your $.02 on a V8-60

I do know for a fact that in the late 50s in a midget the little 60 on alky ruled till the Offy showed up..!! The thing would run the last 15 laps of the feature with out water.......NON-TUFFER in its day.

 

Yep. My original intent was to buy a banger A to drive around town. I test drove several and was about to buy one when the Bantam came along. Neither one is going to win any drag races (except maybe against each other) or cruise at 80, and neither was a concern for me. The 60 is cool in a couple ways, one, mine at least has zero vibration, and it sounds absolutely wonderful. And I'm hoping it gets 25-30 mpg. I already have a 12 second, 10mpg hot rod, and around here most of the time I'm stuck behind a Prius.

Who knows, maybe I'll end up with a quad 4, A/C and power steering but right now I'm trying to keep at least the mill old.

 

I have several old motorcycles and have had to ride home in one gear on occasion. No fun. Hopefully no one bought those for riding enjoyment.

 

This 1933 Willys made from a sedan pickup has a blown V8 60 and a radiator mounted in the pickup bed....

 

I put a manual two speed trans in my V8 bike. What a difference!!!

 

You must not pay attention to the monthly banger meet threads. There are plenty of guys running near 80mph 1/4 mile trap speeds with A & B bangers. That's about as fast as a stock tri-five with a mouse motor.

Fast AND cool.

 

Interesting. My new rear end has 3.00s but I already bought 4.11s to put in it.

I think the fun quotient has a lot to do with demographics. Guys in the Midwest with open straight roads need horsepower. My place is 10 miles out a windy road from town. 35mph limit but you can do 50 if your car handles well. And if it does you don't do much accelerating, just don't let off in the corners.

 

Yeah, but being an impediment to traffic isn't cool.

A Model A/B stock is 40 hp. You can get 80 out of one and still have it look stock (to most people). Assuming good gearing getting around in an average sized rod takes about that. Remember the A/B is a 200 cubic inch engine, the V8-60 is about 130. It breathes worse than the A.

The B engine pulled the Pietenpol airplane pretty good but the V8-60 would not fly.

With compression upped, a rumpy cam and maybe a 5 speed trans the V8-60 would get around okay in a light car but that is a lot of money to spend on an engine rare to begin with. The average rodder, even, would just think it was a regular flathead Ford and wonder why it was so slow. If you want a flathead go full size. Just my opinion.

 

Ive got a v8-60 in my 31 Model A truck and I cant get it over 55 mph. Takes a long time to get there too. Id rather have a hopped up banger,

Rob

 

I told Blowby when we started sending each other PMs a couple of months ago that there was no point trying to talk to people about V8-60s. Everyone has their mind made up without even ever seeing one in the flesh, let alone building and running one. No, they won't run fast without some major thought and work. Yes, you have to think about what you are building before you use one. No, it is not what everyone else has. All of that is the point, isn't it? If I wanted what everyone else has I would buy a Camray. Hang in there. Blowby. When we are both done we can compare Bantam V8-60 builds and let everyone else drive Camrays.

 

Thanks Greg. First thing I'm doing when I get mine going again is find a sick whore on a toilet.

 

One of my co-workers live in Brazil, he has homework, i need one of those.
They are beautiful.
And he is working on it, but they dont lay around on every corner there.
Lars

 

A 60 is a cool little engine, lots of history and nostalgia there, but on the street in a Model A its a tad weak. Something like a 1300 pound "one man" roadster would be cool, though.

 

I've had a number of A's, and only one would hit 60mph. Afraid to run it at thtat speed very long, due to babbit. I have run my 60 at that speed or greater for miles. Granted it not something to take a trip in. This is suppose to be a traditional hot rod site, and they are about as traditional as you can get.

 

In the long run ,I think you would be sorry. High cost, Low power.

 

I absolutely LOVE my 28 RPU with a 1938 V8-60, polished Weiand heads, two carbs (thanks Greg in Jax), easy installation (thanks Greg in Jax), fairly low cost. Ton of fun, and everybody stops at the car shows and wants to chat. What is the cost of "cool", anyway?

 

it amazing how many "flathead guys" say the same things about v8 60s that the "small block chevy guys" say about a flatheads. "too much money and no power". im tinkering on a 60 right now, its my first one and truthfully dont know a ton about them but im amazed at the racing history that surrounds these little v8s. seems most guys dont want anything to do with them but its nice theres a small group of people keeping them alive. sad that the most of the knowledge from the early racers is long gone. definitely not for heavy cars or people that prefer interstates to two lane but I say in the right set up they could be really fun.

 

Round, Round, Get around ....I get around.....

 

It'll sound good - like most flatty's do.

Sure, it won't be quick, but it'll be cool nonetheless.

 

A Simca 17 stud, has a improved oilsystem, produces 85 hp, revs happily and runs strong all day long

 

I think that they are cool but I've got no first hand experience with them. Under the right circumstances I'd pick one up in a heart beat and put together an AV8. It just hasn't happened...yet. I've got a '29 Model A Roadster with a banger that will do 75 mph up the 3 mile 5% grade to top out at 7200 ft elevation with throttle left so I know bangers will run. I've just been messing with bangers forever. It just depends on what you want.
Were all different and that's why we are not all chasing the same girl.

Good luck and let us know what you decide and the final outcome of the project.

LJ

 

That's the word I thought of immediately, "CUTE"

 

I put a 60hp in my '52 MTD with a Mustang t5 and 3.9 gears in the rear. Will keep up, sounds nice, and a lot of fun to drive. But, as said, a good one, when found, is a bit pricey. Marvin,ct

 

My avatar is a 28 coupe I built in the late 90's with a V8 60, it looked like it was made for the Model A but didn't have any power. They have no low end torque and had 4:44 rearends so the top end sucked. I used a 3:78 rearend and my 30 Model A pickup with a warmed over B banger would out run it up to about 60 when the banger runs out of RPMs.

 

Was the 60 warmed over too? What was done to it?

 

Well said....and true (in my case anyway!)

 

Thats a great Quote, im using it...Thanks Bugsy..

 

Have a v8 60 in my 26 t touring and my 26 t rpu .Not speed demons ,but the cool factor is great. Have no problem keeping up with daily traffic. If I wanted fast, I would have a big block!!

 

I once owned a '37 V8-60. The standard axle ratio was 4.44.

 

a pic of my v8-60