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cuzncletus · 01-03-2012, 07:08 PM

There seems to be some kind of automatic mental connect between low horsepower per cubic inch and dependability. This would rule out a lot of small cars with 2 or more HP per inch from seeing over 200,000 miles, which a lot of them do with boring regularity. As bad as gas is these days, it's better than it was in the early 50's. More compression will not compromise durability. Isn't one of the benefits of aluminum heads that they run cooler, the ancient bug-a-boo of flatheads? Metallurgy has certainly improved a lot in the last 60 years. Pistons and rings from aftermarket suppliers would, in my mind, be superior to NOS Ford parts. We've got a better handle on camshaft design and eighty years of experimentation has to have taught us something. Did a good clean up of ports ever hurt an engine? Ignitions are arguably one of the biggest boosts you can give a flathead. Look how far those have come and how much more reliable they are today. Are headers an automatic evil? Many of today's mods are horsepower for free as far as stress on an engine goes.

At a certain point there is going to be a corresponding drop in reliability with an increase in performance. The question is where do we stray out of the grey area. As for Pete's comments, I'll admit I'm new to flatheads but I've put a lot of miles on some fairly strong street engines. I doubt if I've got a following or anyone takes me for the gospel so my drivel should be pretty harmless. But there are some folks on this chatline who don't just talk the talk. Poke and prod some. You'll get them to lay their cards down.

01-03-2012, 07:08 PM	#18
cuzncletus Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sevierville, Tenn. Posts: 391	Re: Here’s a Question to Ponder. There seems to be some kind of automatic mental connect between low horsepower per cubic inch and dependability. This would rule out a lot of small cars with 2 or more HP per inch from seeing over 200,000 miles, which a lot of them do with boring regularity. As bad as gas is these days, it's better than it was in the early 50's. More compression will not compromise durability. Isn't one of the benefits of aluminum heads that they run cooler, the ancient bug-a-boo of flatheads? Metallurgy has certainly improved a lot in the last 60 years. Pistons and rings from aftermarket suppliers would, in my mind, be superior to NOS Ford parts. We've got a better handle on camshaft design and eighty years of experimentation has to have taught us something. Did a good clean up of ports ever hurt an engine? Ignitions are arguably one of the biggest boosts you can give a flathead. Look how far those have come and how much more reliable they are today. Are headers an automatic evil? Many of today's mods are horsepower for free as far as stress on an engine goes. At a certain point there is going to be a corresponding drop in reliability with an increase in performance. The question is where do we stray out of the grey area. As for Pete's comments, I'll admit I'm new to flatheads but I've put a lot of miles on some fairly strong street engines. I doubt if I've got a following or anyone takes me for the gospel so my drivel should be pretty harmless. But there are some folks on this chatline who don't just talk the talk. Poke and prod some. You'll get them to lay their cards down.