ferguson aluminum flathead block

Ultimately, there are equal-length race headers available from Tatom Custom Engines. 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. Baron also offers a modern version of the famous Tattersfield/Baron four-carb race intake in more civilized street form. They're machining the first block castings right now. Flathead History Lesson courtesy of Charlie Clark. The block is cast from aluminum and features a great number of changes from the original cast iron design. About H&H Flatheads: Founded in 2003 by Mike Herman, H&H Flatheads is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Yeah, you should be impressed. Aree the new aluminum flathead locks in production yet? Now it's 2005, and the flathead's resurgence shows no sign of diminishing. His manifolds and valve covers graced the of the famous Hurst Hairy Olds twin engine car and he helped Craig Breedlove with the Spirirt of America record setting run. A wide variety of headers are available for flathead engines, which certainly should not retain the restrictive stock exhaust manifolds. Improved internal components and casting technology make them more reliable and leak-free. Research has shown there's relatively little air movement over the base of the block. Besides the Ford flathead, H&H also specializes in Ardun conversions as well as rebuilding other vintage engines including Y-Block Ford, Nailhead Buicks and Chrysler Hemis. There is also an ugly governor mounting boss on the left-rear of the block that many rodders prefer to machine off. The Chevys crank diameter is only 0.060-inch smaller than the flatheads. It was a statement, in effect saying, I am not a cookie-cutter rod.. Back in the old days, all cars used low-pressure cooling systems, so coolant often boiled. I just got around to reading my Street Rodder magazine and again noticed an ad from Shadow Rods with that Aluminum Flathead engine. Small logo on front, large logo on back. If the combination is properly tailored to the blower application, you should have no real problem. Powered by vBulletin Arms in a gennie Ardun head look downright delicate compared to the beefy 2024 aluminum arms in Don's Ardun. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. Fabled Stromberg 97 carbs are back, but you can also upgrade to modern Holley four-barrels or even electronic-fuel-injection systems. The Sharp 32 triple carburetor intake is one of the few that accepts Holley 94s and Stromberg 97s. While enduing lifes ups and downs, hes held steadfast to what he likes in vintage tin, a 1936 Ford coupe. A new player is Gemini Electronic Fuel Injection, a complete bolt-on flathead conversion kit based on the self-programming Prodigious fuel injection system. 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. Since taking on the cylinder heads, Don's fabrication business has grown to encompass much more than just the Ardun conversions. 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. 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 old-timers took what they had and made it work. The Ford flathead V8 is a V8 engine of the valve-in-block type designed by the Ford Motor. Five different intakes are available including 2x2s, 3x2s, 4x2s, a 4 bbl and a blower and they cost $1,000 each. Fast-forward nearly half a decade. The old cam grinders-including Isky, Schneider, Elgin, and others-have both old and new cam grinds. Brand New. Opens in a new window or tab. About the longest arm you can throw in a flathead, this Scat custom vacuum-melt 4340-steel. The man behind it all is Mark Kirby of Motor City Speed Equipment, out of Dundee, Michigan. (Yes, gasoline!) Well, what kind of motor do you want? The originals still are. Relieving a Flathead, which is the process of removing material from the block between the valves and the cylinder for better breathing, is a subject unto itself. A good supply of new French (really) blocks exist and outfits like Scat make new H-beam rods and sell cranks with up to a 4.5-inch stroke. 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. But that just leaves these pristine virgin blocks for us normal street guys. The third-design "8BA" '49-'53 engines have a bolt-on bellhousing, the distributor was moved to the top-right of the engine, and modern insert-style bearings are used on both the mains and rods. The old-timers took what they had and made it work. The Motor City/Shadow Rods block is an entirely different piece. 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. Opens in a new window or tab. Don has also raised the floor of the intake and exhaust ports to better move the air. Why not let us all see? It also sells gear-re, This all-Wilcap engine sports Wilcaps Sharp heads and intake, a gear-reduction starter, a. Correct-length flathead 1.800 intake/1.600 exhaust valves are available from flathead specialists like Baron Racing. 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. Don Jr. was the man showing us around the shop; his father was a longtime land-speed racer in whose arsenal were Ardun-equipped motors. The stock flathead oiling system is marginal for performance use. Putnam also used the same leather on the center console and boot, the door panels, and the nifty accessory pockets in the doors. But with modern solid cams and big stroker cranks, overall engine rpm and piston speed is considerably higher than the old stockers. Its a hot rod befitting any road well-traveled. Flatheads need high compression because they don't breathe. 