Not only has Don Ferguson continued to reproduce the heads, but he's taken the baton and run with it, the result being this high-grade 356-T6 aluminum block that now means it's possible to. Original 50-plus-year-old blocks without cracks are getting scarce. The downside was, as Flathead Engineerings Charlie Clark puts it, street rods began to look about as exciting as a belly-button-everyone had one., Among this herd of sheep, a few original hot rods were brought out of retirement, complete with gennie flatheads as the powerplant. A look inside gives you the sensation of an open air concept that could easily be seen in many of todays homes. In the old days the hot ticket was dropping a 49-53 Mercury 4-inch-stroke crank in place of the Ford 3.75-inch-stroke unit. We are now the exclusive distributors of Navarro Racing Equipment, Sharp Speed Equipment, Wilson and Woods Cylinder Heads, Dixon Overhead Valve Conversion, and a complete line of Austin Speed Equipment for the Arudn, Lincoln 337, Lincoln V12 and V8 60. Its a hot rod befitting any road well-traveled. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Chattanooga Area Hot Rodder Builds A Time Capsule, Make Plans NOW to Attend the Chattanooga Cruise In Toy Drive, Our Favorite Hot Rods from the 2018 NSRA Street Rod Nationals, Barn Find Report: 1947 ACF Brill Bus, The TenneSEEr. What's the deal with that thing? You need the right amount of plenum volume and runner length to complement the engine size, camshaft, cylinder-head flow, and operating range. Some builders also recommend installing exhaust-port dividers to split the siamesed center exhaust ports. The old-timers took what they had and made it work. Wilcap also sells '32-'48 Ford mechanical-clutch hardware. BlockNew 356 high-grade aluminium by Don Ferguson at Ardun Enterprises and polished by The Polishing Shop in Oxnard, California. Keeping three sets, he sold the remaining 27 and then sold the tooling, dies, and plans to Don Ferguson Jr. You can find out more at Don's Web site, www.ardun.com. What kind of power are these Arduns putting out? 226: Big News for The Custom Car Revival! However, the main caps are beefier than traditional stock flatheads. Guys who once dreamed of owning a flattie back in the 50s but who had neither the time nor the money were now in their 50s, with lots of disposable income. Flatheads are old, ancient, obsolete technology. The mixture must follow a tortuous U-turn path out the block-mounted intake valve, over to the main part of the chamber above the piston, and then back out the exhaust valve. With 6 Ford Flathead Cylinder Heads for sale, and options to fit your needs including custom and direct fit Cylinder Heads for your needs. $1,120. If theres one thing that we all have in common its the miles we travel and the time we invest in finding the right project. 225: Hooligans In Hot Rods Getting Hamburgers, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. In 1947, long before Zora Arkus-Duntov became famous for his work developing the Corvette and performance Chevrolet parts, he and his brother Yura designed what has been considered the ultimate flathead performance mod-turning the engine into an overhead-valve hemi. He showed us dyno sheets of full-race engines making north of 800 hp on alcohol. I've sold Don my 409 Chevy to Flathead aluminum water pump kits for years. With such a small difference; it's relatively easy to take a little off the Ford snout then slightly hone the inside of a Chevy balancer so it slips over the Ford crank. Normally wed title this section Cylinder Heads, but on a flathead, the heads-having neither ports nor valves-only form the combustion-chamber roof. How bout Uncommons twin 4-71 top-mount system, shown here in m, Reds Headers offers more than 60 different flathead header sets including this stream-lin, Tatom offers equal-length headers for all fat fenders and roadsters. Just sold him a fresh batch so I assume he's still building engines? With modern aftermarket cranks and rods using modern insert bearings, 5,500 rpm normally aspirated is not a problem, even with only three main bearings. Wilcap also sells 32-48 Ford mechanical-clutch hardware. There are several techniques; the accompanying photos show the method preferred by Baron Racing. Besides, multicarb setups look cool. Speedway Motors offers pumps with sealed bearings that do an even better job in both early and late configurations. Doesn't anyone remember the one built by Mark Kirby of Motor City Flatheads 10+ years ago?? What would you save, 100-150 lbs? Stay tuned for further updates on this project. French blocks have some unique features and are covered separately. Are you saying that theres a FLATHEAD in there ? However, there are some significant differences in French blocks compared to the originals. Currently the most popular