59A refresh / rebuild advice

Back in the late 50's and early 60's a rebuilt flathead from Sears went for $139, core charge was 20 bucks.
 
Sceptre155 said:
Thanks for all the info guys. I'm not opposed to someone doing the rebuild, just figured it was out of my budget. 3k would be pushing the budget atm but maybe it's worth a phone call. What's the average price for said kit Gary?

My goal was to shoot for reliable motor maybe hitting 140-150 ish hp. I plan on leaving the truck 4x4 so it won't be a race truck by any imagination :). I did run into someone that has a running 337 flathead? Heard they are hard to find parts for.
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Hp is not the only goal..... torque is where it's at.
 
$139 for a rebuild :). Things have changed. Doesn't even cover a half day of labor these days :)

And I agree, I do like torque !!

I still need to pick up a copy of a few books, ron's and jwl's. I don't' have a good idea on where the best place is to spend $$ on power upgrades.
 
Sceptre, you're doing the right thing - asking questions, buying books and seeking sound advice. This is how most of us learned . . . along with experience, a few failures, etc..

There are a lot of ways to build these engines, with a lot of different parts suppliers, opinions, etc.. The most important thing to start with is understanding your true budget (not what you talk yourself into!), understanding what your capabilities are and aligning your goals with the above. If your max spent is $2000, then make sure you don't think about all the cool 'go-fast' goodies - as you'll not be able to afford them. I can tell you that a nice 100 - 120 HP flathead will bring you a lot of good times, will provide plenty of power/torque for your car/truck and you'll have something to be proud of. You can always add the 'bolt-on' stuff later on --> dual intake, aluminum heads and headers. If it was me, I would put a good 3/4 cam in it when you rebuild it - giving you a bit more power on the upper RPM ranges and a bit of that 'cool sound'.

Feel free to ping me if you have questions - or keep doing what you're doing . . . we have a host of very knowledgeable folks on the Barn!

Parts Suppliers: There are a lot of them --> Red's Headers, VanPelt Sales, Gosfast, Speedway, SoCal Flatheads, etc.. Add up ALL the stuff you need before you make decisions on the 'extras' --> gasket sets, water pumps, clutch plate/disc, oil pump, bearings, rings, pistons, valves, valve springs, valve guides, etc.. It is all standard stuff - but it always adds up!

Lastly: Make sure you have the engine precision balanced - it is money very well spent!

Good Luck,
B&S
 
Sceptre155 said:
$139 for a rebuild :). Things have changed. Doesn't even cover a half day of labor these days :)

And I agree, I do like torque !!

I still need to pick up a copy of a few books, ron's and jwl's. I don't' have a good idea on where the best place is to spend $$ on power upgrades.
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Hi "Sceptre", the best selling kits we handle come with an Eagle crank, Scat rods, Ross pistons (metric ring pack), 1 set main brgs, and 8 rod brgs. We supply either unbalanced or completely balanced. We make this a "customer choice" as many prefer using their own builders. This is fine with us as it tends to eliminate any arguments over "vibration" issues down the road. It keeps the builder more comfortable knowing he has it 100% correctly balanced.

You may also want to have your shop set up the block for the modified oiling system for a remote filter. This works real well.

We also suggest "pinning" the heads to the block using some SBC head dowel pins (see below).

Best to contact me with an e-mail for pricing, etc. Theengineshop@aol.com. The build in my signature below now probably has well over 20,000 trouble-free miles on it today?

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. I keep these kits in two variations, either the 4.125" or 4.250" stroke. Both come with 3.312" pistons. The most popular being the 4.250", this build will yield a minimum of 150 HP and 250 Ft.Lbs Torque without "chasing" "HP". Have dyno sheets to confirm these numbers. The right cam, the stock valve sizes, and no porting! Heavy car, smaller cam, lighter car, slightly larger one.
 

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Thanks for the info guys. B&S makes a good point in that I should total up all the necessary parts ahead of time and see whats left in the budget.

Looks like those kits require having my cylinders bored, Not sure thats in the card right now seeing how the cylinders look good. I'll have a better idea once I find a machine shop and get some prices.

Any recommendations on for a cam?

Should I have someone regrind mine? Not sure if thats cost effective, can I reuse my cam bearings if its the same cam?

