The Ford Barn

tubman · 06-23-2016, 02:03 PM

19Fordy,

I have a good 8BA crankshaft (checked at the machine shop), that I can't give away.

Tubman

Bored&Stroked · 06-23-2016, 02:25 PM

I know I have a 'good supply' of blocks and cranks!

Ol' Ron · 06-23-2016, 03:06 PM

Just remember the 258 is one mean reving machime, and cheep to build.

tubman · 06-23-2016, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

Just remember the 258 is one mean reving machime, and cheep to build.

Ron,

Seems like you might need a crankshaft,

now there's shipping costs..............

Tubman

Ol' Ron · 06-23-2016, 09:59 PM

I have few as well. About 15 years ago I built up several 276 engines to sell and one 258. All had L-100 cams along with a bunch of used heads I picked up at fla markets. At that time I would mill all the heads .040" and carve my own combustion chambers. I also had a dyno. I sold the 276 engines right away one put out 135 HP and the other 140. but no one wanted the 258, so I made it my test engine. The dan thing mad over 150 hP@ 5200. All the others peaked at around 46-800. I'll admit it had a 4bl on. I sold it to a guy in New Hampshire. Never heard from him again. My first Hydro engine was a 258 and it was clocked at 61 mph The 284 that replaced it only made 58 MPH
I woukdn't throw them short strokers away, For just a set of pistons you could have a nice engine.

richard crow · 06-24-2016, 11:40 AM

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the flathead eng has one big flaw that is the exhaust gases pass through the block .back in the day the traffic was not like it is today.it,s a hard eng to keep cool in heavy traffic. i know there guys that say thers run cool. have they ever been on the l.i.e or ca freeway at rush hour if you want to drive your car every day in heavy traffic which is just about every where. it,s not a good choice. i hate to say this but you can get a sb chevy a lot less then a rebuilt flathead . & go every where but if you just want to drive to car shows or back roads the flathead is great. or you live in a low traffic area

tubman · 06-24-2016, 11:50 AM

In the later ('49 and up) cars at least, I think they had the cooling problems mostly sorted out (I'm not an expert with the earlier cars). When I finished my '51 38 years ago, it had a recored radiator and a clean block, and I've never had a problem. I was in Chicago for a car show a year or two after I finished it (drove it there from the Twin Cities). I got lost and ended up in a huge traffic jam in 95 degree weather. There were modern cars pulling over to the side of the road because they were boiling (probably a good number of them were brand "X"), while I just drove on through.

If you get and keep everything maintained the way it should be, there shouldn't be a problem.

Tim Ayers · 06-24-2016, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

I have few as well. About 15 years ago I built up several 276 engines to sell and one 258. All had L-100 cams along with a bunch of used heads I picked up at fla markets. At that time I would mill all the heads .040" and carve my own combustion chambers. I also had a dyno. I sold the 276 engines right away one put out 135 HP and the other 140. but no one wanted the 258, so I made it my test engine. The dan thing mad over 150 hP@ 5200. All the others peaked at around 46-800. I'll admit it had a 4bl on. I sold it to a guy in New Hampshire. Never heard from him again. My first Hydro engine was a 258 and it was clocked at 61 mph The 284 that replaced it only made 58 MPH
I woukdn't throw them short strokers away, For just a set of pistons you could have a nice engine.

That's great! Good advice, Ron! Funny, I remember one of friend getting the flyer or something with those engines for sale back in the day. If I recall, none went for over $2K, right?

Somewhere along the line, I picked up a set of Edelbrocks that you worked over. I got them second hand, but the guy bought them from you at York many moons ago.

Ol' Ron · 06-24-2016, 01:16 PM

My eyesight was a little better. Yes I bought Offy 400 heads because they were thicker thicker than to older heads and I could make my own chamber. This was before CNC. I could knock off a set of heads in a day. Yes the base price was 2700 less intake and dist. I dynowed every one with my intake and dist. sold allot of SBC distributors, only had mechanical adv. It' nice to know several are still running.

tub1 · 06-25-2016, 04:42 AM

Ol Ron please share the details how dose one get a flathead to 258 I'm very nterested in the combination of parts you need to assemble this motor

tony starr · 06-25-2016, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tub1

ol ron please share the details how does one get a flathead to 258 i'm very interested in the combination of parts you need to assemble this motor

+1

-

Bored&Stroked · 06-25-2016, 07:12 AM

It is a combination of a stock 3 3/4 stroke crank with a block bored to 3 5/16 (1/8" overbore).

