Fired my flathead today for the first time!!!

[Chris]

I have been building this lil engine for a while to go into my 34 Ford. My Dad is a heck of a flathead guy and helped me do it right. Today was the day for the first run. It lit right off and sounded great!! Had great oil pressure and ran cool (has Skip's pumps on it!). Heck it even charges! Broke it in and that was that. Gotta sink the carbs but otherwise I think she is well on her way! Thanks a ton to my Dad Dave, he is a true craftsman!!!

It's a 59AB with a Merc crank, Windfield SU-1A cam, Edmunds heads and a Thickstun PM-7 and dual 97's.

Sorry for the grainy video, but the sound is there

[39portlander]

Nice sounding Flathead Chris, hope to get mine runnin by April. Nice to hear your runnin skip's pump's

[G.M.]

Chris, Looks good but I don't see any fan or do you have an electric one in front of the radiator?? I also see the high risers on the intake which should keep the carbs cooler and the fuel lines up high away from head and block heat. G.M.

[Old Henry]

Here's mine starting after sitting 31 years with nothing but an oil change, cleaned up carb, and new battery:https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...389S_KUjs&NR=1 You can skip the criticism of me "trickling" gas in the carburetor to get it going. I've heard enough of that.

[PeteVS]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

You can skip the criticism of me "trickling" gas in the carburetor to get it going. I've heard enough of that.

I think that I read that that other Henry guy had his WIFE trickle the gas down the carburetor during the initial run. Seems like a good way to avoid getting burned yourself, and, it would be a time honored tradition seeing as it's the way the very very first Ford was fired up.

[peewee2you]

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Old Henry, looks like it was a family affair, very cool. Is that the same 47, in the photo's
in the fancy garage, where the family parties take place, when needed? The same one that got hit buy the duellie.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by peewee2you

Old Henry, looks like it was a family affair, very cool. Is that the same 47, in the photo's
in the fancy garage, where the family parties take place, when needed? The same one that got hit buy the duellie.

Yep. Same one. Here's the video of it's first movement under it's own power not long after we got the engine going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBe8K...99FAAAAAAAAAAA

Since then it's gone 30,000 miles on the road including Route 66, Pike's Peak, Death Valley, and probably about 15 miles a day just joy riding. What a joy. But, really, part of the greatest joy was the year I spent working on "Old Henry" with my 15 year old son shown in the video behind the wheel. When we were done I said more than once that if we just ran the car into the lake it would have been all worth it just to have that experience with my son. He was the last of my 10 children and I tried to have that same kind of meaningful experience with each of the 10.

[Mart]

Chris: The motor sounds great!

I saw the buildup pics, your Dad did a fantastic job.

Henry (sorry for the post hi-Jack, Chris) I saw that video a couple times, I feel like I "know" you now. LOL.

Mart.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Mart

Henry (sorry for the post hi-Jack, Chris) I saw that video a couple times, I feel like I "know" you now. LOL.

I guess that could be good or bad.
Hope it's good.

[Chris]

Thanks guys...now gotta get the rest of the ol buggy done!!!

[2935ford]

Sounds Great Chris!

[Gumpy]

chris and henry thanks for sharing your startups! gump

[37slantback]

I plan to fire mine by the end of the month. Howard cam, offy intake and heads, merc crank, and dual 94s.

[Chris]

Well, theres more to the story. Day after I fired it for the first time I lit it off again. It spit a shot of water out the passanger side header. Pulled the plugs on that side, shot water out the number 2 cylinder. Hmmmm....pulled the head and found a crack in the Edmunds head:






I had the heads milled and the cracks were not there. I torqued them to 30, then 50 in the right sequence so I do not know what caused the crack. My Dad had a magentis dial indicator and we ran the numbers on all 8 clinders to measure how far up they came above the deck...making sure the rod did not bend. It was fine




My Dad also had a set of new Edelbrock heads in the box. I like old origianl speed equipment...but this is the 2nd set of old heads that have gone sour so I "borrowed" them from him. Back to running like a champ, only not as a water pump



