Rebuilding An 8Ba - Tips & Suggestions?

The first thing i'd do is have the block Baked cleaned after the pressure testing. After that the most important Mod is compression, make sure the piston th head clearance is very tight .045/.050. These are somple inexpensive modifications,If you keep the rods with the crank, no need to balance. If it's a 52/3 block it had no harden seats in the exhaust. have them installed. It should have EAB heads. these are the highest R ford made.
Good luck.
 
Low-Blow said:
Our storage unit was broken into a few months ago. They must have been ground keepers at a golf course, since they stole my clubs, my chainsaw, and my weedeater (along with some other tools).
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You'll be fine without the golf sticks. The chainsaw will be missed. Karma should rule.
 
Ol' Ron said:
The first thing i'd do is have the block Baked cleaned after the pressure testing. After that the most important Mod is compression, make sure the piston th head clearance is very tight .045/.050. These are somple inexpensive modifications,If you keep the rods with the crank, no need to balance. If it's a 52/3 block it had no harden seats in the exhaust. have them installed. It should have EAB heads. these are the highest R ford made.
Good luck.
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Thank you for the reply. The hardened seats have already been installed in the exhaust. And, yes, I will be running the stock EAB heads. As far as the pistons go, I need to purchase those now. Since I will be running a 4" Merc crank, I cannot use the stock pistons and will probably buy new rods as well. Do you have a recommendation on pistons? I have read other posts about 3 ring vs. 4 ring and whether or not to run a 4 ring piston and just leave the 4th ring off. I'm not looking to break the bank with this build, but would like to build a reliable engine to be used in a driver. Any input on pistons?
 
Start by setting up some goals for the motor...how hot and what is it going to pull.
Something going into a heavy car needs torq.
If youre going for a mild engine...just get a good set of cast pistons...no need for anything fancy...forged ones is not needed then and just noisy.
Don´t overcam it.
Stock rods work just fine if youre not aiming for real serious power.
A good plan and sticking to it is usually the receipe for sucess and not throwing money away.
 
Low-Blow said:
Well, it has been almost a year since I have posted here. Life happens, you know! My wife and I sold our home and moved into a duplex; while we build our new home. In turn, I had to put a lot of things in storage until the new place is finished. Our storage unit was broken into a few months ago. They must have been ground keepers at a golf course, since they stole my clubs, my chainsaw, and my weedeater (along with some other tools). Luckily, they didn't touch any of the flathead parts!! In the past year, little progress has been made on the engine. This is not all bad, however, as I really don't have anywhere to put it for another couple of months. But, I was able to get the block vatted and magnafluxed. Turns out that the block is in very good condition. There were a couple of small cracks, but nothing in the seats or the cylinders. I have provided pics below.
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Just a tip, but make sure your guy pressure-tests that block, magnafluxing is not enough, been there/done it many times!

Do NOT rely on the "magging" alone.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. This would also be the right time to go with a new set of stainless valves AND some bronzed-lined guides. Actually have a set of guides coming down all the way from Alaska for the liners. They work really well.
 
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flatheadmurre said:
Start by setting up some goals for the motor...how hot and what is it going to pull.
Something going into a heavy car needs torq.
If youre going for a mild engine...just get a good set of cast pistons...no need for anything fancy...forged ones is not needed then and just noisy.
Don´t overcam it.
Stock rods work just fine if youre not aiming for real serious power.
A good plan and sticking to it is usually the receipe for sucess and not throwing money away.
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Thanks for the input. My goal is to run this engine in a 35-37 Tudor slant back. I am currently on the lookout for one. Again, not looking for a real hot engine, but do love the sound of a lopey cam. Dual 94's, stock EAB heads, 4" crank. Looking to build something reliable that I can cruise around town, as well as take on longer trips.
 
x2 on the baked cleaning suggestion from Ol' Ron. Mine came back looking like it was fresh out of the foundry. Saves a lot of time and effort trying to get all that scale and crap out of the water jackets and wasn't that expensive. I'm building an 8BA with much the same goals in mind as you are and am slowly gathering or rebuilding all the parts necessary. Seems every little thing is about $200.. Also, be sure to put a little oil or something on that fresh bore work if you need to let it sit for a while as you do not want surface rust to turn into pitting.. Just my 2 cents...
 
Low-Blow said:
Thank you for the reply. The hardened seats have already been installed in the exhaust. And, yes, I will be running the stock EAB heads. As far as the pistons go, I need to purchase those now. Since I will be running a 4" Merc crank, I cannot use the stock pistons and will probably buy new rods as well. Do you have a recommendation on pistons? I have read other posts about 3 ring vs. 4 ring and whether or not to run a 4 ring piston and just leave the 4th ring off. I'm not looking to break the bank with this build, but would like to build a reliable engine to be used in a driver. Any input on pistons?
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With modern three piece oil rings, that fourth ring is superfluous. Not needed! Just more drag. Some will claim that it helps "stabilize" the piston in the cylinder, but in reality it can't! Rings float free in their grooves so cannot impart any stability to the piston. Also, since rings must move freely in their grooves, they also rotate, so from time to time all the gaps will be lined up. Contrary to legend, the engine will still start and run!
 
