sidevalve8ba
Well-known member
I sure hope that block is not cracked. You have put too much effort into this for that disappointment.
My next flathead build?
- Thread starter Ziggster
- Start date
petehoovie
Well-known member
Bored&Stroked
Well-known member
Yeah, the deck surface of that block is a bit strange . . . like a Merc 'Keystone" block from 39 - 42. Hopefully you end up with a good block - you're certainly putting the work into it!
Thanks gents! My first flathead was already disassembled when I purchased it, so this was my first attempt at disassembly. I had reassembled the short block so I had some experience, but it was an interesting learning experiencing figuring out how to get the crank in the relative correct position to knock the pistons out. The first two pistons (cylinders 7&8) I removed just happened to be positioned correctly. It seemed that no matter how much torque I applied to the crank pulley nut was going to make it budge. Even added a 16” long pc of pipe to my 3’ long breaker bar. Felt that I was about to snap the nut, so I stopped. Then got the idea to use my long pry bar on the flywheel teeth. That did the trick. I heard a snap, and the crank was finally free, but only. As blue to rotate about 1/4 of a revolution before some of the pistons hit the nasty corrosion on the lower parts of some of cyl bores. Tried a few more pistons, but the con rod would always get caught on the block. Would reassemble, rotate the crank and try another piston. Had one piston that was almost out, but again the con rod would get caught on the block. I would keep using the pry bar on the flywheel, and I think bit by bit I was able to get the crank to move ever so slightly more. I had to first clean away as much of the corrosion from the cyl bores as possible using a long and large flat nose screwdriver, and one of my prybars. I also used up 3.5 cans of PB Blaster in the process. Lol!
Will be a while before I get at removing the springs and cam as it seems I might need to get some special tools. I’m also a bit nervous about trying to remove the remaining head studs. Watched a few vids where some swear by heating them up with a oxy torch and then using lard, candle wax, or even bee’s wax. Haha! I think Wired Customs mentioned the lard. Still wasn’t sure what he used to remove the studs after that until someone in the comments asked, and he replied saying he used an SAW stud removal tool. Had to Google that as I had never heard of such a tool. Seems some swear by it and others say they’re junk. So not really reassuring.
Will be a while before I get at removing the springs and cam as it seems I might need to get some special tools. I’m also a bit nervous about trying to remove the remaining head studs. Watched a few vids where some swear by heating them up with a oxy torch and then using lard, candle wax, or even bee’s wax. Haha! I think Wired Customs mentioned the lard. Still wasn’t sure what he used to remove the studs after that until someone in the comments asked, and he replied saying he used an SAW stud removal tool. Had to Google that as I had never heard of such a tool. Seems some swear by it and others say they’re junk. So not really reassuring.
Decided to pull the timing cover/ gear and the oil plugs/ fitting on the bell hsg. Passage to oil pressure gauge was blocked solid. Lol! Timing gear appears to be aluminum!
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Here are some pics of the identifying marks/numbers/letters I could find on the block.
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Decided to try cleaning out some of the coolant passages. I blew some of them out when the engine was still sitting on my trailer with the one head removed, but had to stop because the cloud of rust was so bad. There was an incredible amount of rust in the rear PS large coolant port/passage. I probably pulled out a total of 30-40 lumps with my magnetic extension pickup tool in this port, and about 15-20 on the DS port. I used a couple of large slot screwdrivers to scrap the internal passages as best as I could. Also used a short piece of coat hanger. There was significantly less rust in front passages on both the PS and DS sides, and no real difference between these two sides.
Im sure its been discussed thousands of times as it concerns overheating issues with these engines, but it is imperative that candidates for rebuild be cleaned from all the rust inside the block. On my previous flathead, the machine shop did not have the fancy equipment to do a really thorough job, and I did some remedial cleaning after I got the block back.