Click for video

[flthd31]

Originally Posted by Chris

Well, theres more to the story. Day after I fired it for the first time I lit it off again. It spit a shot of water out the passanger side header. Pulled the plugs on that side, shot water out the number 2 cylinder. Hmmmm....pulled the head and found a crack in the Edmunds head:

I had the heads milled and the cracks were not there. I torqued them to 30, then 50 in the right sequence so I do not know what caused the crack. My Dad had a magentis dial indicator and we ran the numbers on all 8 clinders to measure how far up they came above the deck...making sure the rod did not bend. It was fine

This event brings back some bad memories.
Years ago I had the similar thing happen to me. We did all the tests you did and determined that "all was fine" just as you did.
That engine ran perfectly for 6 months and then one day while cursing down the road at a leisurely 55 mpg, all hell broke loose. By the time I coasted to a stop, that engine was total scrap except for the 4" forged merc crank and 3 lifters. A couple of rod pieces were actually laying in the frame rail.
When I tore it down, you could see from the rod bearing wear that it had been wobbling slightly.
My 2 cents of advice would be to replace that rod. Sure wish I had!

[Chris]

Originally Posted by flthd31

This event brings back some bad memories.
Years ago I had the similar thing happen to me. We did all the tests you did and determined that "all was fine" just as you did.
That engine ran perfectly for 6 months and then one day while cursing down the road at a leisurely 55 mpg, all hell broke loose. By the time I coasted to a stop, that engine was total scrap except for the 4" forged merc crank and 3 lifters. A couple of rod pieces were actually laying in the frame rail.
When I tore it down, you could see from the rod bearing wear that it had been wobbling slightly.
My 2 cents of advice would be to replace that rod. Sure wish I had!

You had a leaky head and had water some into the combustion chamber? You ran a dial indicator on it and the piston came up to the same specs as the others? I don't see how a rod can bend and still be the same height. Did you check yours for plat up and down, side to side? We did on mine, it was nice and tight up and down, and had slight play side to side like it should. I'm not arguing, just trying to understand what happened in your engine.

[flthd31]

Originally Posted by Chris

You had a leaky head and had water some into the combustion chamber? You ran a dial indicator on it and the piston came up to the same specs as the others? I don't see how a rod can bend and still be the same height. Did you check yours for plat up and down, side to side? We did on mine, it was nice and tight up and down, and had slight play side to side like it should. I'm not arguing, just trying to understand what happened in your engine.

The car was a 47 coupe with a 49 Merc that was just rebuild. It was bored .125 over, Isky Max1 cam. Entire reciprocating assy was balanced with flywheel and pressure plate. Ran smooth as silk and tacked up to 5000 very quickly. 2 97's on Elelbrock intake and Edelbrock heads. It had about 500 miles on it.
Back then, big bore head gaskets were impossible to find and I was using some graphite composites that turned out to be junk. The water seeped in after sitting for a few days. When I started it on a Sat morning, I had the exact experience you had with water flowing out of the header. I pulled the head and could see where the gasket failed.
The head was fine with no damage. I have a set of hydro test plates (head and water pump), so we put them on to make sure the block wasn't cracked...tested ok.
Next we checked the rise of the piston with a dial indicator and it looked good. In hind sight, we think the rod may have been twisted slightly.
All I can say is that those old Fords rods are tough, but they can't compress water...something has to give. Maybe that's what cracked your head?
If i could go back in time, I would have torn it down, not that big of a deal compared to a total loss of a new engine.

[37slantback]

Damn Chris, sorry to hear that. You are a lucky guy to have your dad around there.

[Hank the 36]

Hey Chris, I've really been enjoying your build thread on the HAMB, best of luck to you and your dad sounds awesome.
H36

[Mart]

Glad you found the problem so quickly and not one the side of the road 1000 miles away. Do you think the head can be repaired?

Mart.