A couple of months ago I allowed myself to be talked into carving a Ford flathead crankshaft for a rather special engine. The engine would be based on a pristine 8BA block that I massaged for illustrations aimed at a how-to book of flathead porting. In the end the illustrations and words were incorporated in the flathead engine book I did with Vern Tardel (How to Rebuild & Modify Ford Flathead V-8 Engines). After deciding that I wouldn’t be building a flatmotor worthy of the substantially finessed block I put it up for sale and soon found a buyer who understood and appreciated the work involved. The buyer and I talked about his plans for the block, and he mentioned he’d seen pictures of a crankshaft I’d carved a while back – a long while back, as I recall – and asked if I’d be interested in carving a new SCAT crank for this motor. After trading off the drudgery of the work in the early stages against the satisfaction of the later work and the pleasure of enjoying the finished piece I agreed to do it. Whittling on iron crankshafts is like making sausage; if you saw how it was done you probably wouldn’t like it. But once it’s done, a nicely carved crankshaft, like a well-made sausage is hard to resist. The stock SCAT stroker crankshaft, this one a 4-1/8-in. piece . . . Making sausage . . . And finally what we had in mind all along -- aero cut to reduce windage drag, reduced weight, and elimination of stress risers -- all good stuff . . . Too bad that it gets covered and never seen once it's doing its job. But we know, don't we? Mike
I know very little about the Flathead Ford Engine. But, I know artistry when I see it, and that crankshaft is purely a work of art! You are so right about doing all that work, only to have it not be visible when it's in an assembled engine. How many hours does this take? I won't even ask about cost. Thanks for just posting this incredible workmanship. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Nice to see some of your work again Mike. I've missed your smiling face....was thinking of you while I was at the most recent Speed Week. Charlie
It's one thing to just whittle out an attractive part by knocking off the ugly bits. It's a whole different thing to make something that looks that good, and is still a functional part, one that is still perfectly balanced and hasn't been weakened in the process. I couldn't do either...so it's nice to see someone who can. Well done, sir.
Quit polishing your crank - it will give you hairy palms and a need for glasses! Lol Really nice work!!
What concerns do you have regarding change of the balance as you are carving bits away? Does the rebalance work negate any of the smoothing you have done (holes that will catch oil)? Do you smooth the stress risers off the rods for the same engine? And this might help with balance as well?
Bishop's back!!! I remember his way earlier threads, and they were a go-to read for accurate, factual and well written hands-on info. Hopefully more is on the way!
Wow that is a beautiful piece! I suppose we have to buy the book to get the explanation of how the crank is balanced?
Mike, great to see you back on here!!! I had the privilege of installing one of your cranks in an engine up here while working for Dave Ness, I joked with him that we would have to put plexiglass in the sides of the oil pan just so you could see the jewelry! To anyone wondering, when we had the crank and rods balanced for Digger Dave's engine, the parts balanced out far better than a stock ford crank generally would. The fellow that did the balancing didn't believe that it would even be able to be balanced after the weight that Mike took off! to his surprise it required only 8 grams (if I recall correctly) of added weight in the form of a small mallory plug in 2 counterweights! We've also assembled the mains with a tool steel strap (5/8" x 1") on machined caps, then line bored, like a mini girdle. The balancing holes that you see in the counterweights are the ford balancing. Regardless of those, Mike makes one slippery crankshaft!
Book: How to Rebuild & Modify Ford Flathead V-8 Engines. Buy it. Is good. http://www.verntardel.com/collectio...ild-and-modify-ford-flathead-v-8-engines-book
Amazing work on the crank. It is good to see you are back at. I have read a lot of your threads on this forum and have learned a lot from your details and discussions. You are always in pursuit of getting the best power out of flatheads and willing to share. Your testing thicknesses with a UT meter is of interest as well. I did that as part of my work on maintaining large boilers, piping etc. The first instrument was a heavy oscilloscope where we read the wave height to determine the thickness. I have collected and read several recommended books including recently the illusive McNichols book. I bought the Mike Bishop and Vern Tardel book How to Build and Modify Ford Flathead V8 engines. It is well written and definitely the best illustrated book of the bunch. It is an easy read and visually clarifies many issues around building a flathead better than any other. Anyone planning to build or have a flathead built should read this book to know what they can reasonably do themselves and what to farm out. The book gives a good practical insight into building a reliable engine. Excellent work as always & the best money spent on a flathead book.
Wow! It's great to see that crank where it should be; The last time I saw it was when I placed it in the casket Dave made to ensure its safe journey back to the far North. It was an exceptionally nice 4-inch Mercury piece. In answer to alchemy's questions -- Large pockets where material is removed during balancing will no doubt put back a bit of drag but the crank is still more slippery than it was to begin. The connecting rods for this motor are forged H-beams so there's little to be done to them. Conventional rods are treated to some grinding to reduce stress risers along the beam as part of the weight-matching task. The few SCAT cranks I've worked on required surprisingly little correction during final balance. Merc cranks also require little correction. At the other end of the spectrum, a 4-inch French crank I whittled a dozen years ago needed considerable correction. Finally, thanks to everyone for the kind words. Maybe it's time for a how-to piece on doing this work. There's no magic involved -- just a lot of patience and hours, and it's great to see the work progress as you're doing it. Mike
Mike : Please write that article about how you lightened that crank!!! How you did it should apply to other V-8 cranks as well! Please go into why you ground where you did, as well.thanks in advance!!!
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