Why Ford's Flathead V8 Engine Died

[@EngineeringExplained]

Hello all and welcome!! If you enjoyed this video, here are a few others you might find exciting: How V8 Engines Work - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYuvqpqapcxmgrc Why Pushrod Engines Don't Rev High - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWqoY6F5jbN7i5o Mazda's SkyActiv-X Engine - kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3-2qaKtaLxqm80 Infiniti's VC Turbo Engine - kzbin.info/www/bejne/d2erZ2mum6qNeZY Toyota's Dynamic Force Engine - kzbin.info/www/bejne/raivqauQosR_iLM Mercedes 50% Efficient Engine - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYDLnpqmoM58nMk

[@lightsleven]

Engineering Explained hey I have some car list part I need your help with, where I can send it to you?

[@sambananas4513]

How in the name of God can you be 7 years older than me yet look 35? 1953?

[@driffbro3380]

You know this design, even though very inefficient, I think one thing that was good about it is that it was a pretty compact design.. I'd imagine even compact than the LS series motors and LS motors are known for their compactness.. what do you think about that?

[@AbeFM]

Your first layer is a little too far from the bed - the top of those valves should be less gappy. :-) awesome video, as always. Really cool model and the hands on is great.

[@jameswade2002]

@ Read More: I thought this too, and went reading. As it turns out they are super thick and heavy blocks because of their "thick wall" casting. Ford and everyone else in the 1930s didn't have the technological acumen necessary to cast it any lighter, and it should be noted that the three main bearing design of this and other ICEs of the period shows that they were never intended to rev or make what we consider real power. So with the problems of being unable to build compression while maintaining port flow into the chamber (mechanically impossible as closing the head up will lead to flow issues) and the heavy weight AND floppy crank support, most of these early flathead designs aren't worth pursuing even if they are slightly more compact. *BUT* there is a flathead in a shop in my city and I'm going to go there and measure it to see how tall and wide it is. I think it's not as narrow as you might think because the heads have to be wider to cover the valves which sit beside the cylinder. You'd think it'd be smaller, but I'm not sure that it actually is.

[@carlosmarquez3844]

The next video will be explaining how to look 40 years younger...

[@CertifiedRippers]

ikr

[@hugoburton5222]

He's not 65/66 is he?

[@StillNoPickles69]

Hugs obviously not dumbfuck

[@traitoR142]

@@StillNoPickles69 Says he was born in 53, i'm pretty sure that equates to 66, having a hard time believing it though.

[@StillNoPickles69]

traitoR142 its a joke...

[@DubStepTomatoFarmer]

Well no wonder it only made 60 hp. Look how small it is

[@raygud]

and v6 made 30 bhp ..

[@alexandergolke1325]

Derek Zoolander? Is it you?

[@ImNotADeeJay]

and those plastic pistons aren't cutting it either

[@johnjuhasz9125]

Yeah, lose a lot of real estate that COULD be more displacement.

[@calvinnickel9995]

It needs to be at least three times bigger.

[@Steven-bh3uk]

Engineering needs to explain how he was born in 1953? Have you sniffing the Tesla car fumes again?

[@TestTubeBabySpy]

Exactly, he just trying to get attention

[@mariosgbodys]

He was born in 1989

[@westelaudio943]

@@mariosgbodys So he is LITERALLY a 30-year old Boomer?

[@dano4572]

@@iamnid google it! just sayin

[@johnjuhasz9125]

It’s called a joke. Back in 1953 we used to tell them to make people laugh. Before everyone became offended by everything.

[@PeopleAlreadyDidThis]

As for low compression and inefficiency, one should recall that when this engine was developed, gasoline had an octane rating of about 50. Raising the CR got you nothing but detonation. Phillips 66 took its name for a reason: a big leap in octane rating, all the way to 66. Old engine designs favored long strokes, therefore high torque and low RPM. High horsepower was unnecessary in a land where a great many roads weren’t paved until after World War II and Interstates hadn’t been conceived, because you weren’t going to be driving all that fast. So volumetric efficiency and “breathing” weren’t that important. An engine needed to run with reliability acceptable for its time, achieve reasonable fuel mileage, and have an acceptable service life (which was short in those days). That was enough.

[@Iceaxehikes]

Alan's Mistakin' Acres you explained it. My old Willys Jeep had 7:1 compression for a reason. The fuel available limited compression ratios due to knocking.

[@frankeggers4024]

My mother's 1950 Chevrolet had a compression ratio of only 6.5:1 with was a bit low even for that time. I seem to recall that the compression ratio of my 1951 Ford V8 was 7.0:1. It was very difficult for a flathead engine to get more than 0.5 HP per cubic inch. Hudson, with its 308 cubic inch flathead 6, claimed to get something like 175 HP with the Hudson Hornet (that was with dealer modifications), but I suspect that that was somewhat of an exaggeration even though they were winning most of the stock car races with that engine.

[@gregfeneis609]

Even in modern industrial engines where it's advantageous to get peak torque at a low RPM, the piston stroke is relatively long compared to bore, compression ratios are low, spark plugs are enormous, intake plenums are long and narrow. Only these days, such engines come with electronic ignition and spin-on oil filters and fuel injection

[@hughaxton]

route 66 got its name for the same reason- cars had to use 66 octane gas to be able to make it to Santa Monica.

[@WhoThisGuy515]

The low compression benefits nicely with today's fuel though, a little ol M90 does wonders for the torque of the FH.

[@kx100kidj]

that 1953 joke made me laugh good job grey haired jason

[@EngineeringExplained]

People often ask, it's time I reveal the truth! #1953

[@johnburns4017]

You wear well Jason. What do you eat?

[@Евгений1-с4р]

Engineering Explained what the hell?

[@Aralayxo]

100 octane fuel and 0w-30 oil.

[@davidb8831]

Engineering Explained lies

[@bluegtturbo]

The most impressive thing about this engine is how silently it runs! And the next most impressive thing is how it stays running even with the cylinder head removed and the carbs removed...

[@grahamowen1570]

bluegtturbo ahhh,thats white man magic 😉

[@williamcox5216]

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU CHATTERING ABOUT

[@markk3652]

You can see a video of an actual flathead running with 1 head removed, for reals, each side is it's own 4 cylinder engine.

[@AbdulAllahAbuDaoud]

😂

[@woogymodel]

My doctor did say that cutting down on carbs is good ;)

[@truantray]

He's 65. He bathes in 10W40 every day for 3 hours.

[@EngineeringExplained]

Don’t reveal my secret!

[@S730SD]

I'm amazed he hasn't patented that :)

[@kavinsp]

okleydokley minutes away from dying

[@alanwhiteside410]

okleydokley Whether he needed it or not! Lol

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

@@EngineeringExplained your 65!

[@SP-mp9yi]

For all those not understanding the born in 1953 comment: His real name is Jason Miller and he’s originally from Silicate Missouri born on Palate Street in 1989. He drops the age twister 🌪 as a ongoing running joke to see who’s listening, he was 23 in his last video. I’ve known him since we were kids back in Canada 🇨🇦.

