Is it possible to know this stuff?

S

saltracer

Senior Member
read this ad on Craigslist, the poster has a very complete history of the engine in the ad. Is it possible to verify this information as stated? I am not calling him a liar, just saying I didn't know a person could possibly find out this much history of a particular engine.

"1952 MERCURY FLAT HEAD Report

All parts on this motor are 100% original the heads are still in sequential order the water jackets are numbered six and seven the intake manifold has the original assembly numbers so this block is a numbers matching original example..

30K mile on this 1952 Mercury Flathead ...The car was used to take the boat down to the launch ramp and drive around town in this lakeside community in California... The car entered into a full custom with a big block..

{ Mercury Flathead Engine is a 255 Block that was born on Decmeber, 23 1952 From the Ohio Ford Foundry in Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park or ( Satan's Bakery as it was called by it's workers) in the # 63 assembly bay. Presently we have no information about the employees' that worked in bay #63 but we will supply if ever available.

It was a late year production at the Cleveland Casting Plant and at the time, some steel was purchased from a scrap supplier that was a " War Steel "recycler. The brand new foundry was in it's first year of production and was purchasing ( War Steel ) as much as they could get there hands on. Most of the recycled steel came from American US War surplus ( Helmets, guns, tanks, jeeps. . ... ) and the HMS Maria, a wreck dispersal vessel in 1950 ( that was scrapped in 1951)

We have identified the follow motor as being a "Complete Original" and we believe will all accuracy that the attached parts are consistent with the factory assembly parts that would have been installed at the time of construction.

After carful consideration, grease archaeology, and engine detective work we feel the following information is true and correct.

The heads have identifying numbers in sequential order as seen in the pictures provided. The heads have the correct markings that identify to each side of the engine.

L for left and R for right

Below the MERCURY logo there is a number

L 13

R 14

This is the numerical order in which they were inventoried and installed during the engine assembly process in bay #63. The build factory sheet mirrored these parts. This proves that the block is in original condition with all it's factory assembled parts. Had these numbers been different that would explained theories of past replacement and why.

Tested Each cylinder has 120 pounds of compression...Motor spins freely by hand... thermostat housing's are in sequential order as well one is numbered six the other seven with the factory ford part numbers .....this is a super solid flat had engine from a running car with no issues whatsoever.. oil bather carburetor can be acquired upon purchase completely rebuilt and ready to go and can be picked up at advanced carburetor in Santa Ana on first Street...

Please make your best offer on this rare opportunity... "
 
Sounds like a lot of creative artistic license.
Is it possible? Yes
Is it likely? No
Would it cause me to pay more for an old flathead? No
Would it make me highly suspicious of the seller? You bet
 
I say there is no way that kind of documentation ever existed except in the mind of the seller. Info. probably gleaned from site below.
Great that so much of that engine is "inventoried" and in "sequential order", whatever that means.
Probably the price is in "sequential order" also. Something like: $2345 dollars.
Here's the Craigslist add along with a photo.
http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pts/5851127885.html

According to the site below: the Cleveland Casting Plant #1 made 6 cylinder engines. Opps!
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/10/ford_foundry_in_brook_park_to.html
 
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I think this guy also writes ads for television. You know, the ads selling non-stick pans "and if you are one of the next ten callers..."
 
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"Tested Each cylinder has 120 pounds of compression."

Now that's a good engine! I have never tested an engine that would check the same on all cylinders!!! Think he left out a +/- there.
 
That's not a Merc oil pan, is it?
 

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This is the sentence that I rather enjoyed . . .

After carful consideration, grease archaeology, and engine detective work we feel the following information is true and correct.

What a bunch of creative BS . . . the likes of which I've never heard before . . .
 
The guy who wrote this should be working with Harry Potter. After working over thirty years at Ford, on the line, I dare you to name the guys on the line on any day. Totally impossible! To make any assembly line work, there must be several people who know each job. Some guys switch to break up the boredom. So long as the line runs, and quality is up, nobody cares who does the work. This guy writes fun fiction.
 
I like the remark that it still could be cracked !!!!
I think he writes some of those political ads on TV nowadays...... Mark
 
A had a competitor in the helicopter maintenance business that pulled similar poo out of his hat. He made the statement about an old surplus military helicopter engine that had been sitting in a can for 40-years with no documents what so ever, " With all my years of experience in the helicopter business, I have determined that this engine only has 430-hours of operation since the last overhaul". Needless to say, the FAA didn't buy that statement at all. He had to retest to get his inspectors authorization after that one.
 
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