Flathead Engines

Early Ford V8 Swap Meet--Fitchburg, MA, April 18, 1999

8BA engine from a 1950's Lincoln

This engine came out of a early 50's Lincoln (I didn't record exactly what year). The seller claimed it had only 1500 miles on the engine. He still decided to repaint the block.

1934 roadster

This car had a somewhat ratty interior, but was complete and looked unmolested (the outside looks just a little too good for it to be unrestored).

1940 Ford coupe

I wish the hood had been open on this 34 cabriolet! If you peeked through the side louvers you could see a very nice early flathead engine with waterpumps mounted on the cylinder heads.

Pickup truck bed behind the seat of a roadster

A very nice looking 1940 sedan. Often these get customized to lose the bumpers and the chrome trim, but I think I prefer them with the trim. I have to admit that the later sedans don't look as good to me as the coupes.

Lars Brandow, visiting from Sweden in front of our 1935 Ford pickup

I suppose this is a predecessor of the modern sport utility vehicle, in a way. That's a pickup bed behind the seat although there's a tonneau cover over it. These were very popular in Australia and Ford made some coupe-utilities in the US in 1937. This particular car looks like the one pictured on page 90 of the May 1999 issue of Street Rodder. Since the Street Rodder car is owned by someone from Charlton, Mass (about 40 miles away), it probably is. Unfortunately, the hood was closed today: according to the magazine, the engine is a 'period-perfect Flathead.'

1936 Ford sedan 1936 Ford sedanAluminum cylinder heads by Fenton

Lars Brandow was on an extended business trip from Sweden and arrived just in time for swap meet season. The week before this he was down at Stafford Springs. That's Lars standing next to our pickup truck. He was lucky enough to get to drive the 36 sedan shown in the other two pictures. This car is owned by 'V8chris' from the old  classicar flathead forum and has Fenton cylinder heads and a Fenton intake manifold. Lars is also collecting parts for his 1942 business coupe and other projects.

Chrysler "straight 8" flathead engine Chrysler "straight 8" flathead engine

This Chrysler attracted a lot of attention. I put it here because even though it isn't a Ford and isn't a V-8, it is a flathead with a long 'straight eight' engine.

1934 Ford four-door sedan 1934 Ford four-door sedan

These two 1934's seem to have been done at the same paint shop. They both have mildly chopped tops. I don't recall what engines they had (in general, there weren't many cars with their hoods open so you had to try to peek through the louvers). I happen to like the look of the 34 sedan although my wife thinks they're ugly. I guess this means I'm already thinking about what car to look for next.

Aluminum cylinder heads by Weiand Dual carburetor flathead intake manifolds by Weiand and NavarroEdelbrock "sling shot" dual carburetor intake manifold

I was able to resist the temptation to pick up any steel or aluminum wall art although I was tempted. The Weiand cylinder heads on the left wouldn't even fit my engine (I have a 21 stud engine and this is for a 24 stud engine). After reading a little more about the Navarro intake manifolds, I almost wish I had bought this one anyway. Looking at the picture they have open ports by the exhaust crossover. I wonder if this was for an extra exhaust port or something? On the far right is a high rise Edelbrock intake manifold that was being sold along with some aluminum heads. I neglectected to take a picture of a Fenton intake manifold that was for sale. I did pick up a new fuel pump and fuel pump stand for my dual intake manifold which I'll install after I gather the last of the parts I need.