[@Simon_r2600]

Ah, i already doubted my ability to estimate a person's age 😂

[@gregdunlap7538]

Haha, thought he might be a vampire :)

[@pforce9]

I wondered about that age. I am an old guy and that guy is not. I was born in 1944 and my father owned a flathead ford. That thing could hit about 80 MPH.

[@wsbill14224]

His real name is Jason Fenske

[@richardsleep5242]

I have owned several Ford/Mercury/Lincoln flat head V-8 automobiles and loved every one. In 1962, I drove a gunmetal grey 1950 Ford Custom 2-door with the stock motor but with dual exhaust and Smithy Glass Packs and electric overdrive/4:11 rear end. Off the line fast out of overdrive, then engage overdrive and cruise all day at low rpms. So, in 1962, I drove from Los Angeles to Chicago almost non-stop- just a short nap in incredibly star-filled black night in the middle of nowhere Nebraska.Flat Heads Fords with pipes had a sweet low rumble tone.

[@thechumpsbeendumped.7797]

It would have made more power if it wasn’t made of plastic.

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

Those would be the current Ford engines.

[@RedHaloManiac95]

Plastic or not Ford's doing it right

[@ootdega]

Gotta love those engine parts that GM makes out of the same plastic as the dashboard... Those are great

[@JingleBop]

Speaking of plastic gm parts. Who thought it would be a good idea to make the upper plenum out of PLASTIC on the chevy 350 lq1 vortec??

[@JasonW.]

Alex West the same people that thought it was a great idea for 3.8 series II

[@BusbyBiscuits]

I have now finally found a reason to genuinely want a 3D printer

[@bartholomewbilby1333]

I recoment the Creality Cr- 10 for 500. It prints large and fast or high quality and slow, but overall a great printer.

[@tacomas9602]

heldgop it's easy kid I created a car frame on Inventor in like a week

[@killman369547]

+Paul Busby. you'd have to print every component individually in order for it to move, that will take some time but if you have the patience then you can print and build pretty much whatever you want. im interested in getting one myself but i feel i've got some learning to do before i get one.

[@tennicktenstyl]

You also need to learn 3d modeling dude. it's easy, but takes time to learn.

[@desertbob6835]

My first car was a '50 Fordor Custom. My dad and uncles all had flatties from 1932 on. They were obsolete by 1949. Mine was 100 HP, and had all the usual flattie problems. One thing you didn't mention was the Ford flattie V8's penchant to overheat. The reason was simple... the damned exhaust ports go right through the water jacket! Siamesing the middle cylinders' exhausts into a single port didn't help breathing, either, and only 3 main bearings didn't bode well for longevity. At best, my '50 got 14 MPG around town and 16 on the road. My '55 Olds w/Hydra-Matic got 17 around town and 22 on the road...with almost twice the horsepower available. GM's engines were far better than Ford's Y-blocks that replaced the flatties, as were Chrysler's. Ford finally got their act together with the big block FE in '58, and Ford's small block of 1962 turned out to be a far better engine than the trouble plagued Chevy small block. But all through the mid-50s, Ford engines were just overweight gas-guzzling chunks of iron. As Packard used to say, "Ask the man who owns one." I did, and can tell the real story. Too bad, too, since other than the obsolete V8, the Shoebox Ford was a pretty nice car. Here's a tip...the I-6 available as standard engine in 1950 put out 5 more HP AND got better fuel economy. Ford, of course, never advertised that fact and derated the 6 on paper to sell more V8s.

[@dhy5342]

"... the trouble plagued Chevy small block."? That's a strange statement about a design that has stood the test of time for 64 years. Anyway, your comments about the Ford I-6 v flathead V-8 is right on. The six outperformed the V-8 in every field - acceleration, economy, speed, ease of maintenance*. *whoever designed the V-8 water pumps should be hung by his ankles. I've spent hours trying to get the bolt out from inside the water outlet after it had been rounded off by corrosion.

[@perlandstrom5023]

i have a cadillac with a 346 flathead in it thatcim rebuilding. i would asume they dont overheat as bad since the exhaust exits on top so it doesnt go through the block like the ford

[@crforfreedom7407]

Excellent assessment Deser. Ford GAVE GM predominance in the 20s and late 40s, early 50s. Just handed it to them. Technology has to evolve. I have a Willys Jeep with the flathead Go Devil. That evolved to the F-head half (intake OH, exaust in the block). I think what made Ford's flathead V8 such a technological wonder was it being the first 1-piece cast solid block. Before Ford, all larger blocks were usually 3 pieces bolted together. You can imagine the problems with parts of an engine block bolted together. The technique Ford and the engineers patented are still being used today in firing a block. THAT was the great accomplishment of the FHV8. That and it's important role in the evolution/trial and error learning process of V6/8 innovation.

[@paulk5311]

@@dhy5342 stainless steel bolts would have been the ticket. i love the small block chevy water pump. four bolts and so easy to get to. much better than taking off all those bolts on a ford buick or other engines. running the bolts thru the water jacket was not that bright but the pump itself was the simplest i ever had to deal with.

[@gregorytimmons4777]

I will never understand why Chevy pressed the rocker arm studs into so many small block cylinder heads. That's the only major problem I know of with small blocks although I think I heard they had some alloy problems at first that resulted in chewed up cam, distributor, oil pump drives.

[@recnepsgnitnarb6530]

Dude, if you're a senior citizen, then I'm 400 years old.

[@mikenodine6713]

He figured out how to make a Time Machine! :D

[@northdakotaham1752]

And I am an astronaut.

[@AshtonCoolman]

Now, if a 3-cylinder engine makes 65hp, it's considered on the weak side.

[@wetlettuce4768]

Back in the day if an engine required more then an adjustable wrench and a hammer to work on it would be considered trash.

[@brianpatrick8787]

Modern engines don't really make the power they claim for on simple reason. They are rated at insanely high rpm. Look up the hp and torque curves for old motors and new motors. 3000 rpm and 140 hp. Vs 200 at 5500 rpm today. From 0 to 3000 the old motors eat the new stuff alive. That why Ford is going old school with its new v8. Push rod and single cam in block and only 2 valve. Multi valve over head cam engines suck dish water at low rpm and rely on higher rpms than you can turn at highway speeds to make power. On paper a 5.4 ford is more powerful than 1970s 351. But I towed the same 10000 lb trailer with the 5.4 and our old farm truck with its 351. Same 4.10 axle ratio in both trucks. The new 5.4 had to down shift out of drive (1 to 1) into second on a hill the older engine could do in drive. The electronic tranny and engine control would not let me go faster than 45 with up shifting to drive.

