Pros and cons of Lincoln flatheads

[SofaKing]

What are the pros and cons of Lincoln flatheads, parts interchangeability, design issues etc? I don't know anything at all about them. I am just wondering if they offer any advantage?

[Bored&Stroked]

No real ones that I can think of. Big, heavy and few speed parts available . . . so in the end, unless you REALLY want one, probably not worth it (unless you have an original Lincoln car).

[Henry Floored]

Hi, are you referring to the 337" Lincoln V8's or the flathead V12's?

If you are asking about the 337 V8 let me get in here quick before the naysayers shoot it down. The 337 is a large and advanced Ford Flathead engine.

There are features on the 337 that are very good. A few key ones are obviously the ample cubic inches. To go with the added cubes there are improvements to the breathing of the engine to feed those cubes.

The negatives are that they are bigger and heavier than the regular Ford Flathead. They are about the same size as the Caddy flathead V8's but better. Nobody bats an eye about their heft and the Cads were used in some hot rods back in the day.

The Lincoln 337 engine conquered "La Carerra Pan Americana" a couple times powering the cars through a tremendous torture test.

[rotorwrench]

Very little interchangeability between the 337 and other Ford flatheads. Carburetor parts and a few ignition parts and that's about it. They also used a solid tappet version in trucks but only in the very large F7/F8 classes. Damn good truck motor but a bit too heavy for a car unless it was built for it like the big 49-51 Lincoln Cosmos and baby Lincolns. They had a few more inches in the engine compartment than the Mercs to house the big thing. They also used different transmissions, clutches, and rear axles.

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by SofaKing

What are the pros and cons of Lincoln flatheads, parts interchangeability, design issues etc? I don't know anything at all about them. I am just wondering if they offer any advantage?

I'm pretty sure the pistons are the same as the V/8 60, maybe the
rods. There was speed equipment made for them but may be a little
hard to find now. It's one of the smoothest running engines. G.M.

[51 MERC-CT]

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Originally Posted by Henry Floored

The Lincoln 337 engine conquered "La Carerra Pan Americana" a couple times powering the cars through a tremendous torture test.

The cars were not powered by a 337 Flathead but by an OHV engine first used in 1952.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by SofaKing

What are the pros and cons of Lincoln flatheads, parts interchangeability, design issues etc? I don't know anything at all about them. I am just wondering if they offer any advantage?

Did a Google search for "Lincoln 337" and found some information. Here are a couple links I copied:

http://www.route66hotrodhigh.com/BBF-Flathead.html

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...s-337bigV8.htm


Here are a couple pictures I took of a little track roadster at TROG West, Pismo Beach, Ca, in October. The 337 engine did not look that big or out of place to me in this roadster.
Also, we saw Austin finned aluminum heads, and multi carb intakes for the 337 on the shelves for sale at H&H Flatheads.

[Dodge]

Another plus is you get to sing "Hot Rod Lincoln" while your driving down the road.
There is no substitute for cubic inches........

[flatheadmurre]

They are about 25% bigger so not huge in that way.
The big issue is that they are built for torq and there´s a lot of rotating mass in them.
If you want to convert one for speed in a light car i figure you have to start cutting down the weight to get a real fun engine out of it.

[mhsprecher]

Interesting thread. It makes you wonder why Ford invested in an engine that was only used for four years?

[V8 Bob]

Originally Posted by mhsprecher

Interesting thread. It makes you wonder why Ford invested in an engine that was only used for four years?

Heavy trucks.

[skidmarks]

We

Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT

The cars were not powered by a 337 Flathead but by an OHV engine first used in 1952.

They are talking about the 49 to 51 lincoln flathead that was used also in ford trucks f7 and F8.
The 52 ohv was either a 279 or a 317 and looks like a big Y block. Same deal lincoln cars and ford F7 f8 trucks starting in 1952.I had two big trucks with them . A 55 ford tandem t750 and a 61 ford F800.

Or did you mean the winning road race car was a 52 lincoln and they never raced the flathead lincoln?

[Mike51Merc]

I wouldn't run one of them unless it was already under the hood in running condition. Heavy weight (850lbs), scarce parts, no bang-for-buck, etc.

[mhsprecher]

Originally Posted by V8 Bob

Heavy trucks.

Yes, but still, not much use out of that investment. Maybe a short term fix as they were expanding into the larger truck market.