approach is running a big popup piston, but with a scallop on the side adjacent to the valves to keep the transfer area clear between the valves and the cylinder bore. The Motor City/Shadow Rods block is an entirely different piece. Traditionalists can go with Vertex or Mallory mags, while modern guys may want to move up to MSD or Mallory electronic distributors. High-compression is the way to go. Written by Mike Herman and Tony Thacker, foreword by Ray Evernham. ", Among this herd of sheep, a few original hot rods were brought out of retirement, complete with gennie flatheads as the powerplant. Most hot rod engines use oversize valves. On the street, flatheads are happy on today's crappy gas, because that's the only kind of gas there was back in the '30s. The 57-inch-wide Ford 9-inch rearend (Detroit Truetrac limited-slip differential with 3.90 gears) is further enhanced with a triangulated four-bar setup, again Penske coilovers, and upgraded with a Roadster Shop sway bar. For this group-whether building a rat rod, yanking a Chevy that just doesn't look right in that old Deuce, or building a brand-new car-the outlook couldn't be rosier, even better than the flathead's heyday so long as the bucks hold out. This grew into 6 different Ardun, V8 60 intakes, Lincoln 337 heads and intakes, Lincoln V12 intakes and heads and ford flathead intakes. He was the first to run a roots style 371 blower on a destroked 24 stud motor 176c.i. Then, about 20 years ago, traditional street rods suddenly became cool again. Cast in Los Angeles from the highest quality T6 tempered A356 aluminum and CNC machined, the 24-stud Wilson & Woods heads are designed to fit the desirable 1949-53 8BA flathead. The street version of the ARDUN-equipped Flathead produces about 1 hp per cubic inch unblown but with a S.Co.T. Heck, not even a front door, really. Great info ! Sure, it's not cheap (really not cheap), but when was pushing the envelope ever inexpensive? At around the same time, old-time hot rods gave way to modern musclecars and street machines. From help designing the runners of his manifold to enter the block at a 45 degree angle to act as an extension of the ports to making his manifold have a 180 degree pattern to distribute the fuel equally. You need lots of timing to make a flathead run. Earlier 3 1/16-inch-bore blocks will only go 0.090-over. Maybe they are only for dragsters. Next to the heater you will see a panel thats held in position by a pair of clips but its what rests behind the panel thats of interest. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The gas tank was supplied by Ricks Tanks as was the in-tank EFI pump. Newly Engineered Flathead V8 Block - Motor City Speed Equipment - Automotive American Newly Engineered Flathead V8 Block - Motor City Speed Equipment Advertisements Googling around as you do I initially found the story of Mark Kirby's newly engineered Flathead V8 block on the Coker Tyres website This is a quite old story from back in 2010 Kop The 270-F, Tatom's best all-around cam, is said to work well on normally aspirated or blown, stick, or automatic cars, with good idle quality and 18-19 inches of vacuum. Among Flathead builders there is . Still not enough? RR&C achieved this look by removing the divider between the truck and the passenger compartment. We stock selections from the best brands on the market such as Edelbrock and . The home of the Ford Flathead rebuilding specialist from mild to wild. French blocks are about 30 pounds heavier than a standard flathead, which is a good indication of better metal and thicker walls. What you see here, however, isn't just a pair of reproduction heads atop a Ford block but instead a brand-new, 284ci, all-aluminum improved block, reproduction Ardun heads, and vintage 4-71 blower (the only old part on the whole deal) bolted to a new manifold from Ken Austin. Still not enough? Flathead gurus like Don Ferguson and Tony Baron strongly urge that hot rod engines run a harmonic damper. But I digress. At one end there are restorers who insist on putting everything back to exact original condition. Theres no doubt we love our Flatheads here at Honest Charley, and we had a visitor this morning that loves his, too. Enter the Ferguson family. With that motor, the Chrismans won the B Comp Coupe class and set a new class record of 160.178 mph. The headliner is a tan wool while the carpeting and floor mats are a dark brown tight weave pile all from the sewing machine of Putnam. But you will notice a gauge that youve probably never seen and thats the blower pressure gauge that RR&C had made up for this particular blown ARDUN. That should get any hot rodders beat to quicken and pique his curiosity. When I think about it, an aluminum flathead block makes no sense, economic or otherwise. Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Jimmy2car, Apr 26, 2010. Since there have never been valves, seats, springs, etc they are very strong. It has a f, Block mods for adjustable lifters: With the windowed solid flat-tappet lifter, drill a sma, Built to Barons specs, this 12-quart pan with integral windage tray fits 59A and French i, Baron Racings full-flow oil system: Plug the existing main-feed lower lateral port at the, Drill a 3/8-inch hole from the bottom of the cam bore to the rear main journal (photo 2, E, Baron Racing intakes include the Thickstun two-carb high-rise (left), shown here with Chan, The original Edelbrock four-barrel carb intakes were designed for small, now-obsolete, Car, Wilcap is reproducing Sharp intake manifolds. Yeah, you should be impressed. The bell housing mount is Chevrolet and I believe the water pump has a revision. Trying to gain back compression ratio by using popup pistons may improve airflow provided proper attention is paid to the transfer area and overall piston-to-combustion chamber interface. Why not let us all see? Get yours today. Click below to preview or download the complete catalog. Tatom believes spreading the centers helps combat overlap-induced reversion with the flathead's siamesed center exhaust ports. The body has an assortment of mild changes but we feel they are well measured as the coupe has a great stance and the appropriate hot rod look. While exact ignition timing will vary per combination, in general flatheads running gasoline like about 23 degrees total advance normally aspirated and just 19 degrees with a blower. They did a lot of work for different companies around L.A., including some of the early speed equipment makers. According to Baron Racing, the limiting factor is not piston-to-head interference, nor even valvespring coil-bind-it is running out of cam bearing clearance for the lobes. Those streamliners we mentioned earlier in the story are among the Ferguson's current stable of salt-assault vehicles. Fortunately, a wide variety of adapters are available to mate the venerable motor to today's automatic and manual transmissions. Back in the day, four-barrel carbs had barely been invented. Original price. Denny is right.ALL of the above is true scoop! But that just leaves these pristine virgin blocks for us normal street guys. The flathead blocks to get are those with a 3 3/16-inch bore. Like a lot of race shops located in industrial sections of Southern California, Don Ferguson's place is nondescript to the point of camouflage. A very brief history goes something like this: In 1947, years before his involvement with the Corvette, Zora Arkus-Duntov, along with his brother, Yura, designed an overhead conversion for the Ford Flathead V-8, marketing them as Ardun-an acronym of their second name, originally manufactured in New York and later assembled in England and fitted to many Allard sports cars, hence the confusing differences in the script cast into the valve covers. Custom billets stretch all the way to 4.5-inch stroke. Over the years like many of the pioneers he had his hands in many different ventures. The foundation for this 1936 Ford three-window coupe is based on a Roadster Shop 1935-1940 Ford REVO chassis engineered for optimal street ride and handling performance. and ran 146.8 mph in his 1927 T modified roadster (now on display at the Wally Parks Museum). Over the meticulous bodywork performed by RR&C, a 1940 Ford factory color was applied. Likewise, the exact number of kits manufactured is up for debate, as well; for the longest time it was thought to be around 250 but now seems more like 400. The flathead's compression ratio is well suited to supercharging, and besides, what could be more hot rod than a blower poking through the hood? (Pardon me if I'm wrong about this.). Automotive American Classic Vintage & Modern, Flathead Myths courtesy of Tony Baron . By designating a new model, Ford was able bypass wartime restrictions on price. Anyone know of any updates? For that, you're getting cylinder heads with a ton of development work and premium-quality pieces. You will also find one of these resting on top of Amies 294-inch Flathead. He also makes a compatible cast-aluminum block. At first everyone was dumping modern engines into old metal, but eventually the supply of stock bodies dried up and reproduction glass bodies took over. The solution is to raise the boiling point by upping coolant-system pressure to 17-21 pounds, using a modern crossflow radiator and higher-pressure cap. Welcome to the web site of H&H Flatheads. From its debut in 1932 to the end of its U.S. production life in 1953, the flathead Ford underwent three major evolutionary changes. Austin Lincoln 337 Heads He also tried his knowledge at Indy in the late 60s building the fastest Rambler motor ever built. 