Projects High compression heads worth it?

My only transportation at the moment is the bus haha

 

I can't afford 3 carbs or the increased fuel consumption that comes with it which is why I'm limiting myself to 2

 

Brakes are fine the fronts are 98 Chevy discs for some reason

Man that's lucky my great uncle had a 1953 Chevrolet 150 he had a 2 carb setup on it but he dropped the clutch one day and couldn't afford to fix it so it went under a tarp until 1963 when he was a grown man and he had enough to fix it but he changed his mind and scrapped it and got a rambler instead or so the story goes

 

I have one of those home made carb spacers but a few people told me they don't really do anything

 

What do you mean reading old JC Whitney catalogs? I'm assuming you don't believe what I said? Come on over and I'll give you a ride.

I've read John's book numerous times. I've also talked to many tired and true flathead guys and got their opinions as well.

To be clear, I am talking about a from scratch build. I agree added parts to a worn out motor is not going to amount too much.

If you are saying on a fresh build that you can't get incremental horse power gains with each different steps, prep and/or additions., then we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

You didn’t mention marketing RPM the numbers came from.

 

Sounds like a compression test and a leakdown test is in order. Any engine performance modifications will be a waste of time if there are problems to start with.

You need to understand that engine performance upgrades are a package deal kind of thing. Just doing one thing, like high comp heads, will not yield any great increase unless combined with other things. Everything compliments and benefits from each other (air flow, carbing, intake, porting and valve size, compression, timing, cam, spark, exhaust flow). All these things need to be matched and working in unison to get the performance level you are after. Otherwise, you are sort of wasting time and money, and are better off staying stock or mild.

A properly running and tuned engine should not use substantially more or less fuel no matter how many carbs it has. If you are worried about using extra fuel, you should probably steer clear of performance modifications of any kind. Gaining power is done in two ways - burning fuel more efficiently, and burning more fuel. You can't get lots more power without using more fuel..........

 

You can, but they generally work best as a matched package. Things can sort of feed off each other, and the overall gain can be more than the sum of the individual steps. To get the most, you need to do everything and have everything compatible and matched.

 

There's a tiny exhaust pipe near where the transmission and the motor meet some smoke comes out of it, at first I thought it was just a seal leaking or some but it's a whole extra pipe?

 

Road draft tube?

 

In older engines, the crankcase fumes are expelled through the "road draft tube"....... If there is smoke coming out, it can mean that that your rings are allowing blow-by.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/smoke-coming-out-of-road-draft-tube-help.664950/

 

100 LBS is worth a tenth of a second, the best way to save 100 LBS is to save 1,600 ounces.

 

Agree 100%. A rebuild needs to be the sum of all parts and intended outcomes. Just adding parts will more than likely not get you to where you'd like to be.

I am guilty of not reading the original post. After reading it, I would agree that aluminum, heads may be jumping the gun if performance is the end goal.

More diagnostics are needed, but it sounds like the OP's motor is a tad tired.

 

Or have the driver lose a few lb's. LOL!

 

I think a lot of us were guilty of the "just bolt shit on" approach to performance when we were young. I know I was.
A mismatched shemozzle of stuff can actually lose power.
Little by little we learn that there is a lot more to it than that...... Well, most of us do.

 

Years ago, when I worked in a parts store, I spent more time talking people OUT of buying a wild cam for their otherwise stock engine than into it.

 

Don't know about how well these usually do, but you may find bigger improvements of both performance and economy by working ion the transmission rather than the engine. Maybe a 4-speed with closer gear ratio and a total gear ratio that gives you a more suitable rpm going down modern roads at higher speeds. Might not look fancy or sound cool, but sometimes that kind of changes can be far more useful than the things people think about first.

 

Fact is for a street car a stock 8ba cam is pretty damn good. Good low end torque and pulls well for what the engine is. When you start swapping cams you sacrifice low torque with these engines. This is often remedied with higher compression. The Flathesd Facts book discusses this balance of high end up increase vs low end torque loss at length.
But what young gearhead hasnt longed for the lump of a radical cam haha

 

Maybe, I didn't know it had one I never saw them on diagrams or anything

 

That's what I was worried about with the piston rings that's going to be a pain in the ass. Also smokes out of the oil fill breather

 

Haha. So true. To get to topic, if the OP slaps a pair of heads on his engine, I seriously doubt he will realize any increase.

