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  • Questions on a 49 Ford F5

    So a friend of mine told me about this 49 Ford F5 that he purchased at an auction. He is a farmer and not a car guy so the reason he purchased it was because it had a seed cleaner on the back of it. He has given me first dibs on the truck and after inspection the body and frame are solid with only one small rust hold on the hood. Floor pans, rockers, and the structural parts have "patina" but are solid. The question is about the Original Flathead 8rt engine that is in it. It ran last year when it was parked indoors due to the original owners health issues. I have no idea what I should be looking at on this engine to make sure that it is not going to be a boat anchor. I know to check the normal stuff like if the engine spins free and such, but I didnt know if there was something specifically that some of you may know about these engines to say look at this. I know they are pretty simple engines but any little intricacies to look at would be appreciated. Here are some Photos
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  • #2
    I'm no expert but I have messed with a few flatheads back in the day. They're pretty tough as long as you don't over rev them so it's probable this one is basically OK. I can't tell in the pic but does this one have the front distributor or the more conventional (to us) one that mounts at the top of the engine? I always found the front mounts to be hard to work on but of course they can be made to run. I'm pretty sure there are electronic ignition conversions available for either style (Pertronics, etc.) and once you establish that the engine runs, has oil pressure, etc. I'd start with that.

    Obviously you'll want to do all the usual stuff like replace the filters, check and clean the gas tank as needed, change the oil and filter (if so equipped - that was an option - I think I see an oil filter can in the pic)) - all that sort of stuff. Plugs and wires are probably in order, too. So just the typical stuff you would do with any stored vehicle. Then fire the old girl up and see what works and what doesn't.

    I'm NOT a fan of patina but the door lettering is a piece of art! I'd be tempted to find another set of doors and hang the ones on the truck in the shop as wall art. Then paint that sucker shiny red with black running boards and trim.

    Dan
    Last edited by DanStokes; May 5, 2017, 11:35 AM.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by DanStokes View Post
      I'm no expert but I have messed with a few flatheads back in the day. They're pretty tough as long as you don't over rev them so it's probable this one is basically OK. I can't tell in the pic but does this one have the front distributor or the more conventional (to us) one that mounts at the top of the engine? I always found the front mounts to be hard to work on but of course they can be made to run. I'm pretty sure there are electronic ignition conversions available for either style (Pertronics, etc.) and once you establish that the engine runs, has oil pressure, etc. I'd start with that.

      Obviously you'll want to do all the usual stuff like replace the filters, check and clean the gas tank as needed, change the oil and filter (if so equipped - that was an option - I think I see an oil filter can in the pic)) - all that sort of stuff. Plugs and wires are probably in order, too. So just the typical stuff you would do with any stored vehicle. Then fire the old girl up and see what works and what doesn't.

      I'm NOT a fan of patina but the door lettering is a piece of art! I'd be tempted to find another set of doors and hang the ones on the truck in the shop as wall art. Then paint that sucker shiny red with black running boards and trim.

      Dan

      I didnt think to check front or rear mount dizzy. Probably because i didnt know it could have been one way or the other. I think once i can round up body parts the patina will eventually be paint and those door will definitely be in the shop. The crazy part about this truck is that it has been located less than 2 miles from my house for more than my lifetime. After asking around about it I think I'm the only person in Daviess County that never knew about it. If the price is right This is probably going to be the vehicle I stroll around town in. I have been looking for an older truck that me and my wife and kids can jump in and go to the local root beer stand.
      CHECK US OUT AT:
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      • #4
        Plan on doing a valve job (buy the adjuster tool, don't try to mickey mouse something, you'll thank me later), flatheads are hard on valves and don't be surprised if you find cracks between the intake and exhaust valves, sometimes the middle valves will crack to the cylinder bores, hopefully not. Check your camshaft timing gear, they were fiber and at some point will deteriorate, find an aftermarket aluminum one. They make good modern design water pumps for them now, so get them. Speedway has all kinds of flathead parts both hot rod and just overall improved stock type parts.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by hauen View Post
          Plan on doing a valve job (buy the adjuster tool, don't try to mickey mouse something, you'll thank me later), flatheads are hard on valves and don't be surprised if you find cracks between the intake and exhaust valves, sometimes the middle valves will crack to the cylinder bores, hopefully not. Check your camshaft timing gear, they were fiber and at some point will deteriorate, find an aftermarket aluminum one. They make good modern design water pumps for them now, so get them. Speedway has all kinds of flathead parts both hot rod and just overall improved stock type parts.
          I didn't realize that they used fiber timing gears. Good call to swap that out. My less-than-perfect understanding is that the valve seat issue was generally the result of overheating so it's probably well worth the effort to pull the heads and check. I don't know about access in the truck body (the main one I messed with was a '53 Merc) but in general flatheads are about the easiest thing in the world to pull the heads on.

          On the front mount distributors - they were changed to top mount at some year but I don't know what year that was. Starting in 1932 the distributors were all front mount until near the end of the model run but as noted I don't know the year of the change. Lots of info online on these so all this and more should pop up on a Google search.

          EDIT: I went looking and Wikipedia has a pretty extensive entry on flatheads. Looks like you have the distributor in the right front of the engine, up top.

          Dan
          Last edited by DanStokes; May 5, 2017, 02:19 PM.

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          • #6
            It's rare to find a flathead that's not cracked on the deck somewhere. The deck surface is so thin I don't know how they ever held together but hey they did. Agree with everything hauen said. Also seen them crack from the cylinder to a valve seat or to a head bolt.

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            • #7
              I am always interested in the the 3 main bearings.

              the web proves these are far from dead. you can even find brand new offenhauser fancy heads etc.

              this site has awesome info.. right down to power numbers, paint colors for your engine:
              Previously boxer3main
              the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

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              • #8
                Thanks for all of the information guys! This is exactly why I asked the masses. I will keep everyone updated if I get the project. The monsoon's we've been having here lately make it difficult to get to the truck to get it out and to its destination.
                CHECK US OUT AT:
                www.ridetech.com

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                • #9
                  There were actually 2 totally different flay heads. One used in some trucks and Lincolns was something like 331 cu in. It had a rear mounted distributor. I don't see it there so I'm assuming it's the smaller version. Yeah cracks are common on the deck and around exhaust valves. My friend built a 29 on 32 rails with a flathead. He went through s couple engines before he found a crack free one. Like any classic engine, not cheap to build. One of the reason they cracked was they didn't have good water pump seals so the system couldn't be pressurized whicj meant the coolant would boil a lot sooner and cause hot spots.
                  Tom
                  Overdrive is overrated


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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Huskinhano View Post
                    There were actually 2 totally different flay heads. One used in some trucks and Lincolns was something like 331 cu in. It had a rear mounted distributor. I don't see it there so I'm assuming it's the smaller version. Yeah cracks are common on the deck and around exhaust valves. My friend built a 29 on 32 rails with a flathead. He went through s couple engines before he found a crack free one. Like any classic engine, not cheap to build. One of the reason they cracked was they didn't have good water pump seals so the system couldn't be pressurized whicj meant the coolant would boil a lot sooner and cause hot spots.

                    I have done some research on the costs of rebuilding one versus doing a small block. You really have to want a Flat head to pay to rebuild it with some cool go (kinda) fast parts. You can roughly build a small block for around the same money.
                    CHECK US OUT AT:
                    www.ridetech.com

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