Given all the changes that Ford was going through at that time, it probably made sense, given the in house talent. It's pretty remarkable. Ford, and the other manufacturers, totally revamped their product lines post war. Ford had many more problems, though, and got new management top to bottom during that period.

[SofaKing]

JM35Sedan- Thanks for the links, very informative. I was surprised that they weigh 850Lbs but I did like the torque numbers of 265-275 Ft Lbs. I prefer my power at the low end of the RPM range since that's where I generally operate. Given my very limited flathead/transmission experience, it seems like having power at the top end would be lost during the painfully slow shifting of the original transmissions.

Thanks to everyone for your insight.

[lefty rodan]

About fifteen years ago I met a guy at a car show who was from the Walden, New York area I believe. He was building a monster 337 and had it bored out to 400 c.i. He was going to use chevy pistons and rotating assembly and had a machinist grinding away at the block to get the weight down. I never heard more about it. Lefty Rodan

[51 MERC-CT]

Originally Posted by skidmarks

Or did you mean the winning road race car was a 52 lincoln and they never raced the flathead lincoln?

Exactly.

[38bill]

Just received the new H&H Flatheads catalog and they show heads and intakes for the 337 and V12 engines if anyone is interested.

http://www.flatheads-forever.com/catalog.html

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by 51 MERC-CT

The cars were not powered by a 337 Flathead but by an OHV engine first used in 1952.

The 337 Lincolns were raced in '50 and '51. While they didn't win overall they ran very competitively with the new OHV Gm V8's most notably the Olds 88.

There are pictures of these 337 Lincolns getting airborne during the race. They couldn't have been all that bad.

[Fordors]

Airborne? I don't think of that as much of a performance benchmark. We used to do that in a friend's '59 Galaxie with a 292, and five guys in the car.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Henry Floored

The 337 Lincolns were raced in '50 and '51. While they didn't win overall they ran very competitively with the new OHV Gm V8's most notably the Olds 88.

Those Olds V8s were ONLY 303 CU IN. DD

[Jason in TX]

The Conforth Lincoln racer was the car to beat at TROG. Fast as lightning.

[Newc]

Hi Ken Austin developed the Lincoln parts in the '50s, and sold the product line to H&H. It's all good stuff for your Hot Rod Lincoln. Those 337's are cheap to purchase to get started. Newc

[V8COOPMAN]

Ready to get serious! DD

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

Those Olds V8s were ONLY 303 CU IN. DD

Don't know what to make of this. The Hudson Hornets used to give 'em fits.

[Henry Floored]

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Originally Posted by Jason in TX

The Conforth Lincoln racer was the car to beat at TROG. Fast as lightning.

Very cool. So I take it this car did well against the tough Chevy six powered Chev roadster? Not sure of the fellow's name.

[skidmarks]

Originally Posted by Henry Floored

Don't know what to make of this. The Hudson Hornets used to give 'em fits.

49 to 53 were 303 ci. 54 it went to 324

[jagnweiner]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

Ready to get serious! DD

Does anyone else see the irony of all those lightening holes in that axle holding up that heavy Lincoln mill?

[drfrankenklein]

This guy is smoking some good stuff wanting $800 for a 2x2 intake! LoL! The guy he gotten the molds from originally had these for $300.00... Look around you find parts and some speed parts for the 337's....

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by jagnweiner

Does anyone else see the irony of all those lightening holes in that axle holding up that heavy Lincoln mill?

That's an effort to reduce "unsprung" weight. This would help the axle react to bumps on the road easier as an example.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

Originally Posted by skidmarks

49 to 53 were 303 ci. 54 it went to 324

Then they went to 370, I worked for the Olds - Cad Co. in 57 to 60. Walt

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by Walt Dupont--Me.

Then they went to 370, I worked for the Olds - Cad Co. in 57 to 60. Walt

Walt I mean this with all due respect either OHV Ford engines were actually terrible or they they had an undeserved terrible reputation during the 50's because it appears to me that hot rodders would convert to any brand OHV except for Ford.

This has bothered me my whole life. Seems like a shame that Ford let their reputation as a V8 company go to hell after the Flathead era.

It is kind of an ironic twist that for two years straight a Ford Y-block has taken top honors in the "vintage engine" class at the Amsoil Engine Masters competition. The class is only two years old.

