the gods must be crazy,
 

Well I must be any way,
after scouring my stash for a good later model block,I found a 99a truck engine with std bore, this I bored to .040 over,fitted a new scat 4in crank,resized the 2.139 rods and fitted standard ford cadmium floaters,really good stock cam,new water pumps, set up the heads with .040 piston to head clearance,fitted a full flow filter setup ,then refaced the flywheel,AND THEN fitted a used 10 inch clutch,
This engine I fitted to my stock 33 to tow the caravan better,
Well it went great,except the clutch was like a Kangaroo on take off,and the engine went like a rocket,rocked the car when you revved it.and felt like a hotrod.
But was not as nice an engine as the standard 21 stud motor,which is one good engine.
Well this morning I pulled the 99a engine, threw it under the bench and refitted the 21 stud engine,this engine towed the caravan great,so I have a pile of late model blocks that I had collected for future use in the 33 and 34,but now realise that the 21 stud motors are the good thing for them, the late model engines will have to stay under the bench.
I had to let Wife Carol know that I had wasted a pile of money on the engine that now resides under the bench,nicely painted though.
Lawrie

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Well, you will just have to buy another old ford to put it in.....lol

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Lawrie, I have the exact sentiments about those early 221's. They are the best flatheads Henry built.

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Bring it with you when you come over ; o P ...

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Lawrie, I have to agree, those little 21 stud, 221 engines are awesome little runners. I found this out last year on the 7200 mile cross country tour. My '35 Fordor had no problems keeping up with the big dogs running there later FH's.
You probably should think about building a little hodrod to use that 99a engine :). Maybe something for Carol so she won't be too upset about spending all that money on the engine. :)

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

I'm really curious about this. I have a 38 coupe with a worn out engine (rod knock). I have been gathering parts to build an engine very similar to the one you built: 99 block that will receive as small as possible overbore, 4 inch crank, stock cam, ~0.050 piston to head clearance. I also have a 37 motor that would probably clean up with a set of rings (ran smooth but smoked amazingly). Before I spend a lot of money on a larger engine, please detail how the standard 21 stud motor is nicer.

Thanks!

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

The problem might be the compression
m. the early engines had about 5:1 and this added to the smooth running. But it's nice to have a spare.

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

99A has to much for the guy who drives one of, (if not) the fasted flatheads on the planet??? Hmmm gotta think about that. LOL

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

The 99A was built to pull the heavier cars and trucks. It sounds like you need to find a 39 or a 40 to put that thing in. You can never have too many old Fords or Mercs.

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Also I felt guilty about taking out the 221,the other month on a old car run out west another old car(39 Ford) tried to pass us on a long straight,the racer in me came out and I trod on the gas,he could not get past,later when I went to apologise He was so surprised to see the 221 still in.
Then there is the satisfaction of having the little engine in that the 33 came with.and all the spare parts I have for the 221 engines. I have spent hours rounding up distributors (from Horipito wreckers) ,generators,bearings and rods etc for them,and I have a good 34 block that I will put some time into working out how to do the babbit and line boring myself ,also a good 36 engine,
The new engine had .040 piston to head clearance and about 7.5 -1 compression on art heads,so it sure was higher than the 33 engine with flattop pistons,
A hotrod,now theres an idea,could also use up some spare model A parts.
Lawrie

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

But...if you wanted a REAL good engine in said hotrod, that 36 engine would have to be it, surely?!!

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

I went on the All 32 Run in Blowing Rock, NC in my avatar this past weekend (coverage is on the HAMB). I was one of only 2 flathead cars in the group of 31 cars and I kept up with all of them OHV engines and never had a problem. Many were amazed at how she performed and then I tell them that other than 2 deuces on a Y adapter running progressive linkage, it's a stock 1940 engine. True, it's not a 221 like you are talking about here but hats off to Henry as he really did make one fine little flattie for us so we can continue to play with them after all of these years!

Oh - and then I buzzed 350 miles to home @ 70-75 MPH. Man am I having fun with this car .... :)

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Well have refitted the 221 engine and been for a test drive, I may be crazy,but this engine is soo nice to drive,pulls from low mph and will run up to 75 mph easy.
Also it has a nice smooth clutch.
One thing that may make it sooth is 4deg at idle and full advance at 19 deg ,all in by 2950 rpm. using the 40 B advance curve.
The floor boards and radiator would just about remove themselves after the last weeks effort
Lawrie

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Is yours a 239 40 Merc engine?
Martin.

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

You are probably correct that the earlier distributor makes for a smoother running engine. I have found that the 8 lobed cam on the later helmet distributors often has quite a bit of runout. I found this the hard way after I rebuilt a distributor for my 37, the engine had a dead miss. I finally figured out that that cam had been machined off center so bad that on one cylinder the points opened so late the cylinder didn't fire. I built up a distributor with the later body but all the earlier internals (I sanded down the rotor to fit) and the motor runs great.

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Hey Tom, Aren't you afraid you'll wear out the Flathead, running' it at 3000 or better RPM on the highway???:eek::D;) LOL

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

That's an interesting question, given your statement below just three hours ago. DD

" Re: Spark Plugs
Yup, a bunch of Flatheads, and you know I like to drive them a lot...:D and at high RPM's... LOL"

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

Lawrie,
You are a good man Charlie Brown! Someone that admits he made a mistake and corrects it.

I have often thought a little more horsepower would be a good thing. But why? The little 85 horsepower does a great job, smooth as silk and has been trouble free. With the 3.54 gears I can keep up with the traffic on two lane roads and can run 70 on the interstate, but don't like doing it.

Besides I have a `37 Chevy coupe with a 350 and it is like a rocket compared to the `35 cabriolet. The best of both worlds....

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

It was sarcasm (you should recognize that) with respect to another post you obviously didn't see, (and that had nothing to do with you). Once again, if you are not fully cognizant of a situation, a response is inappropriate. Haven't we been through this before? Have a nice day.

Re: the gods must be crazy,
 

It'll surely melt at those rpms! You'll at least run over your crankshaft!:D
Martin.