Projects FlatCab: 1932 Cabriolet, Hot 1941/42 Merc Flathead Build

Looking great as allways D. Now you get me inspired again, so it's time to duck back into the garage

/Kjell

 

Loving it Dale - keep us posted

 

I like that timing pointer Dale! I will PM you my number, ring me when you get out here. Going to be 60s and maybe 70s out here today!

 

Gang - We're Getting Close . . .
Spent the whole day on the details - all the little stuff that you think should take an hour . . . and takes the whole day if you do it right. I'm in a mood to rush, but old age and treachery has given me patience to finish things the way they should be finished. It always amazes me - we will do everything right for 95% of the project, then screw it up in the last 5% (human nature I guess???). So I've had to force myself to complete things as they should be . . .

1) Fuel Pump Stand and Valley Breather Baffle: This is one of those parts that is usually thrown out . . . so you may have never seen one. This baffle goes between the intake manifold and sits/presses down into the block. I never used to run one (didn't know they even existed) . . . but I also had oil mist/spray on my firewall all the time??? Maybe if I had run one of these, that wouldn't have happened??? Anyway - thought I'd try to put back what Henry had in place from the start. When you press it down, it centers on the block below and actually has a little press fit.


Something else has kind of hit me. When this tube is in place, the air-flow through the engine has to be different than when you remove it. Think about it - this tube closes off the whole valley area from the breather tube on the fuel pump stand. So - the airflow to get UP to the stand - has to come from down in the crankcase. Hmmmm - never thought about that before??? So - I have to wonder if we've screwed up the airflow all these years when we've removed this baffle from the engine valley area? Anybody know more . . . please share???

2) Painted a Bunch of Stuff and Installed it All on the Engine: Couple fun things (at least for me). If you look closely, you'll see some stainless ignition wire looms. I've had these for 35 years . . . a good old HotRodder friend named Floyd Bradford (SoCal) made these for me and just gifted them to me one day. They've kicked around my 'parts stash' for 35 years. I was thinking about good ole' Floyd the other day and thought . . . "Yah know - Floyd would like to see these on this ole' engine of mine" - so on they went. This engine is an experiment and a collection of things I've been hoarding or thinking about since I was in my early 20's . . . kind of nice to put some of those old parts and ideas into play. Hell - even if some of them don't work out . . . makes me happy to at least give them a chance and see what happens. Funny how I've gotten more sentimental about this shit as I've aged.

3) Spark Plug Wires - Back to the Past: If you look below, you'll see that I'm once again running the same spark plug wires I ran over 40 years ago . . . good ole' 'Packard 440' stuff. I decided to go back to my past, run the same old wires and also run Rajah ends. But - when I started looking for Packard 440 wire . . . it didn't look the same at all? It was being sold as Packard 440 . . . but the lettering/stenciling was all wrong. So, I decided to try and find an old roll of the real stuff . . . and I did. Take a look at the pictures of the "real stuff" . . . versus the modern replacements . . . why can't they just make it at least look the same? I don't know - I just like the vintage look of the real old stuff - so I'm glad I found a spool of it and also an original/real set of Rajah ends. I think I'm getting too damn picky these days!



Here is what it looks like coming through Floyd Bradford's looms . . . THANKS Floyd, I miss yah!



Below is what all the modern stuff looks like . . . not even close . . . just aggravates that hell out of me!



4) Okay - Final Assembly . . . Ready to Install: Here it is . . . the good, bad and ugly of it. I've done all that I'm willing to do - this sucker is going in the chassis tomorrow! I wan't to start it and see if all my experimental crap runs at all . . . or I'll swap it and change it. But after 2 years of work - I'm very excited to drop this in the ole' FlatCad frame. Hopefully I can get it far enough along to start it tomorrow!



Tomorrow . . . the beast will be fired up . . . will be fun to see what is in store!

B&S

 

Cool work as always, it will be good to see it fired up, perhaps some live footage?.
Al.

