Just joined the dark side and bought myself an 8ba flathead. As advised I removed the heads to check for any cracks and discovered rather strange head gaskets. the coolant flow holes are nearly completely blocked except for tiny holes that appear to have grommets in the holes, the rear holes are completely open. Can anyone shed light on this for me as I was lead to believe that overheating is the killer of these engines.
Correct for 8BA engine. most of the coolant flows through the block from the front to back, then up to the heads and back to front. This is suppose to provide a more uniform cooling.
Small holes regulate the flow. Big openings are easier to cast. Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Ford went to this small hole gasket design in an effort to provide better cooling for the engine by directing the water flow to go to the rear of the head and then forward to the front. When you have the time, be sure to read all of the threads and links contained here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/yikes-flathead-head-milled-backwards.95586/ It really is amazing and explores head cooling to the "nth" degree..
The Jalopy Journal
