The Ford Barn

Scott52 · 04-09-2020, 03:39 PM

I recently purchased a 1952 Victoria Crestline. I already have a 1956 Chevy and a 1948 Dodge Power Wagon, both pretty close to stock. I bought the Ford because I have never worked on a Ford Flathead and i needed something to do. It came with two 8BA engines, 1 in the car. Both have cracks which I understand are not uncommon. Haven’t delved into where they are and how bad yet. The car was converted to 12V already but I have not tested that out yet. It has dual exhaust and 3 Speed OD. After reading several books on the Flathead engine, I plan to go with mild upgrades. One engine already has adjustable lifters. Per JW Larson’s Flathead Facts book I am thinking about shaving the 8BA heads .050, using an Edlebrock 452 4 barrel intake (came loose with the car and needs to be checked out still) , either a 390 or 465 CFM Holley carb, increased flow water pumps and a different distributor. I have read threads saying the MSD Electronic works well. Also a modified SBC distributor by Charley NY or Bubba. I feel pretty good about most of the mechanicals. It’s the distributor setup, changing weights, figuring out the timing, etc. I am not well versed in. I understand that I can get a distributor set up but will I have issues finding obsolete points later? Heck my 283 in the Chevy doesn’t run right where it is supposed to be timed. I just set it where it runs well and left it alone. It’s been doing fine for 7 years now. I guess I just wanted to introduce myself and get some basic feedback.

04-09-2020, 03:39 PM	#1
Scott52 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2020 Posts: 146	Firsttimer with a V8 Flathead I recently purchased a 1952 Victoria Crestline. I already have a 1956 Chevy and a 1948 Dodge Power Wagon, both pretty close to stock. I bought the Ford because I have never worked on a Ford Flathead and i needed something to do. It came with two 8BA engines, 1 in the car. Both have cracks which I understand are not uncommon. Haven’t delved into where they are and how bad yet. The car was converted to 12V already but I have not tested that out yet. It has dual exhaust and 3 Speed OD. After reading several books on the Flathead engine, I plan to go with mild upgrades. One engine already has adjustable lifters. Per JW Larson’s Flathead Facts book I am thinking about shaving the 8BA heads .050, using an Edlebrock 452 4 barrel intake (came loose with the car and needs to be checked out still) , either a 390 or 465 CFM Holley carb, increased flow water pumps and a different distributor. I have read threads saying the MSD Electronic works well. Also a modified SBC distributor by Charley NY or Bubba. I feel pretty good about most of the mechanicals. It’s the distributor setup, changing weights, figuring out the timing, etc. I am not well versed in. I understand that I can get a distributor set up but will I have issues finding obsolete points later? Heck my 283 in the Chevy doesn’t run right where it is supposed to be timed. I just set it where it runs well and left it alone. It’s been doing fine for 7 years now. I guess I just wanted to introduce myself and get some basic feedback.