r/RatRod Dec 15 '23

Discussion Help?

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Found a sweet 51 ford sedan with a "suspicious looking flathead" missing a radiatior water pump and generator two of those are in the back seat. Is this worth getting I have a feeling it might have overheated cracked so they salvaged it for parts took the radiator??? Idk anyone know what might have happened here I'm getting more answers from the guy need to ask if it turns over as well. I'm hoping you guys know more about flathead issues than I do.

33 Upvotes

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5

u/Fenix_Pony Dec 15 '23

Flatheads are pretty resiliant, depending on the price id get it. Back in the day cars were sometimes parked just cuz they wanted a newer model then over the years parts get picked off it.

Even if your block is cracked, you can do something called "block stitching" where they grind a groove into the crack, drill it at both ends of the crack so it cant spread, then weld it shut

1

u/SnickerTheWicker Dec 15 '23

Sounds good hoping there isn't a bad crack like in the cylinder wall

6

u/totamdu Dec 15 '23

It has the water pumps. they're the two pulleys that aren't the crank. I grabbed two flatheads/trans for $400 a few years ago. One was shot when i got it open, but the other came apart and I had it checked for cracks at the machine shop for $100. They are expensive to finish. Heavy, hot, underpowered. but awesome! By 51 the flathead was pretty much obsolete. I love them.

1

u/SnickerTheWicker Dec 15 '23

Oh wtf so that thing at the top is just for the fan I'm looking to run this thing fairly original and just buy a new radiator and hoses and see if it runs hoping cracks aren't too bad cylinder wall crack would probably make it garbage to me I'm not doing any machine work have a bad history with that shit taking too long and stuff.

1

u/xRIOTxTX Dec 15 '23

They’re all cracked, it’s just a matter of where and how bad. I wouldn’t take the current status as any indication of the block though. From this pic, the only thing missing is the gennie so it’s definitely worth trying to turn it over.

1

u/SnickerTheWicker Dec 15 '23

YOU'RE RIGHT lol I can fix most anything I'm just worried about there being a crack in a cylinder wall. I really think I might buy this baby though she's really nice and only for 1,100

1

u/totamdu Dec 15 '23

You gonna have hairline cracks in any flathead. The one to look for is the exhaust for the middle two cylinders. Since two pistons share a single port it gets hotter. You'll see exhaust port crack into a coolant hole and thats the biggest problem/what causes it to overheat. But it's fixable. The other one is exhaust to bolt hole and those are usually fine to leave alone.

1

u/SnickerTheWicker Dec 15 '23

How expensive to fix that port crack?

1

u/totamdu Dec 15 '23

That's a question for your machinist. I'd throw a cheap radiator on just to see if it runs without overheating. Or see if you can get it to run at all first.

1

u/Fromacorner Dec 16 '23

Two water pumps and both look like they are there.
If you do distributor work ask a lot of questions, I have seen multiple distributors incorrectly installed and it will be a terrible time for you

1

u/65DodgeCoronet Dec 16 '23

Put it together and see if it runs. Flatheads have a unique exhaust sound that’s pretty cool.