I decided to pressure check the V-8 60 before building a vehicle around it. This is the engine that started and ran for a very short time. The oil was drained and the drain plug left out. I filled each engine side with water after plugging the outlets. rigged up a radiator pressure checker to the head outlet and pumped up about 7 psi. After a few minutes there were drops of water from the oil pan drain.and a few bubbles around the heads ......Fuck! I know nothing about these engines but but the front cover with the two pumps and timing chain chamber might have a bad gasket? I pull the cover and the gasket is torn but not crappy....The upper cover end has water droplets and it looks like there could be a passage from the between water and oil? Unscrew a water pump and holy shit this is something different looking... The water pump is engine oil lubricated??????? And the tapered pump cone has a sealing gasket...looks like it was leaking ??? And I did pull the aluminum heads .040 pistons with little to no wear ridge....One head had two Felpro head gaskets with copper colored sealer. The other head had what looked like an old gasket.... A
Best way to pressure test the V8-60 is to remove all the heads & timing cover components then fabricate plates to cover decks/flanges and fittings to cover inlets prior to pressuring up with air. Spray soapy water to find leaks on blocks that won't hold pressure. The tin sided early blocks can develope leaks. The 1940 blocks were the more sought after ones due to improvements. Eddie Meyer & Offenhauser both made aftermarket front covers for the V8-60 that were set up to run a crankshaft driven pump set up. Most of the 32 to 48 Ford V8 water pumps had bushings in them that required engine oil to lubricate. The single pump set up worked well for the miget racers but the OEM pump set up might be more practical for a little hot rod motor set up. Parts are available but you have to look for them. Early pumps were tapered but I think the later ones are straight. There were several configurations of pumps for these depending on when it was manufactured.
This engine is a cast iron block with tapered water pumps.A low budget limited use vehicle so no conversions needed. Just need to seal up what there.
And now some bad news.....One of the original aluminum heads is severely warped, .060..... It appears in the not too distant past some hack tried to get the head off but failed, center stud stuck fast. I applied moderate heat and was able to work the head free. There's chisel marks but not on the gasket sealing surface. When the head is tightened down it lays flat....But the warp returns when loosened...Not good... I don't know about trying to mill this head flat??? It's a lot of material to be removed off the center area....
Im not a expert on the flatty, buy I don't think I would use that head. look for a good set. If you want new. check out SPEEDWAY MOTORS. lots of flathead stuff there. Maybe santa will bring you some heads. LOL Happy holidays Trukedup!
I ran a V8 60 in the Model A coupe in my avatar and was never happy with it, no low end torque. They came with 4:44 gears and had a very low top speed, I ran a 3:78 rearend and it was a dog up to about 45-50 mph. They are a neat little engine that really wakes up over about 2500 rpm which is why they were used in sprint cars and boats. Speedway does carry parts, you might also check around with the vintage racers, they are still building them.
Look close enough and you find ugly.....Like the crack outlined in black marker and the nasty warp shown by the level..... Hmmmmm............
If the water pumps don't seal at the water jackets you'll get water in the oil. Also if you pull the pumps out, or even loosen them when it's full of water you'll dump water into the oil. Can I have it now?
My father had a simca vedette here in Australia that ran a tiny flathead v8 . Very rare car French I believe , ran alloy heads also . Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Not yet ,but close I really don't wanna spend money to repair/replace the head(s). I was hoping not to find mechanical issues.... At the crossroads once again....Building the car around this engine or find something else...
You should be able to find another stock aluminum head without breaking your budget. I recently picked up a complete v8-60 that wasn't seized for $200. They are expensive to rebuild, but if you're not in too much of a hurry and watch for parts etc you will most likely find what you need. I would also recomend switching to the straight rather then the tapperred water pumps. The tappered pumps almost always leak for what I've been told, thats why ford went to the straight design. You will need a newer front cover and pumps.
I put a 60hp in my '52 MGTD four years ago, been quite happy with it. The tapered pumps have leaked either water or oil since almost day one. No water in oil but some oil in the coolant once, probably hampers cooling. Will flush out one day. Found a couple of straight pumps but no timing cover yet, always looking. It's a cool ride. Marvin, ct
An ad in the HAMB classified got some guys with heads for sale.... This car will be about 1600 pounds so the gutless little V8 should move it ok.
I pulled the pan today.... The engine is clean and looks like all new bearings on decent journals And the reason it was rebuilt ...have a looky here, this cylinder is sleeved and a weld repair. No other damage to be seen...
Don't give it to blowby, give it to me! The guys who use V8-60s in light cars swear by them. The guys swearing at them are for the most part guys who don't really have a lot of (or any) experience with them. The bottom end looks good, but you really do need to find a straight water pump front cover instead of fighting with leaky tapered water pumps. I have a good aluminum head that you can have for shipping cost, just send me a PM. Greg in Jax
Be carful buying used aluminium heads, I bought a set on ebay and they both where cracked in the same place that yours cracked. It happens from removing them as they weld themselves to the studs after many years . My original set where cracked in same place, they are hollow and very weak and cant tolerate any pressure when removing them. Good luck
Anyone know how to plumb in a remote full flow or if not - a bypass oil filter to the V8-60. They have a different oil pump than the 85hp - direct off the front bearing and they had a bypass filter on top of the engine with a restrictor hole in the return line to the inlet manifold. I have removed the filter and want to run a remote filter.
Fisky, you can pick up complete remote oil filter kits on eBay all of the time. Run a T fitting at the oil pressure takeoff on the manifold, and a return line back into the manifold near the fuel pump. That was the standard installation and it will give you partial flow filtering. You do need to run a restrictor in the return line but they come up pretty often, too. If you can't find one solder a Stromberg jet into a regular brass connector.
Thanks Greg thats what I thought - I've made a restrictor with the same hole size as the original return tube. Just needed to check. As you can see finally starting on the installation.
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