The Demize of the Flathead

Ive got three flathead drivers,and eighteen more engines tucked away,i shouldnt run out of cores for a while.
 
Seems to me, here in western Canada there is getting to be a lot more interest in flathead. Guys are taking small block chevies out and going to warmed up flathead. Fair number are newly retired guys and also a good turnout of younger guys as well. Sure keeping me busy.
 
Hmmm ..... just watched some footage of Pendine Sands. Sure seems like a LOT of flatties (and bangers), and seems like a lot of them are younger guys, maybe 45 and under. What does my heart good is that none of them are show cars, they have been built in the 40s and 50s style. That to me is real hot-rodding, I could care less about show cars and shows.
I run an AV8 with '47 flattie, drum brakes, steelies. The only concession to being modern is a 66 Mustang radiator and an 85 F150 3+1 trans. I get stick from other rodders in my town about the flattie, most of them are not the least bit interested in "old junk", but I'm happy to be a lone wolf. Flatties float my boat.

 
Just maybe its a territory thing I don't know. But in the machining community, if we
had to rely on modern engines for rebuilds we would be done. Its a world of replace
or throw away society. We have about 5 239's 1 337 1 391FT and a possible 346
Cadillac to build. Although not limited to Ford Chrysler prod. welcome too. Even did a
1937 Nash tough one for parts. Lot said about understanding any flathead , I alway
say, its only a Briggs & Straton lawnmover with 5 or 7 more cylinders! sam
 
After waiting a day I'm glad, and you Ol' Ron are glad. Good to see the support is there. I get the feeling that your regard for money (no disrespect) doesn't fit in with today's values.

I too, revere all the knowledge you have passed on to us. I'll for certain own your book before I wrench on my 59A (I was lucky to find a proven runner for my '30 coupe)

Like I always say ENJOY your day.
 
Don't write the obituary for the flattie just yet! I hope to have my 1.5 ton Ford back on the road this summer. I rely quite a bit on these forums for technical advice and tips on where to find NOS parts. Don't know where I'd be if it weren't for the people on these sites that freely offer their knowledge to solve problems. It does hurt when places like Job Lot go out of business. Parts stores, at least in my area, know about as much about flatheads as they do Chinese arithmetic. It is a changing world and we'll just have to adapt to keep the flatties purring!
 
I sold both of my 53 ford and merc, still love the flathead. I wanted a 56 merc like I had in my late teens. since I am 76 with a lung disease, I decided now is the time. I can still stand and watch the flathead idle what a wonderful sight.
 
Over here i can see some younger people starting to love the flatheads so i hope a new generation will come.
I have built 4 engines for customers this year so it´s not completely dead at least.
Cost of labor is killing anything involving work so i can see why a crate motor is appealing.
 
At 32 years old I'm not sure if I qualify as "young" anymore but I've got the flathead sickness and will keep the flame burning as long as I can. I've got about seven spare engines in the garage, I just need to get them cleaned and Magnafluxed to make sure they're usable ...
 
I started building flatheads out in SoCal in the early 70's - and I can tell you there were very few guys building them. I didn't have a single friend that actually had a running engine - until I helped a buddy get his running (though he never drove the car). There were very few parts being made - almost all the performance parts were used, decades old and in many cases just worn out.

Today: There are more performance parts --> heads, manifolds, crankshafts, rods, cams, pistons, ignitions, carbs, etc - available today than 40 years ago (by a large margin). Other than a block (unless you're buying a NOS French one), just about every other part is available out of a catalog. What this tells me is that there is demand, or the manufacturers wouldn't be offering these products . . . it would be back like it was in the 70's.

I see quite a few "young guys" building traditional HotRods . . . God Bless them . . . as without them, we'd only have the restorers and and the 'show car' crowd - many of which don't want a plain old flathead (because there are too many other cars running flatheads!). I'm also enjoying the fact that the younger generations are actually building them much more for the fun of having/driving a vintage/traditional hotrod, than for building trophy cars that are only driven in and out of their trailers . . . it is back to what hotrods are supposed to be. I'll bet there are more flatheads on the road today, then probably at any point in the last 40 - 50 years.

I've helped a few guys build their flatheads - just to pass along some of the knowledge and I'm enjoying teaching others. The more I help others, the more I learn along the way. Also, this causes me to try new things, continue to experiment and see ways to apply newer technology to these old beasts (things like coatings, etc).

Keep building them guys - and put them in any type of car you want, just get em' back on the road!
 