I appreciate all the input. The guy who is doing the machine work on the block and heads has been building engines for many years. He is going to look into his cost on the pistons and get back to me. He is doing the work on the side, so the process is taking a little longer.
 
Speedway has Offenhauser pistons for $159.95 a set in their current catalog. I think they may be closing them out to make room for their own brand. This may be an opportunity you can take advantage of.
 
tubman said:
Speedway has Offenhauser pistons for $159.95 a set in their current catalog. I think they may be closing them out to make room for their own brand. This may be an opportunity you can take advantage of.
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Since I will be running a 4" Merc crank, it looks like the price is $229.99. These are 4 ring pistons. So, I would only run the 3 rings (according to most everyone's input). Also, it looks as if I only have a choice of .060 or .125. Since the block cleaned up at .015, I was thinking of boring to .030. Am I being too conservative?
 
Low-Blow said:
Since I will be running a 4" Merc crank, it looks like the price is $229.99. These are 4 ring pistons. So, I would only run the 3 rings (according to most everyone's input). Also, it looks as if I only have a choice of .060 or .125. Since the block cleaned up at .015, I was thinking of boring to .030. Am I being too conservative?
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I am from the school that says "if you're spend the time and money boring it, you may as well go to the largest reasonable overbore you can". When I did my current 258" engine (stock stroke, 3 5/16 bore), my machinist sonic checked the block and said it would easily go to 3 3/8". Since Speedway didn't have 3 3/8" pistons on special, I went with the 3 5/16". These were 4 ring pistons and I also left the fourth ring off. I am building this engine for me, not the next owner. Even so, there is room for at most 2 more "clean-up" bore jobs (forgetting intermediate hones) should the museum caretaker in 2237 decide the engine needs to be rebuilt.:D A '35-'37 tudor qualifies in my book as a "heavy" car, so you want all the torque you can get. Displacement means torque; get all you can. I am sure that even at 3 5/16 you will have thicker cylinder walls that most modern thinwall castings.
 
Rebuilding An 8Ba - Tips & Suggestions?

tubman said:
I am from the school that says "if you're spend the time and money boring it, you may as well go to the largest reasonable overbore you can". When I did my current 258" engine (stock stroke, 3 5/16 bore), my machinist sonic checked the block and said it would easily go to 3 3/8". Since Speedway didn't have 3 3/8" pistons on special, I went with the 3 5/16". These were 4 ring pistons and I also left the fourth ring off. I am building this engine for me, not the next owner. Even so, there is room for at most 2 more "clean-up" bore jobs (forgetting intermediate hones) should the museum caretaker in 2237 decide the engine needs to be rebuilt.:D A '35-'37 tudor qualifies in my book as a "heavy" car, so you want all the torque you can get. Displacement means torque; get all you can. I am sure that even at 3 5/16 you will have thicker cylinder walls that most modern thinwall castings.
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Many say not to over bore, leave room for future rebuilds. Couldn't you have the engine sleeved in that case? I say if you want big cubic inches go for it! It's your motor.
Ol' Ron what say you?


"Hard tellin' not knowin!"
 
Well, I must admit, More cubes means more CR, and torque. Just remember one thing. Tuning a modified engine need some thought as well. There is only one distributor that works well with these engines and an AF meter would be helpful for the (carbs???)
 
Re: Rebuilding An 8Ba - Tips & Suggestions?

Pilot31135 said:
Many say not to over bore, leave room for future rebuilds. Couldn't you have the engine sleeved in that case? I say if you want big cubic inches go for it! It's your motor.
Ol' Ron what say you?


"Hard tellin' not knowin!"
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Yeah, and you should put seat covers on your new upholstery too, so the next owner can enjoy it!
 
Just picked up a 4" Merc crank from a very nice gentleman in Colorado. I believe that he is a member here on Ford Barn. I've also been in contact with Pete regarding my cam selection and believe that we have settled on a 3/8 Potvin grind. As long as they check out ok, I am going to use the OEM rods that came out of the engine. And, after a lot of contemplating, and going back and forth, I have decided to bore the block 3 5/16. This is as long as the sonic test results are good. I am building this engine to keep and drive. And, with my driving habits, I do not foresee another overhaul for many years. Thank you all for the input thus far. I will post again when I have more updates.
 
So, since I have elected to go with a 3 5/16 bore x 4.00 stroke, should I go with forged pistons over the cast ones?
 
Cast pistons will do just fine for a street motor that's being built for reliability instead of high performance. Egge sells a set for a little less than $250. Also, IIRC, forged pistons are more expensive and are more for those who want to race or 'chase horsepower'.
 
KiWinUS said:
Yes that is correct. They are after market hot rod cams. L100 is an old Literio grind th 1007ld is an old Isky grind.
Cheers
Tony
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Is there any info on durations of these cams?

I would like to see both durations as compared to a stock cam if possible.

My next rebuild is going to have a lumpy idle.
 
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