[@imzjustplayin]

@@brianpatrick8787 Modern engines make exactly the power they claim. The difference between old engines and new ones is that the old ones hit peak HP very early. Transmission gearing can be configured any which way. If you want that little engine to make 138BHP like in the Focus Turbo 1.0L, you can and it will. You can certainly throw that 1.0L 138HP engine in Chevrolet Pickup truck in place of the V6 engine found in a '85 C10 pickup which was offered with a 130HP V6, but the biggest change you'd have to make in order to make it as drivable as it was with the V6 is put an appropriately geared transmission, preferably with multiple gears (6+). You can either have a wide power band like a sports car or a narrow powerband like an on the road diesel truck. There are pros and cons for each setup.

[@bcubed72]

It's the "area under the curve" that matters. Particularly for a grocery-getter...soccer mama is never revving to redline; power below 3000 RPM is what gets you away from the stoplight. And (at least for NA engines) cubes is what gets you low end, end of. Your little 3-cyl might have more hp, but only after you wind it up to Dremel RPMs.

[@bcubed72]

@@KevAlberta I guessing forced induction? Yeah, stick a turbo on anything and you get more HP, flatheads included. You aren't getting more torque than HP out of a 3-banger without shoveling air into it.

[@JerryEricsson]

My first car was a 1950 Ford with the flat head V8 three on the tree, she was a sweetheart. Dad bought it for me, it had been in a front end collision so he got it for 20 bucks back then. He brought it home and told me I could have it after I fixed it up. I think it took me and my buddy about three days to find a front clip out at the City Dump grounds (they were open to the public back then and there were stacks of cars to pick from). Man the stories I could tell about that old car, sadly one day my cousin who pumped gas urged me to spin the tires, so i revved her up and popped the clutch, tore out low and reverse! When dad found out what I had done, he gave the car to my uncle and told me that when I had saved enough money from working on farms and such I could buy myself a car, perhaps then I would learn to take care of them. the old 50 went to my Uncle's farm, the engine came out and went into his farm truck, and the body became a damn chicken coup!

[@glurak888]

Your dad's a prick

[@moesizlac2596]

He has the heart of a young boy! He keeps it in a jar on his parts shelf.

[@keithmallette5961]

Lol nice

[@812guitars]

Wait. This guy is 65??? Get the F out of here!!!

[@Tech-NO-City]

What does this guy eat for food?

[@CheekiScrubb]

gt ford outta here

[@nickmotsarsky4382]

He's not.

[@alexanderspector5224]

woosh

[@XTCMatrix]

@@nickmotsarsky4382 lol

[@joeyjamison5772]

You were born in 1953? Who's your plastic surgeon?

[@bobjohnson205]

Definitely not the one who worked on Michael Jackson! lol

[@urs.gras2.0]

He forgot he's reading a prompter. 😂😂😂

[@robkober9139]

Same guy that made that plastic engine.

[@macmac8249]

@@robkober9139 The difference between the engine and Jackson? The engine still runs.

[@peterpiper_203]

My buddy's old man 73 yrs young still builds flat heads Last one in a 34 Ford and drove it up to Connecticut and back down to Florida Flatheads sound awesome

[@jamesgoolsby.]

Nice profile pic : )

[@peterpiper_203]

Yeller' Snake Right Back Atcha

[@ColeSpolaric]

it's essentially a lawn mower engine times 8 cylinders.

[@bgautschi]

Cole Spolaric Nope. A lawnmower engine is just a flat head v8 with 7 of the cylinders cut off.

[@ColeSpolaric]

you say tomato I say tamoto lol

[@InsideOfMyOwnMind]

I didn't see your comment in time.

[@homeofthemad3044]

Cole Spolaric Nobody says tamoto.

[@ColeSpolaric]

🙄 It's just an expression...

[@hkk3656]

I'm 87 and don't date women over 30. That's my secret for keeping young.

[@lostindixie]

You're only as old as the women you feel.

[@willyswagon57]

Gross ,must be some real winners, but good for you

[@blackbirdpie217]

You're either very wealthy, very lonely, or you look 60 years younger than you are.

[@jimbrewer498]

Well, I'm 57 and don't date women over 38ish. Nothing wrong with that ! In fact, they usually make the first move. Granted, I don't exactly look my age but there are oodles and gobs of women specifically looking for older men, many more than you could possibly imagine.

[@timjohnson1199]

I'm making my age inversely proportional to my maturity. Not working so far but the wife is pissed.

[@haywoodf]

This engine used cooling without a water pump in some applications. It used a convective siphon system to a front mounted radiator. Well it did at least on a Ford truck we used to own that was ex WW II. Another simplistic design characteristic. Granted that by today’s standards its Thermal and Volumetric efficiencies were limited by architecture but one thing I remember was how smooth and quiet the mechanicals were. Thanks for presenting the neat model with detailed explanations.

[@frankeggers4024]

I very much doubt that it would have been possible for the Ford flathead V8 to run without a water pump. Having the exhaust run through long passages through the cooling water imposed a big heat load on the cooling system. However, engines have been made without a water pump. Probably the best known was the model T Ford. But to make that work, it required extra large passages for the cooling water for thermosyphon to cause sufficient water flow.

[@ShakamuraGames]

youre 65? lol

[@thesadzebra]

ShakamuraGames 30-65 we aren’t sure

[@joes.7536]

Ferguson101 we will never know. But we do know he has the oldest teenager title forever.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

He still look good at his age lol

[@Stue-e]

i think its a joke regarding people constantly calling out his grey hairs

[@wrighteously]

Benjamin Burkhardt lmao

[@stanleyreynolds7800]

After all these years, I always assumed that the center exhaust port was really inefficient. Now I understand that the two cylinders shared it independently.

[@Jack29151]

Pontiac did that on the 389 big block. nothing really wrong with it given the middle 2 cylinders didn't fire at the same time.

[@TheBTRGarage]

They needed these V8's back in your day because you had to drive up hill both ways to work!

[@billville111]

Best comment of the month, but you have to be old enough to understand it.

[@crunch9876]

billville111 I don’t get it someone please explain

[@berlyn0963]

I dont get it

[@BAZZAROU812]

In the snow and it was 100 below zero..

[@Bartonovich52]

It was a huge improvement over the Model T which would only drive in reverse up hills.

[@RefinedDegenerate]

Wow you don't look 65 years old, I honestly thought you were 80 years old.

[@yotzincastrejon]

god damnit your profile picture

[@peteragurkis3590]

Just tried to brush your profile pic off my monitor

[@mrc14_2]

I thought he was 90... but ok

[@jSyndeoMusic]

Engineering Explained? How about _ANTI-AGING EXPLAINED??_

[@brtshstel]

Another problem with the design was the exhaust placement. You had two hot exhaust valves right in the center sharing one port. Older blocks (with a lower quality casting) liked to crack the wall between those two cylinders.

[@TheWolvesCurse]

can you do one of these about the VW beetle engine? i know you've done about boxerengines alraedy, but not about aircooled ones with carburetors instead of EFI. airflow and oilmanagement surely is vastly different from subaru engines. plus you'd be doing a video on another car which caused mass motorisation in a country just like this ford engine. following that could be the Austin Mini and the Citroën 2CV.

