Quote:
Originally Posted by tubman
Gary, No offense, but the stock engine in my '51 went 82,000 thousand miles before I pulled it because it was making a funny noise. (I know this because I am very familiar with the history of my car, as I have owned it for almost 40 years and knew the previous owners). Turned out to be a defective rear main bearing flange that failed either because it was defective or due to an assembly error. When I pulled it, the engine had good oil pressure and reasonable compression (85-90 lbs.); plus, I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to do to it, and the time was right. For a stock engine, cast pistons, rings and stock components are just fine from my perspective; the stuff you mention is great for a highly modified engine, but not needed for one close to stock. I'm putting a set of heads and a bigger carb on mine, but fully expect my stock rebuild to outlast me and the subsequent owners for many years. I believe that a properly maintained stock flathead will go 100,000 miles without any of the "special stuff". When I think of how we mistreated and neglected these engines when we were kids, I wonder how any can be left at all. I do however, have great respect for guys like you have made great strides in performance and reliability of these old "boilers".
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Hi Dennis, I agree with you but should have said going that distance with over 150 HP, closer to 160 and over 260# Torque won't help longevity. The layout on the build above would produce around that HP/Torque number, and the higher those numbers are generally speaking tend to shorten the overall life expectancy. I feel due to the technology available now they will still go there without issues.
Thanks, Gary in N.Y.
P.S. Since the beginning of my driving years I've owned a number of Flatties and can tell while they may go that distance they certainly didn't have the same power at 90,000 miles that they had new. At least none of mine did anyway!