The Ford Barn

JohnReb23 · 06-30-2010, 09:51 PM

Hi everyone,

I'm just starting my first car / engine project with my dad. he has restored a few old fords and is helping me work on an 8BA flathead that he bought a while ago.

He said that this was a great community to get information from so i thought id introduce myself. I'm 22 and this is the first engine i've ever worked on, so i hope you can bare with me as i learn. Ive been doing a lot of reading and research but for every term or concept i learn, i hear another new one.

Anyway, after taking the engine apart today i've got a few questions:

1) I measured the bore to be 3.25, but there seems to be a very slight lip at the top of the cylinders (the top cylinder edge slightly overhangs the rest of the cylinder) it doesnt seem very drastic but i can feel it when i run my finger in and out of the cylinder. Is this normal? will it cause wear on the pistons?

2) I know the engine is an 8BA but is there any serial number or any way of identifying which year the engine was built in? just out of curiosity.

3) i've read a few flathead rebuild books but im having trouble discerning what areas of the engine i should be focusing on. I dont have the money or skills to do any major rebuilding, machining, or anything of that sort, so i'd like to focus on simpler and cheaper methods of improving general engine performance and reliability.

im not looking to build a racing engine, just something relatively reliable with respectable performance.

sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any answers or advice, john.

06-30-2010, 09:51 PM	#1
JohnReb23 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Finger Lakes, NY Posts: 18	New to the hobby, first Engine Hi everyone, I'm just starting my first car / engine project with my dad. he has restored a few old fords and is helping me work on an 8BA flathead that he bought a while ago. He said that this was a great community to get information from so i thought id introduce myself. I'm 22 and this is the first engine i've ever worked on, so i hope you can bare with me as i learn. Ive been doing a lot of reading and research but for every term or concept i learn, i hear another new one. Anyway, after taking the engine apart today i've got a few questions: 1) I measured the bore to be 3.25, but there seems to be a very slight lip at the top of the cylinders (the top cylinder edge slightly overhangs the rest of the cylinder) it doesnt seem very drastic but i can feel it when i run my finger in and out of the cylinder. Is this normal? will it cause wear on the pistons? 2) I know the engine is an 8BA but is there any serial number or any way of identifying which year the engine was built in? just out of curiosity. 3) i've read a few flathead rebuild books but im having trouble discerning what areas of the engine i should be focusing on. I dont have the money or skills to do any major rebuilding, machining, or anything of that sort, so i'd like to focus on simpler and cheaper methods of improving general engine performance and reliability. im not looking to build a racing engine, just something relatively reliable with respectable performance. sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any answers or advice, john.