Now the winners were pretty well built Y-blocks obviously created by two different true "engine masters", but there were also solid performances by less aggressive combinations and even a surprise result from a 368 Lincoln and a 430 MEL.

What was wrong with OHV Fords in the 1950's?

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by Jason in TX

The Conforth Lincoln racer was the car to beat at TROG. Fast as lightning.

Someone forgot to tell this guy that the 337 Lincoln sucks and is too heavy.

[Ol' Ron]

I'd love to hear a V12 Lincoln with an L-100 cam.

[big job]

Whats wrong with early Y blocks. Answer = junk oil, lack of oil changing. I remember
those so sledged up when they were only 4-5yrs old. Sad as it is, many back then
poured #90 gear oil in them. On or about 1964 the PVC valve came in, big improvement. I look back and people did stupid things back then - putting saw dust
in rear axles corn and pepper in radiators molasses in the crankcase. oh well thats
what was done. I have 4 big Y blocks 332's clean no problem at all. They really have
more power than my 460 injected 'dog' in a late F350. So now If one has a $30,000
vehicle would you do those things to your engine? NO

[big job]

We have 3, 337's in stock of which one has 12,000 miles. My above reply on the
460 'dog' I have been working time to time milling an adapter plate 337 to AOD
4x4. Thinking re drilling 460 to 337 flex plate keeping starter housing. Why, can't
deal with 3mpg down hill 460 fuel injected junk. Yes gone back to dealer with no avail.
Snow Sat plowed & got 4 hrs, tank of gas. thats not acceptable.. Meanwhile a F6
sander runs all night and use couple three gallons

[rotorwrench]

FoMoCo came out with the FE block in the late 50s but it didn't really come alive until the 390 cid was developed. That was one of Ford's "light bulb on" better ideas. The Y-blocks were good torque engines and could be built to be even better but the later 390 FE block was good right out of the box.

[cretin]

Originally Posted by Ol' Ron

I'd love to hear a V12 Lincoln with an L-100 cam.

The '36 roadster we built recently has a Lincoln V-12, and before going to GNRS we didn't have the chance to get mufflers on it, so it was just straight piped.
I loved how it sounded, it sounded like an airplane.
However, I don't know what cam is in it. Are there performance cams available for it?

Hearing that engine really solidified my want to do a lakester with a Lincoln V-12 in it.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by Henry Floored

Walt I mean this with all due respect either OHV Ford engines were actually terrible or they they had an undeserved terrible reputation during the 50's because it appears to me that hot rodders would convert to any brand OHV except for Ford.

This has bothered me my whole life. Seems like a shame that Ford let their reputation as a V8 company go to hell after the Flathead era.

It is kind of an ironic twist that for two years straight a Ford Y-block has taken top honors in the "vintage engine" class at the Amsoil Engine Masters competition. The class is only two years old.

Now the winners were pretty well built Y-blocks obviously created by two different true "engine masters", but there were also solid performances by less aggressive combinations and even a surprise result from a 368 Lincoln and a 430 MEL.

What was wrong with OHV Fords in the 1950's?

Well, they were low on HP compared to other engines and as someone said, a little sludge clogged the oil passages to the top end and that would quickly kill the valve train.

I have a Snap-on tool used to forcibly eject the sludge out of the top end oil passages for Y blocks, so it was a known problem.

It really wasn't until the 312 did Ford get their OHV engine worked out. Unfortunately, their reputation preceded them. Plus, weren't they heavy and long compared to other OHV engines?

It's hard to even compare a 283 SBC to any Y block. Shortly after the 283 came out, guys had a lot of tricks to wake up those 283's. Plus, there was a host of A/M support for the Olds and SBC engines, not so much for the Y-block.

Ford's OHV engine was a day late and a dollar short.

I think that about sums it up.

[Henry Floored]

I wasn't there but here is a '57 Ford putting some work in. This is a Y-block pure stock drag racer against a 60's muscle car.

https://youtu.be/LS37qHLtVrs

[Henry Floored]

As far as this "heavy" business, when are we gong to have a true apples to apples comparison? I'd like to know power to weight ratio WITHOUT the hot rod ragazines propaganda spin.

I remember those guys always referring to Fords as "thin wall Henrys" and then in the next paragraph they talk about how heavy the Fords were.

