How can I identify what year and model car my flathead came out of. I was thinking my 49' truck had the original engine until I examined the oil pan and it looks like one they used in a car, not truck. Serial number location would be nice. Thanks

 

From what I know, the S/N is actually on the tranny flange near the bellhousing. Supposedly, this was to make it easier on registration when an engine was changed. Funkay.

 

You might be able to determine what engine you have by going to one of these links:

http://www.flatheadv8.org/bellhousing.pdf

or

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...ifications.htm

 

If you are looking at your motor from front to back, on the left hand side in between the head and the intake there should be a idenification number and a letter. It may be hard to find at first but look carefully and you should be able to find it. It might be on one of the web sites that Bob gave you. if you can find it on those post it here and I'll help you out.

Scott B.
1951 F1

 

If it's not the original engine you'll have to determine that by things like fan belt width. Cars and 53 pickups used 3/8" belts. All other trucks used 5/8" belts. (Course the blocks are the same so often these parts were just moved from one to the other when replacing an engine.) If your heads say 8RT/8BA/8CM/EAB/EAC, etc you probably have the correct style engine in there. There was no such thing as a "numbers-matching" setup.

No serial number on the engine and probably not on the transmission half-bell. That seems to have stopped somewhere between 47 and 48 at most assembly plants. What Scott was describing is the assembly date, right rear corner of the intake flat.

http://flatheaddrag.com/birthday.html

Oil pans came in several different designs. Most truck pans were rear sump and had the large cleanout disk on the bottom of the sump. There's a square bracket welded on the rear that sits almost against the dust shield.

Some Merc cars used a rear sump pan without the cleanout or the bracket. Ford cars tended to have a center sump......but all this is debatable.... just my observations.

 

If it has four big holes on each side, no cast bell housing attached to the back about as close to exact identification as you can get is it's a ford/merc flathead from between 48 - 54 made in North America (Unless it was imported from somewhere else.).

 

Ok, I took a look at the engine tonight and the block shows 2 10 A. The heads show EAB. According to the chart listed above A=4. I didnt think they made a flathead in 54'. Whats the deal?

 

They were used in Canada until 1954

 

Unless the heads were replaced on another block it would be a 52/53 Ford engine. The EAB has the smallest combustion area so the compression ratio is the highest of any flatheads. That's a good thing!

 

I have located an old flathead that was mounted on an old welder. I can see no markings on the top of the bellhousing and the only marks on the heads is an A. the motor mounts are integrated into the waterpumps has single barrel carb. Have no pics as of yet. haven't been ablt to see if there are numbers on top of block yet. any help would be greatly appreciated

 

I have located an old flathead that was mounted on an old welder. I can see no markings on the top of the bellhousing and the only marks on the heads is an A. the motor mounts are integrated into the waterpumps has single barrel carb. Have no pics as of yet. haven't been ablt to see if there are numbers on top of block yet. any help would be greatly appreciated


Detailed pictures from all angles will help ID the engine series. Please realize this thread is quite old. Why not start a new thread, introduce yourself, your approximate location and put up some pictures.
Welcome to the forum.

 

As a guess from the very limited information on your engine, it may be a 39-42 Ford motor.

If you are looking for information on your flathead and you don't have a truck, this forum probably isn't the best place to ask. While this is a wonderful forum for Ford trucks, it isn't focused on the flathead V8 engine like some other forums are. Here is a thread I helped start about flathead engine identification on the Ford Barn, a forum that is very helpful on flathead motors: Engine block I.D. pictures - The Ford Barn

As Ray said, a new thread is probably a good idea.

Welcome to this forum.

 

Who says I don't have a ford truck?

 

No one, but you haven't said that you do, either. The other site referenced is dedicated to the flathead engines and just has better coverage for what you are asking.

There are no stamped ID #'s on most flatheads. The quickest way to tell if this welder engine is a direct replacement for a 48 - 52 truck is to look at the casting marks on the heads. If they say 8BA, 8RT, or EAB, it is a direct replacement. The intake manifold will also have either 8BA or 8RT cast into it, perhaps 8BA 8RT 6620, right behind the carb.

 

Okay I am new to this site so how would I start a new thread?