Rebuild cost

Ottoparts

Ottoparts

Member
So my newly acquired 50 shoebox hasn't run in 2 years. The flathead doesn't turn over. I pulled the carb and plugs. Put ATF/Tri-Flow mixture down the intake and in the cylinders. I put a braker bar to the crank bolt and all that did was tighten the bolt more. I put a battery to her and push the starter button a few time as well with no luck.
I have read where I should at least pull the intake to look for stuck valves. I'll probably play it safe an pull the heads as well. If I sill cant free it up, I'm believe I'm looking at a rebuild.
My question is..... as i have never rebuilt a flathead, what is the going rate/cost to rebuild one?

Thanks.
 
I bought a 39 Ford that had been sitting for 10 years or so. The engine was stuck. I pulled the plugs and sprayed PB Blaster very heavy in each cylinder. I change the oil first to see what it looked like.Every third day I sprayed the spark Plugs holes again. I put a new battery and would bump the starter and the fifth day it broke loose.Been driving the car for two years now no trouble.
 
You will find a wide range of numbers here as it depends on what you do and who does it. It is very easy to put $3K into a flathead. The short answer, if your lucky and most of it is reusable you can do it yourself for half that. Of course the machine work must be farmed out. Be sure they know flatheads.
 
Last year I rebuilt one and just had the machine shop do the machine work, I had 1800 into it.
I bought all the parts and put it together. They wanted 2800 if I was going to drop it off and have them do everything....make sure you have a good block before you start spending lots of money..cracks etc.

If you want a full dressed one and about 2000+ for heads,intake,carbs,cam and lifters,dist,headers etc
 
I got quoted $4000 a few weeks ago for a full rebuild. I'd just have the bare machine work done instead and then put the parts in myself.
Pull the heads off, soak the cylinders in Marvel Mystery oil for a couple weeks. Maybe some PB Blaster as well. If the crank won't turn, use a prybar on the flexplate.
 
Take your time.....it can take several weeks for things to free up (assuming they will), but patience is a virtue here. Keep soaking it and try the breaker bar every day or two. JMO
Joe
 
use a 50-50 mix of auto trans oil and acetone, best penetrant i have found, soak and soak, and then soak it some more, its a long way till the summer trips and shows, just keep at it
 
If you get as far as the timing gear and it isn't pressed on pull the bolts, then try to wiggle the cam gear off. Then you can work on turning the crank separately
 
I'd be more patient Otto and keep soaking for awhile. Could be just some stuck valves in the guides as I had with a Model A I bought years ago. It would be best to try and get her running so you can see what you have. I had an old Plymouth once that was stuck and was able to get a bar on the flywheel teeth and break it loose.
 
How about some heat, ( safe heat ) electric room heater,with fan, or a xmall hot plate under the pan. no open flame.....please don't burn down the shed out back, or the car, maybe heat is the wrong thing to say to someone in Minnesota ?? Cover the engine and let it soak,and heat up... it will come lose. ..OLD....BILL
 
As far as cost, thought I'd mention this... A friend in Calif. dropped off a running 8BA for a thorough freshening, and left with $7900 less in his wallet... I about pee'd myself when I heard that, this didn't include any porting or state-of-the-art stroker crank work, but did include a bore, pistons, new cam and lifters, as well as the usual bearings and full assembly. I'm hoping he just got snaked, as I am facing a future rebuild. Not in my budget at those rates!
 
The night started off good. I got my hood hanging from the rafters all by myself. But after that, things took a turn.
I was looking down the spark plug holes today with my flashlight and got a bright reflection. I figured that could not be good. So I pulled the intake and heads. Yea.... not looking good. Two cylinders had ice blocks almost the size of a pop can. Plus the lifters look funny to me.
Do flatheads have hydrolic lifters? Quite a few are down and the valves are not touching. Even some of the stuck open valves are not touching lifters.
I have a hard decision to make.
 

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No hydraulic lifters. They're solid. Stuck open valves will definitely have a gap betweeen them and the lifter. Correctly set tappets will have a gap between the tappet and valve. It's there to deal with heat expansion and to make sure the valves will seat when closed. Finding water inside an engine that was stored outside is not uncommon.
 
Those valve keepers make it look its a '53 EAB engine. If it was mine, I would pull that sucker out of the car and tear it apart and rebuild it if it's not cracked.
 
That motor doesn't look bad at all. You will be surprised at how well it will clean up with a little patience and a lot of elbow grease. The 8BA in my roadster looked way worse than that, and it's been running great for 14 years now. Paul Selfe.
 
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