OLD FORDS

[DAKA]

Not that I am buying any old cars, but I do like to watch the auctions

It seems that a lot of the old FORD cars have had CHEV ENGINES installed    Hmmm    Why is that    

[minderasr]

Cheaper parts.

[minervadoe]

1 hour ago, minderasr said:

Cheaper parts.

 This. 

Try sourcing a set of high performance heads for a Ford of that era.  You will have to purchase aftermarket parts and have the know how to install them yourself.

Chevrolet not only manufactures quality high performance parts, but many of their engines are supplied complete with them.

Any high performance Ford of that era will likely be a Cobra Jet or similar high demand, high dollar unit.

Ironically, today's four cylinder Mustangs will do zero to sixty faster than a 60's / 70's Boss 302 Mustang.   Just sayin'

Even the mid 80's five liter Fox body Mustangs had Ford's tiny exhaust ports which killed performance over 4,800 RPMs.  That's why my 85 has a set of World Products Windsor Junior heads installed. 

[Borg warner]

4 hours ago, DAKA said:

Not that I am buying any old cars, but I do like to watch the auctions

It seems that a lot of the old FORD cars have had CHEV ENGINES installed    Hmmm    Why is that    

That's because a Chevy 350 engine with a Chevy 350 transmission is like like a ready-made module that is installed in older cars and there is a lot of aftermarket support for such installations.

Every time I see a nice old ford with a 350/350 chevy installed I have two thoughts: One, That is just WRONG. And two, I'm  really bored with this car. Why not put a nice ord Small block in that car? (Available in displacements of up to 427 cubic inches) or a big block 460 if you really want power? And some of those small block Cobra engine had 4 weber carbs with 8 velocity stacks and looked really cool

Otherwise even non-chevy hot rods with anything but chevy engines are a lot more interesting with something like a Nailhead Buick or a 392 Hemi in them and were common in real 50's hot rods. And old Pontiacs and 1930's Oldsmobile's need to have the appropriate engines in them. back in the 50's, Olds 303's and Nailhead Buicks were popular replacements for Flathead Ford engines. and later versions of the Oldsmobile and the Buick engines were availble in larger cubic displacements.

[Borg warner]

8 hours ago, minderasr said:

Cheaper parts.

But then again I see a quite a number of old Hotrods with big block Chevys and LT1 Chevy engines that cost many thousands of dollars and parts for those engines are a lot more than anything for a small block so it's not always a matter of cost,but thankfully we still have a solid middle class in this country that can afford to do spend that kind of money.

And while parts are definitely more expensive for Buick, Olds, Pontiac and Mopar compared to SBC, prices and availability for small block Fords are not a whole lot more. And if you're into building cars just as a hobby you can expect to spend a lot of money.

It's actually better, if you want a hot rod, to shop around and find one that you like that someone else has built, and then have them sell it to you for a lot less money than they put into it,  Because a lot of the money you put into building your dream car, you will never get back no matter how much you saved by using the cheapest engine available.

[GT4494]

I always attributed it to laziness..  Anyone can make HP with a small block chevy,  It takes a master to get the power out of a small block Ford.. 

[Fog]

It's only done by chevy fans that are forced to admit that old chevy's are ugly. They feel that if they put a chevy engine in a nice looking Ford they might somehow still get into gearhead heaven.

[DAKA]

1 hour ago, GT4494 said:

I always attributed it to laziness..  Anyone can make HP with a small block chevy, ****** It takes a master to get the power out of a small block Ford.. 

***** why bother ?

[GT4494]

for the same reason i'm in the process of building a 40hp flathead four into a 120-150 hp terror...  Cause I can.  LOL

[railfancwb]

30 minutes ago, GT4494 said:

for the same reason i'm in the process of building a 40hp flathead four into a 120-150 hp terror...  Cause I can.  LOL

Remember reading of at least one slingshot dragster based around an OHV Buick straight eight. 

[Borg warner]

2 hours ago, GT4494 said:

I always attributed it to laziness..  Anyone can make HP with a small block chevy,  It takes a master to get the power out of a small block Ford.. 

"It takes a master to get the power out of a small block Ford..  "

No it doesn't  Here's a video where they get 400 horsepower out of a 302 without trick heads and just normal modifications with over the counter parts. They consider it a "Budget Build" and they also show a previous project where they took a 400 small block and used a stroker crank to increase the displacement to 427. You can do this with a Chevy, too, but Chevy's 400 has Siamesed cylinders which can cause problems and you can't overbore beyond .030.

 

[GT4494]

and at about the 500hp mark a small block ford will split the block at the centerline. 

To go big cubic inches you need to start with the 351 block.  Then it has a height issue. when you bore it for a crank kit you have to notch the block for clearance and simple things ;like that.

Its not like putting a 283 crank in a 350 block or a 350 crank in a 283 block.  Its not that simple.    

[railfancwb]

If memory serves, for a brief period so-called “Outlaw Sprint Cars” used Offy 4’s and Ford flat head V-8s and small block Chevy C-8s and all were competitive. 

[Borg warner]

21 hours ago, GT4494 said:

for the same reason i'm in the process of building a 40hp flathead four into a 120-150 hp terror...  Cause I can.  LOL

Flatheads respond very well to supercharging. Forced induction helps overcome the limitations of the restrictive intake and exhaust ports. My brother found an unused flathead Chrysler marine industrial engine in a crate for sale online and put it in his 49 Dodge. He bought an after market intake manifold for it and put on dual carbs and figured out how to synchronize them and it ran really nice. it had teh perfect power to weight ratio for that car. Nothing really extra, just right. He was thinking about getting a turbocharger from a junkyard and plumbing it up to give it more power,  but he never did. He likes flatheads and has a 1936 Harley Flathead 74.

There are supercharger kits available for ford flatheads but theyaren't cheap.There's an old saying in the world of hot rodding. "How fast you want to go depends on how much money you want to spend" Prices for the roadrunner kits run from 3 to $4000.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/joe-abbin-flathead-supercharger-kits-being-reproduced.1208788/

http://www.roadrunnerengineering.com/

[GT4494]

The plan is to use a Riley 2 port (2 intake valves per cylinder) along with a pair of Stromberg 81s...  This is on top of a fully balanced "Modern" Model A block.  Should be fun!!

[Borg warner]

19 minutes ago, GT4494 said:

The plan is to use a Riley 2 port (2 intake valves per cylinder) along with a pair of Stromberg 81s...  This is on top of a fully balanced "Modern" Model A block.  Should be fun!!

That's a little different from a Flathead V8. For the V8's they have the Ardun overhead valve conversions but those are pretty complicated. Seems like you can modify the 4 cylinder for less money. What kind of car are you putting it in?

[GT4494]

Right now I am collecting parts, I have the engine that I am building and  bare 28/29 chassis and am contemplating a speedster or a roadster pickup.  It will NOT be a "RatRod".  I personally don't have a spot in my heart for them.

[Borg warner]

16 minutes ago, GT4494 said:

Right now I am collecting parts, I have the engine that I am building and  bare 28/29 chassis and am contemplating a speedster or a roadster pickup.  It will NOT be a "RatRod".  I personally don't have a spot in my heart for them.

Ilike teh speedsters, don't like the rat rods so much.  A Speedster on a 28/29 chassis will have agood power to weight ratio with the engine you're building. Truly a great project!