keep you going till you save the moolah for a decent hopup.

U can get on the road, have fun and SAVE for a really killer motor over a 2 -3 yr period. Problem as I see it? I dont wanna pontificate, but I see a lot of dudes who want the killer motor, but arent prepared to pay the price by sacrificing other **** theyd normally spend their greenbacks on. We can all get derailed by other things, esp when it takes time to save for a decent engine/rideI

I tell ya, Ive sacrificed a ****load to build my blown 8BA - and i wouldnt have it any other way, as it makes it all the more rewarding when its done.

If building a Flathead, Hemi, Nailhead or any other vintage engine is too pricey, then grab a running SBC and dress it up to look as early/vintage as possible.

What do you guys think?

Rat

 

I'm not going nuts with it just a kinda-sorta stock/mild rebuild. It needs boring(i know that) and i'm doing the relieveing and porting part along with finding a Merc crank for it. I have'nt figured out which cam yet, My friend thats helping me talks of a "3/4 cam and adjustable cam gear but i don't know the lift and duration for it. The heads i just got have never been on a engine and will only be shaved as far as needed and the intake will probably be dual carbs although everyone is trying to talk me into three and blocking off two of the carbs.

 

Doesn't this all really go against the spirit of a hot rod?

Why build a stock-ish engine (any engine) if it is going to cost a minimum of $3500-4000? Then you wind up spending more (much more) to get it to do what a $100 junkyard 305 smallblock can do... it just seems silly.

Don't get me wrong, I like the look of a flathead (and I have one) but there are a lot of cheap engines in the world that look just fine and will run circles around 1930 sidevalve technology.... and you'll have the car done sooner with more cash left over for gas at $2.25/gallon.

 

I have rebuilt two 8BA's so far for around $3500 each, actually less I think, including some speed stuff. I found them both laying on a pallet in a junk pile out in the open. They had been there for maybe 30 years, neither one was complete. One had no cracks, but did have a .060 in. gouge in #8 cylinder that cleaned up with a .125 in. overbore. The other had some mild cracks around some of the head bolt holes that were fixed with inserts. One was $20.00, the other was $40.00. I think that some people reject the flathead block when it only has minor cracks that are repairable. Too bad. I have another one (59AB) under the bench awaiting an overhaul that was a runner driver. I expect it to be fine also.

pigpen

 

For me this is my first build of a flatty and i'm not building it to haul *** just a little oomph to cruise around. I've done my share of Ford and Chevy engines and decided for this build the flatty was what i wanted.

Nice pic's Pigpen! Yours? I like em!

 

Yes, both mine. The one in the roadster has an Isky Max One 3/4 cam in it and it scoots pretty good for a 53 year old pile of cast iron.

pigpen

 

Congradulations, your the one millionth person to try to make this point. Some people get it and some don't. We've all heard it before. BY THE WAY, NICE INTRO
Drew

 

lol, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn

 

I don’t know what this has to do with the mans original question / request.

“doesn’t this go against the spirit of a hot rod?”

NO, it doesnt if your building to achieve the look and feel of a 30s - 40s – or early 50s car. besides that, its not your money building my car and im the only person that has to like it.

 

Check the TECH section here on the HAMB ..

"Motor, flathead rebuild .. tips and tricks"

 

Hey Crew,

My caffeine fueled thoughts:

1. I've got a 8BA in my ride. i drove that car for a year and a half with 20psi compression on more then one cylinder, broken bits and pieces of **** in the motor, single leaking 94, broken fuel pump...

and ive never had so much fun in my life! a cheep re-ring and valve lap breathed new life into the motor and cost next to nothing.

dont fall into the trap alot of people do when they dont have thier car on the road yet... they sit and toy with a million different combinations in thier head, they plan everything out to the enth degree. just get a running motor, put it into your ride and have some fun.

2. the OHV debate. man if i read one more flathead post where someone goes, i could build 5,000 SBC for the price of one flathead blah blah I'm going to go postal. who cares - congratulations, your one of the sheep running cheap SBC. I like SBC, they are a great motor, but flatheads rule in my world. Its not about building a motor to compete with todays technology, its a salute to the pioneering rodders of the 40's. Dig?

 

Amen brother

Rat

 

Ya summed that up just right!