4451 Ramsdell Avenue Because the French version was used in trucks, the intake- and exhaust-port throats are choked down under the valve pockets, so extensive port-work is required for racing. Austin Lincoln 337 32 Barrel Intake Manifold, Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 3:00pm Flatheads may not have the cubes or brute airflow potential of many of todays modern mills, but there is a solution: Bolt on a supercharger. Tony Baron says that a good-running flathead should have no less than 0.400 lift and about 250 degrees duration at 0.050-inch tappet lift. He also made many improvements to his cylinder heads as well. They fit original '39-'53 blocks, French blocks, and (perhaps the ultimate evolution) Ferguson's new aluminum block. Four carbs on a properly designed intake manifold offer the best distribution short of today's dry EFI systems. The present-day Arduns are CNC-machined using high-grade 356-T6 aluminum, have refined combustion chambers, and improved oiling and valvetrain components. Mostly true, but the French military used flatheads as late as the early 90s and ancient flathead technology has evolved to run over 300 mph at Bonneville. In the mid '90s, Orosco took on the task of reproducing the Ardun heads, improving on their design yet making sure they were visually exact duplicates of the originals. By Brian Brennan Photography by the John Jackson. He also makes a pan for his block that is supposed to work on a stock block? TBI injection through billet Stromberg 97 carb-like throttle-bodies is available from Flathead Engineering. Coolant needs to remain in liquid form when it circulates through the motor. Available with center water neck. He offers spark plug tubes in two diameters: a reproduction of the originals, which will fit the original plugs, and a new style, narrower tube that accepts contemporary plugs and offers a little more room to clear the rockers, should you want to get more radical with the lift. $299.00. He bought the entire French stock, and at last count still has at least 500 blocks, 120 complete engines, and over 2,000 rods. Custom billets stretch all the way to 4.5-inch stroke. After 1953, flathead production continued in other countries, most notably in Europe, where the engine continued to be used in French military vehicles through the 90s. Available in center and front water neck. Mullins, a leading purveyor of surplus Jeep and other vintage military parts in Texas, accidentally discovered a warehouse full of brand-new French blocks about to be junked during a European trip searching for Jeep stuff. Centerforce offers clutches and flywheels. Just sold him a fresh batch so I assume he's still building engines? Rising from the console is a 1939 Ford truck shifter handle, while immediately alongside is a 1936 Ford steering column complete with ignition key and topped with a 1935 Chevy steering wheel. For improved cooling efficiency, original '49-'53 pumps have more impeller vanes than earlier models. The street motors, on the other hand, typically put out "about 1 horsepower per cubic inch, unblown," he says. Two things to watch out for are an extra water hole in the block and the lack of a breather standpipe in the block. Then, about 20 years ago, traditional street rods suddenly became cool again. Traditionalists can go with Vertex or Mallory mags, while modern guys may want to move up to MSD or Mallory electronic distributors. The Thickstun two-carb high-rise intake (today marketed by Baron) is an excellent street setup and it even provides clearance for the stock generator. And Don has rimmed the valve cover with an O-ring for leak-free sealing. Magnuson offers an Eaton blower kit, while Joe Abbin of Roadrunner Engineering has Weiand 142 and 174 supercharger setups. Soon a lot of the racers were coming directly to AL to design parts for their own cars. Although a great leap forward when it was originally introduced in 1932, by the '50s the aging motor could not stand up to the new generation of overhead-valve powerplants like the small-block Chevy. Sometimes it takes just a better idea. No one runs the old weak stock ignitions anymore. There was a time when Ardun overhead-valve cylinder heads were incredibly rare. You need lots of timing to make a flathead run. The Ferguson ARDUN project (picked up where the late Don Orosco of Monterey Speed & Sport had progressed) is based on an aluminum Flathead block (with enhanced main caps and deep skirts, for those wishing Flathead numbing power) and enhanced ARDUN heads (significant design modifications); ARP hardware is used throughout the engine. