Hot Rods .........lazyv8 's new mill for the 39........

so as most of you know ,when i built the coupe i bought an old runner flathead to get me by for the upcoming season...that was almost three years ago!! it is a stock 40 motor with external speed parts only. the motor has been a champ ringing in almost 15k on the coupe in the last three years and i drive hard!!
needles to say the motor has lasted longer than i ever thought..testiment to flatheads!! still fires in half a revolution and runs great but its tired.. low oil pressure and low compression.. ive been on the lookout for a good running strong 59ab for a while..
well.. THE FLATHEAD GODS HAVE SPOKEN!! i ran into Danny Gonzalez(dannyjr) and Ron Brooks(r&c ron) at GNRS in january. while talking to them somehow me needing a motor for the coupe was mentioned.. danny happened to have a running 59ab that he pulled out of his 48 vert to put a BRAND X or "orange motor" in..he told me to call him once i got home and we would work something out..i lagged to say the least and didnt call for a while because i knew it was a complete motor head to toe and figured i couldnt afford it.. im just a regular dude trying to raise a family with a fueled obsession for these early v8s..gramps 40 deluxe..
so after months..(yes months). i called danny up to ask him about the motor,thinking it would have been long gone.. he replies.." bro..i told you its yours dude!!" "its not going anywhere" wow.. what a guy . the next day i was over at his place ready to suck it up and shell out whatever i needed to to get this mill.. even though i couldnt afford it.
dannys gorgeous buick..
dannys 48 convertible hes in the process of building .. it may look box stock besides stance..theres more than meets the eye on this one..gramps and danny chatting
so after i arrive trying to hold my composure because the motor is sitting in the middle of his shop burning the corner of my eyes while we were kicking tires about the 48, we finally get to the 59ab. lets just say that there are very few car guys out there willing to help young guys like me out in the way danny has..he made me a deal i couldnt refuse.he truly is a car guy! and understands what these things are worth but wanted to help me out..that he did! here it is..
all danny could tell me about the motor is that an old timer from hayward (jim koreia)built th motor for the 48 for the previous owner.but the inside was a mystery..my plan is to put my two piece truck pan on it smooth the block out re gasket it it and put it back together. all i could tell from outside it had a10" clutch and original edelbrock script heads malory dual point and the kicker is the LEES SPEED SHOP TORNADO INTAKE! from the renowned lees in oakland in the 40s and 50s.

heres teardown..
parts..
first the intake valley.. i notice stock lifters..hmmm. but the lifters had a button brazed on each..(old racer trick) in observance of (TEEP)must have a cam..

 

looking in the intake ports i notice some massaging..

this thing is clean.. low low miles.. with heads off. looks to me it has been ported and releived with ss chevy valves

measured the bore .80 over! just enough and still enough wall thickness..

 

isky 400jr..

 

i pulled the pan and discovered the fully balanced 4" crank and 8ba rods.. what a killer motor!

 

Great score, that intake looks neat.
The 48 convert looks like we'll need to see updates also.
Thanks for the great pics

 

meanwhile gramps pays a visit to jim koreias place in hayward to have him set the curve on a couple distributors he asks him about this motor.. he said he did everything he could on this motor and should be a ripper in my coupe! he also asked" does it still have the tornado intake?" gramps told him it did and im gonna run it too.. turns out jim purchased the intake at lees speed shop in 1949 for his mild custom 39 convertible!!!! how freakin neat is that!!!! his 39 was showed in the 53-54 oakland roadster show. i have a pic of it i will add later..heres the intake with a little clean up.

 

also if thats not good enough danny threw in a mint harmann-collins dual point also!!!!
DANNY YOUR THE MAN!

 

You've got one great friend there------

 

very cool..

 

i sure do!!

 

thanks louie!

 

Looks great! One thing couldn't help but pull my eye to it and that was the chrome alternator. It just seems to take a little away from the engine. Was there a reason for using it? I'm not familiar with flatheads too much and I'm only offering an observation.

 

beleive me that was the first to come off and stay off!! nothing worse than a period engine with an eye sore right on top! im actually going to give the whole motor a face lift.paint polish and chrome..

 

What a great story. Sounds to me like that engine went to the right guy. Hopefully, some day, you'll hand it over to the next generation.

 

Whoa man you are one lucky dude.....if I could only find a friend like that....what a great thing to do for you...and what a great engine....DAMN!.......

 

definateley man..thanks for the kind words.. generosity like this is what keeps this hobby moving on through generations.

 

thanks hotrd32 . danny is a great dude with great taste in cars to boot!

 

This is what hot rodding is all about. Meeting new friends and helping each other out.

 

totaly couverkid.. your 40 is bitchin!

 

Man I love your coupe. Everytime I see photos of it I always admire how spot on it is. That motor is gonna just add to it. Killer intake with an amazing story. It's great to have cool hot rod buddies like your friend Danny. Looking forward to seeing the finished install!
-Aaron

 

What a neat little motor with a great story! Always loved your coupe and can't wait to see it rippin' down the road with that new mill.

 

very cool!! will it be at billetproof? or are there bigger plans for it??

 

Very nice. That should be a sweet little engine when its back together and tuned. Congrats and look forward to seeing it soon.

 

Wow what a lucky score!
It helps to have the perfect "frame" for the new flathead though.
I'm waiting for that kinda deal to replace my wheezy flathead!

I saw that you have a generator on the original intake,
but figured I'd throw this out there if you don't get the offset bracket.

a relatively simple bracket,
and the alternator is '64 or '64,
so it keeps the early feel.

The hardest part was the pulley,
I cut it and widened it to accept the wide belt.
Still works after a couple years!

Just enough room for the carburetor.

Didn't mean to hijack your post!
Have seen your coupe and its so perfect,
and with the new engine got a little excited!

TP

 

Well if I didn't hate you then I sure do now! Just kidding, you know your '39 is one of my favorites and I couldn't imagine your engine bay getting any cooler until I read this. Damn, what a ripper that's going to be.

Thank god you didn't pull the old one for one of those gay ass BRAND X (orange motor) engines. Those suck.......alright, I think I do hate you.

 

Very nice score. That motor is going to a great home in your coupe. I just clicked off over 600 miles on my flathead driving from St. Louis to Louisville KY for the nationals... Ran like a champ.

 

man aaron.. thank you so much ! that really means alot coming from you.. im a big fan of all you do. so keep on doing it!

 

thanks sutton ! this car may be a little different in the coming months..

 

i think so.. ill be there on my minibike for sure .. scuttlebugs mbc. oh yea.. serious. the coupe may be under a face lift..