12. And lest we forget Ford’s...
12. And lest we forget Ford’s "lil" L-head, the V8-60. Produced only from 1937-40 only, it was commonly used in Midget racing. With a mere 136ci displacement, it put out 60 hp in stock form, hence the “60” designation.
It all just seemed to fall into place like it was planned. When I finished college I was working for my brother, Max Jr., helping him with the Model A engines, but that wasn’t going to work. So it came to a point where I either needed to find a job or start something here. My dad threw out the idea to start building Flatheads, and Rod & Custom liked the idea so they came up here and followed my first Flathead build—it just kept going from there. Since the shop was already set up for the old engines and my dad had the knowledge to pass down to me, H&H Flatheads has been growing every year. I continue to build these Flatheads because they are the best-looking engines ever produced and it brings me great pride to know that I am restoring and preserving history and keeping these old cars on the road. Plus, who wants a real job?!
13. A lot of people like to...
13. A lot of people like to brag about running a 4-inch Merc crank. The way to distinguish a 3 3/4-inch Ford from the larger Merc (and possibly dispel someone’s bragging rights!) is by the size of the oil plug—on the 8BA crank it’s the size of a pencil; the more desirable Mercury crank oil plug is the size of a finger (to be safe, though, always measure—the standard crank size is 2.138/2.139 on the rod journals and 2.498/2.499 on the mains).
Even in the last few years there have been new products that have made it much easier for the Flathead to be more reliable. We acid dip all of our cores before we even start to machine anything. This helps remove the flaky rust and even core sand that is still in the pan rail from Ford. It is a crucial part of the cooling. We also pressure-seal every block with a cast-iron resin that we heat to 180 degrees and pump through the water jackets at 20 pounds of pressure. It will show if there are any leaks and also coat all the water jackets. This is a must; we have been doing it for over 40 years with thousands of engines. In every engine I install hard seats for the unleaded gas and stainless valves. I use Isky springs, hollow body adjustable lifters, and only the best parts. Now, there are new water pumps with sealed bearings and improved impellers, new radiators available for everything, all of which make it really easy to keep the Flathead running cool.
14. A lot of people like to...
14. A lot of people like to brag about running a 4-inch Merc crank. The way to distinguish a 3 3/4-inch Ford from the larger Merc (and possibly dispel someone’s bragging rights!) is by the size of the oil plug—on the 8BA crank it’s the size of a pencil; the more desirable Mercury crank oil plug is the size of a finger (to be safe, though, always measure—the standard crank size is 2.138/2.139 on the rod journals and 2.498/2.499 on the mains).
Flatheads are in a class of their own. It was the first production V-8 Henry Ford ever made and was produced from 1932-53. It has a siamese center exhaust port, which gives it that unique sound. All the valves are in the block, which is why the heads are so thin. There are no pushrods or rocker arms. This is the engine that built hot rodding and a lot of America. It was used in forklifts, welders, wind mills, pumps, etc. This was an engine that just kept running. It was the first engine that speed equipment was readily available for (following the four-bangers, which had their share of hop-up parts, but not nearly as easy for just anyone to get), and style was introduced to speed. It is easy to drop a 350 Chevy in any fiberglass kit car, but it takes dedication and a goal to preserve history and put a Flathead in a car. Hot rodding is about being an individual and making your car your own. Flatheads are a just a way of life—something your grandfather drove, which also makes it a generation bridge. There is so much history behind the Flathead and people always tell me about the car their family drove every day back in the ’40s and it just brings people back to a good place in time.
15. To avoid all the guesswork,...
15. To avoid all the guesswork, Scat manufactures brand-new Flathead cranks in a variety of application configurations.
16. Unfortunately, when it...
16. Unfortunately, when it comes to camshafts, it’s getting harder to find new ones without paying an arm and a leg (Speedway offers Isky cams, which H&H uses—including in our 8BA). Combating the issue, H&H keeps a good supply of originals to be re-ground for future use.
17. Flywheels and clutch pressure...
17. Flywheels and clutch pressure plates are two more OE items H&H uses for various reasons. As with every crankshaft, all Flathead rotating assemblies are zero-balanced on their state-of-the-art Hines balancer.
18. The Navarro cylinder heads...
18. The Navarro cylinder heads H&H manufactures are NOT repops—matter of fact, they’re stilled poured at the same foundry with the very same molds that Barney Navarro had been using right up until his death.
19. Same goes for the various...
19. Same goes for the various Navarro intake manifolds H&H offers. This Reg Dual is destined for our 8BA complete with the Speedway 9Super7s shown.
20. While H&H now manufactures...
20. While H&H now manufactures its own aluminum starter plates, like most of the previously mentioned OE components, they have a fairly decent supply of original ’49-53 stamped-steel and cast-iron bellhousings.