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. It will use a new oil pan and special bolt-on universal bellhousing that accepts most modern transmissions. TCMP #538: Pro-Touring Update with Larry Callahan: How To Create a Garage Studio and Upcoming Pro-Touring Events! With modern flatheads routinely putting out 250-300 lb-ft of torque, the original trannies obviously arent up to the job. With his knowledge of welding, painting and engine work it kept him busy until he attended Oregon State College in 1949. Tom Roberts new two-piece crossflow utilizes the latest in airflow technology. He traveled from home to New Mexico then to Los Angeles and onto Sacramento where he located the perfect foundation for his new build. HOME | Mysite ford flathead engine block for sale | eBay Ardun Enterprises (Don Ferguson) Wilmington, CA 323/775-6803 www.ardun.com Ardun OHV cylinder heads and related valvetrain and camshaft parts; aluminum blocks, cast-aluminum oil pan, EFI systems . A high-pressure system will run fine with no boiling, even at 190-210-degree gauge temps. Copper head gaskets are sold by SCE. And Don has rimmed the valve cover with an O-ring for leak-free sealing. These second-design 38 1/2-48 blocks (often referred to as 59A castings) retained an integral cast-in bellhousing, used a distributor that mounts flush to the front cover with a horizontal shaft on the front of the engine and had insert-style main bearings but still used full-floating rod bearings (one bearing shell for each rod pair). Theres no doubt we love our Flatheads here at Honest Charley, and we had a visitor this morning that loves his, too. Ford Flathead V8 - The engine that gave birth to Hot Rodding is back -Shadow Rods original cost of reverse engineering the Ford Flathead block was almost $50,000. The new block is capable of much more horsepower because of additional webbing and four-bolt mains. He was a pioneer in the evolution of the flathead. SPAL supplied the 16-inch electric fan, Powermaster supplied the starter, and the custom alternator runs off the blower drive all masterfully handled by RR&C, which also made the custom air cleaner. Different top-halves are available for mounting a variety of induction setups. Imagine all the programming that went into this. Most in this group will accept a modified flathead as long as it is period-correct, with no obvious modern technology visible. There are several techniques; the accompanying photos show the method preferred by Baron Racing. The street motors, on the other hand, typically put out "about 1 horsepower per cubic inch, unblown," he says. 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. They also produced the unique luggage rack that resides within the trunk. Before he joined General Motors, Zora Arkus-Duntov, with his brother Yura, operated Ardun Mechanical Corporation in New York. The Chrisman coupe ran three engines at Bonneville that year, but only one, Harry Duncan's 258-inch Ardun-Mercury, held together with any success. Ultimately, there are equal-length race headers available from Tatom Custom Engines. Newly Engineered Flathead V8 Block - Motor City Speed Equipment Cams like this with good aftermarket heads are capable of producing 200 hp and 240 lb-ft naturally aspirated, and over 300 hp and 350 lb-ft with a blower. Flatheads are old, ancient, obsolete technology. The brothers, working with designer George Kudasch, greatly enhanced the breathing and combustion efficiency of the flathead by developing an overhead-valve cylinder head with hemispherical combustion chambers. The 39-48 flatheads used a direct camshaft-driven front-mount distributor; 49-53 engines use a gear-driven, vertical-mount distributor on the right-front of the engine. Melling still makes a high-volume oil pump (PN M-15). French blocks are about 30 pounds heavier than a standard flathead, which is a good indication of better metal and thicker walls. The stock flathead oiling system is marginal for performance use. He joined the Navy and went to the South Pacific as a Foundrymans Assistant. But thanks to the efforts of several hot rodders and land speed racers, especially Don, the coveted conversion kits are readily available and much improved over those first heads built in the '40s and '50s. Great info ! 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. Where are the water jackets for coolant? New stainless valves are available from several sources. Here we have botha great car and a great story. BlockNew 356 high-grade aluminium by Don Ferguson at Ardun Enterprises and polished by The Polishing Shop in Oxnard, California. This improves airflow, but the resultant effective combustion-chamber-volume increase lowers the compression ratio, in turn decreasing horsepower and fuel economy. If it boils, steam pockets form, and when you have steam, youll get cracks. There are several reasons for developing a new aluminum block for the Flathead. Back in the day, four-barrel carbs had barely been invented. The 270-F, Tatoms 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. TBI injection through billet Stromberg 97 carb-like throttle-bodies is available from Flathead Engineering. Does it use a Ford style crank and rods? Some builders also recommend installing exhaust-port dividers to split the siamesed center exhaust ports. We are always coming up with new products including Navarro air cleaners, Navarro 471 Blower Kits, V8 60 adjustable lifters, and the NEW S.Co.T. You need lots of timing to make a flathead run. Isn't Don Ferguson making an 8BA aluminum Flathead block? Research has shown theres relatively little air movement over the base of the block. From its debut in 1932 to the end of its U.S. production life in 1953, the flathead Ford underwent three major evolutionary changes. Sure, it's not cheap (really not cheap), but when was pushing the envelope ever inexpensive? For even more protection, install a crossflow radiator and increase coolant system pressure to 17-21 pounds. The current incarnation is 3 inches taller than the originals and has smaller 1 1/2-inch ports (vintage versions had 1 3/4 ports, but the new casting is thick enough to hog em out). That first 50 G's supplied a blueprint -more or less- And that was all. The sight of this engine certainly drew a crowd when Mark Kirby opened the hood of his full fendered 34 Ford five-window coupe. 