Im sure its been discussed thousands of times as it concerns overheating issues with these engines, but it is imperative that candidates for rebuild be cleaned from all the rust inside the block. On my previous flathead, the machine shop did not have the fancy equipment to do a really thorough job, and I did some remedial cleaning after I got the block back.
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38 coupe
Well-known member
The marking on your block is confusing. It has all the features of a 1939-1940 "99" block. Can you wire brush the "59" marking to clean it up and post another picture of it?
Also, it may be worth it to find a shop just to clean the block that has the bake & blast equipment. Once clean you can do a good visual inspection, and if that passes, take it to a machine shop that knows flatheads.
Also, it may be worth it to find a shop just to clean the block that has the bake & blast equipment. Once clean you can do a good visual inspection, and if that passes, take it to a machine shop that knows flatheads.
Will do. Looks like there might be a “C” in front of the “5”. I checked my other engine, and like this one, there is no “59” or “59A” cast into the bell hsg. I watched a vid from Iron Trap garage the other day on YT, and he stated that all “59” blocks had the marking on the bell hsg.
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Should mention that I posted this thread on the HAMB the other day, and someone commented about getting it checked out prior to putting it into storage. So, I dropped by a local machine shop while in town and the machinist who worked on my last flathead now works there. Spoke to the owner, and will be dropping it off next week for final disassembly, cleaning (hot tank), and magna/fluxed.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ate-corrosion-protection-for-storage.1316677/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ate-corrosion-protection-for-storage.1316677/
38 coupe
Well-known member
I suspect that is "C99A" on the block. We have a nice thread here on the Ford Barn on identifying engines, it is more informative and more accurate than any youtube video I have seen.
Link: https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334280&showall=1
glennpm has included it amongst a large amount of technical information that is all downloadable here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ud0k...1h58de4dql00bfywrs1ie2b7&e=1&st=ticcdsmp&dl=0
Link: https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334280&showall=1
glennpm has included it amongst a large amount of technical information that is all downloadable here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ud0k...1h58de4dql00bfywrs1ie2b7&e=1&st=ticcdsmp&dl=0
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Bored&Stroked
Well-known member
From looking at the lettering in the casting . . . sure looks like a C59A moniker to me?
Given that this is a Canadian block, the "rules" that IronTrap noted do not apply. The block also has the secondary oil port on the back - which I've typically seen in WWII production blocks and some industrial applications. My 1942 keystone block came from a WWII engine (still in the crate) - it has the same port.
Also, for every hard-fast rule that I've heard about in the 50 years I've been working on these darn things, there seems to ALWAYS be an exception. Multiple foundries, WWII in the middle, the need for replacement engines . . . it is a pretty "grey" area between 1942 and for a while after post-war civilian production was restarted.
Given that this is a Canadian block, the "rules" that IronTrap noted do not apply. The block also has the secondary oil port on the back - which I've typically seen in WWII production blocks and some industrial applications. My 1942 keystone block came from a WWII engine (still in the crate) - it has the same port.
Also, for every hard-fast rule that I've heard about in the 50 years I've been working on these darn things, there seems to ALWAYS be an exception. Multiple foundries, WWII in the middle, the need for replacement engines . . . it is a pretty "grey" area between 1942 and for a while after post-war civilian production was restarted.
38 coupe
Well-known member
I'm really curious what the mark looks like on the crusty engine after more cleaning. I suspect you are right, it is "C59A", but have learned not to speculate too much about an engine block before final details are known. We may (probably?) need to update the engine identification thread to include "C59A".
I played around with the settings on my iPhone camera. This is about as good as I can modify the image. I’m pretty sure the first digit is a “5”. There seems to be a faint “C” in front of the “5”, but really hard to be 100% positive. Having said that, this particular engine block seems to be identical to my other engine which has a better “C59A” identification mark. What I find interesting (at least to me), is that I ended up with two industrial engines, both with the heavy duty truck transmission included, and the rare truck oil pan with the large oval clean-out plate. What are the odds of that? Lol!