 

Beautiful!

 

Put the good ole' video camera on the charger last night! Got up early this AM - fricking 32 degrees out . . . a little frost on the pumpkin this AM. I'm having a couple cups of coffee before I head out!

 

Book mark time !!! Read post #1 to here ... many, many, many times. Thank you sir !! Great job.

 

As lovely as a flathead ever gets. Great work. Thanks Dale. TEB

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Looks great. Waiting to hear it run.

 

You mentioned the fact that the motor would probably run better with 3 or 4 carbs,but they didn't make these manifolds before the war.Does that mean that a fabricated(Homebuilt) manifold was not heard of before the war? Check out this Homebuilt intake with 4-2's that could have been(but wasn't) Homebuilt before the war.Looks great on paper as each carb throat feeds an intake valve making(in theory) each carb throat tuneable for that cylinder.

 

Final Engine/Transmission Prep Details:
I decided to install as many components as possible - before I install the engine and transmission (as one unit) in the car.

1) Changing the Clutch Release Lever on the 39 Trans: I wasn't sure if I needed to use the 32 Clutch Lever arm - validated it on the Fordbarn and installed it on the transmission cross-shaft. This is absolutely necessary if you want to use the stock 32 pedal and the 39 trans. If you don't have a forged original, you can purchase a cast repop from Mac VanPelt.



2) Adding Brackets to Support the Original Stop Light Switch and Handbrake: The 32 transmission had provisions to mount the brake-pedal operated stop-light switch to the cover on the left hand side. Problem is, the 39 trans does not have the necessary bolt hole to mount it too. Likewise, the 32 transmission cover had two big cast bosses where the handbrake mounted - the 39 trans does not have these. Luckily the Early V8 Garage and Richard Lacy has you covered - here are the two brackets he supplied me to use my 39 trans in a stock 32 chassis:



3) Stripping the Engine Down: I removed the carbs, fuel pump, oil lines, generator/fan, etc -- to make it a lot easier to install the engine in the chassis. I use 4 grade 8 bolts to mount chains on the two furthest front intake bolts and two furthest back intake bolts. I like having 4 good mounting points to hold the engine and transmission - as this assembly is pretty heavy. Also, it gives me a really stable way to adjust my hoist to get the engine angle slightly tilted down in the rear - so installation goes smoothly.



Okay - next post I'll get to the install portion . . .

 

Installing the Engine in the Chassis - Cleanup and Prep:

1) Cleaning Up the Old Girl: I looked at the firewall and the k-member - both were covered in 83 years of grime, oil/grease, caked on dirt, etc.. I decided it would be a shame to just drop this nice purdy engine into this chassis without first giving everything a good clean.

Once I cleaned the dirt, oil and grease off the firewall, then I just used some paint sealer/wax to protect the surface. I was shocked at how nice the original firewall is - all the paint is the original 'dipped' finish from the factory. I just cleaned and shined it up - looks pretty dang vintage and cool to me.



Same deal with the k-member area - probably removed 5 pounds of crap down in the saddle area. Once I cleaned it all out - was amazing how much original paint was under the oil and gunk. It looks pretty dang good to me. I really don't want to "restore" this car - it is just such a great example of an old 32 . . . all the character of it's originality is what makes it cool to me. Would be a shame to make it all nice and painted like every other modern hotrod.



2) Installing the Engine and Transmission: We all know how to do this . . . and each of us has our own ways. I decided to install the engine and transmission as one unit - the same way I removed the engine/trans that was in it.



Kind of funny the picture of the engine - ready to be installed. Pictures like this have been taken since the 30's . . . kind of cool that here I am in 2015, dropping a hot flathead into a 32 chassis!

I use my car lift to install engines whenever I can - as it lets me lift the complete engine up and gives me a lot of control over height, angle of the engine, etc.. I've been doing this for a few years - is a much easier/better way than using a 'Cherry Picker'.