With the shorter throw crankshaft, they should really rev up fast. Also, cheap to build in that you can use the earlier 59AB crank, stock 29A rods and floater bearings (which are a bit expensive and harder to setup), or just take the Ford 49-53 crankshafts that everybody has laying around (cause they put 4" merc cranks in them) and use a set of 49-53 rods with insert bearings and you're good to go. Easy engine to build with the cheapest parts available - you'll love it!

My personal favorite for a hot street engine is a 4" Merc crank and a 3 5/16 bore - 276 cubic inches.

Henry Floored · 06-25-2016, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tub1

Ol Ron please share the details how dose one get a flathead to 258 I'm very nterested in the combination of parts you need to assemble this motor

That's a 3 5/16" bore with a standard 3 3/4" stroke. In other words 3.3125" bore X 3.75" stroke.

You take a Ford block and bore .125" over and viola! 258.5 cubic inches.

tub1 · 06-25-2016, 07:31 AM

wonder if you can bore a 3 1/6 th 21 stud 1937 type motor this far make my 32 project run faster

rotorwrench · 06-25-2016, 09:20 AM

The 221 blocks don't have a lot of meat in the cylinder walls. A person could sleeve a block out to go big bore but I doubt that it could take a bore job that large without sleeves. Folks don't usually bore them much more than 3 3/16".

Ol' Ron · 06-25-2016, 11:03 AM

Yepadoodle!! That's the way it's done. Sportsman racing rules said 1/8 0ver bore stock crank and valves any cam one carb. A 258 block 400jr cam. 2GC carb, fixed IGN atrt 17 degs and go racing. Set em up loose. I knew a fellow that would buy a Sears rebuild ($139) put in a cam and run a season on it. put the stock cam back in it, and get another one.

Ol' Ron · 06-25-2016, 11:06 AM

Back then a new Merc crank cost 65 bucks. Who could afford one.

tubman · 06-25-2016, 11:27 AM

Hey Ron! Thanks for "making a market" for my old crank! You know I'm building my own 258". Almost the same as you're talkin' about : Isky Max-1, Edmunds heads with improved "squish" and extended tip plugs, Navarro "Universal" manifold with 2 94's (to start), and an old Mallory "flattop" distributor and "The Best Coil I Ever Made". As you can see, I'm going for an "old-timey" look. Because of the smokin' deal I got on a set of pistons from Speedway's garage sale section, I expect to be in it for less than $2000. We'll see.

5851a · 06-26-2016, 08:20 AM

What would the French have done with the tooling for the casting and machining of the flatheads?

rotorwrench · 06-26-2016, 09:11 AM

Good question! Their blocks were different but not different enough to be a problem. If a person could get the core molds and box, they would have most of the work done. The core molds that were different could be changed to get rid of the lump on the back of the block and improve the intake runners. There is a good probability that they were scrapped but you never know.

06-23-2016, 02:03 PM	#41
tubman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys Posts: 11,623	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block 19Fordy, I have a good 8BA crankshaft (checked at the machine shop), that I can't give away. Tubman

06-23-2016, 02:25 PM	#42
Bored&Stroked Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 5,723	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block I know I have a 'good supply' of blocks and cranks!

06-23-2016, 03:06 PM	#43
Ol' Ron Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chester Vt Posts: 8,985	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block Just remember the 258 is one mean reving machime, and cheep to build.

06-23-2016, 09:59 PM	#45
Ol' Ron Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chester Vt Posts: 8,985	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block I have few as well. About 15 years ago I built up several 276 engines to sell and one 258. All had L-100 cams along with a bunch of used heads I picked up at fla markets. At that time I would mill all the heads .040" and carve my own combustion chambers. I also had a dyno. I sold the 276 engines right away one put out 135 HP and the other 140. but no one wanted the 258, so I made it my test engine. The dan thing mad over 150 hP@ 5200. All the others peaked at around 46-800. I'll admit it had a 4bl on. I sold it to a guy in New Hampshire. Never heard from him again. My first Hydro engine was a 258 and it was clocked at 61 mph The 284 that replaced it only made 58 MPH I woukdn't throw them short strokers away, For just a set of pistons you could have a nice engine.