[@captainvector]

TheWolvesCurse +1. Good idea!

[@tinatpasselepoivre]

or the 2cv one, which is the smaller variant :D

[@ronaldreed7698]

TheWolvesCurse A VW is a boxer/pancake/ dually opposed... take your pick.

[@Reploidx9]

@@ronaldreed7698 Never heard it called pancake or dually opposed. +1 new terminology

[@woogymodel]

0:10 "In the year I was born, 1953" - you look young enough to be my son, and I was born 12 years LATER lol.

[@sre331l]

You look young enough to be my son, and I was born the year before you.

[@herpderpinson6117]

It was light sarcasm, he’s well aware that everyone in the comments is always confused about his age

[@P_RO_]

Look up Charles Sorenson aka "Cast Iron Charlie" who was the guy that developed the casting techniques which made this block possible for mass production. Or any production level for that matter. Core shifting, cooling cracks, warping- all were insurmountable problems with complex iron castings like this before he came along, and there wouldn't have been a flathead V8 without him. The main reason so many hot-rodders used this engine was that it could be bought cheap and it was common, unlike the OHV V8's which were sold only in expensive cars. The flatty was a known quantity while the performance knowledge and performance parts for an Olds or Caddy motor wasn't. It was only after OHV V8's became common and cheap to buy used that the flathead died away; it was economics that killed the flatty. Once you could buy more power for the same money there was no point in fooling around with it anymore. The SBC and Hemi drove the final nails in it's coffin and the rest is history.

[@larslarsman]

Interesting reading, thanks. Initiative reminds me of how one person was able to get lead removed from gasoline, with pushback from the lead producers and no help from other agencies that should have backed him 100%.

[@gdeangelkick]

As I was looking at that model I was thinking to myself those ports must have been a headache to the casting process.

[@billyhack9673]

It was the Chevrolet small block V8 that came out in 1954 that put the flatty out to pasture. The Chevy small block was developed by the Duntov group, Czech engineers that came to the USA on Sound of Music visas after WWII. They used to build light trucks and cars for the Nazis. But the Chevy small block outclassed any of the domestic V8s of the time and laid the basis for Chevy's LS engine dynasty. If you want to study a truly amazing and light years ahead engine design, get to know the awesomeness of the small block Chevy.

[@tcmits3699]

​@@billyhack9673Oldsmobile, first American car company, first automatic transmission, and first OHV V-8. Now sadly forgotten

[@awhitness]

There are positives to the flathead V8. No rocker arms and push rods, more compact less weight. The low compression is great for supercharging. Oh yeah, and its cool looking.

[@jacquesblaque7728]

That's called "spinning" it, casting a turd, engineering-wise, into something desirable. Modern DOHC pent-roof engines have it over flatheads in so many ways: efficiency, durability, specific output. These engines were the "buggy-whips" of prime-movers. Kludges. For obvious reasons they run HOT.

[@Bartonovich52]

DOHC and durability? Lol. Interference engines which will create a bunch of expensive cornflakes -if- _WHEN_ the timing belt snaps or one of the multiple chains breaks.

[@tallen4520]

@@jacquesblaque7728 When the engine is hot; any water (hot or cold) would warp and/or crack heads.

[@Twitch760]

@@jacquesblaque7728 right up until your timing belt snaps and you just bend every valve in your engine and totaled it. As a mechanic buddy of mine once said I love things that require regular replacement and I love people that ignore it even better.

[@jacquesblaque7728]

David, you're making some rash/silly assumptions about cam drive and valve/piston possible interference. Timing chains are kinda hard to snap. Many engines are non-interference. Look it up. Some that are, Porsche 911 ferinstance, will suffer broken rocker arms. Yes, it has them, off SOHC. Gimme DOHC 4-valve pent-roof, and keep boat-anchor flatties.

[@mr.redneck2715]

You missed a important point, the flat head was the first v-8 where the block was made from a single casting making it affordable. It was one of important breakthroughs for the v-8 engine design in modern history.

[@johnoakes3106]

Greatest Ford engine ever made! I had two, a '46 and a '51 and my Dad had a '50 Mercury. I got my '46 right after high school much to the chagrin of a neighbor. He said it made the housing unit look trashy. It didn't really look that bad. and it wasn't noisy. (yet) Finally, he told me day he was going to call the police and have it towed off. Well, I talked to my Dad. Dad didn't like the car much either but it was mine,didn't cost him a cent, I lived there also and used it to go to work. So, off we go to talk to said neighbor. Pounded on his door and when he answered the jerk knew he could be in deep, painful trouble. He tried to deny iy but that got my father madder.Finally, the said he had no objection to my fine Ford being parked. I was never so proud of my Father or loved him more. R.I.P. Sir. Anyway, to finish my story. Everything was peaceful for a few month 'till winter hit. Frigid below 0 temps. Dig your car out, etc. By this, with help from friend and a '46 shop manual I got the old girl running a bout as good as it going to get. Got in, pumped the gas twice. Pulled the choke out, and hit the starter button. Fired right off like it was high summer. Well when I got out of the car to sweep it off, guess who's car was next to mine and wouldn't start? Yep, mr. don't like my car. He even asked if I'd give him a jump. I could have since his car was '55 Mercury which was the last year for the 6-Volt systems. The '46 was a 6-Volt also. I told the '46 was a positive ground and his was negative. Which was the truth but as long as the jumper cables were hooked up correctly, it made no difference. I told my Dad a month later and he laughed uproariously. Love ya, Dad. I'm sorry this story rambled on. I was going to give a few quips about my Flatheads But this story popped into my head and it started writing itself. I hope of read read it get a bit of kick out of it

[@vincesbardella3838]

@John Oakes: Nice story, John. I'm probably much older than you (1933) and do the same. My sons, grandchildren, and older great-grandchildren seem to enjoy the stories. Maybe they're just being polite.

[@carsmasher]

The flathead never really died, it is still popular, it just got old and out of date with newer higher compression engines that were coming out. The 54 Y-block was 239, the same cu in as the last flathead but had 10hp more. Then the Y-blocks went to 272, 292, and 312. The FE, introduced in 58 gace us the 332, the 352, 390, 427 and 428 as 23ll as the MEL and FT series.

[@davidschwartz5127]

332 cu in engine and up was a different design than the 239 cu in Y block

[@DAN007thefoxx1]

And the Windsor pushrods were the sucessor to the Yblocks. And the powerplant of choice for the at the time newly birthed Mustang

[@ew1usnr]

Ford put their new small block V-8 in the Galaxie and Fairlane in 1962, the Falcon in 1963, and then in the Mustang in 1964.

[@falconater68]

@@davidschwartz5127 He said FE.

[@jeffruebens8355]

The flat head engines were useful before electronic rev limiters- if you over revved the engine the valve float was less likely to damage the engine. For racing and trucks, aftermarket overhead cam heads were available so the engine would not overheat as easily. The record is 700 horsepower with a lot of customization now.