I managed to get the engine in this evening, the motor mounts bolted up to the K-member and everything sat down where it belongs. It has been a long day . . . enough for now.



Hopefully I will get it ready to start tomorrow - depends on how much 'exhaust' work I do. I really don't want to blow a bunch of soot and crap all over the nice clean k-member . . . so I need to make some 'down pipes' off the headers (just for now).

Lots of little stuff to do to get it all put together and ready to run - I'm really getting the itch to see if this dang thing runs and runs well.

See yah tomorrow . . .

 

This feels like Christmas Eve! I'm going to sleep right now, hope I wake up to Packard 440 wire hanging from the mantle.

 

I think there were some homemade intakes before the war - most that I've seen were modified original manifolds. I haven't seen many 100% fabricated ones - but I'm sure they existed. Another thing to ponder is that before the war, there really weren't many large cubic inch flatheads being raced - stroker cranks were really expensive and they didn't have the luxury of "Merc Cranks" like they did post 49. Most of the guys were running smaller cube motors, with maybe a camshaft, headers, dual intake and a modified ignition - that was pretty much "state of the art" at that point.

 

Damn Dale that looks absolutely stunning.......

 

Final Details Before Startup:
Lots of little problems and details to resolve in the last couple of days - always takes 5 times as long as one thinks. Hell - I thought I'd be ready to start it on Sunday - and here we are Wednesday!

1) Oil System - Filter and Pressure: Given that my 100% filtered oiling system routes the oil out the side of the pan, has to fill a filter and then finally get to the block, it took a LOT of cranking over (with the mag off) to finally get oil pressure. For a minute I thought this whole new oiling system was fubared and the pump wasn't working - all the thoughts of pulling the engine back out went through my mind. But - after probably a couple minutes of cranking it over at 12volts (6V starter) - only running the starter about 20 seconds each time . . . finally got oil pressure (have a gauge at the filter) - 60 lbs at cranking speed. Whew . . . was I glad to see that! There was no way I was going to start the engine until I knew I had oil pressure.

2) Fuel Pump: It would not pull from the tank to save it's life - thought it had gone bad . . . so I tried a another new pump - same deal. So after 4 hours of screwing around, measuring fuel-pump push rod lengths between this engine and the stocker . . . decided to fill the fuel bowl with gas (using a squirt can) and prime it a bit. Took right off after that! Sometimes one has to wonder why we chase stupid things and don't just do the obvious stuff the FIRST time. Duhhhhh!

3) Fuel Pressure - Fricking Strombergs: Of course this modern Airtex mechanical pump had WAY too much pressure for the Stromberg 48's - puked fuel all over the place (at just crank speed). I knew I'd need to add a pressure regulator. I have been saving a new 'Filter King' combination fuel filter and pressure regulator for a 'special' project - decided this was it! Then I went about trying to figure out where the hell to mount it and how to keep the fuel lines and setup looking clean. Pondered all sorts of thing. Then I got the bright idea to make a nice looking bracket and weld it to the top of the oil filter cover - putting the regulator right in line with the carbs and right above the fuel pump - cool beans! This was a 4 hour project, but it turned out really nice.



Getting really close now . . .

B&S

 

Waiting for the video..............

 

Okay - the Big Fricking Moment . . . Like Flathead Christmas . . . Better Than a Ginzu Knife!
So - after two years of work on this dang engine, untold hours of slave labor and $$$ that I don't ever want to add up, today is the day to finally see if the bastard will start and run.

To be honest, these days are stressful for me - in that I try to think of every last potential issue, check and recheck everything I can, thing about what I may have missed . . . and wonder to myself - "Will it run?" . . . followed by "I wonder if I did everything correctly . . . and what did I forget to do????". It is my favorite hotrod activity - in that after all the work, today is the day - but there is a mix of excitement, anxiety . . . wonderment . . . all of it.

