'36 221 - rebuildable??

[pistonbroke]

As GB said the heads should match. It would and did run but not right or very well. Ask around here on the barn . Somebody should have a spare set they could part with I would think. Again nice work and keep us in the loop on your progress. Tim

[pistonbroke]

If you go to the swap meet at the top of the page you will find the wanted section. post an add there. Tim

[Ol' Ron]

eWell, I've gone thru this and can't come up with any answer about this engine. I have to know what the future of this car will be?? Dailey driver----------------- restored to original. Ur just a putzer old car,
I like the latter, Fixing this engine will be quite expensive, You might consider replacing it, any engine up to 48 will bolt right in, 49/53 will with some putzing/
good luck. But your in the right place now.
Gramps

[sjaakslinger]

Well, I think we passed the point of no return.🫣 We have all the parts already. Main bearings, rod bearings, another good used camshaft, crankshaft almost done machining, etc. I got most parts for a fair price and mainly without shipping costs. All costs are split 50-50 with my dad, so this is a nice father son project.

Maybe not the most logical way to go with this engine, since the car is patina'd 4 door Sedan, but we like to keep it stock. That's how it was parked end of the 60s, kinda nostalgic way to go.

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[Ggmac]

I’ve got the exact same mis matched heads on my lb 36 std bore steel piston motor. I ran that motor for 5-6 years and never could tell the difference. Of course I knew they looked different but it wasn’t till I removed the heads did I realize the chamber being different .
Gary

[sjaakslinger]

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I'm getting mixed input on this issue (on other Flathead platforms). I'd say 50-50 on whether a difference in chamber size is right or not.

One chamber measures 95cc, the other 82cc. One response to my questions on this issue is:

"Right banks and left banks.. can confirm slightly different cambers OEM stock..
... it's because of the way the engine has been cast ..
Ford engineered it that way.."

Any ideas here? Thanks.

Dennis

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[Ggmac]

Its always best to have equal chamber cc but back in the day you got what was available .
If you weren’t so far away Id trade you either head you want .

[sjaakslinger]

Thanks, appreciate that.

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[KiWinUS]

Have you checked the combustion chamber total size with heads on engine? You may find they are close despite what you see on the bench.

[Yoyodyne]

I've collected 21 stud parts for quite a while trying to get one good block for my 36PU. I found a wide variety of heads of all descriptions. Water pump heads for domed pistons are not common. I think they were made by Ford to use on 37-38 engines with domed pistons to allow installation in 32-36 cars when using water pump block off plates on the block. I found one head that was clearly an aftermarket replacement head, it had a domed chamber. I saw other heads that seemed to also be aftermarket replacements, some resemble OE Ford on the outside, some don't. The chambers vary a lot in Ford heads. spark plug locations vary, the aftermarket heads vary even more. I suspect the aftermarket manufacturers sometimes cast Ford script on their heads, some have part numbers, some don't.
The Aluminum heads I've seen all were for flat top pistons, I've read here on the barn that assembly line 33-36 car engines all had aluminum heads, trucks had iron heads. All of the factory rebuilt engines I've encountered had Iron heads, so perhaps the new iron heads were a routine item to install on rebuilts and were cast for that purpose. My 36 had a Ford rebuilt engine in it, it had 1932 iron heads with 7/8" spark plugs on it. My guess is that they just paired up 2 similar heads and stuck them on as the engines went down the rebuilder line.

With you being located in The Netherlands my data might have no bearing on your situation, the OEM engines may have varied a lot from USA production.


I've seen enough identical rights and lefts that I don't think the different size chambers you have are normal. My direction if I were in your shoes would be to find a matching pair of heads or to find a match to your 82cc head. The average price for iron 21 stud waterpump heads here in the US has been about $25

If you are forced to use the heads you have, the 13cc difference might be just enough to make it idle a little roughly but I wouldn't bet a lot on that happening.

[sjaakslinger]

Thanks for the input! I do visit the US on a regular basis, so it shouldnt be too hard to source one. Preferable the smaller chamber size indeed.

What confuses me so far is that some claim a difference in chamber volume is 'correct'. I might have to check it with the heads on the engine....

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[Ggmac]

I do not think having 2 different chamber volumes is ever correct . It’ll work but not correct. Especially when rebuilding a motor and you have a chance to correct it .

[sjaakslinger]

Finally some progress on the '36 LB engine. The crankshaft finally returned from the machinist. Not that many here in The Netherlands, so that took a while. All journals machined to .010 under.

The block was decked. Cylinders to be bored next and then I guess assembly can start! In the meanwhile I sourced a good used original Ford 68- prefix head at mr. Mest in LA.

I rebuild the original Stromber 97 carb and the distrubutor, but with a 11A shaft and plate. Hope it will work.[emoji3]

Dennis

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[Ggmac]

If you ever get to south Florida, get in touch with me . I’ve got 2 running LB motors that I don’t think I’ll need anymore.
Gary

[Bored&Stroked]

Things are coming along nicely . . . you've learned a lot and are heading the right direction. It is good that you have two matching heads - that is definitely the way to go with this. Have your machine shop measure the clearance above the pistons to the chambers (what is known as squish). You'll probably need to resurface the heads anyway, so have them tune the clearance to achieve about .045 between the piston domes and head (obviously with a gasket in place). This really helps these engines run as best as possible.

When you rebuild that carb, make sure you pull the dump tubes as part of the rebuild - they will have all sorts of junk in them and they must come out! You can clean and reuse them as part of the rebuild effort.

You're going to love starting your first flathead . . . they are really fun engines!

[sjaakslinger]

Thanks for the advice. I did pull the emulsion tubes and cleaned them. They still looked in good shape.

I'll post more pictures as soon as the engine comes together.

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[40coe]

Great to see your LB engine coming together. I have built a couple of those for myself. I do believe that the valve angle is different from left verses right. This is why the heads are different casting numbers. I agree with a previous post suggesting to "cc" them on the block.
Another note, it is common for the center web for crankshaft to crack along the oil port. I stop drilled mine and put a thin sleeve in the oil port.

[38 coupe]

I may be a bit late in replying, but hopefully better late than never. The 82 cc chamber size head has the combustion chamber design that Ford adopted for the rest of flathead V8 production. I would find a match to that head. I have slowly gathered a couple sets of those myself for use in a 36 insert bearing motor project that may happen one of these years.

[sjaakslinger]

All good. I found an original matching Ford 68-6049B head. We should have all the parts now to get the engine together. Mist work will be done by a professional restauration company, stuff like waterpumps, fuel pump, carb, generator, etc. we will probably do ourselves.



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[sjaakslinger]

Progress! Cylinders bored, valve seats grinded, block cleaned again. Lots of cr@p came out of the coolant ports.

Now hoping the rebuilder steps it up a notch. In the meanwhile I cleaned the starter and got it going. Now the generator. It still seems to work fine, so it's gonna be a good cleaning, replacing the brushes and some wiring.

Dennis

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