06-24-2016, 11:40 AM	#46
richard crow Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,863	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) the flathead eng has one big flaw that is the exhaust gases pass through the block .back in the day the traffic was not like it is today.it,s a hard eng to keep cool in heavy traffic. i know there guys that say thers run cool. have they ever been on the l.i.e or ca freeway at rush hour if you want to drive your car every day in heavy traffic which is just about every where. it,s not a good choice. i hate to say this but you can get a sb chevy a lot less then a rebuilt flathead . & go every where but if you just want to drive to car shows or back roads the flathead is great. or you live in a low traffic area

06-24-2016, 11:50 AM	#47
tubman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys Posts: 11,623	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block In the later ('49 and up) cars at least, I think they had the cooling problems mostly sorted out (I'm not an expert with the earlier cars). When I finished my '51 38 years ago, it had a recored radiator and a clean block, and I've never had a problem. I was in Chicago for a car show a year or two after I finished it (drove it there from the Twin Cities). I got lost and ended up in a huge traffic jam in 95 degree weather. There were modern cars pulling over to the side of the road because they were boiling (probably a good number of them were brand "X"), while I just drove on through. If you get and keep everything maintained the way it should be, there shouldn't be a problem.

06-24-2016, 01:16 PM	#49
Ol' Ron Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chester Vt Posts: 8,985	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block My eyesight was a little better. Yes I bought Offy 400 heads because they were thicker thicker than to older heads and I could make my own chamber. This was before CNC. I could knock off a set of heads in a day. Yes the base price was 2700 less intake and dist. I dynowed every one with my intake and dist. sold allot of SBC distributors, only had mechanical adv. It' nice to know several are still running.

06-25-2016, 04:42 AM	#50
tub1 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: tasmania Posts: 221	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block Ol Ron please share the details how dose one get a flathead to 258 I'm very nterested in the combination of parts you need to assemble this motor

06-25-2016, 07:12 AM	#52
Bored&Stroked Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 5,723	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block It is a combination of a stock 3 3/4 stroke crank with a block bored to 3 5/16 (1/8" overbore). With the shorter throw crankshaft, they should really rev up fast. Also, cheap to build in that you can use the earlier 59AB crank, stock 29A rods and floater bearings (which are a bit expensive and harder to setup), or just take the Ford 49-53 crankshafts that everybody has laying around (cause they put 4" merc cranks in them) and use a set of 49-53 rods with insert bearings and you're good to go. Easy engine to build with the cheapest parts available - you'll love it! My personal favorite for a hot street engine is a 4" Merc crank and a 3 5/16 bore - 276 cubic inches.

06-25-2016, 07:31 AM	#54
tub1 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: tasmania Posts: 221	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block wonder if you can bore a 3 1/6 th 21 stud 1937 type motor this far make my 32 project run faster

06-25-2016, 09:20 AM	#55
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 17,405	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block The 221 blocks don't have a lot of meat in the cylinder walls. A person could sleeve a block out to go big bore but I doubt that it could take a bore job that large without sleeves. Folks don't usually bore them much more than 3 3/16".

06-25-2016, 11:03 AM	#56
Ol' Ron Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chester Vt Posts: 8,985	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block Yepadoodle!! That's the way it's done. Sportsman racing rules said 1/8 0ver bore stock crank and valves any cam one carb. A 258 block 400jr cam. 2GC carb, fixed IGN atrt 17 degs and go racing. Set em up loose. I knew a fellow that would buy a Sears rebuild ($139) put in a cam and run a season on it. put the stock cam back in it, and get another one.

06-25-2016, 11:06 AM	#57
Ol' Ron Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chester Vt Posts: 8,985	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block Back then a new Merc crank cost 65 bucks. Who could afford one.

06-25-2016, 11:27 AM	#58
tubman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys Posts: 11,623	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block Hey Ron! Thanks for "making a market" for my old crank! You know I'm building my own 258". Almost the same as you're talkin' about : Isky Max-1, Edmunds heads with improved "squish" and extended tip plugs, Navarro "Universal" manifold with 2 94's (to start), and an old Mallory "flattop" distributor and "The Best Coil I Ever Made". As you can see, I'm going for an "old-timey" look. Because of the smokin' deal I got on a set of pistons from Speedway's garage sale section, I expect to be in it for less than $2000. We'll see.

06-26-2016, 08:20 AM	#59
5851a Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: NE Iowa Posts: 1,767	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block What would the French have done with the tooling for the casting and machining of the flatheads?

06-26-2016, 09:11 AM	#60
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 17,405	Re: Could Edelbrock cast a flathead block Good question! Their blocks were different but not different enough to be a problem. If a person could get the core molds and box, they would have most of the work done. The core molds that were different could be changed to get rid of the lump on the back of the block and improve the intake runners. There is a good probability that they were scrapped but you never know.