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). At one end there are restorers who insist on putting everything back to exact original condition. They're made in USA, complicated and produced in small numbers and that is reflected in the price of approximately $15,000/pair. But, he says, most of his Ardun-related business is for hot rodders, not racers. Its the ol friend of a friend connection that brought him to the correct 1936 Ford coupe. But remember, we are talking about a seriously outdated engine design favored by a bunch of nostalgic old coots. Research has shown theres relatively little air movement over the base of the block. Although it sounds weird in this modern age of thin-wall castings, the 3 3/16-inch-bore, U.S.-built flatties can be bored 0.125-inch (1/8-inch-over). French blocks are hybrids, essentially a '49-'53 8BA in terms of deck height and front-end, but with the integral cast bellhousing and corresponding oil pan as found on the '38 1/2-'48 59A. ARDUN Enterprises is now replicating S.Co.T. For reasons known only to the crazy French, flatheads were used in French Army trucks through the early '90s. Small-block Chevy valves remain popular, but with reduced-base-circle cams they may be too short to permit proper lash adjustment. He has even made some aluminum flathead blocks, with massive main caps and deep, sturdy skirts, for those interested in making ultimate flathead power. You may lose as much as 30 hp above 4,500 rpm.. Four-bolt center main cap. The 49-53 8BA block (, Fergusons Ardun kit includes heads; valvetrain spark-plug tubes; valve covers; Coke-bottl, Compared to the original Ardun (bottom), the new kit (top) includes stronger rocker stands, Tom Roberts makes this trick two-piece intake. With a 4.5-inch-stroke aftermarket crank, that yields 334 cubic inches. Again, like so many of us, he attended car shows most of his life but life doesnt always present the time necessary to dig in. But the times, theyre a changin and the opportunity wasnt lost on Amie. Flathead Myths courtesy of Tony Baron I'm not sure but casting aluminum MIGHT be a simpler process than casting iron. The first-design 32 through early 38 engines had only 21 cylinder-head studs and until mid 1936 even used poured babbit main bearings. The engine may feel better with 27-30 degrees total timing (as read on the crank), but Baron says it slows up the flame travel. The new block is capable of much more horsepower because of additional webbing and four-bolt mains. Behind that door are bays, shelves, and rafters chock-full of streamliners and other cars under construction, customer engines on stands, the Ferguson's lakester under a car cover, bare engine blocks wrapped in plastic, a Superflow engine dyno waiting for its next tune session. Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements). Apparently, the old boys network doesnt want any youngbloods crashing their exclusive country club. The oil, water, fuel, and amp are N.O.S. Melling still makes a high-volume oil pump (PN M-15). Yeah, maybe in the thirties when Ford was considering powering airplanes with their V8's, but not these days. The solution is to raise the boiling point by upping coolant-system pressure to 17-21 pounds, using a modern crossflow radiator and higher-pressure cap. If you look beneath the dash you will spot the makings of a South Wind gasoline heater. H&H Top Dead Center T-shirt is printed on 100% cotton. And, how about 382 hp at 5,300 rpm, roughly four times that of a stock Flathead? Scott's car, too, won its class and set a new B Lakester record of 201.015 mph with LeRoy Holmes at the wheel, becoming the first open-wheeled car to reach 200 mph. One solution is adopting a small-block Chevy damper. Correct-length flathead 1.800 intake/1.600 exhaust valves are available from flathead specialists like Baron Racing. Somewhere in the middle is the largest group: Potential street rodders who just want reasonably fast hot rods without having a cookie-cutter, 1-800-car. We mentioned an ARDUN Flathead V-8. A new player is Gemini Electronic Fuel Injection, a complete bolt-on flathead conversion kit based on the self-programming Prodigious fuel injection system. It also sells gear-re, This all-Wilcap engine sports Wilcaps Sharp heads and intake, a gear-reduction starter, a. French blocks are hybrids, essentially a 49-53 8BA in terms of deck height and front-end, but with the integral cast bellhousing and corresponding oil pan as found on the 38 1/2-48 59A. He has even made some aluminum. Ken Austin grew up on a farm in Newberg, Oregon where his interest in cars started when he got his permit to drive to school. Fortunately, a wide variety of adapters are available to mate the venerable motor to todays automatic and manual transmissions. On the street, flatheads are happy on todays crappy gas, because thats the only kind of gas there was back in the 30s. These are the only 337 high compression cylinder heads on the market. Making power with a flathead is a fine balancing act, juggling the higher thermodynamic potential of raising compression against improving