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. 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). Amies Flathead is moving in the direction of 400 hp and for a street Flathead that should provide plenty of excitement. Don was interested, but his approach would be different from Orosco's. Instead, air wants to go over the front of the valve and hit the chamber roof. In 1947, they were commissioned by Ford to improve the output of its truck engines. Aside from his flathead speed equipment, he built parts for almost every engine that ran down the strip. However, the main caps are beefier than traditional stock flatheads. ", Among this herd of sheep, a few original hot rods were brought out of retirement, complete with gennie flatheads as the powerplant. Traditional flathead airflow management practices call for relieving the block-removing metal between the valve-seat sides closest to the cylinder bore. Flathead gurus like Don Ferguson and Tony Baron strongly urge that hot rod engines run a harmonic damper. Schneiders 278F solid (0.420 lift, 250 degrees at 0.050 duration, 110-degree lobe separation angle) is one grind that falls within these specs. The block, heads, intake manifold and water pumps are made out of aluminum, making this a very light alternative to its cast iron brethren. Don Ferguson of Paramount Forge has designed an built aluminum FH blocks to be used with original or his Ardun Cylinder heads only. Unfortunately, old-school resistance to this new and improved part is so extensive that the SCTA has banned the blocks from competing in classic land speed racing classes. Fel-Pro and Victor continue to make head gaskets too. Fabled Stromberg 97 carbs are back, but you can also upgrade to modern Holley four-barrels or even electronic-fuel-injection systems. For reasons known only to the crazy French, flatheads were used in French Army trucks through the early '90s. Reputedly, they are cast with 10 percent higher nickel content, and the quality of the modern castings is a lot smoother with much less core shift. Traditionalists can go with Vertex or Mallory mags, while modern guys may want to move up to MSD or Mallory electronic distributors. 225: Hooligans In Hot Rods Getting Hamburgers, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The new engines overpowered the old chassis, so modern suspensions and disc-brake swaps were added to the mix. There was a time when Ardun overhead-valve cylinder heads were incredibly rare. French blocks have some unique features and are covered separately. The first-design '32 through early '38 engines had only 21 cylinder-head studs and until mid 1936 even used poured babbit main bearings. Four carbs on a properly designed intake manifold offer the best distribution short of todays dry EFI systems. Fortunately, a wide variety of adapters are available to mate the venerable motor to today's automatic and manual transmissions. 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. Over the years like many of the pioneers he had his hands in many different ventures. Sometimes it takes just a better idea. Dressed with up to four carbs and that unique flathead sound accentuated by glasspacks, the old codgers were suddenly the rage again. The bell housing mount is Chevrolet and I believe the water pump has a revision. At one end there are restorers who insist on putting everything back to exact original condition. Flat-O Products sells well-designed, complete kits to install the Ford C4 automatic and T5 manual behind either 8BA or 59A engines. It was only at the very end of the flathead's reign that the first small four-barrel carbs appeared; back then everyone used multiple-carb setups. Yes, you can have a classic flathead with modern fuel injection. This encouraged the old-time flathead parts guys (or their sons) to start repopping the old parts. On the street, flatheads are happy on todays crappy gas, because thats the only kind of gas there was back in the 30s. And there are always billet caps and girdles available. What's the deal with that thing? I once asked him if he'd considered aluminum and I think he replied that they'd be on the market now. 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. Are you saying that theres a FLATHEAD in there ? Remember, this Flathead is brought to life through an Autotrend EFI system requiring the use of modern electronics and a means of control. 