Tripped over a Flattie, so I bought it....

Ok, so not entirely, but sort of. I have a fiberglass 29 roadster body and related parts, sitting, waiting to be brought to life. I have all the major components on hand and just keep a constant eye out for what ever small stuff I'll need to fill in the blanks as they come along. Figured my wife, my daughters, and their husbands, would be driving it from time to time. So I wanted it to behave more like a modern vehicle so they could operate it without any surprises. I have a 350/350 combo in the wings set aside for it, a mild and forgiving set up. Then it happened, I seen a Flattie for sale, was priced a bit high so I ignored it, didn't forget about it, just ignored it. Besides, I have all the workings for the roadster already....but jeez, I really would like the Flathead to round out the look I was after. After being for sale on the Ontario Rodders site for a week or so, the price took a drastic drop. Apparently the owner (older gentleman) had sold his home, and was needing the engine gone before the move. After thinking it through for 5, maybe 6 seconds, I jumped on the computer and contacted his son. Mentioned that if they were serious at that price, consider it sold. Had to wait until the next day to see the reply waiting for me when I got home from work. Yep, it was a go. The Dad was tired of the internet tire kickers, and when I said I'd take it at the new asking price, it was settled. Picked it up a couple of days later on the other side of Toronto, so I timed it to be going to, and coming back around noon time. Otherwise it's just a big parking lot where you sit more than drive....for hours. Blew through, loaded it up and blew through again, worked out great. Engine had been cleaned up and painted etc. but it's all cosmetic. It will still need a tear down and inspection, and most likely a rebuild. I have already found a bell and starter plate, flywheel and clutch/pressure plate etc. so that is in the works. So that's my story, and how easy it can be for a build to go shooting off in a new direction. As for my wife and daughters driving it....no worries. They were all taught how to drive stick shift years ago, the girls husbands, I'm not sure of.

Sweeeeeet... I lov it when a deal comes together!!! Did it come on that lil stand?

Congrats! [cl[cl[cl

BoB

Suweet!! And you could always put a C4 behind it ifn you wanted a slush box for the ladies.

Yep, came with the stand, and the gentleman even threw the sign in on the deal. I'm happy.

Thinking I'll go with the 4 speed trans and keep it real close to the old school vibe. My wife and girls, and sons for that matter, can all drive stick. That's what we taught them on. The flathead will be reasonably mild so I'm not to worried. I just want them to all have fun with it and be able take their kids for a toot around the block in it. Kids don't forget those things, mine didn't.

I like the part about the Daughters husband [cl Ive been teaching my Daughter how to drive my truck ,, its a 5 speed .. so when I found a truck for her to get it was an automatic. she kinda acted like she really wasnt interested in it so, we looked at another and it was an automatic too ,, na didnt really like it either .. so I asked her why this time and she said ,, I dont know how to drive an automatic [S I never thought about it but I never put her in the car to drive ,, I laughed about it ,, she said what ??? I dont know how ...

Sure looks pretty from the outside at least.

Sure is prettier than anything I bought in the last couple of weeks ....
Oldog

Looks like a good deal, I've been keeping my ear to the ground for a running flatty for my Tudor the last while, but being rather picky about it.

Have you considered going with a T5? I made up my own adapter plate to adapt it, redrilled the flywheel for the s10 pressure plate, and made a throwout bearing adapter ring to fit the Ford clutch fork. The kits are not cheap but are readily available too. The 5speed behind the flatty makes a nice highway cruiser, and keeps up to speed without reving it to the moon.

pistolpete said:

Looks like a good deal, I've been keeping my ear to the ground for a running flatty for my Tudor the last while, but being rather picky about it.

Have you considered going with a T5? I made up my own adapter plate to adapt it, redrilled the flywheel for the s10 pressure plate, and made a throwout bearing adapter ring to fit the Ford clutch fork. The kits are not cheap but are readily available too. The 5speed behind the flatty makes a nice highway cruiser, and keeps up to speed without reving it to the moon.

Click to expand...

I have a couple of the T5's sitting on the shelf, so I haven't ruled it out completely. Looking at going with the original drive train at this point. (enclosed driveshaft, 4 speed etc.) If it won't do the job I can make the changes to it at a later date. Not racing it or anything along those lines, just want to cruise along the paved secondary roads. I would like to see how you went about it all though.

I will add a few pictures in my build thread, and also I will try to remember to take a few more detailed pictures and when it all comes apart after mock up. Having access to a full machine shop at work and a boss who doesn't mind government work when were slow or after hours helps a little bit...

http://www.ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32384

pistolpete said:

I will add a few pictures in my build thread, and also I will try to remember to take a few more detailed pictures and when it all comes apart after mock up. Having access to a full machine shop at work and a boss who doesn't mind government work when were slow or after hours helps a little bit...

http://www.ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32384

Click to expand...

Checked out the link to your build, very impressive, you do nice work. Thanks for the extra time and pictures. Now you have me thinking.

Gotta love a flattie! [cl congrats

Thanks, I appreciate that, it's taken me a bit to get mine pieced together, but from what I have read and talked to people it sounds like the T5 is nearly perfect behind a flathead. There are a few shortfalls with it, but I think it is worth it in the end to be able to enjoy driving it without holding up traffic. With a flatty it'll never be a 1/4 mile car unless you spend more then my car is worth on just the engine, for me its all show 'n very little go.

If you need some more information always willing to help someone out.