I'll grant you that Ford V8's are typically longer but that seems like a problem the hot rodders could have gotten around fairly easy. Our Australian and Kiwi friends didn't seem to have any problems.

Neither did this guy.

[Vic Piano]

That's almost as good lookin' as a Flat Motor.

[rotorwrench]

The aftermarket crowd latched on to the better bang for the buck that the bow-tie engines gave so the Ford engines were always more expensive to build. The bow-tie V8 was always a bit more compact too but not a lot. When racers tied in with Ford products, they always did well with them. The Purple Hogs could have been bigger winners in 1955 if they hadn't had so much trouble with their front suspensions. Later on in the 60s Caroll Shelby did well with Fords and others did too. Chrysler had to do a lot of work on the Hemi to get it to beat the Ford FE 427s.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by Henry Floored

I wasn't there but here is a '57 Ford putting some work in. This is a Y-block pure stock drag racer against a 60's muscle car.

https://youtu.be/LS37qHLtVrs

I thought we were talking about back in the day? If we are talking '53-'57, there was little support for the Y blocks.

Obviously, that has changed quite a bit as guys got bit by the nostalgia bug in the '90's. There are companies like Ross Racing Engines that make a good living on providing guys with hi-po, hi-hp nostalgic engines.

That said, guys there were certainly some guys who knew what they were doing (Vic Edlebrock for example) and were able to coax some impressive numbers HP numbers out of the 312, but he was not the normal, average racer. I believe his 312 also used a Paxton.

I think it was true then and it is certainly true now, SBC may be the cheapest engine to build for HP compared to the others.

Somewhere there is a chart floating around with actual engine weights. I can't recall totally, but I thought I recalled the Y blocks weighed in approx. 50-75 lbs. more than a similar sized SBC.

To be clear, I'm not a SBC fan boy (don't own one), I'm just stating some info. I've collected along the way.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

The aftermarket crowd latched on to the better bang for the buck that the bow-tie engines gave so the Ford engines were always more expensive to build. The bow-tie V8 was always a bit more compact too but not a lot. When racers tied in with Ford products, they always did well with them. The Purple Hogs could have been bigger winners in 1955 if they hadn't had so much trouble with their front suspensions. Later on in the 60s Caroll Shelby did well with Fords and others did too. Chrysler had to do a lot of work on the Hemi to get it to beat the Ford FE 427s.

I'm truly asking, but I thought by the time Shelby got involved, the Y block was a footnote in Ford's history books. I do know Shelby made some serious HP with Fords 289's.

Please correct me if I'm wrong for I'd really like to know. I don't know much about Shelby's beginnings.

The 354 and 392 Hemi's seemed to be immediate hit with racers. Guys realized very early that these motors could make some serious power, especially on juice. Desoto's baby hemi was cool, but weren't able to realize the tremendous power on tap with the big hemis.

Interesting, the Hemi wasn't anything new. The French and some Italian engineers introduced the hemi-head in the race engines in the teens. Once they tore things up, Miller jumped on the design and used it in his engines.

[rotorwrench]

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Dale Earnhardt's first race car the Pink & Purple K2 car was a 1956 Ford. I don't know how well he did with it though.

Curtis Turner was probably the best Ford driver of the 50s. He did well in 1956 and could have won championship if he hadn't gotten started so late in the season. He had a reputation for blowing up engines but the Y-block survived that year. Some of the stories about the crazy things he did are legend.

The 1963 fast back Galaxie 500 with the R-code FE 427 was a monster. The Hemi 426 was developed to beat it and Ford came up with the SOHC 427 and both were promptly banned from NASCAR.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

Dale Earnhardt's first race car the Pink & Purple K2 car was a 1956 Ford. I don't know how well he did with it though.

Curtis Turner was probably the best Ford driver of the 50s. He did well in 1956 and could have won championship if he hadn't gotten started so late in the season. He had a reputation for blowing up engines but the Y-block survived that year. Some of the stories about the crazy things he did are legend.

Did Turner have FordMoCo support or was he an independent racer?

Funny, I'm an elementary principal and one of my parents, Rob Edelstein, wrote a book about him. It's called:

Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of NASCAR Legend Curtis Turner.

I'll have to read the book again, but from I recall Curtis was certainly a character.

Last question: My mechanical knowledge stops at '53, so I don't know the difference of the Y blocks and Fords FE OHV's. Do they share any lineage or are they completely different animals?

