Thread: 51 Ford coupe

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Tips? Tricks? I've never touched a flathead before. So anything helps.And as soon as I figure out pictures. I'll put them up. lol

Photo's in the gallery!

Looks to be in good condition! Good find! First thing to check on the flattie before spending any money on parts is to have it checked for cracks....The blocks are notorious for cracking! I haven't built a flattie for a few decades, but even back then they were a very expensive engine to build for the low power you could get out of them. Guess it depends on what you want to do with the build on the car and just how bad you want a flattie for an engine......

If that's really a '51 someone has hung a '50 front end on it..................not a real problem, unless there's a title problem lurking.

What Dave said. Neat engines, in the nostalgia trend we're still running through, but prone to cracking. If not too severe they can be pinned, sleeved, but you want to find a machine shop that understands them. If the block is good then you'll want to invest in extra cleaning effort in the water jackets, not just a "standard" boil out. Not only has it probably built up quite a bit of rust scale, these also had a tendency to leave the foundry with some core sand still packed in there. And run thermostats. Oh..................they sound real purrrrrty when tuned, cammed, and exhausted right.

As I recall, a basic rebuilt flattie from H&H was in the $10K range, and one tricked out with a period blower & multiple carbs was over $15K which is indicative of the costs involved. Don't get me wrong, I love the look and sound, but ya' gotta' want one really bad to justify the costs. Plus finding a shop that even knows how to check one out for problems is probably going to be a chore. I you do decide to dive in, Speedway Motors has tons of flathead parts to help you along.

Roger hit it on the head.
This was a Brand New French block done by H&H
304 cu.in.
Over 300 hp.
Very reliable, very nassty soundin, and
Verreeeyyyyyyyyyy spendy
12K +++++++

Thank you bob! Exactly the kind of stuff I needed to know. I understand they are brittle. But the motor runs as is. Started last weekend. Its actually my grandpas car. Im just doing the engine for him. Its what he wants. I got a great deal on it. Engine. Transmission and even stock radiator rebuilt and stamped from the local shop. picked it up for $500 for the bundle. It runs. Built Im going to do an entire rebuild on it. Not sure what I'm getting into yet. But i appreciate the help guys.
As far as what it is. 50, 51 Im not sure. I was told 51 but lets take into account Im 26 years old. I haven't seen many that aren't done beautifully. So I will take your word for it. Its a 50. :-)

I wont be spending 10k on it. Leave the motor close to stock. Probably duel carbs and alot of chrome. Not looking to make impressive 1/4 times. Just a practical pretty engine. I have ran into one snag maybe some old timers can help me out with.

The chassis has the cross member and traditional style slant motor mounts. The motor however has the "perch" style biscuit engine mounts off the water pumps. Seems to me getting the perch side cross members is out of the question due to the stock cross member being in the way.
Half of fabricating new perch style mounts and trying to make them look cool. Surely I cant be the first to run into this problem. Someone somewhere along the line had to have gotten this right, Any ideas?

So if your wondering what the plans are for the engine. Complete rebuild. New bearings seals etc. Sticking with the stock heads. I'd rather keep them. Cool nostalgic factor. 12 volt upgrade. Hopefully I can find a machine shop that will work on it. I dunno if its even possible to get hardened valve seats in the block. Bore it over slightly. If it isn't bored already. I'll check availability of pistons before I have it bored. High flow water pumps. Thermostats. Im on top of that one. But thanks for the info. The oil filter will be mounted elsewhere and the steel tube will be upgraded to bigger tubes.Everything can. Will be chromed.

It's great to see someone with another shoebox as I have built and driven 12 of them to date. I am torn about the stock flathead though. Here are a few things to consider. If you are going to drive it locally it is a great motor in stock configuration. If your going to be driving in a very warm climate they overheat easily. If you plan on freeway driving they are very slugish. The biggest problem with shoeboxes is the steering. They have poorly designed geometry. They wander, and pull most especially if you are using bias ply tires. I currently have a 51 Victoria with a 302/3 dueces, and AOD Transmission. As this is my twelfth shoebox I have changed the steering to rack and pinion thus changing steering geometry, and this a stock suspension. I have upgraded the brakes to Power disc. I have dropped spindles in the front and lowering blocks in the rear. This car drives and rides like a new one. There are kits available from Fatman Fabrications to do all this if you don't have fabrication skills or the tools required to build from scratch. The Steering modification is the most involved, while all the others are quite simple. Street Rodder Magazine has several tech articles at their online location on how to these modifications. Although I like the Flathead best, it was not practical for the long distance driving I like to do going to car shows. Speedway motors carries alot of flat parts and accessories, but flatheads are very expensive to build at their cheapest. Good Luck whatever you choose, just drive it.