[tubman]

I agree with "drolston" for the most part. I would add that doing some head work on the heads to get the "squish" down to around .050" is even more important than the increased compression the fancy finned heads might give you. Aftermarket heads seem to be suffering from poor quality control lately, so they should be "clayed" to make sure the combustion chambers are consistent and the right volume. I personally prefer a small base 2G on modified Merc manifold over a four barrel, mainly because of cost and simplicity. I wouldn't run multiple carbs unless the car didn't have a hood.

As to lowering the front? Two words : Aerostar springs.

Now that you have paid your penance for asking a question on a board full of flathead freaks, I will try to provide you with some of the information you were asking about. I am starting to "de-clutter" my shop and have been doing some pricing research. A regular 3 speed transmission like yours would probably sell in the $300-$400 range. If it were an overdrive nit, figure twice that. This are top prices for clean units out of a running restored car, not dirty parts that have been sitting outside. As to the engine, I sold my second to last good 8BA bare block for $800 3 years ago with a money back guarantee. About that time, I built a second 8BA. I had a good block, crank, and rods, and scored a new set of Offenhauser pistons, pins, and rings from Speedway's "Garage Sale" site for a very good price. In the end (if you don't include the finned heads and Isky MAX-1 cam), I had $2100 in the engine, complete and balanced. For some reason, rebuilt flatheads do not retain their resale value very well (I think everyone who wants one wants to do their own). Anyway looking at all of this, I would put the value of the engine in the $1200-$1500 range, given you have the receipts for the work. Without them, it's really just another used flathead, with all of the attendant problems. If you find the right guy, he may step up, but how long do you want to wait?