i met an old timer today who mentioned he had a 36 flathead, if i remember it's 21 bolt, 85hp... he said he also had a 37, which he thought was a 60hp. he wanted about the same price for both... all things being the same, which one is a better motor? thanks for the wisdom
The answer you are going to receive is that the 60 HP motor wasn't very popular when it was new because it was SLOW! It's also MUCH harder to find hop up parts for the V8-60. However, they are cool little motors... Kind of in a novelty sense... V8-60s were used in Midget racers because they were small and light. All things the same and they both run and you want to put it in an A or later 30s - 40s Ford or modified, get the 85 horse motor. if it's cheap... get the 60 horse motor too, and all your friends will say, "wow! that's a cute little flathead motor..." .... or... build you a $25,000 Honest Charlie V8-60 bike.... http://www.honestcharley.com/V860.htm
The 60hp only looks right in little rods and won't make cheap horsepower. The 21 stud engines (221 Cu in) are ugly and once again, won't make any easy hp. The 59ab and 8ba (both 239 cubic inches) are the engines used in most hot rods. Immeasurably better parts availabilty.
many more outlets for speed parts. Plus the 24 stud motors had a higher hp rating stock. You can get more out of them for a lesser price than trying to hop-up a 21 stud.
If you are buying them to flip I believe the '36 is the one early restorers want. I has insert mains but externally looks like a 32-35, someone will correct me if I got that wrong.
I may be wrong, but didn't some '36 engines still have babbitted mains? I thought that the "LB" block was the one to look for.
The LB was introduced in late '35, and both it and the older babbitt style engine were produced through '36... 60 should only be considered for REALLY light rods, like an MG TC type car...but they seem to be in demand right now.
I don't think anyone is going to put a lot of money in a "Tin Side" V8-60, the later full cast iron 60's have a bigger crank that also makes them more desireable.
Flat motors: If you have the opportunity to get flathead engines that have been kept under cover and turn over and you have determined that the price is a deal,you should probably purchase them. To help determine what you are looking at, the 21 stud motors were made from 1932 to 1937. The 32 is most desirable as it is a one year design block. 33-36 engines are hard to separate as they look the same. Their disadvantage is that they have babbit main bearings so rebuilding requires special tools. Late 35 engines were 21 stud units but were upgraded to insert main bearings and as a prior post, desirable to the restorers. These can sometime be visually spotted by an "LB" stamp on the top of the block next to the intake manifold. In 37, 3 engines were availble, a 21 stud block that had the water pumps in the block and a 24 stud engine and a smaller 60 hp version. The 24 stud design continued up to 1953 and had 2 bore sizes. The 32 to 42 engines were 221 cu in, the 46 to 53 239 cu in. 21 stud speed equipment is rare. The small 60 hp engine continued into 1940 and they were 136 cu in. There were 3 designs, a tin side block, a cast block and then in 39/40 the crank size was increased. This engine was characterized by a longer crank pulley snout. The 39/40 engine seems to be more desireable and right now 60's are popular for antique race cars and boats. Hope this helps on determining the value of the offer.
one of the easiest ways to tell which is which is i believe that the v8 -60 has the bell housing cast into the block. at least they did in the earlier years. plus the parts that you can get for a 60 are more expensive. the problem with both of them though is that the ignition setup on those ones are tough to get at and maintain. there is a way though that you can run a '49-53 ignition system on a '32-'48 style engine. it's a pretty trick swap that you can do just by using the w/p's, distributor, timing cover, and crank pulley from a newer style flathead.
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