Hot Rods Frozen 8BA Revisited...

Last year I posted that my 8BA had four frozen pistons. What happened was I had taken the heads off to check the cylinder ridge, put the heads back on withought the spark plugs so I could spin it more easily from time to time. Well one day it didn't spin... rain had gotten in through an unknown leak in the roof. Pulled the heads and four cylinders with water in them but only on the left hand side. Soaked it for months in ATF/acetone but to no avail.
So today my brother and myself took to it and ..... cruise over t o the Ford Barn to get "the rest of the story".

 

Hey, that's clickbait! :O

 

You could at least post a link to the Ford Barn post. That is a big barn to snoop around.

 

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=276860

Here you go...

 

Going to try a little cylinder honing today or tomorrow to see if the bores will clean up. If it looks promising I'll take the ridge reamer to them. I'll be checking the dimensions to see if I need a rebore or perhaps just a simple overhaul.

 

Some before pics....

 

Now some after but not done yet...

 

We measured the bores with a telescoping Guage and found a variance of 3.190-3.192". We measured each cylinder twice 90* between measurements. Since the original bore size is 3.1875" we have a wear of between .0035-.0045". Do the cylinders need re-boring or are they close with enough so that a simple overhaul would do?

 

I need to have my machine shop do an accurate measurement of the bore in three locations as well as get the taper information. If there still is enough wall thickness to use the original bore calculating in potential wear then I'll probably just do that. But I do want to know there is enough meat left and not close enough... New main, rod, and cam bearings regardless. I'll have them evaluate the cam as it may have been changed in the past. If it is stock I'll either purchase a new one or may just have a local old time cam grinding shop re-profile it.

This engine will eventually find a home in my '32 5W...

 

Borrowed a pickle fork from a club member. Tried to release the valve guide retainer clips by using the official method. Those little buggers were stubborn! But I come from a long line of stubbornness so... First release the valve keepers, next the valve, the little conical disc, release the spring sideways, tapped the guide down gently, bagged and tagged! Next up cam and lifters. Pics later. So far everything except one oil pan bolt has come apart quite easily. With .025-.035 cylinder wear I wonder how many miles on this engine...

 

In the book I have it says:
It will be necessary to rebore any cylinders that have a taper of more than .006, out of round by more than .003, or if wear exceeds .005

 

The wear doesn’t bother me as bad as the pitting,,,,,the tops of some o& them look pretty rough.
I am not opposed to using bores with a little too much wear,,,,,but,,,you might want to consider a rebore with that much pitting.
Check it very closely to be certain,,,let the machine shop inspect it closely.

Tommy

 

Got the lifters out and the cam. The cam for some reason took a little persuasion. In a couple of days the block and all its bits and pieces are going to the engine rebuilder to be checked out.

 

Just checked the crankshaft and somebody installed a Merc crank!!! Has the well known Merc dimple...

 

Can anyone give me an idea if this is a stock camshaft? I figure if they swapped for a Merc crank maybe they changed the cam as well.

 

Are you sure it isn’t a Merc engine to start with ?
My 49 Mercury looks just like it,,,,and it also has 8BA cast into all the castings,,,block,,oil pump,,,,it is still an 8BA,,,,even though it was in a Mercury car ,,with a bigger crank .

Tommy

 

Yeah, only the Merc specific parts got a Merc number. Crank, heads, maybe some water pumps, carb.

 

Well the engine did have Merc heads on it but with the C8BA cast into the bellhousing I took that as the main clue. Easy to swap head, rather difficult to recast a block to fool someone. LOL. Any ideas on the cam? I'll dig out the old intake to investigate further.

 

Do yo have a pic of the numbers on the back of the block ?
That would help a bunch .

Tommy

 

Here it is

 

Isn't that just simply a Canadian 8ba ?

 

Looks like Canadian to me too.
But didn’t they make Mercs in Canada as well.
My Mercury has 8BA cast into it in several places .
And my crank doesn’t have the dimple on it anywhere.

Tommy

 

Yes indeed!! Definitely a Canadian block. The C in front of the 8BA signifies the block was made in Canada. The Canadian 8BA blocks were made up until and including 1954 and could still be ordered in Canadian 1955 cars. The 4 inch crankshaft would have been installed right from the factory. Try to save that block. It would have a higher nickel content in it.

You could even put Ardun heads on that block as I see it hasn't been factory relieved.

 

Well I know it’s a Canadian block. Somewhere I read that all blocks cast in Windsor wore the C8BA ID and if it was going to be installed in a Merc it got the Merc specific parts otherwise it got the Ford parts. Did the Merc have different cams? I believe the had different pistons and perhaps con rods...

When the engine shop manager did a prelim measurement of the cylinders I believe he said that they were around 3.188; stock is 3.1875. However, due to the unfortunate rusting in some of the left bank cylinders it will have to be bored .020 or perhaps .030. So I’m still happy. They will hot tank and magma flux before anything definite transpires.

Considering that the engine came with two sets of original Eddie Myer heads and a Fenton intake with three 97’s with progressive linkage as well as the price I paid I think I got a steal of a deal! First step in getting my ‘32 5W ready for the next Deuce Days...

 

If you’re considering donating a set To the cause I will accept them and pay the shipping!

 

Yes ,,,,Mercury cam is different,,,,has a little more lift,,,,,around .330 lift,,or so.
Rods were same,,,,,pistons as well .
Looks like it should make a really nice engine !

Tommy

 

So would the Merc cam be more desirable? All I know about cams is that some of the aftermarket manufacturers had/have some pretty cool decals!

 

No, Merc pistons had a different pin height. Because of the increased stroke but using the same rods as Ford.

 

Sorry Alchemy,
Yes,,,the pin height is different to match the crank .
I thought he was thinking the compression was different to add performance,,or they were stronger pistons .
As to the cam,,,,,I’ll have to get the manuals out,,,,seems the 8BA cam was some odd lift,,,, ,.311,,,,or .313,,,,.
From the pic of your cam Fortunate,,,,,that lobe looks very peaked,,,almost sharp,,,,you might consider having it checked closely .
You can have your cam reground to a performance grind pattern,,,,or even reground to stock ,,,whatever direction you looking for .
Also ,,the aftermarket makes some great replacement cams too.
These Flathead engines are really nice power producers,,,,,not a lot of horsepower,,,,but gobs of torque.
The HP numbers are always low,,,because they don’t run the high RPM like overhead valve engines,,,,,but they still produce a lot of torque .

Tommy

 

As for me torque is the fun number. I am planning to have the cam checked and probably reground Shadbolt Cams that has been around since the mid fifties. They have all the profile masters so I'm sure I will be ok. Just a bit excited about this. The engine will be hooked up to the traditional '39 box with original Zephyr gears and transfer power to a '40 rear end.