i have always kept my eye out for a nice runnign flat head that i could build a car around. well after putting the word out to my uncle that i wanted one. called a buddy of his and had me a deal worked up by the next day. so we went up to look at it.. pulled in and there was a pristeen 36 ford coupe.. Apparently he wanted thid bigger engine so he but a 1950 flathead down in and had this all original 1936 21 stud v8 in a stand with the original trans. he had converted his to a t-5.. so we went in and looked it all over. this thing was complete, carb to oil pan, garunteed to run and run sound... as i peaked over it. i found a tag rivited to the bell saying " remanufactured cylinder assembly by an authorized ford company in pittsburg pa" kinda neat. only an hour south of me.. so we loaded it up and took it home. Give him $400 cash for it all.. and he thought that was a lil high but thats what he had to have.. i was very very willing to hand the cash over.. sunday morning, my brother came over and we hooked the ol 6 volt battery out of our 53 chrysler up to it, cranked it over and it fired right up and ran smooth like a new car... what a deal!!!! it even has the original very good working stromberg 97 on it. all i had to do was bolt a starter on it that i found from a guy who had it laying in his garage for 40 years, only cost me $40... picked it up the day after i brought the engine home here it is sitting in the shop at home, the ford roadster will be built around it...
it does have a cracked water pump pulley. so im looking for one of those if anyone has a pump laying around thats any good! thanks guys!
Nice! It`s a plus to find one that is running already. Still, make sure you have the block Magnafluxed, I`ve went through a half dozen only to find one good block. Looks like the price was right too!
and it came with the radiator!! the guy i got it off had it in is car and drove it everywhere. im putting a t-5 adapter on it so it will be more highway friendly. so the 3 speed is for sale..
Good deal man! By any chance do you know how I can use a 12 volt battery to tin my flathead on? I have a 49-51 merc motor only...any help is appreciated, thanks.
Block off plates on the waterpump passage says it a 37 - early 38 block. Best of the 21s. Insert bearings! Good buy. Do a compression check. You can also put 37 heads and waterpumps, if you prefer the 59a look. If you do let me know as I have a friend that could really use the block offs. (1937 and later Ford V8 engines were all insert main motors. The water pumps were moved from the heads to the front of the block. This was done to improve cooling. The water outlet was moved to the center of each head. Early 1937 passenger car engines had aluminum heads, while most production used cast iron heads. Ford make block off plates to cover the water pump mounts on these blocks to allow 1932 through 1936 heads to be used on these motors. These are 3 1/16 bore 21 stud blocks. )
when i started this motor i used a 8volt battery. which is what we use in all our old stuff... gives it a lil mor ass but is safe for those old coils and points and the starter.. the 8v really turned it over fast and gave it good spark
yea we knew it wasnt identicle to the factory original 36 engine.. i wasnt sure what all was changed, but thats what the ford garage put back in it when the original engine went bad.. i ran a compresison.. about 100lbs across the board. and leak down test was very impressive.... i sure am happy with it!! i would love to have a 3 or 5 window to put it in.. thats for sure.. but maybe an open top roadster will do the trick.
Congrats, it would be a great motor for a AV8! 36lb had inserts as well, the 37 is a great engine. How many of these old flatties have all the original parts on them anyway. :] the 37-48 waterpumps can be a cheaper option but then you have to get new heads too... Skip can rebuild your early pumps and you will not be sorry. http://www.fordcollector.com/water_pumps.htm
everything on this engine is in wonderful shape.. the fuel pump puts out 3.5 lbs constant, the water pumps are tight and the fins are in great shape, and the generator is quiet and tight.. that stromberg is leak free and idles like a champ... i jsut cant get over my find... To me, for as long as i wanted a flathead that was ready to go, this is the best deal i have gotten in a long time..
If you can't find any local to you, I have a couple pump pullys. Personally I don't think the 8volt battery is any advantage over a good 6volt setup with welding cable lines or decent sized battery cables and clean connects. Your coil should be at 3-4 volts. It will burn it out eventually.
thanks for the 8V info. ill keep that in mind. ill switch back to 6V when i decide the car it goes into.. and ill let you know aobut the pulley. ill have to either put a pulley or an entire pump. do you know the length and witdth belt it takes ?
Kinda why I suggested skip, more then likely he could help you out with the pully too. All the pumps I have need to be rebuilt. Don't know the exact length. Just put a string around the all the pullies and measure the string! Most after market places sell correct looking and width belts, but a auto place belt will work fine to play. macs has it at 55" http://macsautoparts.com/early-v8-f...enger-40-8620-a/camid/f30/cp/JS0R3CHL1073233/
here is a short video of it running, i didnt hook up fuel or water. thats this weekends project, <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zwnhj4Vg7-U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
my oil pressure gauge was leaking really bad while i was cranking it to make usre we had pressure before we fired it... fix it before running though.
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