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! Valves are 1.875 inches in diameter on the intake side, 1.5 on the exhaust. New Ford Flathead V8 Crate Engine He loves Flatheads so much that he created his own and cast it out of aluminum! The pinnacle of flathead tech, this Dick Landy-built 700-plus-horsepower motor powered Ron, The 38-48 59A block (right) has an integral cast-in bellhousing. There are over 50 different flathead intake manifolds, but they arent all created equal. "Flat-Heads Battle Rocker-Arms for All-Out Supremacy" blared the Nov. '53 HOT ROD. There are several reasons for developing a new aluminum block for the Flathead. After getting a good dose of sunshine and warm temperatures, they decided to pay us a visit on the way back home. Copyright 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. The third-design 8BA 49-53 engines have a bolt-on bellhousing, the distributor was moved to the top-right of the engine, and modern insert-style bearings are used on both the mains and rods. Its the ol friend of a friend connection that brought him to the correct 1936 Ford coupe. The company they formed to produce these heads was named Ardun, an acronym derived from their last name. 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. I am SO interested in when these will be available. 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. Ross, Wiseco, Egge, Arias, and others make pistons in any configuration you desire. Simple by today's high-tech standards, during its performance reign from the late '30s through the mid '50s, the flathead was unsurpassed for building go-fast power on the cheap. Original 50-plus-year-old blocks without cracks are getting scarce. Keep it under 8.0:1. All tidier and more efficient than original. 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. 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. Like all fads, once started, the process fed itself. The Flathead in the five-window coupe is the test mule, and Motor City plans to begin production soon. For reasons known only to the crazy French, flatheads were used in French Army trucks through the early 90s. Centerforce offers clutches and flywheels. The front fenders were then modified to allow for valve cover clearance. In fact, unless you have a badly core-shifted block, most of them can accept a whopping 0.1875-inch overbore (3/16-inch over standard). Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues! No one runs the old weak stock ignitions anymore. The block is cast from aluminum and features a great number of changes from the original cast iron design. Flatheads may not have the cubes or brute airflow potential of many of today's modern mills, but there is a solution: Bolt on a supercharger. If it boils, steam pockets form, and when you have steam, you'll get cracks. The 2N has some component changes due to wartime shortages. He also makes a compatible cast-aluminum block. 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. 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. Tom Roberts starts with the Speedway pump, modifies it for even more flow, and also redoes the snout to accept modern, bolt-on, serpentine-belt pulleys. https://fordmanualblog.wordpress.com. The aluminum blocks used on the various all-aluminum Ardun builds are from Don Ferguson and are Ardun-only items. Good question. They specialize in building flathead Ford V8s and Lincoln V12s and the production of Navarro Racing Equipment, Sharp Speed & Power Equipment, Austin Speed Equipment and, most recently, Wilson & Woods 8BA heads and Dixon sohv heads. You have to beat him/her at the same game. If you're interested in a complete Turn-Key engine give us a call 818-248-2371 or send us an email. Ford Flathead V8, Cylinder Heads | Speedway Motors This block is completely beefed up, with four-bolt caps, reinforced bottom-end and webbing, furnace-brazed sleeves (max bore is 3.5 inches), and new-design head studs that tie into the bottom of the block. Starting in July 1938, the blocks went to 24 head-retention studs. Records are made to be broken. At the other extreme are dry-lakes, Bonneville, and nostalgia drag racers who have applied modern technology to the point where in some instances it is questionable whether the engine still remains a true flathead: Once-85hp engines now produce over 400 hp on gas and have exceeded 700 hp on fuel-all this on an engine with only three main bearings. Adjustable, Change a front-mount distributor cam to vertical drive with this Baron adapter. The story starts around a decade ago with Don Orosco, who after a lot of research and a not-inconsiderable investment, had 30 sets of Ardun heads reproduced for his personal racing efforts. Flatheads are old, ancient, obsolete technology. By designating a new model, Ford was able bypass wartime restrictions on price. Don Sr. has passed away, but at the shop with us was Don Jr. 's son Don III.). We have continually grown and expanded our engine services. 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. 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. Navarro High Dome Heads are designed for special high performance applications. As we go to press, word is just in that Mark Kirby at Motor City Flathead has joined forces with Shadow Rods to develop an all-new, improved 49-53-style aftermarket cast-iron flathead block. Magnuson offers an Eaton blower kit, while Joe Abbin of Roadrunner Engineering has Weiand 142 and 174 supercharger setups. Stay tuned for further updates on this project. But it didn't take long for the hot rodding community to learn about these conversion kits and how well they hopped up the flattie. 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. The 2-inch rod journals are very popular because their diameter and width permits the use of readily available 215-inch-style Buick/Olds/Rover V-8 bearings. Too high a compression ratio and the engine peaks early due to restricted top-end breathing.
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