1) Initial Start: I already knew I had fuel in the carbs, oil pressure, etc.. I mounted a special panel that I made that has a 12V starter solenoid on it (late model Ford) and I wire in a separate 12V system JUST to the starter. When you throw 12V on these old 6V starters, they haul ass . . . which is exactly what I want to start a new engine . . . especially one with a magneto. Also, this 12V system gives me a place to hook up my timing light - as I sure as shit don't have a 6V one! I used this same system to crank the engine over (plugs out), get oil pressure, get fuel to the carbs - fix issues, etc.. I set the timing with all the plugs out. Essentially I do everything possible to get the engine in a ready to fire state - before I put the plugs in and turn the mag on.

2) So, I cranked it over . . . it was trying to start, coughed a bit, sputtered, fired for a bit and stopped. It seemed that the carbs didn't have enough fuel in them. So I stopped, pulled the tops off - checked the fuel levels, adjusted them a bit and got ready for round two.

3) As it tried to start, the starter kept disengaging - obviously a weak bendix. This was the second starter that I put in it - as my good old one from 35 years ago had major issues and cranked about 1/2 speed. So I pulled the greasy one out of the 59AB and threw it into the engine. Hell - it turned it over . . . I can fix the bendix later on . . . just be nice to it . . .

4) First Real Fire: It started up, I kept the RPMs up and gave it a chance to settle in a bit. I wanted to keep the RPMs over 2000 for a good 10 minutes or so. Even though this has a roller cam, I like to give the engine a chance to warm up, get the rings seated a bit, get the valves seated a bit, etc.. After about 10 minutes - it was running quite well.

5) It is one Bad Ass Flathead! All the work appears to be worth it . . . experimental shit from one end to the other - and it seems to be working (at least for the first 15 minutes - standing still). The roller cam sounds fricking awesome . . . though I don't expect it to idle below 1000 - 1100 RPM (as it has about 280 degrees of duration at .050 - HUGE). It is one of the nastiest sounding flatheads that I've ever heard (un-blown). I created a LONG video of it - but will need to edit it and chop it down to a reasonable size.

Good News:
a) Great oil pressure. With 30 weight break-in oil, was pushing 100 when cold and about 70 once it was warm.
b) Ran Cool! Even with all the high-speed running in the shop - ran about 165 degrees max. I do not have thermostats in it (yet) - wanted to see how it cools without them at the start. I was a bit worried about the heat coming from the exhaust ports - as they are heavily ported and one would think that more heat would come into the cooling system. I do have coatings on the pistons and valves - maybe that helps?
c) No leaks anyplace! I didn't see a single leak - no oil, no water weeping from the head studs, etc..
d) It sounds better than I expected and there seems to be hope for the roller-cam

Here is a link to a video after I had it running about 10 minutes. The sound quality isn't the greatest (just an iPhone), but you'll get the idea. I recommend FULL VOLUME!

I'll take another video in the next couple days - hopefully with better sound quality.



Thanks to ALL of you for your interest in my work, this thread and this old Merc engine . . . has been a long and fun experience.

Up next - the maiden voyage . . . now won't that be fun!

B&S

 

Sounds AWSOME! Thumbs UP!

 

Sounds killer Dale!

 

Wild! Sounds fantastic and looks fantastic! Its been a great ride and I can't wait for the next part.

 

Really happy for you. Man, the sound is great.
That engine is over the top beautiful.
Nailed it!

 

Found your whole thread now. Love it....

 

Great work Dale killer engine build, thanks for taking the time to share it with all of us !!

Sounds great !

 

I am very curious how the coatings perform. Or if they just shed off into the oil and out the exhaust. The potential for DIY piston coatings is awesome!

 

damn thats purty

 

First Fire Video Compilation:

Had to edit the crap out of the needless break-in footage . . . enjoy!



B&S

 

That's great to see it in and fired. Sounds killer.

 

Hi Dale:
Nice video. Your Flathead sounds as good as it looks. Thanks for the fun! TEB

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