Careful planning and matching of all components is essential to achieve your end goal. For example: I think I spent 20-30 hours measuring and porting the intake and exhaust ports. All intakes and exhaust ports match, etc. Using 1.75" pipe for headers knowing I was opening up the exhaust ports to gasket size. The list goes on and on of what you need to be thinking about when planning a build.

I messed around with stockers, but I was 48 when I built my big bore flathead. I would watch parts ads and jump on good deals for parts I wanted for about 10 years.

I knew what type of motor I wanted and waited until I had the time and money to make it happen. Thanks to Ronnie Roadster who did the build, the motor exceeded my expectations.

My dad, who is an old flathead guy, still jumps when I start it up in the garage. Hit the switch and the motor just snaps to life.

When I say I talked to a lot of flathead guys, I mean a lot. Two of these guys included Barney Navarro and Bill Jenks. We are fortunate to have some HAMB members who are the real deal as well and have built more flatheads than I could even dream about.

Bill is the one who convinced me to run the Potvin 3/8ths cam. Didn't hurt he ground the cams at Moon at the time. LOL!

 

Yeah I just meant for the future I was gonna get them not for immediate use. 72 years without a rebuild is a long time. Also the guy I bought it from lied a lot about the car which was lame. But yeah ids only had 4 owners, some guy In Ohio owned it first it was green, then some other guy had it from the 60's to the 80's apparently then a tattoo artist owned it from the 90's to 2003, he did the flat black paint, it was previously red with red tint in all the windows, that's why the skirts are still red and the rear tint but I think that looks nice. He also added the custom upholstery. Then the guy I bought it from bought it and added a home made battery tray and radiator overflow tube and a firewall mount vacuum gauge. And then it sat in his garage for 13 years with 484 miles it being driven, (he would later tell me it broke down all the time, of course after I bought the car) and that's all she wrote.

 

Time for a new plan. Put your money into a good stock/mild full rebuild. If your engine is tired, this will give you more extra power than you probably think.....

 

Ha ha yeah I guess so. I was trying to stick to bolt on stuff because I don't have a lot of resources I don't have a garage either but my mom knows some guys who work on classic cars so if the car will heave itself over to their shop everything will be fine that's my current plan

 

How the hell am I supposed to change the transmission in the street

 

Most people that are chasing more horsepower don't even realize that it is usually more torque that will actually make them happy. Horsepower happens too high in the rev range for it to benefit most of us. Torque is what will set you back in your seat and get you to the next stop light quicker........ Torque is the fun bit.

 

Rex Jolles:

Are you able to get compression readings on your motor? I think getting a sense of the health of your motor will help give you the best advice. I don't mean to sound cold, but from you describe, you may benefit from rebuilding it before you do anything else to it.

 

You know, I believe you are doing this beginning Hot Rodder a big disservice. From your posts, I have to assume (there's that word again) that you are older, more experienced, and have a lot more money than the original poster. A 292 ci Flathead means that you are really into this.

This is a kid on a limited budget trying to get a basically stock flathead in a '50 Ford performing the best he can. I think that is an admirable goal, and I am with him all the way. We all started where he is now, and some of us (including you), have come to the top levels of the hobby.

Let's give him the advice he needs NOW, not down the road when he's really into this and doesn't need it.

 

If it needs a rebuild I might as well sell it there's no way I can rebuild it myself and I can't afford a rebuild, but it's safe to say the previous owners cared mostly about the cosmetics of the car.

I do have a vacuum compression gauge my dad got me for Christmas last year

 

That flatty isn’t cheap to build. (Compared to the alternative/HP it makes) but they are cool.
And there’s enough info here and elsewhere for you to pull it off.
In the middle of a 4cyl flatty now. The worst part I have run into is a shop to do the valve seats. My local shop won’t touch it but I think I’ve found a shop that will do em.
This old car stuff is fun. But can be tough by yourself.
But Id do a comp and vacuum test before anything