[@PeopleAlreadyDidThis]

Lots of comments about the shortcomings of the Ford flathead. I recall seeing a documentary about its development that stressed its design as a means to build a V-8 of low enough cost to mass produce for ordinary cars that ordinary people could afford. V-8s (and 12s) had been boutique engines, very expensive, with separate cylinder blocks. The challenge of this block casting was almost insurmountable, and there were severe problems in early production engines, but they eventually worked things out.

[@Stuve715]

In 1932, the new Ford V8 cost $10 more than the 4 cylinder model B (equivalent to around $182 today). That is incredible. Imagine something like that today!

[@alribee]

Did Ford warranty all those blocks that failed early? I bet they didn't. Tough luck, buddy. buy a Chevy next time.

[@alribee]

I never understood why Ford didn't design it like a Caddie flathead V8. With exhaust right next to the intake. Maybe a little different to work with, but would have limited the overheating problems.

[@richardmann5049]

Yes, Ford did warranty those engines. Because of the engine production problems of the early V8's, Ford modified the Model A engine, which become the "Model B" engine, to keep the new 1932's moving out the door. The 4 cylinder Model B engines remained in production into the late 40's.

[@shotforshot5983]

@@alribee Chevrolet had a v8 that saw limited production well before Ford's. They were overhead valve engines, but they were horrible. Most were yanked out and thrown away. Chevy didn't market another v8 until 55.

[@sophiewilliams7582]

Clyde Barrow was fond of stealing Ford V8s for his getaway cars. He once wrote a letter to FoMoCo, complimenting them on their flathead V8-powered cars.

[@charleslange7619]

We had a '51 In-line 6 Ford flat-head engine that spent two seasons in a combine harvester then converted to propane and ran an irrigation pump for the next 32 years. It ran pretty much non stop from late spring through the summer. Except for normal maintenance stuff, this engine was never rebuilt!!

[@ty2010]

They hate revs and most people set the advance too high

[@gregwarner8770]

Now tell us why horse and buggies got replaced.

[@johnbroughton3401]

Looking at the timeline, the lower compression engines were fine because high octane gas was not available at the pump until after the Korean war. (Buick had a great OHV engine in 1949 but the compression ratio was abysmal) With the addition of tetra ethyl lead (Used in AV Gas) higher compression engines became practical.

[@insulman100]

TEL has been used since the 1920s the real change to "motor" gasoline was in 1939 with catalytic cracking this process produced a high octane base stock gasoline that needed no additives to achieve 80 octane although TEL was still added for boosting octane its primary use was a upper cylinder lubricant mostly for the exhaust valves and seats

[@janlabij7302]

@@insulman100 Yes TEL has been available since the late 1920's. Everybody called it "Ethyl Gas", and it cost considerably more than regular. People who bought Fords, Chevrolets, and Plymouths normally didn't buy more expensive gas.

[@insulman100]

jan labij Although I agree with what you say I don't know what it has to do with my reply to John. The point of my first reply is TEL was not the reason the US auto industry started moving to ohv engines with higher compression ratios it was the change in refining to catalytic cracking not only does this method produce a much higher octane rating than distillation it's also very consistent and to top it of it's a much more efficient way of producing gasoline

[@TheMick26]

Hey Jason. From one old man to another, thank you for these amazing videos.🙏

[@EngineeringExplained]

Very welcome, thanks for watching!!

[@TheMick26]

SDD525 I'm 29... plus tax.😉

[@DENicholsAutoBravado]

As the real old man in the conversation with an extra decade on me...never mind, I don't have a good joke, but I enjoyed the banter. Feel free to banter where I create also. :)

[@TheMick26]

Cheers, buddy! In reality, I'll be 48 in about 2 months. When I said "plus tax", I wasn't joking. I pay a LOT of taxes. haha. Have a good weekend, sir!

[@crobulari2328]

Sidney Allard came 3rd. in Le Mans with an Allard car !!. Privateer as well, little money !.

[@davidblalock9945]

I've always felt that the Flathead is an excellent engine for performance builds. The inherently low compression ratio makes it well suited for turbocharging. And forced induction also largely mitigates all the aid flow issues. That the intake and exhaust ports are on the same side of the head is also beneficial for turbocharging as this greatly reduces the distance the exhaust gasses must travel before work is extracted to operate the turbine. With properly reworked heads to support direct injection and some veins for air flow control an improved swirl effect can greatly improve combustion efficiency. I think its well past time for the Flathead to make a come back.

[@Candisa]

Why am I the first to like this after 3 months?

[@tomstulc9143]

Not really. A very weak bottom end poor airflow and overheating.

[@Jim-xu4mz]

Love the models that you've been using lately 👏🏻

[@123edwardzpad]

Thank you for the extremely well produced and informative video presentation. One thing I believe is very important to address is the reliability and power generated with 65 to 70 octane fuel. As a simple, reliable Workhorse, these engines are really great. When consumers had available to themselves, the excess Capital to demand higher performance engines; it truly was the death knell.

[@L_T_Z]

There would be no hot rodding as its known today and a majority of the performance aftermarket without the flathead V8 being phased out and filling the junkyards. I would say the good ol' flatty died an honorable death instead of just being another piece of obsolete technology.

[@sergeantspeed5941]

The cycle continues, from the flathead to the sbc, now ls platform

[@L_T_Z]

but i don't see the small blocks and ls'es dying out like the flatheads did. They still pack a very reasonable punch in terms of performance instead of being plagued by design flaws and choked by inherent limitation of the side valve layout. They also enjoy extraordinary aftermarket support and would even flourish well past the point when the automotive industry has gone entire electric.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

Tianze Li I wish more old timers were here in the comments telling us about back in the day. All I know about em is what I’ve heard from them. I’ve been around a few of em too, I dig em for the simplicity and history .....runnin shine thru the back country and whatnot with a 32 ford with truck springs so it doesn’t sag and attract attention from the man.

[@berengerchristy6256]

ah yes the "good ol' days." everyone remembers them through rose tinted nostalgia goggles. back when there was the korean war, the vietnam war, when black people were given separate but """""equal""""" everything, and when lack of environmental regulation turned the air in our big cities into unbreathable miasmas. such good times also the flathead is a piece of obsolete technology. sorry

[@flicmydik]

Berenger Christy don't pretend like you would have been any different had you lived back then.

[@MatthewBerginGarage]

The Ford Flathead V8 is not the most performance oriented engine but it makes the sweetest sound. Nothing beats the sound of a cammed flathead V8 idling.

