Today's score for my Av8

I got all this stuff less that 10 minutes from my house. I haven't ran any numbers yet, so I'm going by what I'm told. The engine is a '47 59a-b truck motor. No visible cracks. The top loader with the swan neck shifter is a '39 filled with zephyr gears. I don't know what the second top loader is. Then theres the boxes of spare parts. I think I counted 5 complete fans, about 10 water pumps, ect...

I'm totally new to flathead fords. I'll be using the search function pretty heavy the next few months...

pics..

 

great score!!!good luck with your build...

 

OH, Nice batch of parts. It looks like you did good on that one.

 

Your engine is an 8BA not a 59AB but the heads and intake are 59AB.

 

Dug, how can you tell? Whats the distinguishing characteristics?

 

The distributor housing for one and it appears to not have a cast on bellhousing. 59A all had a crab style distributor on the front. Yours has the tubr style that takes a conventional distributor.

 

Nice haul!

To be fair, the timing covers do interchange with a cam/waterpump swap. They often were swapped to fit different chassis or to run a mag, etc...

Like flatford says, 8ba/8rt blocks don't have the cast-in bellhousing like the 59a and earlier blocks and thus require a factory adaptor to run the early transmissions like you've got there.

 

The block looks like someone ported (relieved) the block

 

I see adjustable lifters in there too.

 

yup...

 

Not sure if you know but if its a 59AB block don't hang it off an engine stand like you would an OHV motor. If its an 8BA block with no partial intergral bell housing you can hook it up to an engine stand like you would any other motor. If its a 59AB motor you'll need to buy or build an adaptor that bolts to the exhaust manifold bolts. Not to hard to fabricate or the adaptor is available from several sources. Good luck. Flatties are addicting.

Tim

 

While you've got the heads off there, measure the stroke and see if it's got a merc crank.

 

With the double wide belt crank pulley, it might just be a 49-50 Merc engine.
Good for you.

 

Sorry for the crappy pic guys, I was in a hurry to unload cuz the wifey wanted me home. It does have the cast in bell housing. It also has the 59 cast into the top. So me thinks its a 59a-b like the heads say.

Yes, I'll be building a special flathead style mount for my engine stand.

I noticed the adjustable lifters too, there are some parts missing in there.

Also, this came with another plate to run the crab style dizzy.

 

Remember that F1 I sold ya that had the 8CM in it. I had that sucker running before I pulled it. It sat in the corner for a few months, then I sold it to another HAMBer. That was a pretty dumb thing to do.

What are the specs on 59's? Are they a good motor to build? I can't seem to find a whole lot of info on them.

 

What are the specs on 59's? Are they a good motor to build? I can't seem to find a whole lot of info on them.[/QUOTE]


The 59 blocks were the first blocks produced after, (actually developed during) WW II. They went into '46-'48 vehicles. 3-3/16 bore by 3-3/4 stroke, 239 cubic inches stock. A '49 Merc crank is a drop in for 255 inches at stock bore and the engine can safely be bored to 3-5/16 for 276 inches with the 4 inch crank, many have bored them further with success. It is the engine that made the reputations of many of the aftermarket producers today, Edelbrock, Weiand, Isky, Hillborn, Scheifer, Weber, and many others made their name procuding equipment for these engines. 8BA engines seem to be in favor today but 59's have always been my favorite.

 

Do you think this could have an aftermarket cam?

I hate not knowing the history of these parts. The guy I bought it from got this in a package deal when he bought out another guys flathead stock. He gave me my choice of 3 engines. The only reason I chose this one is because it was still mostly together.

The '39 tranny and zephyrs came out of a local guys '40 ford that was powered by a 283. He still has the adapter hanging on his wall. This thing has been sitting for quite a while.

 

Why can't you hang a 59a off a engine stand? Chris

 

From what I've read you can hang it from the bell housing just like you would hang a SBC. BUT this puts alot of strain on the bell and could destroy it. So they hang these from the exhaust manifold holes. When I first saw that I was dumbfounded.


By the way, I JUST measured the stroke and it is 4 inches. Holy fuckin shit Batman!

 

Notice where the radiator hose connects on the heads : '49 and newer were bolt on thermostat housings at the front of the head. Looks like it's early '49 or older.

 

Damn bro, looks like the score may be even better than first thought. I feel so bad about destroying all those great 39 boxes in my Merc flattie powered 46 Ford sedan, guess those 8:20 x 15 Goodyear Double Eagle rear tires were for looks only! Bet o luck on this cool build. ~sololobo~

 

Pull the timing cover. Most (read not all) aftermarket cams will be stamped on the snout. Regardless, it either has an 8BA-style cam or a bolt on dizzy drive gear in order to run that type of dizzy.

Also, does it have the 1/2 of the bell cast into the block? Can't tell from the pictures. I'm assuming it does for it looks like it has a 59-AB style pan. It looks like it was a 2 piece truck pan that someone welded together.

Also, the coolant passages don't look 8BA-ish. the corners are enlongated and not circles.

Every other part (heads, timing cover, water pumps) can be swapped.

Looks like a 59AB to me.

 

7:10-16s for me please. I'd rather leave a burnout that looks like it was made by a motorcycle than gernade my driveline.

I'm gonna pull the dizzy cover on my lunch break.

 

The biggest spec to concern yourself with these boxes is end lash. What blows these transmissions up is when someone "gets on it", the gears mesh hard. If there is too much end play fore or aft, the meshing with too much slop will literally allow the gears to buckle in on themselves.

If you can get it rolling first, that helps take a lot of stress off the gears.

 

that block was relieved and it isn't a factory machine cut one either! Nice hand work there. with all the other effort into that engine i'm betting you got a nice cam in there. did you check the bore?? are the pistons stamped with any numbers?? .030 or .060 .125!!! pull the exhaust manifolds and check for porting there to. easy to see if they smooth out the ports on the end two ports. check the intake ports to see if the factory tool marks have been ground out, easiest way to check for intake portwork.

also, the trans without the shifter on it looks like it has a good possiblilty of being the good shift tower and gear set. that screw on the side of the shift tower is the "large" size and if it has a match on the other side chances are good it has the 3" fork inside it. also, the trans mount is a 32 mount. later trans (looks like a 78 case to me) with an early mount usually means hot rod which usually means the better gear set (possibly even another lincoln set) I'd be opening both trannies to double check the gears. it's easy to count the teeth on the gears to know exactly what gear set you have.

 

there should be no if in that statement! ALWAYS load the box before hammer down. no speed shifting. play nice. it's too expensive these days to swap out 39 trannies no matter how simple they are to build....

 

NICE!!

I think there's a good chance it's got a hotter cam in it due to the 4" stroke, the relieved block, and the adjustable lifters. All signs so far point to it being an old hot rod engine. Also, it most likely doesn't have the stock cam that came with it with the late timing cover on there. Pop that sumbitch off there and have a look!

 

I agree.

 

Measure the bore, too.

Sure it`s a great engine to build !!!!!!!!

Maybe just new bearings , hone it and rings!!

 

I pulled the cover, the bolts were only finger tight. It is the later style cam to match the distributor, no adapter. The only thing I could see on the end of the cam was a timing mark, and a hexagon with the number 1 inside.

How cool would it be if this was bored 3/16 over. No legible numbers on the piston heads, I'll have to clean them up a bit.