On a side note, a hard top R code Galaxie is one of my bucket list cars. I've always loved them.

[Ol' Ron]

In an effort to beat the Cheavs in the late 50's I built a 342 stroke Hilborne Fuel injected "Y" block. This drove a 37 cad/La-Sal trans. 4.11 rear in a 56 Ford HT. Unortunately it took too long to get the stupid factor undercontrol. By the time I got the engine tuned any way near right, them money just ran out and the engine was sold for 500 bucks and a rebuilt 292 Y block. It was a great education. Those Hilborns are trickiy.

[rotorwrench]

I think he started with Ford Support but somewhere in there they pulled the plug for a long time. Holman & Moody got together due to the exit of factory backing. I think Ralph Moody might have driven one of those purple hog cars.

[Jason in TX]

Video of that V12 Racer doing victory donuts

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGSV1h9upUr/

[rotorwrench]

[QUOTE=Last question: My mechanical knowledge stops at '53, so I don't know the difference of the Y blocks and Fords FE OHV's. Do they share any lineage or are they completely different animals? [/QUOTE]


The Y blocks share some similarities in induction systems with the MEL (Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln) blocks of the later 50s even though one is a small block and the other is more of a medium to large block but the FE (Ford-Edsel) has a different induction system design even though is shares some characteristics in valve train of the earlier Y-block and is considered a medium block. The early 1958 332 and later 352 FEs were disappointing in performance standards but the 390 that came along in 1961 was a good one. The later 427 & 428 engines had a lot more torque and horsepower.

[Vic Piano]

I'm curious to know just how many FordBarner's are looking to build HV-12's and/or 337's to race? I've got a V-12 in my '39 LZ and a 337 in my '49 Cosmo, they are excellent cruisin' engines in their intended vehicles. I, for one, don't feel the need for speed between traffic lights, in the Cosmo or the Zephyr however, I'm certainly not opposed to putting a little eye candy on them.

[Pilot31135]

Here is my Lincoln/Ford 337...

[Newc]

Hi all; Did'nt the Munz cars use 337's. Some had aluminum heads ect. I think I saw one on HAMB. Newc

[Bored&Stroked]

Originally Posted by Fordors

Airborne? I don't think of that as much of a performance benchmark. We used to do that in a friend's '59 Galaxie with a 292, and five guys in the car.

Yeah, but that car had a lot of lightweight metal in it . . . AKA beer cans! LOL

[AnthonyG]

Funny story related to V8 Lincoln Flatty. 4 years ago I bought my '35. Was my first early ford. Knew practically nothing about them as I was a GM muscle car Motörhead at the time. As guys with mechanical ability do, assumed I knew enough. It was before finding The Barn so after seeing how much running or rebuilt Ford Flatty's were I pulled the trigger on a running Lincoln V8 Flatty for $600. Well needless to say it wasn't the easy slip in I thought so better late than never I found FB and got an earful as a lot of what I'm reading in this thread and remembering, lol. I lucked out, I called the guy who sold it to me and told him my sad tail. Unbelievably after he sold to me and delivered a guy building a rat rod wanted it and offered the guy $1400 if he could find another running Licoln V8 Flatty. The guy payed for shipping to the other guy, gave me $200 more than I payed and I sent it to the new guy. That being said they are cheaper although hard to find but a lot more Engineering, hard work & time to fit correctly in an early Ford.

[5851a]

A friend bought a large truck with the Lincoln engine, it was a long time ago but it seemed to me that the Lincoln just bolted to the same holes in the frame that were there for the flathead 6. The radiator support was also in the forward position like a 6. Remember thinking at the time if your Ford could have came with a 6 then there should be room for the Lincoln. As far as the weight part of, it a late 70's Ford 460 with a fridgeair AC. Saginaw PS. delco starter has to weigh half ton.

[41ford1]

Originally Posted by Jason in TX

Video of that V12 Racer doing victory donuts

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGSV1h9upUr/

Look again. That's a 337 V8.

[Pilot31135]

Regardless of which side your on regarding the Lincoln flathead, I hope we could all agree that at least it's a fairly rare engine being made from late 1948-1951, and it has a cool sound just like the smaller flathead...

https://youtu.be/JjW_Z3r5rDg

[Jason in TX]

I wanted to comment on the above post about the desirability of the SBC in the 1950s.

