please read

[ole39]

would like to pass on what i hope will be valuable info, i have had an on going problem with my 8ba that had soured my opinion of flatheads, to the point i was ready to put a sbc in it and dump it, and go back to late models. (i had a 64 impala ss in my sights) as some of you may know, who have replied to my earlier posts, and offerd good ideas, but none worked. the problem was, at 1/2 throttle it would develop a miss, and the only way it would run 'right' was to severly retard the timing, hence running hot, had replaced rubber fuel lines, 94 carb rebuilt by ken ct, borrowed a 94 from a buddy and rebuilt it myself, same thing. have had 4 coils, 3 dizzys in it, now has an old mallory dual point re-built by bubba in it, all to no avail. had bought ole rons book and john lawsons book (jwl) and studied them, at that point, i contacted john by e-mail. as per his instructions, checked fuel pressure of stock and electric pump, ok, run a jumper wire from batt. to coil, ok, i knew head and intake gaskets were good, compression low for a new motor, but heads are really opened up for the 400jr. bring up rpms to miss, then apply choke, it smoothed out, finally hit on something! had checked plugs before, and they were white, a lean condition, put .60 jets in didnt help. john asked if i was sure the cam was in time, when it was apart i lined up marks and spun it by hand, yup ok too. then he suggested i take off intake and check valve train, everything there ,and doing its job. went back to johns book, looking for anything, grasping at straws by now. found an example where he was testing different intakes, and when he would get to a certain rpm, it would break up similar to mine, he found where it had been welded on the bottom (aluminum intake) and the weld had cracked. told him what i had found. up until this time, mine had the stock intake. i have an offy 3 carb that was going on it when i got it broke in. so told him since i was going to run the offy in the future, i was going to install it and run it as a single. success!! i fired it up, run it up to full throttle, no miss at all! went over stock intake with magnifieing glass, couldnt see anything, so it had to be internal. this has had to be nearly the most frustrating experience of my life, there were times i was ready to give it away, part it out, push it out in the alley and burn it etc. but ive wanted an old ford for many years, this was kinda my last chance. first, i would like to thank all the barners for their help and ideas, but most of all, a big huge thank you to john lawson, without his help, i would probably be in the corner of the garage in the fetal position. he wouldnt let me give up, and since i contacted him for help, i damn sure wasnt going to let him down! in closing, i hope this info will help someone, also, if you dont have ron, or johns books, i really urge you to get them both, there are things covered in there that are in no other, plus all facts are backed up with actual dyno tests, you will discover many myths revealed, my next 8ba, or any flathead will use these as my bible. to john, if there is anything in here ive left out, or not quite right, feel free to make it right. another old soldier back on the street!

[1952henry]

Good read indeed!

[George/Maine]

If you have tryed different carbs,dist,see how much gas you get out of electric pump in30 secs. My guess is cam I,d replace it with stock cam.What is 1/2 throdle.
How is it up to 3000 rpm.You shouldn,t be over 3k rpm unless you are racing you shadow..

[ole39]

thanks george, but re-read, its fixed, bad intake.

[richard rink]

ole39,

That's a great narrative! The invisible leak in the intake is a real "stealth" challenge. Kudos! Richard

[Joe AZ]

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It's great that you found your problem. Sorry that it took so much time and frustration to reach a solution. It does prove that there's no substitute for experience, and it's great to tap into the knowledge of people on this forum. I've got a couple of projects going, and without the help I've received on here, I wouldn't be nearly as far along. I mostly follow threads I feel will pertain to what I'm working on, but whenever I've asked specific questions, I've got answers withing hours.
Can't beat it!
Joe

[Rebel Sympathy]

Is Ole the same as Ol', or are you a flathead enthusiast with an Hispanic bull-fight heritage? HAW-HAW! Just kidding, of course......

You have provided this forum with some valuable information by posting the process you went through to solve your problem. Thank you for doing so.

You guys are the best on the planet........

Mike

[flatjack9]

Congratulatios on your perserverance. I'm sure it's very satisfying to solve such an unorthodox problem. Happy motoring.

[Mike in AZ]

good info....thanks for sharing your story and glad you didn't toss the old Ford, tho the '64 SS is pretty sharp, too...lol.....congrats on your perserverance and thanks to all who helped you....and helped us with the story, too....Mike

[JWL]

I might have been as happy as "ole39" when I got the signal that the new intake stopped that bad behavior. We were running out of ideas because he had begun the diagnosis with the simple stuff and progressed through to the less simple and more obscure.

Also, I wish I still had the passion and work ethics "ole39" demonstrated while dealing with this problem. And, I thank him for these generous comments but it was actually his reading of my book and putting 2+2 together that hit the winning combination.

JWL

[31chevy]

You were rewarded for your perserverance, I suggest you cut the mainifold in two pieces & put in the garbage can so that it will not be used by anyone else. Very pleased that you stuck with it, these flatheads can be very frustrating at times.
Gary.

[bk53]

well said Ole39.

[ole39]

john, thank you for the compliments, but.......... you are way too humble "31 chevy" i personally took manifold to scrap yard last friday, told them NOT to let anyone talk them out of it, as it was junk! got a whole 2 bucks for it! 'rebel sympathy' no hispanic bull fighters that i know of, mabey bulls*****s. my family are new england yankees, and east tenn. hillbillies. thanks for all the good words!

[TomT/Williamsburg]

It's nice to see you persevered and even better that you shared and and all of us learned a thing or two.

Congrats - now please drive the wheels off of that car and never stop smiling!

[ole39]

Congrats - now please drive the wheels off of that car and never stop smiling![/QUOTE]


i fully intend to!!

[Marcus]

Ole39: You are ever so right about JWL's book: it is priceless. Please allow me to share yet another JWL story: In 2006, I was at MY wit's end about a poor running flathead in Henry, my 1947 Ford Flathead Pickup. Iwas (and am) a beginner to the Flatmotor. John was gracious enough to allow me to trailer Henry to Fitzgerald, GA (all the way from Mississippi - that is how frustrated I was!). John listened as drove Henry off the trailer and into his garage; he raised the hood, pointed at the left head, and announced I had a blown head gasket. Never mind there was NO evident leak, and NO coolant in the oil. He pulled the head, and YES! A blown head gasket BETWEEN the cylinders, NOT allowing any coolant to escape. I was (and AM) simply amazed at John's knowledge and abilities. He replaced the gasket and torqued both heads - I was off and running, better than ever. NOT a minutes problem since.........by the way - are you aware that John is an Engineer's Engineer?? Knows his subject ......... regardless...

[V12Bill]

Several years ago I bought a 1946 Lincoln that had oil consumption problems and a slipping clutch. When I tore the engine down the intake manifold had the heat exchanger under the carb burned through. The exhaust was dumping into the valve chamber and pressurizing the crankcase. The oil was forced up the intake valve stems to the combustion chambers and out the rear main seal on to the clutch. Replacing the intake solved that engines problems also. That manifold was welded up by some one else and resold. I hope it doesn't leak.

[39portlander]

This is a great thread to newbies like myself, good problem solved. Ole39, My eyes are sore from focusing on that monster thread.

Break those informative threads with some paragraphs next time. Scott

[ole39]

marcus,wasnt ready to trailer it to him, but was ready to get him a plane ticket to illinois! 39 portlander, sorry about the paragraph thing, english wasnt my strongest suit, or school either, for that matter

[Gumpy]

Ole 39

thankyou for sharing your experience of what you went through that was not an easy fix but can be costly I have gone the same route....I have often found if i sleep on a problem i often wake up with a fresh idea but the barn is your best resource thankyou guys!