engine question

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by Ggmac

I also have many parts that you could try before you drop alot of money on it .
Its fairly easy to remove the intake , just to get an idea of the internal condition. If its decent cyl head removal would be next but not right away . Remove plugs get it cranking easy and check compression. Low is okay at this point .
Dog walk time …

Hey I’m in the Tampa bay area and I’m helping a friend with a knock in a 59AB. He might be in the market for a good Flatty. If you’re in the market to se them I’d like to speak to you.

[Ggmac]

Originally Posted by Henry Floored

Hey I’m in the Tampa bay area and I’m helping a friend with a knock in a 59AB. He might be in the market for a good Flatty. If you’re in the market to se them I’d like to speak to you.

Sending pm
Gary

[19Fordy]

Ford only made 3561 1939 DeLuxe Convertible Sedans, Model 91A-74.
It still used the 112 in. wheelbase and was 186.33 in. bumper guard to bumper guard.,

[Flathead Fever]

That car needs to stay original with a flathead; it's a rare car. The very first thing you do with an engine that has set for a long time is to do a compression check on it. You're just wasting your time until you find out that it has compression.

My dad died, and I inherited his '32 roadster. It ran fine when he quit driving it. After 15-plus-years of sitting in his garage I started it, but it ran terrible., it has to stuck open valves. I just need to remove the intake and unstick them, and it will be fine. Also, the gas tank was full of muck. I have it cleaned out, I just need to repaint it. I have 12 car projects so it just sitting until I have the bug to get it running. I had a stroke so I'm not doing much car restoration work right now

If you do a compression test and have a low cylinder, then I'd pull the intake and make sure the valves are all opening and closing. I've seen this twice now, on my dad's '32 with stuck valves and I bought a '51 Mercury out of a car and the only thing wrong with it was one of the lifter keepers had fallen out of it, so the entire lifter and valve were open The guy working on it never tried to diagnose it, he told the guy the motor was no good and sold him a Chevy to put in it. As soon as I got the original standard bore Merc engine home, I pulled the intake and saw the lifter keeper laying in the lifter valley. The guy could have popped it back in and still be driving it. Nice original car and now it's screwed up with a Chevy in it.

[38 coupe]

If your original engine is too far gone to economically get running well you should consider swapping in another flathead Ford V8. Any 39 through 48 engine is basically a drop in, and a 49-53 engine can be made to bolt in with careful selection of outside parts (water pumps, pulleys, oil pan, bell housing, etc.).
Let us know how your compression tests go (dry, then with oil added), and we can help you further. This doesn't have to break the bank, and does not require swapping in an overhead valve engine.

[cas3]

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My first compression check would be put my thumb over the spark plug holes while spinning the starter. That will tell how many valves are stuck, and any compression readings are going to change quite a bit after its been run, if sitting a long time.

[tubman]

My advice would be to stay away from any aftermarket electronic (or points, for that matter) distributor and use a properly set up stock unit. You'll probably save some dough, too.