I'm pretty sure the 1955 Corvette product that was wrapped around the 265 cu.in. SBC had a lot to do with that desirability. That race looking body and suspension showing up at the tracks and in magazines. Seeing those new factory available race cars would make me want to put one of those mills in my Ford if I was around in the 1950s.

Car and Driver did a test of the TEN fastest 1950s cars and FIVE of them were the Corvette, one the 1958 Chevy Del Ray, and then the 1957 Porsche, 1958 Ferrari Europa and the 1959 Ferrari california Spyder.

And who was responsible for that??? Zora Arkus-Duntov! The Godfather of the Corvette,

....but also the inventor of the Ardun OHV conversion for the Ford Flathead.

(see how I brought it back to the Ford Flathead?)

[Henry Floored]

The Conforth Lincoln V8 special is also featured in the current Rodders Journal.

See here's the thing gang. Look at all the very quick diesel powered trucks you see today. Are those high winding screamers or do they produce gobs of torque and are geared accordingly?

The 337 Lincoln is never going to be a high winder but if built in accordance with its strengths and geared properly it's gonna give you a kick in the pants.

[corvette8n]

Saw this V12 at a car show 10 years ago, never did get to hear it run.

[frenchy dehoux]

Here pictures of my V12 Lincoln in my 32 Ford Roadster !!

Frenchy

[41Joe]

I personally like the 337 Lincoln Flathead. I had a 50 Baby Lincoln and that engine ran so smooth.

[Rustedjunk]

Originally Posted by henry floored

hi, are you referring to the 337" lincoln v8's or the flathead v12's?

If you are asking about the 337 v8 let me get in here quick before the naysayers shoot it down. The 337 is a large and advanced ford flathead engine.

There are features on the 337 that are very good. A few key ones are obviously the ample cubic inches. To go with the added cubes there are improvements to the breathing of the engine to feed those cubes.

The negatives are that they are bigger and heavier than the regular ford flathead. They are about the same size as the caddy flathead v8's but better. Nobody bats an eye about their heft and the cads were used in some hot rods back in the day.

The lincoln 337 engine conquered "la carerra pan americana" a couple times powering the cars through a tremendous torture test.

thank you!!!

[tubman]

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Originally Posted by Henry Floored

Hi, are you referring to the 337" Lincoln V8's or the flathead V12's?

. . . . .


The Lincoln 337 engine conquered "La Carerra Pan Americana" a couple times powering the cars through a tremendous torture test.

I saw this quoted in the previous post. While there were 337 Lincolns competing in the Carrera Pan America the first couple of years, they never won. I think the best finish was 8th in 1950 or 51. The Lincoln victories didn't start until they started using the 317" "Y"-block.

In retrospect, just finishing that race may be considered "conquering".

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by tubman

I saw this quoted in the previous post. While there were 337 Lincolns competing in the Carrera Pan America the first couple of years, they never won. I think the best finish was 8th in 1950 or 51. The Lincoln victories didn't start until they started using the 317" "Y"-block.

In retrospect, just finishing that race may be considered "conquering".

Yes that's what I meant. Remember some of the other cars in their class were the new OHV V8's and others were pure sports cars.

There is a picture on the internet of a 337 powered Lincoln racing in the Carrera Americana actually "catching air" going over a rise in the road.

Not bad.

[Henry Floored]

Here it 'tis.

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

Those Olds V8s were ONLY 303 CU IN. DD

Do you think that they remained 303 cu. in. in the race cars??

[40 Deluxe]

Originally Posted by Jason in TX

I wanted to comment on the above post about the desirability of the SBC in the 1950s.

I'm pretty sure the 1955 Corvette product that was wrapped around the 265 cu.in. SBC had a lot to do with that desirability. That race looking body and suspension showing up

(see how I brought it back to the Ford Flathead?)

""race looking body"? Yes. "suspension"? Not so much! The Corvette still used the antiquated monkey motion suspension of the plain-Jane '49-'54 cars!

[Charlie ny]

The Pan Am Mexican races will always intrigue me. Stick shift Caddy's, Lincoln's & Old's.
Killer cars and the guys who handled them.....Chet Herbert, Akton Miller, and the
always fabulous Mickey Thompson and his class winning '50's Ford six. I'm digging out
my Pan am books for a reread.
Charlie ny