airflow through the combustion chamber. All flatheads overheat, then the blocks crack. The Ford 2N was a variation on the 9N introduced due to World War II. Fabled Stromberg 97 carbs are back, but you can also upgrade to modern Holley four-barrels or even electronic-fuel-injection systems. superchargers, which, like the heads, look period-correct but are filled with contemporary tech, in this case 4-71 helical-cut rotors. After reading this article, you'll be capable of . The stock flathead oiling system is marginal for performance use. Mooneyes also offers throttle-bodies that resemble Strombergs. He joined the Navy and went to the South Pacific as a Foundrymans Assistant. Then the real work began on figuring out how to update and advance the original Flathead design, as well as how to cast the new parts. It spawned the modern aftermarket speed-equipment industry and became a favorite of bootleggers, dry-lakes racers, dirt trackers, street racers, and a whole generation that just wanted a fast car. Strombergs were the favorites, but Chandler-Grove/Holley, Zenith, and Rochester two-barrels were also in use. He decided to drive the coupe down to Daytona Beach, Florida for the Turkey Rod Run, and enlisted Phil Goller of Gollers Hot Rods to ride shotgun. Hilborn and Ardun Enterprises offer EFI conversions that look like old-time stacks but with EFI nozzles. Those few Ardun heads that did trickle down were found at the lakes, on the salt, and at dragstrips, running on various types of fuel, setting records, and winning races. A wide variety of headers are available for flathead engines, which certainly should not retain the restrictive stock exhaust manifolds. Small logo on front, large logo on back. It was in the 40s that the Stewart-Warner Southwind used them in Fords. At present, the only aftermarket custom oil pan available is from Ardun Engineering. Theres a fine juggling act between compression and promoting proper transfer from the offset valves across the piston top. What am I missing here? The new old cars got a lot of attention. Provided you have an original bellhousing, you can use available Trans-Dapt adapters to install Ford passenger-car transmissions from the mid '60s to the late '70s behind the '49-'53 flatties. Flatheads began to come back, and prices of swap-meet stuff skyrocketed. And there are always billet caps and girdles available. Eventually you could build a whole street rod out of aftermarket commodity parts. Not all flathead water pumps are created equal, though. The heads and valve covers are made from 356 T6 aluminum, far superior to the alloy used back in the day. Most in this group will accept a modified flathead as long as it is period-correct, with no obvious modern technology visible. Ross, Wiseco, Egge, Arias, and others make pistons in any configuration you desire. Fabled Stromberg 97 carbs are back, but you can also upgrade to modern Holley four-barrels or even electronic-fuel-injection systems. A stock flathead rod (rear) is forged from steel that will bend instead of break outright. Ultimately, you can move up to one of Cornhusker Engineerings custom front cover and late-model water-pump setups. Trying to gain back compression ratio by using popup pistons may improve airflow provided proper attention is paid to the transfer area and overall piston-to-combustion chamber interface. I once asked him if he'd considered aluminum and I think he replied that they'd be on the market now. Reliefs between the valves and bores are much less pronounced than the old days, only about 0.080-inch deep instead of the old-school 31/416 inch. There is also an Australian outfit, Flatattack Engineering, offering plenum-style, TPI-like systems controlled by either GM Delco or MoTeC computers. Instead, air wants to go over the front of the valve and hit the chamber roof. Starting in July 1938, the blocks went to 24 head-retention studs. There are kits to install Weiand and Magnuson superchargers, or even one or two GMC 71-series blowers. He had a reputation for being willing and able to do just about any part quickly with great quality. As for cylinder heads, Baron, Edelbrock, Navarro, Offenhauser, and Sharp (now sold by Wilcap) all have their adherents. So, there is room for a little improvement over the original design, especially taking into account the advances in technology and engineering in the intervening 60 years! The new block is capable of much more horsepower because of additional webbing and four-bolt mains. The Ferguson ARDUN project (picked up where the late Don Orosco of Monterey Speed & Sport had progressed) is based on an aluminum Flathead block (with enhanced main caps and deep skirts, for those wishing Flathead numbing power) and enhanced ARDUN heads (significant design modifications); ARP hardware is used throughout the engine.