i have a later model 8ba. i heard that the later model flatheads(49-53(54 in Canada)) have a little thicker wall between the water jackets and the cylinders, so they arent (or werent) as prone to cracking. i'm not positive though.....dave s
The crack-free one... Seriously, it matters very little - some fit slightly better into different applications, but there's quite a bit of mixing-n-matching to be done, so it doesn't matter a lot.
Ok, I was wondering about the 59A casting, wil the part of the belhousing cast into it, and the 8ba, I think is the other one I saw Skibo
Check out the tech section - there's an awesome thread there. If you search the archives for flathead, you'll have more material than you can read. Several of the old threads have book lists...
The 59A will cost you a lot more to rebuild than the 8BA since bearings are no longer produced and NOS is outta site. Even more so for undersizes. The 8BA will take a Ford or Merc crank & pistons as a drop in; aint so easy putting a Merc in a 59A. The 8BA uses a modern style bellhousing, most modern ****** adaptors are for this block. You can also use a 8BA truck intermediate adaptor to mate to any of the old time ****** adaptors. The 8BA uses a modern style post distributor. Lots of conversions to electronic dizzys available. The 59A uses that pain in the *** front mounted dizzy. The 8BA (after mid 49 but most were upgraded) has a higher pressure oiling systaem. The 59A can use the newer pump but still requires the 8BA pickup & screen, just more parts to find. I prefer the looks of the 8BA, much cleaner with the front of the head mounted water hoses. Installing in an early ch***is is a matter of selecting the correct parts.
and if you can find a 49-53 Merc engine grab it as its got the 4" crank. You can drop it into a Ford block just by using the merc pistons.
Here is the thread Ernie is refering to ... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23305 Starts a little slow, BUT it sure has a lot of STUFF!
The Jalopy Journal