I've put some feelers out to engine rebuilding buddies to find any local machine shops that work on Flatheads.

and yeah, First name is Paul
I need to come up with a better forum name :)
 
Ol' Ron said:
Back in the late 50's and early 60's a rebuilt flathead from Sears went for $139, core charge was 20 bucks.
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Ron. Back in the early 50's I installed a lot of those Sear's rebuilt engines, the owner of the shop I worked for back then had it set up with Sears, they would sell an engine to customer and send them to our shop to install. Walt
 
GOFAST,

I believe it has the remote oil filter already. It has a line that goes from near the oil pressure gauge to a canister mounted near the coil, then a line that goes down to the oil pan dipstick. Am I correct in saying that is a remote oil filter?
 
That is the Ford partial flow oil filter system. The one Gosfast is talking about is more of a full flow system, commonly referred to as a 95% system.
 
OK, here's my idea of an inexpensive rebuild. Most guys have a Ford 24 stud engine, I'll start there. Yes, you have to bore the block, most blocks need this. Go to 3 5/16, this gives 258 ci. IF you have the stock crank assy you don't need to balance the assy.
Do a stock valve job, no need for any special "stuff" as long as the valves and guides are in good condition. You might consider knurlling the guides. Angle mill the stock heads .060", /050" off the valve side and .010 off the piston side. Check piston to valve clearance. A good rebuilt carb and an 11A dist and your goo to go. Unfortunately, there isn't any thing you can do with the stock dist, so get one from Charley NY or Bubba. Stock exhaust manifolds and duel exhaust. With alittle effort you'll be under 2K and have an honest 100 hp with all the torque you need. This was my first stock car engine. Then they changed the rules. This is somethingmost guys can afford and get their car on the road. After you get the car where you want it you can think of dressing it up.

Buy JWL's Book
 
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ron, never heard of the angle milled heads, could you please explain the benefits. thanks, skip
 
Thanks for the info Ron, How much does that raise compression milling the heads?

I'm not sure what an 11A dist is, I'll look it up.

I feel like I'm going to be super tempted to go with a 4 inch crank if I bore the block and have to buy pistons. But honestly I dont have a good sense of the expense that goes along with that. Plus I really don't have a good sense of how big of an advantage going with a 4 inch crank really gives. The truck is going to be heavy. I'm leaving the dump box on it. I will say I have a tendency to go overboard when I build things.
 
leave that 337 with the guy you ran in to.. you'll be glad you did. As for the oil filter, you can put the stock bypass filter (canister mounted on the head) back on or run no filter and change the oil a little more often. really doesnt make a difference.
if you have to buy pistons anyway, you can go with a 4 inch Merc crank, pistons for a 4 inch crank, and stock heads. this would give you higher than stock compression. The Merc heads that went with a 4 inch crank were domed out more to give the same compression as a Ford motor. not sure what pistons for a 4 inch crank are going for. like i said, around $400 for a good used 4 inch crank plus any grinding, balancing and shipping...

I get excited about engines also and think about how to get more out of them. having an 8BA done now for my '49 F1. i decided to go totally stock and put dual exhaust on for the sound. think I'll be more than happy.
my next engine though, hang the frig on, things are gonna get crazy. just need to figure out what to put it in..

honestly though, in a big truck with a dump body go stock, you wont be dissapointed..
As Ron suggests sounds good also.
 
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From a fellow newbie to flatheads, you have received excellent advise. There is a wealth of information here. Start with the foundation and verify you have a good block to work with. Everything else will fall into place once you decide what you want and are willing to pay for. If you have to find another block be sure to pull the heads and pan to thoroughly check before purchase. Don't ask me how I know.
 
Thanks for the feedback CSArno. I've never driven a flathead, so not sure what to expect. I read they have decent torque. Building something just to get going then maybe build another down the road with some more go like your suggesting. Forks here have way more experience driving these motors then I. Unless I come across some smoking deals I can't resist lol

How's your truck drive, can you get highway speeds? 55-60 is plenty. What gear ratio are you running?
 
I thought about it for a while and then purchased a setup. It is a little more difficult that it first appears, but doable if you want to put out the effort. I decided it was cheaper in the long run to just purchase the set.
 
Any reason to not just use an old good head other then it adds another variable to seal the block?

I'm sure someone has tried it.
 
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