www.cycloneracingequip.com That's the addy & I can send you pics of what we make. The website was originally done by Christian from Primer mag in Belgium. He based it on our 1949 Catalog. The lead page reads a lil long, but it gives a customer an idea of who we are & what has been accomplished with our parts. If there is anything that I help you with, give me a shout. Kevin
My Father drove his '34 roadster around Valla Park (Aussie Rod Run) with one head off his 8BA many many years ago. This was a time when guys all drove wire wheeled windsor or chev powered resto rods. Seeing this 34 hi-boy with moon discs drive around with a head missing would have been cool. I'm planning on running my 8BA that I pulled from a '51 F3 in my model A tudor, with a T5 for longer legs on the hiways. They have a sound that hasn't been matched since.
Hey, I cant see why it wouldnt run without a head... i mean all it does is go from a flatty to a slightly out of shape Model B four! Danny
Grandpa said he pulled a head off of a running flatty one time- before he knew his butt from a hole in the ground- and watched it run. As a young boy, he was amazed at how the pistons looked like they were just sitting there.......then it caught fire.....
Hey man, I'm not calling your gramps out but hows it going to ignite with the head off and no spark plug LOL. Danny
Plug leads will still spark to earth and there would be mixed fuel flying around all over from the intake valves....highly likely a fire could start.
that's the reliability factor of a flathead- parts left out can't get broken or wear out. No rocker arms or pushrods. Which is one major reason why flatheads are still used in lawn tractors, etc. I bought an Ingersol Rand tow behind air compressor with a Continental flathead 6 in it- old unit from 1968. It didn't run, paid $125 for it. Took the head off, one ex. valve in #1 hole stuck open, and that piston broken. I sprayed the valve stem with WD-40 and POUNDED it back in the block with a hammer. cranked the motor until the valve went up and down without sticking- fixed. Then pulled the pan, removed the broken piston. Found a replacement new with rings from a Kaiser/Frazier antique parts dealer down South. Even was in the original Kaiser box and packaging- said "Kaiser"- at one time they ran the Continental engine in cars. Put the piston on the rod myself- full floater with snap ring pin from the factory. Put the piston is- cleaned and coated the OLD head gasket with hylomar sealant- reinstalled head- adjusted all the valves (solid lifters)- put the pan back on with permatex sealer- VAROOM- it's running powering my sandblaster to this day. my in-laws Briggs powered lawn tractor stopped running- pulled the head- exhaust valve seat fell out, was dangling from the valve head- I pounded the valve seat back into place with a carpenter's hammer- and peened around the edge with a screwdriver- reassembled- VAROOM- running. I've talked to an old timer who used to change valves on the road, like changing tires, on trips with his flathead 6 Dodge. He took spare valves with him in the glove, on fishing trips to Canada. The old Fords came with spark plug wrenches, that said "Ford", one side of the wrench was for head bolts, the other for the spark plugs. That impressed me- the owner of the car given a wrench to fit the head bolts. Imagine the buyer of a new Honda being handed a head bolt wrench with his new car. stuff was just a lot easier to work on then obviously !
I went to buy a '50 ford tudor.Filthy neglected typical barn find.They said the motor was stuck and that they'd put oil in the cyllinders but it won't turn over.I tried the lights and horn to no avail.I went and bought a battery,picked up two air tanks to pump up the tires,some gas to prime the carb. and a socket and breaker bar.The engine turned over with the new battery so I looked around for a wiring problem.I found that the back of the key switch had come off and was hanging there by the wires.Popped it back on,primed the carb and it ran great though smokey.Smoke went away after ten minutes or so.The guy I bought it from just about filled his pants when the old Ford came out from it's resting place running and driving.Drove the car home.After servicing the car and a lot of cleaning ( half dozen filled sop vacs) and polishing it became my daily transportation for four years.No problems all the while I drove it.Even the old bias ply wide whites held up. -Strat.