Seems like Ford flathead V8 was a**** the minority running the exhaust port through the block. Caddy V8, Briggs and Stratton, Harley Davidson chose to keep their exhaust ports short, probably to reduce heat loss/transfer into the block and coolant. Looks like Pierce Arrow did too, and maybe as a result their big V engines were in production decades after Pierce shut down in the late 30s. http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/...t-outlived-their-parent-companies/?refer=news
When the V8 Ford first came out, a GM engineer took one apart for evaluation. His confidential report summarized, "Brilliant casting of unit block. Very low unit cost per horsepower developed. Extremely compact. Everything else, exhaust port routing, water pump design, lack of valve adjustment, violates every basic rule of engine design. It will run fast, give problems and die young."
I don't know anybody but Ford (Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Ford truck) that ran the exhaust thru the block that way.
The Jalopy Journal
