new (to me) flathead! help?

[ford nut]

I bought this flathead from CL hoping to put it in my 36' coupe. I've just started learning about these engines, so I might need some help staying on the right track. it was out of a running car (?) and it turns over with a breaker bar easy and you can hear sucking and blowing and all that sort of thing. I would like to try and start it to see what it does. if there are any experts out there who can help me come up with a list of things to do/buy to make this happen, it would be great. I was looking for a 59ab and while this doesn't have that on the heads, it looks like one to me. i'll put up some pics.

 

[ford nut]

a few more. . . .

 

[JSeery]

Out of a running car is a common claim and not often correct. Even if it does run it can have internal issues, so keep that in mind. 59 blocks normally have a 59 cast into the bellhousing area and would have a crab style distributor. Looks like a cutout on the generator which would place it somewhere around 39. Problem is external items are easily moved from one year motor to another.

 

[cas3]

should have a large raised 59 on top of the bell housing to be the 59 a motor, your does not. its a later 59 type carb, but earlier dizzy, and short crank like 38ish. generator with the fan is 32-37 or so, truck 4 speed is scrap iron

 

[ford nut]

, but earlier dizzy, and short crank like 38ish. generator with the fan is 32-37 or so, truck 4 speed is scrap iron

I put the distributor from my 21 stud 36 motor just to see if it would fit, it did, 3 holes. are those units any good? I sure love the look of them. BTW, this will be slightly hot-rodded. and don't send me to the hamb, they kicked me off of there.

 

[cas3]

the helmet dizzys are sexy to look at and can run just fine. they have more parts, and therefor more expensive to maintain, and harder to remove from the motor in the car. a post war motor should have the 2 bolt crab dizzy on it, but i have had several that had a 3 bolt timing cover. the short crank nose isnt right. the nut should be 2 " out from the pulley i believe to be a post war 59a motor. i am no expert, but there are some here lets see if they agree.

 

[ford nut]

I guess it could be cobbled together from parts even. the two guys I bought it from knew little about flatheads either, although they had one of the nicest hot rod shops I've ever seen. personal shop down in san diego. lots of great old sheet metal tools. they sold me a 8" rear end 57" wide for 50.00. I hope I didn't buy junk with the motor though.

 

[flatjack9]

Looks to be a 38 or 39. Are there any numbers on the heads next to the intake manifold? Looking for an 81A number.

 

[Brendan]

it has a truck trans

 

[Tinker]

Why did they kick you off the hamb?

It's a 40's flathead.

 

[harley]

It has vacuum ports on the intake between #5&6 and #7&8 intake ports like a 39 merc. What is the serial # on the transmission? That could be a merc motor out of a truck.

 

[Talkwrench]

Out of a running car is a common claim and not often correct. Even if it does run it can have internal issues, so keep that in mind. 59 blocks normally have a 59 cast into the bellhousing area and would have a crab style distributor. Looks like a cutout on the generator which would place it somewhere around 39. Problem is external items are easily moved from one year motor to another.

Amen to that....

 

[ford nut]

Why did they kick you off the hamb?

It's a 40's flathead.

hey now. . . .don't get me in trouble here too. I set up a joke that had a punch line that could go two ways. they thought they knew what I would write, and when I checked to see some comments, I had been banned. I never even got to write the real punch line. mind readers. oh well. life goes on. P.S. generator was thrown in as these guys were not flathead guys. they gave me 3 intakes, 3 pairs of water pumps including one brand new pair, 2 generators, a bunch of distributor parts, that 94 carb on it, all the hot rods in their shop big block chevys in them, plus about 15 or 20 more under a big tarp. not my cup of tea, but some hard core stuff.

 

[ford nut]

Looks to be a 38 or 39. Are there any numbers on the heads next to the intake manifold? Looking for an 81A number.

any numbers on the heads are very faint, you can see a very faint "ford" on one and some numbers, and a easy to read "26" on the passenger side head right in the middle. is the speedway crab 2/3 bolt dist. worth getting just to get it going? I will be going 12v neg. ground on this.

 

[ford nut]

here's all the writing/numbers on the heads, not very clear though.

 

[RalphM]

81-6050 & 26A on heads, more than likely 1938/39. Does it have any bumps on the side of the block at pan rail?
Or have you pulled the pan? Plugs in the pan rail from underneath will help narrow it down.

 

[ford nut]

wow, really good eye. I couldn't read much. I have not pulled the pan, these plugs are in the casting? or the sheet metal pan? one per side? two per side? not sure what i'm looking for. . .

 

[Mart]

I'm thinking early 24 stud. Short crank. helmet dizzy. It is probably 221cu in. (3-1/16" bore, plus any oversize from boring) 24 studs were 9intro'd during 38 model year so probably 38/39.

Mart.

 

[A bones]

You can do well here. Though, we aren't here for laughs. Most of us have some thing for aches and pains. I should not speak for everyone, but the idea of keeping what is left of, what I used to see deemed as scrap metal, purring, and running down the road is the real treat. Its the reward of making happen what most don't understand.

Good that your are handy with pictures. Welcome to early V8.

 

[macdonge]

Looks like the block has a 'raised' intake which would make it '41 or '42.

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