History Why valve in head?

Some are also OHC, and we have more trouble with the OHV/OHC than the good old flattie.

 

Which brings to mind the fact that I have something that few people believe exists and fewer have seen. A flathead Honda engine. My rusty old genorator that I have been hauling back and forth to Bonneville for years is a Flathead single cylinder 4 stroke Honda. Still runs.

 

C'mon, the***** even copied the flathead design? What's next, their copy of a Harley?

What's that? They've done that already? Oh, ok. And it doesn't break down every 50 miles? Whoah.

Seriously, I also have a 12.5 hp Kawaski flathead in my walk behind mower. That thing has been a champ.

 

The Jeep 4 Cyl. was an example of a cross over engine, based on the contenental (Star) engine they later morphed from a L head to a F head with the intake in the head and the exhaust in the block, not really a hot rod engine but I worked on lots of them.

 

Because valve-in-head is ahead in value.

 

Cost and tradition played a role in my opinion. The flathead V8 built the Ford empire. It's kind of hard to let go after that. Look at Porsche. How successful were other designs (928, 924 etc). Why mess with a good thing?

When your competing in the low price field with other flathead 6 and 8's, there is not much push to innovate. What killed the flathead was the fact the cars kept getting heavier. Lincoln should have moved to OHV V8's earlier in my opinion.

If Ford had of come out with the Y-block in 1949 or 1950 in shoeboxes, could you imagine how many they would have sold.....

 

It may sound cynical, but here in Illinois there's a saying: "if you can't figure out the answer to a question, follow the money"

 

As has been pointed out already. Everybody knows twin cam 4 valve is whats happening today. So Corvette still uses a pushrod 2 valve motor. Whats up with that? For one thing it works very well. As did the Ford Flathead in it's day

 

Same reason Chevy kept the stovebolt 6 thru '54 while other GM brands had OHV V8s in the '40s.

Cost.

-Brad

 

I have always thought in terms of the white sliced loaf,
That's what Ford have always made,
it ain't great,
but it sells in big numbers.

The big players in the game are all about profit,
if you were looking for a quality product with inavation,
you were more likely to see it in stuff made in much smaller numbers
by non-multi-nationals.

It's just how the game works out,
I have watched staff strip brand new cars from rival makers,
look at every part, see how it's made, see if someone had worked out a cheaper way of doing something, see what ideas they could steel without being sued, if the idea is real good and the rival small, well that's why we had a legal dept.

Production line car making is never about making quality product.
But hey that's why folks hacked them up to make hot rods,
Slap some magic Arden heads on that ole sidevalve and watch her fly.

 

As far as Pontiac staying with a flathead until '54, remember Dodge and Plymouth built flathead sixes longer than that, up until '60.