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Old 07-29-2020, 09:03 AM   #4
tubman
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Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys
Posts: 10,260
Default Re: New to the Flathead game and need advice

Any commonly available 10/30 or 10/40 DETERGENT oil will be fine. It would be a mistake to run non-detergent oil in a rebuilt engine. Today's oils are vastly superior to what was available when these vehicles were new. You want the detergents in the oil to keep the engine from sludging up. You can add ZDDP or run a high ZDDP oil if it makes you feel better, but that is not necessary either. Because of there design, flatheads need much less valve spring pressure than modern OHV engines so they are not as susceptible to camshaft damage.

As to the transmission, what you are describing is probably clutch chatter. This is usually caused by motor or transmissiom mount problems. This series of flatheads has what are called steady rods or anti-chatter rods that run from the frame to the rear of the engine. Make sure they are installed (some people mistakenly remove them) and are properly installed. A T5 five speed transmission is a good addition to one of these vehicles. The overdrive fifth gear improves the driveability greatly. However, there are obsticles involved, such as the need for an adapter, speedometer hookup, and some of the available transmissions have internal gear ratios that are not really suited for everyday use. There is a ton of information on the internet about this swap, so you can do a bunch of research before you make a decision. You say that you are satisfied with transmission, but do not like the limited top speed. In this case, you should consider changung the stock rear end (whish probably now is a 4.11 ratio) to 3.78, 3.54. or even 3.25 gears that are available. You probably wont be able to haul heavy loads as well as with the 4.11's, but the highway performance will be greatly improved.
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