1929 tudor flathead v8 conversion

flathead v8 or keep 4 cylinder

  • 4 cylinder stock

    Votes: 13 52.0%

  • flathead v8 stock

    Votes: 1 4.0%

  • perfomance 4 cylinder

    Votes: 9 36.0%

  • performance flathead v8

    Votes: 2 8.0%
  • Total voters
    25
  • Poll closed .
Rene28

Rene28

New member
thank you for letting me on this forum. i am in the process of picking up a 1929 model A sedan tudor and lookin to see if anyone has done a flathead v8 convesion and is it worth the change. it needs ful restoration and has the original 201ci flat 4. i not make a rat rod or hot rod but would like to make look bone stock with a little motor upgrade. i either want to upgrade the 4 cylinder with better cam and winfield head and carb or go a little bigger and spend money on a Flathead v8 still keeping it looking 20s-30s to the normal people looking at it. any help or picture with experience in this would be greatly helpful.
 
I've been modifying 4-bangers for many years and really enjoying them. When you go to a car show or swap meet they get more attention than anything else, and are more unique than anything else. If you want info on mods, PM me about info on my book about this.
 
If it were me (your not) I would go with a mild stock engine upgrade (touring engine??). I had a few friends that went the V-8 flathead and regretted it afterwards.

But think it out for the type of driving you will do. I know of more than one that put a lightened flywheel in a heavy car (Town Sedan) and hated it. They missed the bottom end torque.
 
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Ruth said:
If it were me (your not) I would go with a mild stock engine upgrade (touring engine??). I had a few friends that went the V-8 flathead and regretted it afterwards.

But think it out for the type of driving you will do. I know of more than one that put a lightened flywheel in a heavy car (Town Sedan) and hated it. They missed the bottom end torque.
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What V8 and why didn’t they like it? Also could you explain how a lightened flywheel change’s torque? It seems a faster spool up without extra rotating engine weight would be a good thing?
 
Jim,

yes i think you are right, a slightly modified 4 would, also im not looking for awards but definitly looking for it to look really stock but run better.
and Ruth i am only looking to weekend driving around town and near by cities. i found that somewhere during it life the motor was rebuilt and looks to be bored 0100 and mains 040 from tag on side.
 
I have had numerous Model As of various body styles. All have been 4-cylinder cars, except on 1928 roadster that had a stock 1937 85 hp flathead V8. It also had hydraulic brakes. No firewall modifications were necessary. This power train was very well suited to the car. It was by no means a hot rod, just a nice driver. Given a choice. I will probably opt for the 4-cylinder Model A motor. Ford just got it just right.
 
Depends. A stock 4 banger is good for banging around town. A modified 4 banger is good for longer drives through the countryside. I think a Burtz engine with cam, head, carb, and overdrive is going to out perform a stock early V8 flathead. If you want to really soup it up you can add an overhead valve conversion. But an early V8 is cool. So it all depends.

A lot of the cool cats from the 50's now need "hip" replacements.
 
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Another consideration that I considered was the increased weight of the flathead V8. Flathead V8 horsepower is some of the most expensive horsepower out there and you have to carry an extra 200 lbs (if I remember correctly) out front. Two hundred pounds may not sound like much but it is a considerable percentage of the original weight of the car.
I played with different upgrades to my 4 banger but the car will never keep up with most modern cars in acceleration. Make sure your brakes and front end are up to the task!
 
Here is what I did to my Townsedan which is heavier than your Tudor. Hi comp head, 'B' cam grind, counterweighted crank and shaved the flywheel down about 15 lbs. With a Marvel Carb she will cruise easily 50-55 all day long. Although stay around 48-52, that seems to be the sweet spot.


Mike
 
The L-head V8 was the traditional powerplant for a light body roadster, coupe, or pickup back in the day. The use of the 1932 K-member and wishbone gave the light duty model A frame a beef up in a weak location. The top shift light duty 3-speed from the 39 cars and later pickups was a better box than the model A by a good bit. Hot Rodders choice for immediate prewar and post war car buffs that wanted to see how fast they could go on a dry lake, a beach, or a long stretch of country road. A lot of car clubs formed around cars like this. Bangers were there too.
 
Rene28 said:
thank you for letting me on this forum. i am in the process of picking up a 1929 model A sedan tudor and lookin to see if anyone has done a flathead v8 convesion and is it worth the change. it needs ful restoration and has the original 201ci flat 4. i not make a rat rod or hot rod but would like to make look bone stock with a little motor upgrade. i either want to upgrade the 4 cylinder with better cam and winfield head and carb or go a little bigger and spend money on a Flathead v8 still keeping it looking 20s-30s to the normal people looking at it. any help or picture with experience in this would be greatly helpful.
Click to expand...

Something else to consider when adding "performance": adding horsepower and weight is easy. But how much extra power and weight do you add before your brakes can't handle it? How fast do you drive before the stock wheels and tires can't handle it? What about the suspension? The frame? Etc, etc. I think you will find the answer is surprisingly little. All these challenges can be addressed with enough time and money. Consider how far you are willing to go with mods and what your budget is to do it and have a safe car.

How do YOU plan to drive your car? A well built stock engine and a few simple mods can make a perfectly drivable and fun model A.
 
There is quite a bit of experience in here, these guys and gals have been there.
This is just my take, I would stay with the banger. You will run into enough other details that have to be addressed even just going to the '39 trans.
If your motor is +.100 and -.040, I would start looking for another motor closer to stk or even a "B" motor. Especially if you think you are going to add some power.

Get a copy of Jim Brierleys book "4-Bangers and Me" it has a ton of real life examples of doing mods to the Model "A".

Depending on how far you think you might want to go, the Burtz motor option is very attractive, starting with a new motor is much better than an 80 year old candidate.

John
 
If you want to know what's involved in putting a flathead in a Model A, buy a a copy of Vern Tardel's " Hot rod your Model A" - it appears to be back in print now. We'll worth the money. Also look for a copy of The Rodders Journal issue 77. I really enjoy my stock Model A but I'm also building an AV8 just because I wanted to and its a fun project.
 
Want to thank everyone for all the great feed back. I think 4 banger is definitely the way to go. Minimal mods. I do appreciate all the knowledge.
 
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