[@franksmith3437]

A friend of mine built a dragster with a flathead engine. He even fabrocated a intake manifold for flathead motor to except a blower. It was "BADASS" . He was out running the up to date small block drag cars. He pushed everything for the max horse power. Only problem was if anything went wrong or blew motor , he had to have a whole new engine to play with....lol

[@MatthewBerginGarage]

@SHICOFF1 I am working on a 53 Customline myself. Great cars.👍😎

[@Losermachine35]

The two center ports are called Siamese ports. Also that is a model of the early motor not the late motor. The v8 60 hp wasn’t made till later I think 1939-1940. The 1932 was an 80hp with the water pumps in the head. In 1937 they went to a water pump in block as your model has. In 1949 they switched to a short bell 8ba model which was a larger more powerful motor, they also changed it from a front mounted distribution unit to a drop in distributor like a more modern 1950s type motor. They also then took the bellhousing off the engines casting and used bolt on style bellhousings and more modern type transmissions. Your model has speed equipment, the intake was a cast aluminum or steel with a single carb, it would have had one oil bath air cleaner, and no finned heads like you have there.

[@brianpatrick8787]

Thank you the presenter made so many mistakes it was setting my teeth on edge.

[@christopherallen1138]

Cylinder walls are T H I C C

[@EvilMcSheep]

Leave

[@jameswade2002]

I've read that a Cadillac 346" flathead weighed 900lbs.

[@jonnyrox116]

There are water jackets all through the casting

[@brentboswell1294]

Ford's casting process on these engines was atrocious by modern standards. There were often hidden voids in the block. Hot rodders often found out about these voids by blowing up engine blocks. Nowadays, if you're building a flattie it's wise to x-ray the block and make sure that there's no hidden voids in the block.

[@alexhickey5633]

Its a liquid cooled engine so the cylinder walls appear to be thick af. Granted these engines did have thicker walls than is considered normal by todays standard

[@Visionery1]

This is basically an 8-cyl lawnmower engine.

[@nah6430]

Visionery1 no nono a lawn mower does not have 60 horsepower lol

[@jimmyers8114]

@@nah6430 it does if it has 8 cylinders.

[@tabbott429]

Never knew anything about flathead except they were in really old cars. Now I know the rest of the story. Thanks!

[@jamescutler8055]

This is one of the absolutely coolest looking motors for hot rodding. My father has built these with 300+ HP NA and over 500 with a blower (Offenhauser). Their sound is tremendous. If style matters these have that in spades.

[@cmcolfax1]

James Cutler how would you build one to those numbers? No, I'm not trying to do it, I'm just fascinated by the how?

[@GRIMEYtheFATMAN]

Same here...

[@radracer2033]

I'd love to be beating new cars with a 90 year old flathead

[@WhoThisGuy515]

Charles Colfax easy, with a lot of money. I believe the guy that holds the record for the fastest flathead powered car at the Salt Flats is making 800hp from his Flattie. However it's very uncommon (maybe the only one) for one to ever make that much.

[@importsstillsuck]

Runs on nitromethane

[@CliffWarren]

Great video and great model. I still have a flathead 4 cylinder in my Ford 8N tractor (1951 vintage). I love that thing, and it still runs great!

[@tiernanlmorgan]

There was a company called Funk that made a conversion to put the flathead V8 in the 8N There are a couple still around. It made those tractors a total hot rod. I like my 1954 Ford NAA tractor better though.

[@NeverforgetElvis]

What I'd give for a flat head 8 in my '25 Model T. As it is the flat 4 cranks out a neck snapping 24 hp. But the guy is correct about the low end torque being better in flatheads. So from zero to 10mph it is snappy, but from 10 to 40 is something altogether different and measured on a calendar not a clock. Top speed is 45ish, but I've only done that once and it's not comfortable.

[@AllenBruceRay]

It was often stated that the Ford Model T was "the fastest car on Earth for the first three feet." Low-end torque, indeed!

[@ChrisArkalis]

Awesome videos! Most informative channel on KZbin!

[@alexanderkasady6839]

You missed a major point- heat. Or rather the retention thereof. You see, the exhaust ports are long, real long, and they're in the cast iron block, leading to a real 'heat transfer' problem. The exhaust gas would transfer its heat to the cast iron exhaust runners faster than the cooling water in the block could carry it away, leading to the engine overheating, especially under high rpm or high load conditions (think 'racing') or a long up-hill grade in a truck application on a hot summer day and hauling a heavy load. Heck, even the family sedan would have to pull over and be allowed to cool while climbing a mountain road. An overhead valve engine's exhaust runners are in the heads and are a lot shorter, so the heat transfer and heat capture problem were largely solved. However, the 'flat head' engine's design had its' good points, such as being a very compact design relative to power output, and you were right, cheap to make. It put a lot of torque in the cars of a lot of working class drivers, but you forgot to mention why Ford's engineers felt compelled to build it in the first place- the success of Chevrolet's six-cylinder engine while Ford was only offering fours. The horsepower race really started in the 1920's.

[@robertbusack2100]

Amen brother Home run!!!

[@audvidgeek]

I've always wondered if there was anybody that "reversed" these flathead engines...IE had the intake on the OUTSIDE of the cylinder bank V (where the exhaust currently is) and have the exhaust on the inside of the "V" This would shorten the exhaust runner, so it's not going through the water jacket, and also could move the intake to the outside. The water jacket could give some heat to the engine for mixing in cool weather (like a thermac on an OHV air cleaner)

[@thomasbailey9605]

he's just repeating what the text book told him.

[@psk1w1]

@@audvidgeek A hot-V sounds like a really good idea to try. The valves were all the same size. A lovely bunch of bananas exhaust manifold could be made. I think it would need two downdraft carburettors

[@janlabij7302]

A fascinating explanation, only problem is most of it is not true. I've had three of them, two in cars and one in a pickup. All three of them were the 239 cu inch V-8. None of them overheated on me, and that included on route 66 across the Mojave Desert in the summertime, 95-100f heat. The vapor lock problem was because the fuel pump was originally mounted on top of the intake manifold. 1949 and later engines had the fuel pump located in the lower right hand side of the crankcase, which stopped the vapor lock problem. On the earlier engines people used to carry a bottle of water to pour over the fuel pump if they had a vapor lock problem. Until 1950 the gas available was not high enough octane to permit high compression ratios.

[@jonathankeith524]

He’s 65, guys. He shook Tom Cruise’s hand once. (The secret to eternal youth.)

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Finally a flat head video! I’ve been waiting for this for a long time!

[@LarryReynolds591]

LOL! Born in 1953. Love it.

[@yolbulucu]

is he ok now ?

[@m7machines738]

Glad he’s ok now lol

[@barrystein8834]

i have a hot rodded flathead. It's bored/stroked to a 296 cu in, 3 carburators, highest cam lift you can easily put in the block. Teh C/R is about 9.2. It get's to about 240 HP. Next steps up would be a supercharger, but you'd have to do things like girdle the Main engine bearings (only 3 of them!). All in all, I think I[m pretty much at the easy limit for the design. The engine runs great, and sound even better.

[@finngurgens3264]

Cool, would people wanna see a similar episode on the *VW air -cooled engine* ???

[@saucyvinnie3812]

Honestly one of the only engines as profoundly impactful as the flathead or SBC! Those little flat-4's opened up a world of performance. Look at the VW's great great grandson, the Porsche GT2 RS, less than 4 liters and over 700 horsepower!