I continue to be inspired by the size and strength of sites like this and the Jalopy Journal. In the real world it seems that we are a small percentage of the classic street cars, but by the numbers of members, the amount of rebuild or hop up equipment available, we seem to be pretty strong. It's also about the love we have for these particular cars and power plants. You can take away the cars but the love lives on. This love happens to live in a bit older body. It's called passion!
 
Ron, I'm 36 now. I have been working on flatheads since my grandfather got me interested before I had a drivers license. Not many guys my age are interested in or even know what a flathead is. I had to school the parts guys at my local NAPA as they are younger than me about these engines. I live in a small town of 3500 people. There is one other guy in town that speaks flathead. He is 83. I'll keep these engines alive as long as I'm able. Doing my part.
 
I am soon to be 42 and I too will keep them alive as long as I am able. I have been around flatheads since birth as my Dad is a flathead guy. I was 8 years old when I helped my Dad do the valves on his 50. I recently wrote an article for the VMCCA Touring chronicle about "Why the flathead". It is an article about what drew me to owning a flathead. I was inspired to do so off of a post on here awhile back. Seth is correct, there are not many guys our age that are interested in or even know what it is. I have a few Euro cars as well and love to drive my Ford to the hangouts and show the guys what it is all about. It is funny to see peoples reactions at car shows when they inquire to who owns the 39 and find out she is mine. I smile proudly and say yes, I am her caretaker. Keep sharing the knowledge and we will do our best to absorb it and pass it on.

Helping my Dad with his 41 Ford 1/2 ton pick up
 

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Current caretaker is what I like to say too. I don't take my roadster out as much as I use too. It's a survivor full Fender model A with a hopped up flathead that was built in the 50's and was tucked away for along time when I found it by accident.
It was sold to me under the conditions that I keep it the way it is and not restore it or streetrod it. What turned me off to taking it out that much anymore was I got approached by a guy that wanted to buy it . His plan that he told me before I said no was to ditch the fenders flatback paint channel it ect ect. When I told him no he copped a attitude and later cussed me out ( nice approach to trying to buy something!). Unfortunately my area doesn't have enough real flathead guys.


flatheadv8 said:
I am soon to be 42 and I too will keep them alive as long as I am able. I have been around flatheads since birth as my Dad is a flathead guy. I was 8 years old when I helped my Dad do the valves on his 50. I recently wrote an article for the VMCCA Touring chronicle about "Why the flathead". It is an article about what drew me to owning a flathead. I was inspired to do so off of a post on here awhile back. Seth is correct, there are not many guys our age that are interested in or even know what it is. I have a few Euro cars as well and love to drive my Ford to the hangouts and show the guys what it is all about. It is funny to see peoples reactions at car shows when they inquire to who owns the 39 and find out she is mine. I smile proudly and say yes, I am her caretaker. Keep sharing the knowledge and we will do our best to absorb it and pass it on.

Helping my Dad with his 41 Ford 1/2 ton pick up
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Hi Everyone, I hear what Ron is saying. I've gone to the NSRA in York pretty regularly the last six years or so. I usually hang out with JM35 and some of our HotRod buddies.

This year time only allowed me to go Thursday, where the scene at the host hotel is very much a cruise-in. I counted four Flathead V8's out of about 1000 vehicles I saw that day.

It is very clear that any Ford body from '25 to the end of the Flathead era is the thing to use for these guys. It is also very clear than well over 90% of these will have no other period pieces. Most don't even use a Ford frame.

Last year, I got so discouraged at the lack of Flathead powered cars, I started to first look at the steering wheel. If it was a tilt-wheel, I kept walking. This continued until about 12:30 and I just walked off the fairgrounds.

So, agreeing with what Ron said, the Flathead is not an engine of choice by the crowd who attends NSRA events.

EDIT To add: I did see Hamtown Al and his '36 Cabriolet which was parked next to a '40 pickup with a '36 front end grafted onto it!
 
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I bought a 1940 fire engine two years ago that happened to be built on a 1-1/2 ton panel. As a result I have become devoted to flatheads. I pumped water for 3 hours Saturday and it never skipped a beat. I'll do whatever I can to keep it going as long as I can. I've certainly met a great bunch of like-minded people.
 
FireEngineMike said:
I bought a 1940 fire engine two years ago that happened to be built on a 1-1/2 ton panel. As a result I have become devoted to flatheads. I pumped water for 3 hours Saturday and it never skipped a beat. I'll do whatever I can to keep it going as long as I can. I've certainly met a great bunch of like-minded people.
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I'll agree with that. Some of the best folks I have ever met are involved in this early Ford hobby. The expense of the hobby is returned 10 fold in the experience and friendship created from it, at least for me.
 
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