Ford Flathead in Truck

Andy C · May 20, 2019

This is a bit off topic but there is quite a knowledge base here so hear goes.I am looking at a 1938 ford truck with a flathead V-8. does anyone have suggestions of what to look for? I am pretty comfortable around machinery but not with the Ford flathead. A side note here would be that my father had a '37 ford with flathead that i heard many stories about growing up. He has passed so I don't have that resource to draw on anymore. Are there any things common to the model that I should be aware of? I am not looking at show winners, just something I can drive around and take the better half for rides and so on. Any pointers would be appreciated!
Thank You,
Andy

rusty6 · May 20, 2019

(quoted from post at 17:45:01 05/20/19) This is a bit off topic but there is quite a knowledge base here so hear goes.I am looking at a 1938 ford truck with a flathead V-8. . Any pointers would be appreciated!
Thank You,
Andy

Does it run and drive? One weakness on the flathead seems to be the original ignition coils break down over time and then they won't start hot. They can be rebuilt though.
If you go to the Ford Barn discussion forum there is a lot of good information on them there. https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/

DCM · May 20, 2019

When I built my '49 Ford pickup I went through 5 flatheads before I found one that was not cracked due to water used as coolant, back in the day antifreeze was not so common. In the end I purchased a running model in a car and changed components to adapt it to a truck frame.Cracked block$ can be repaired but you have to be careful and when you check the oil make sure there's no water in the oilpan.

ffreeb · May 20, 2019

My brother has a Garwood wood boat with a Ford flathead v-8 in it. He looked at several blocks before he found one that wasn?t cracked.

D7fever · May 20, 2019

If the engine runs that is a plus,and it will keep on running, if it is seized up chances are that the valves are stuck in the valve guides, ask me how I know. The other important thing is that the '38 Ford had cable brakes, unless someone converted it to hydraulic brakes, you are going to have to do that if it has not been done already. In '37 the 1.5 ton trucks had mechanical brakes with rods, they work good, I have one, in '38 they changed to cable, absolutely no good. '39 they put hydraulic brakes on them. the 1/2 ton pickups had cable brakes in '38 and I think '37 also. They make an adapter so you can use a regular coil with the stock distributor, that is what I use.
You have to remove the distributor to change or adjust the points.
Good luck and happy motoring.

rusty6 · May 20, 2019

You did not say what size truck. Pickup or bigger? The pickups I think had the same as car wheels, the "wide fives" 16 inch. Bigger trucks had the split rims which some people don't like to work on when it comes to changing tires.

Texasmark1 · May 21, 2019

Failure mechanism when I was growing up was cracks between the exhaust valve port and the cylinder and exhaust valve burning. Problems with flat heads is the fact that the exhaust has to go through the engine block to get to the exhaust manifold, unlike an OHV where there is a direct exit point in the head. This is the reason for 2 water pumps and 2 sets of cooling water supply hoses. Back in the day, with lubes available, valve jobs were at 45k miles and full overhauls were at 100k, using things like Havoline 30W HD engine oil.

Texasmark1 · May 21, 2019

But they were under square (keeping the engine short and lighten the weight of the cast iron), and for the HP rating had a good torque curve.

Texasmark1 · May 21, 2019

As I said above, wasn't necessarily the lack of antifreeze, it was the basic flathead engine design.

fastfarmall · May 21, 2019

Texasmark1-Like you say that Ford Flatty had good torque, wasn't Ford the first one to have overdrive transmisson, A ideal set up in it's day i thought!

Noah W · May 21, 2019

I had a '49 Ford F-1 factory flatbed with a flathead V-8 and 3 speed floor shift. $240 made it follow me home. The before I took it home, I checked the oil and filter, fluids and points and plugs. All were good. It was running good through all gears at all speeds. I then took a small glass of water and set it on the air filter and cranked it up. There was not a ripple in the glass. It ran as smooth as a silk scarf. Other than obvious leaks or starting problems, that is one of the first things I would do to check it out. Almost all flatheads I have had experience with passed the glass on the air filter test.

Noah W

ADB-Ia · May 21, 2019

I took mine from stuck tight (after 6 months of soaking I still had to drive out the pistons with a big hammer)

Did a full rebuild (bored .030 over stock and had to sleeve 2 cylinders that were too pitted.
Ground the crank .010 under rod and main journals and replace 2 bent rods. New cam, lifters,valves and guides)

And now have a sweet running flatty
(Don't know why the video came out larger than the pictures)

[video play=false:654c4848f0]https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvvideos/cvvideo23855.mp4[/video:654c4848f0]

Andy C · May 21, 2019

Thank you all for the input. should be able to go look at it next week.It is a running 1/2 ton. Guy has owned it 40 years. said it was overhauled about 10 years ago (that is a very broad term in my book) will post a pic if things work out!

Ford Flathead in Truck

Andy C

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rusty6

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DCM

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ffreeb

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D7fever

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rusty6

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Texasmark1

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Texasmark1

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Texasmark1

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fastfarmall

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Noah W

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ADB-Ia

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Andy C

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