[@saucyvinnie3812]

I wish Porsche would defy all laws and logic and make another aircooled flat 6 or flat 4.

[@RedfishCarolina]

Not really

[@nuvey7939]

Love that engine, and it’s one of the best sounding engines ever. But it did perform exactly like a 30s engine would.

[@Codethe_Road]

It is amazing how many times I tell KZbin I don't want to see this guys videos... but-- it keeps popping up in my feed.. and I keep clicking on them, because he talks about the coolest things ever.

[@ColCurtis]

The engine has many more issues, including having only 3 main bearings, poor cylinder cooling due to exhaust porting around the cylinder, and lack of full flow oil filter.

[@olliehopnoodle4628]

The first thing I thought when I saw how the exhaust was routed around the pistons. Must have been a bear to keep cool.

[@pmvaldez1]

Ollie Hopnoodle overheating was a big issue with the flat head.

[@olliehopnoodle4628]

Now that I see how they were set up I can understand why! You have to love the original hot rodders who did what they could with these old engines. They helped create the American car culture.

[@ellieprice3396]

Ford V 8 flat-heads had two water pumps, two upper hoses , two lower hoses, 22 quart radiators and still ran hot. The center exhausts ports were routed through the water jackets in the heads, preheating the coolant even at idle. They were bears to cool but very good reliable engines in their day. Racers often removed every other vane in the water pumps to slow down water flow for better cooling.

[@tacomas9602]

Harry Buttwhisker this thing became in the first half of the 20th century. I think it did EXCELLENT. all these little quirks are easily modified.

[@situationmoney]

AMC was still using a flathead six cylinder engine in some of its models till around 1964...

[@bwtv147]

They outstalled Chrysler. Mopar was still selling flathead 6's in 1958.

[@Greatdome99]

I learned to drive a '53 Plymouth with a flathead six/"three on tree." I was born in 1947 (before Truman was elected). I swear--and I look it.

[@rickj6048]

I am very impressed with the knowledge that this "old man" possesses and imparts to us all. The one thing I dispute in this video is his explanation of a portion of the intake mixture having to travel over the valve. I don't know how much clearance there is between the fully open valve and the surface of the cylinder head but I assume it is small. The fuel/air entering the combustion chamber from the backside would seem to be sucked around the valve stem which would not impede the flow too much. The air not really changing direction like he claimed. In an overhead valve design all the intake flow has to go over the body of the valve and the exhaust flow is somewhat impeded by the entire valve as it exits. I'm a big fan tho and not trying to disrespect.

[@aceroadholder2185]

Compression ratios back in the day were so low because the gasoline octane was in the 60's...and that was on a good day. Indy race engines in the 30's were making nearly 100bhp/liter on methanol.

[@alexanderkasady6839]

Aceroadholder- That's true, but only tells part of the story. The part not mentioned here is the space between the valves and the combustion chamber roof above them. That's 'dead space', power-wise, as combustion taking place here shoves both ways: against the valve crowns and against the chamber roof, totally wasting energy and creating stresses where they don't need to be. In an OHV engine, combustion forces ALL act against the piston crown, being trapped by the chamber roof in the head. This allows an OHV engine to be much more efficient at harnessing combustion energy and making horsepower.

[@chrisstika8658]

“They didn’t even have computers “ . 😂😂 It’s a wonder we could build anything .

[@allwinds3786]

Henry was very secretive about the design and development of the V8. He sequestered the engineers in Edison's Lab he had moved to Dearborn a few years earlier.

[@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts]

You actually had to be good at your job. There was no room for quota hires

[@frankeggers4024]

They used slide rules in those days. I still have one and know how to use it.

[@C_71]

The car didn't have computers!🤦🏼‍♂️

[@sre331l]

@@frankeggers4024 I bet you couldn’t explain napierian logs to a snowflake.

[@thebeastfromthesoutheast7765]

I must say man out of all the videos and i mean all the videos of teaching engineering ive found yours the most interesting and indepth and straight to the point of the video which is bloody useful. Great work👍

[@McCuneWindandSolar]

then Briggs and striation took over, LOL looks like lawmow motor when you take the head off. my old ford tractor is a flat head strait 4.

[@liljohnp132]

V8 Briggs+Stratton= Badass Lawnmower

[@Boris_1421]

Liljohn P lol

[@JH-tk6ge]

haha, you're right

[@onetonf350]

When people see my 53 flathead i tell them that it’s like 8 Briggs lawnmowers hooked together except not as powerful. Unfortunate but true.

[@herbbowler2461]

Both Chrysler and GM made flatheads. They were in line 6 cylinders. The last ones in 1953.

[@bigfoottoo2841]

I was born on January 30th, 1953, and I havent looked like this guy for about 40 years now. Back then I was a disco king.

[@therustgiant1925]

I'm not quite sure how I made the connection, but your amazing explanation and equally amazing use of the model lead me to realize the purpose of a rocker as well as how it works

[@AnthonySvt_]

Ford should bring this back just for the shits and giggles

[@V8_screw_electric_cars]

They brought ecoboost for shits and giggles.

[@Dongzzzzzz]

@@V8_screw_electric_cars they borrowed it from the mazdaspeed

[@AfterDark33]

Dat Boii I would imagine a modern flathead would make significantly more power. This isn’t the 70s anymore, engines are no longer significantly restricted by emissions equipment. HP/liter is almost double what it was in the pre emissions era, even excluding turbocharged engines. Plus emissions equipment keeps our air clean. You would *not* want to live in LA in the 60s. Smog was not good.

[@redneckwithajeep5001]

AfterDark3 engines are still very restricted by emissions actually. Modern technology has just allowed us to have the kind of power we do despite that fact

[@Industry-insider]

They would make it a v6 because they turned gay

[@roadmaster720]

engineering explained ++++ good video on the ford flathead. the flathead died 1 year before i was born in 1955. i remember the old fords that had those flatheads. i have always been interested in the ford flathead. your video is factual and great.

[@lawyers9]

My family had a 1953 Ford Customline four door with a flathead V-8. It had three on the tree with overdrive. It didn’t have a lot of power, but was a reliable car. I learned to drive it when I was eleven years old. Still have some fond memories of it. 😃

[@ShainAndrews]

I disagree. Emissions mandates drove it out of production. Being made of plastic may have contributed as well... lots of emissions...

[@brynclarke1746]

I thought no-one in the US gave a toss about emissions until the 70s?

[@pmvaldez1]

Bryn Clarke 1968 started the downward spiral

[@joshm3899]

i don't think i ever saw a flathead for that didn't smoke or overheat. the exhaust had to go through the block to the exhaust ports adding to the heat load from the cylinders, a long distance. modern engines get that heat out of the engine as fast as possible. flatheads were often hard starting once they warmed up. they had skinny little connecting rods and poor bearings. early engines had full floating bearings instead of the more modern inserts. the valves were very hard to adjust being placed deep inside the engine with no adjustments but you could get adjustable lifters. all in all, many of the design problems were caused by a stubborn henry ford who believe he knew best.

