Technical restored 46 coupe,Flathead or 283?

Great story Highlander
Anothercarguy , missed it was an old post , looks like he listed the car for sale in the Hamb classified in 2017 with the small block installed

 

Yep, 283. Get a 1957 or newer 283...preferably early 60's. They had the oil filter on bottom of block.
1955 265 V8 didn't have oil filter

Like someone said earlier, the exhaust manifolds are 55 or 56.

The first hot rod I ever bought (back in the 60's) was a 29 Ford channeled and fenderless coupe with a 283, and 3 speed .
Bought it because it had a 283, not a flathead. At that time was when everyone was converting to overhead valve engines. ....Was a blast to drive.

 

Dang, only enjoyed it for a year.

 

I heard the OP put the car on hold while he perfected time travel.
At this moment, he’s headed back to late 20s Ford headquarters with a set of Chevy fullie heads. His plan is to convince Henry to skip the flathead and go OHV.
If successful, he won’t have to do an engine swap.
You guys running flatheads are possibly about to have a surprise.

 

^^^^ An individual who thinks differently from the norm.

 

Dam-it-Man! Guess I need to consult the dates on these threads......
Just sump'in else I gotta try and rememberate !!!!
6sally6

 

Sounds like an automotive based Twilight Zone episode.

 

I stopped by to make sure he took a Vega steering box but he’d had already left.
The odd part is that if he’s successful, we will never know

 

Sad how many builds and threads i read through that get finished and are driven less than a cpl yrs and SOLD! I build cars to flip, i build cars for me...man alive the ones for me aint goin anywhere! The car Im building my dad aint going anywhere! The 37 chev im building my mom? Staying in the family! I just dont get it...so many seem to enjoy building more than owning and driving a hot rod....

 

The thing is Anthony,
He did go.
That's why we had the V8 in '32 instead of just the Model B. Ford was going to do it his way and did.
After he shared his idea with Ford, Ford sent Harry Bennet to give him a big 1920s FoMoCo, thanks.

 

Hello,

Well, you have the biggest part completed, a restored body and set up. The less body work you have to do, the easier it is to get it on the road for some fun adventures. So, the next step is for more power. Having owned and driven a powerful 348 powered 58 Impala at the drags and on the street from 59-65, I can attest that it certainly is fun knowing you have reserve power for any situation. But, as we got older, that power was just sitting and the next level of our future called for something different.

While we were in the throes of teenage hot rods and fast cruisers, the group of teens that had cars was varied. From the said 58 Chevy all the way to my own Flathead powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery I bought specifically to go surfing and other stuff. It was cool, then again, not cool to drive the 58 Impala to the beaches to go surfing.

We took a lot of gruff from the locals and then when they saw how well we could surf and how large both my brother and I were, they shut up quickly. But, we knew the parameters of a pristine black 58 Chevy Impala with two boards sticking out of the rear.

So, the Impala was the drive-in parking lot cruiser and hot rod racer. In that same group was a fast 57 Chevy Bel Air hardtop and a cool looking 46 Ford Coupe. The 57 Chevy Bel Air was the car with the most modifications done for speed and power. The 46 Ford coupe was the one with the most custom things done. A dark grey repainted a bright deep purple. We drove it down across the border for all White tuck and roll including the inside roof and trunk area. He had chrome reversed wheels and of all things, a 283 SBC motor with a LaSalle floor shift transmission.

The time spent doing those mods was rewarding. The all White tuck and roll stood out all the way across the parking lot. When he/we moved to the next hang out, the purple paint contrasted to the all white upholstery and it stood out like no other car. There was a Green 53 Chevy Bel Air that also made the trek below the border for some White tuck and toll and now, two cars stood out in any parking lot trading normal teenager barbs and much laughter.

Jnaki

So, what should you do? Since there is not much needed on the body, a small block SBC motor should give you the power you need for normal highway speeds, the reliability of an SBC motor and ease of tuning it anywhere. These days are not comparable to the traffic of those old 60s days, so, safety upgrades with the braking system and suspension system is a necessity. But, a pure power SBC motor would make things simple, yet give you enough power to not have to worry about steep grades and lack of power.

The only reason I am favoring an SBC motor is that having driven the Flathead motor in my 40 Ford Sedan Delivery for a million miles was fun. But we had to adapt to the lack of pure horsepower for going up those steep coastal roads to get to various surf spots. If the spot was at the base of a steep hill like at the San Diego’s Torrey Pines Beach, it was a first gear only climb up hill for a couple of miles until we could turn around and head North towards home. This is the steepest part on the whole coast... about 7-10% grade is a first gear climb, if we started from the beach surf spot at the base of the cliff side.

Coming back from Santa Barbara, for example, we had to plan on spending more time coming down the Coast Highway, instead of cutting across the whole L.A. Metropolitan city areas due to the steepest hill grade in the whole area. The Conejo Grade is 7% and about 13 mile of uphill slog for us in the Flathead. Not only is it steep, but it is a long grade and the Flathead with several teens and heavy longboards just would not make the long, winding grade uphill, so we could get over into Los Angeles and head toward Long Beach via the freeways.

The Flathead motor was very reliable, requiring no repairs or getting stuck anywhere. But, it just did not have the power to climb hills. During our teenage Christmas to New Year’s Day mountain “Gathering of The Tribes” annual road trip vacation, the sedan delivery had to stay home. It just did not have the power to go up to the local Big Bear Mountain/Lake cabins. The 280 hp Impala made every trip with much power and comfort. YRMV