8ba Rebuild - worth the cost?

Perfect for a 12 yr old, drive it when 16. I wish some had given me a car when 12. My Dad had 750 rose bushes!!. Hated old cars. Newc
 
Farmer rebuild or good running take out for me. Should have done a "farmer" on my last one, oh no, I just had to go big time. Looking back, a waste of $$$. IMHO
 
The value of any of our old Fords is going down steadily due to the fact that most younger people have little interest in them. I don't see the "bottom line of resale value" having much to do with the decision as whether to rebuild or not. Our cars are money losers. We have them because we like or love them for what they are. They are not an investment.
I just recently heard of a REAL nice 34 3w that sold for 22k locally. I saw pictures of it. All stock, nice interior, perfect chrome including grille, correct 21 stud engine.
 
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I like the idea of finding a good running used engine if possible. Another prospective was when I had my 42's engine rebuilt, I was 62. If they did a good job and I live another 20 some years I should never have to do it again. I find myself approaching more things with that approach these days.
 
deuce_roadster said:
The value of any of our old Fords is going down steadily due to the fact that most younger people have little interest in them. I don't see the "bottom line of resale value" having much to do with the decision as whether to rebuild or not. Our cars are money losers. We have them because we like or love them for what they are. They are not an investment.
I just recently heard of a REAL nice 34 3w that sold for 22k locally. I saw pictures of it. All stock, nice interior, perfect chrome including grille, correct 21 stud engine.
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So true and wow on the '34. That's a steal.
 
As for finding a "good" takeout, I think it would be a crap shoot. An engine can run perfect and still be cracked in places that would make it unusable. I think that, with the skills you seem to have, an economical repair of your core would produce a more desirable outcome.
 
40cpe said:
As for finding a "good" takeout, I think it would be a crap shoot. An engine can run perfect and still be cracked in places that would make it unusable. I think that, with the skills you seem to have, an economical repair of your core would produce a more desirable outcome.
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Assuming his block isn't cracked.
 
The value of any of our old Fords is going down steadily due to the fact that most younger people have little interest in them. I don't see the "bottom line of resale value" having much to do with the decision as whether to rebuild or not. Our cars are money losers. We have them because we like or love them for what they are. They are not an investment.
I recently heard about and saw pictures of a VERY nice 34 3w that just sold for 22k not too far away. Nice chrome, looked like L.B. interior, correct 21 stud engine.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. I'll likely do some sort of economical refresh on the engine. I only use it for local cruise ins and the occasional joy ride. I have other toys that require money some of which are sentimental. If this were a numbers matching 66 GTO, Shelby, or something sentimental, I wouldn't be questioning the rebuild. I have no delusions of making money or even breaking even on this car. I simply want to minimize my losses when I do eventually sell. So, a multi-thousand dollar rebuild isn't real smart, especially considering my other interests. My 4yo daughter likes riding in the car to the cruise ins with me, so I'll try to keep her puttin' along as cheaply as possible.
 
Take the broken engine out of the car and take it appart enough to know what you have to work with. This costs almost nothing. I like the idea of doing rings and valves at home. One trick not mentioned yet is watching for other broken 8BA era flatheads out there, they are usually free and come with valves and guides. With a large collection of used (read cheap to free) parts you can mix-and-match to get decent clearances, and hand lap the valves to the seats. If the basic block and crank are usable as-is you should be able to bolt together a running engine without much cash, instead spending your time and elbow grease.
 
As I have posted numerous times, when I was a poor college kid in the sixties, I once honed, put in used pistons with sears rings, and a bunch of other things in a block that had SEVEN valve pocket to cylinder bore cracks. It got me through the next year with a couple of bottles of "Stop-Leak". I sold it to a friend, who wanted it for his little brother, with full disclosure. I never heard if it ever died or not.
 
Little update: for my broken valve, I simply cleaned the valve seat on the affected cylinder, installed and hand lapped a new valve/guide and put in a new head gasket. She's purring along again just as she was. This will get me through the rest of this cruise in season. This winter, I'll re evaluate. What I found was that all cylinders have deep gouges, scratches, etc. that I doubt could ever be bored/honed out. It would likely need sleeved. Additionally, there are severe ridges at the tops of all cylinders and the guides are stuck. I had to pound out the one I replaced with a 5lb hammer to get it to budge. I could not remove the C-clip at first since the guide wouldn't budge. This is the first time I've opened a flat motor up and she's well worn for sure. The intake valves all had the original Ford stamping on them. I'd wager she's never been rebuilt.
 
Unless you’re willing/able to do lots of the work, I would sell the car as is if it had no sentimental value. Getting a used “running” flathead is a huge gamble IMHO, and you could be back to square one and out of pocket say $2K. Rebuilding is expensive as you know, and costs only go up year after year. Personally, I would not spend more on an engine than the entire vehicle is worth.
 
A 4-door '52 Customline? Probably the least valuable flathead there is. I'd suggest moving on from it.

Congratulations on the job you did. Sounds like there's enough "backyard mechanic" in you to get the job done if you have to..
 
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