[@dr666demento]

It wasn't emissions, the flathead ended in '53, the first emission controls of any kind didn't start appearing until 10 years later. Also he mentioned the compression ratio of 5:1, was because most gasoline was unleaded (though ''ethel'' lead started appearing in the 30's) but refined to a low octane - just like Coleman ''white'' gasoline for camp stoves and lanterns. Modern engines have at least an 8:1 compression ratio.

[@Bartonovich52]

The Hippies hadn’t invented pollution yet. It was simply a technological dead end.

[@N3PRO-Dave]

Loving the 3D printed examples. Great to visualize. Not sure the cost but awesome addition.

[@Candoit2]

I had a 1950 Ford. My dad bought it for me for $130.00 in 1958 and I drove it back from NJ to South Carolina. The engine was a Flathead V-8 with 100hp. Easy to work on even for a teenager. Under the hood all the room in the world to access everything! Fine little engine! I would like to see Ford bring something similar back.....those good old days are gone forever ☺☺

[@twistedyogert]

One thing you didn't mention was that cooling the engine was also difficult because the hot exhaust gases would have to pass through the block before exiting through the exhaust manifold. Apparently they were notorious for cracking blocks if the cooling system was overtaxed.

[@penguinsscareme]

Plus the middle two cylinders sharing an exhaust port made it very, very hot.

[@unstablebobgable]

Fascinating video. I'd like to build a traditional flat head powered hot rod some day.

[@sexybeast6567]

Back in the early eighties I bought an old 1952 Ford pickup that had a 238 v8 flathead in it and a three on the tree...all original, un- restored. That old truck would snap your head back into the rear window through all three gears...the only problem was that it was a divided block and thus had TWO water pumps...even in the eighties it took me a couple months to find two water pumps for it. Hell of an engine though.

[@sfcretired1166]

Funny that some of the old hotrodders could coax a helluva lot of horses out of those flathead engines. I believe the max was 400 hp with aftermarket Ardun heads.

[@mfree80286]

"aftermarket Ardun heads"... you mean the Ardun OHV conversion heads?

[@Jack29151]

400HP max? people have put blowers on those and got alot more...the limit is how much money you got to sink into it. literally the sole reason Ford canned those was uncorrectable overheating issues. if built right, a Ford flathead is a tire frying screamer to beat all. Hot rodders love those because they're so easy to work on.

[@partymanau]

Beautiful, simple and magic sounding engine.

[@sue08401]

A point missed was the quality of gas available. Really up until the mid 1950's the quality of gas was the main limiting factor to compression ratios. There were no computers that could rapidly adjust engine setting to compensate for fuel quality like today Back when the Flathead first came out 70 octane was considered aviation gasoline. Today 87 octane is the low number.

[@ivanloar7846]

Ask John Dillinger...he loved em. Out ran everything in it's day. For the common mass produced car.

[@craiga2002]

Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde fame sent Henry Ford a fan letter on that same subject. Nasty duo.

[@viduranisal]

'53 is the new '89 😉 Good one Jason!

[@johna7661]

Good video. Ford flatheads are great to use but a defect in design came in ‘52 when they changed how it cooled. The water spigots on the heads were changed from the middle of the head to the front. This caused the block to crack in the middle . One in a thousand old style cracked. One in a thousand new style didn’t crack. If you are going to use one, ensure you get the old style with the spigots in the center of the head.

[@rolandotillit2867]

the 2 valves and piston looks very surprised

[@jacobenglish5940]

Rolando Tillit :O

[@jasonmurawski126]

R/surprised_objects

[@rafee9442]

r/surprised_objects

[@dougankrum3328]

Nice explanation, but how about a little about the exhaust having to flow through the block....?? When I was a kid, we had a '53 Mercury, flathead V-8...my Dad used it to pull a piano trailer...thing ran hot and vapor-lock was a real common problem (even without the trailer).

[@psk1w1]

If they had put the exhaust ports and manifold in the centre of the V, it would have made the block smaller. The exhaust gases would have had an easier exit, and avoided the long contact between block and gases, causing all that heating.

[@mfree80286]

@@psk1w1 That was a 'common' alteration for racing where endurance mattered, the problem is that engine bays of street cars at the time were rather narrow and the need to have the carburetion outboard of the bock sides meant it wouldn't fit anything not custom made for it.

[@psk1w1]

@@mfree80286 It would not be that difficult to fabricate an inverted-Y shaped manifold for a down-draft carburetor. It would be no wider than the standard exhaust manifold

[@nishanttaneja8115]

Man never knew you were that old. Great keep up the good work.

[@lQuadXl]

Wow, didn't know they had *plastic flathead v8s in the 1930's*

[@robertbusack2100]

HHHAAHHAA lol

[@marleythechameleonandherbi2724]

Had to back up the video and hear again - You were born in 1953?

[@jewishman2687]

Loved the flat-heads. Smoother and quieter than the overheads, and they used less gas.

[@CrazyKosai]

loving these 3d printed mini-models

[@viewfromtheroad2656]

"She`s ported and relieved and she`s stroked and bored."

[@stevecallachor]

Your little deuce coupe????

[@williamcox5216]

I DOUBT YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT PORTED, RELIEVED, STROKED AND BORED ENTAILS

[@jeffstorey9147]

William Cox okay Boomer.

[@calvinnickel9995]

@ William Cox Stop yelling, boomer. And thanks to the internet we know more about your era than you do. ;)

[@mortensen1961]

@@stevecallachor: You don't know what I got. . . .

[@joemiller6278]

As a 3d printer owner I'd say that was an exciting 3 months that it took to print all those parts!

[@rolandotillit2867]

Swirling actually helps mixing, you know this.

[@bcubed72]

Swirl, yes. Flow reversal, no.

[@rolandotillit2867]

Syphons, your toilet, and most plumbing disagrees. Most engine exhaust ports are at least 60 degrees, and the turn on the exhaust manifold primaries while also for packaging reasons, also serve to aid exhaust gas scavenging.

[@DrewLSsix]

Rolando Tillit. Seriously? Toilet plumbing is not a high performance area. Please read a book on the subject...

[@rolandotillit2867]

Standard youtube comment, ignorantly insulting someone while assuming superior knowledge. I can't help but laugh, maybe when you're older and actually build an engine you can tell me snide condescending remarks which contribute nothing. At least you'd have accomplished something excusing your current behavior. Until then I suggest you read Phillip Hubert Smith and learn before you make baseless youtube comments that lower the braincells of those reading.

[@craigewing3054]

The through-block exhaust passages must be interesting

[@tcmits3699]

Should've made exhaust manifold the intake and the intake the exhaust manifold

[@rs6383]

My Dad bought a 48' Ford coupe with a flathead v8 in 69' still has it & drives it in the summer . Cool old school Hot rod.

[@MyPandaRawrs]

They better have a 3D printed Rotary