Well the saga has started, and it's not a pretty story. The flattie I recently bought had a few surprises in store. The gentleman I bought it from kind of...sort of... failed to mention a couple of important little items. He did a nice job of cleaning it all up, making it a personal little museum/garage art piece. Now I know why. We talked about the motor, and I asked a few appropriate questions. Made it known I would be buying it to rebuild and run. He agreed with me that it would be a nice runner and he's glad it's going to a good home and be used. Little did I know I should have insisted on a lie detector test. Putting trust and faith in a stranger who is selling you something isn't a wise thing to do. I was shown how it turned over and everything felt smooth. (It really did.) A bit more chit chat and I had decided to buy it. (I reasoned that the price was right and if need be, I could part it out and get my money back. This is called "wishful thinking.") I did mention it felt like it was a little soft in compression in one hole. And without skipping a beat I get an "Oh...there's something here I probably should show you." And produced from the cardboard box of extra parts, was a plastic sandwich bag with the top of a piston in it. Along with two compression rings safely in the lands, (my God...wouldn't want to lose those") and a bit of a mangled oil ring where the top and bottom of the piston had parted ways. Followed with a story of how it would turn over one way until it stopped...and then it could be turned back over the opposite way until it stopped. He pulled the head and lo and behold, the offending piston top. With this news, (and my money safely in his pocket) I gave it a quick mental evaluation and figured...Ok, it's quite possible this thing was pulled somewhere along the line because it was locked up, not because it was overheating or totally worn out...etc, etc,....this is also called wishful thinking. Long story short, loaded it up and brought it home. At any rate, this weekend I started to pull it down and see what was there. "SURPRISE", not really....the cylinder that has the broken piston also has hard evidence that it had sat for YEARS with water in it. Three of the intake runners showed water had got in but it was the second one from the left front that saved and stored it for who knows how long. Heavy pits in the walls and I can bet the piston wasn't broken until it was forced past the rust build up. Well I forged on and removed the intake and "HOLY MOLEY" I must have most of the engine sludge ever produced stored in the lifter valley. Anybody missing some? I have lots to spare. On to the other side and remove the other head. More bad voodoo awaits, this time of the serious kind. A bad crack from the intake valve, across the block and into the cylinder. This one bummed me out. Cylinders can be sleeved, but this looked like it might be fatal. Also a burnt valve in the same hole. The ffttt, ffttt, ffttt and the compression making it into the water jacket is likely the real reason it was pulled sometime in the past. Disappointed but not surprised, I stopped taking it apart and took a break instead. Had to re-evaluate my options. What fried me the most was the fact that this was a known problem. You can see where the crack was cleaned off with a wire brush or wheel and never mentioned, in fact hidden. (Maybe he was a lawyer, seems it ok for them to lie by omission and suppress the truth.) I can't totally blame the seller, I went along with it all thinking he was a bit more of an upstanding gentleman than it turned out he really was. And I was naive to think it wouldn't or couldn't happen. My wife mentioned that with all the wheelin and dealin over the years this was likely the biggest sting I've got. But I do believe in karma and what comes around, goes around. Meanwhile, if the crack didn't travel to far into the valve bowl, it can be pinned and peened, and the two bad cylinders can be sleeved. I mic'd the cylinders and at the top where it's not worn, it still comes out to the standard size. Wear is is 9 thousands, so a 20 over to straighten everything out should get it all back on solid footing...provided the crack hasn't gotten to far into the valve bowl and became unreachable with a drill bit to pin it. So there is my tail of woe, the sun will continue to rise, life goes on...but sometimes it bites.

We all know it's not true if you don't have pictures!

I bought a farm-all cub tractor with with a belly mower under it ... it looked ruff , but the old man said it runs good , just hadnt run it in a while. because of the dry-rot on the front tires ... I'm guilty of wanting to believe everything older people tell me ,, (I dont know why ) Its a habit I guess. so I give $900 for the thing , and had loads of trouble from the carb , but finally got it fired up .. it had a skip to it but it still run decent . so I got some plugs for it . didnt help so I got cap and wires .. still got a skip ... so I just used it for the rest of the summer . every once in a while it would kind of back fire and the oil filler cap would fly across the yard with a puff of smoke [S[S[S . I figured Id take off the head this winter ,, may be a burnt valve ... I did .. Hmmm I looked down the hole and wow!!!! just a well rounded rod sticking up threw the piston hole .. no piston , just the rod ... I took the pan off and there the piston was in about 50 peices... I got to thinking .. that old fella got me ... He may not have lied , but he just didnt tell me everything I needed to know about this tractor ...... I guess I wouldnt make a good used car dealer ,,, Id have to tell everything I know about what I got .. I just could sleep thinking I sold something that was bad and not telling the man that it was ....Tripper I guess you cant trust just any one now a days ... thats a shame too .

That kind of stuff happens all the time I'm sorry to say. Although it usually starts off with"Well don't quote me on this but the guy I got it from said that it had been rebuilt".
I've got a flatty for sale right now with the heads off and no visible cracks. never seized or left out in the weather. Turn freely by hand. Only had one call about it.
I guess that flathead fever has run it's course.
Sorry for your troubles. Good luck with the next one.
Torchie.

I was reading somewhere about a fellow that builds flatheads. He never gives more than $100 for them and maybe 1 or 2 out of 10 are worth building.
I love the one in my daily but it runs hot and if it goes down it won't be practical to repair or replace it.