hello all i have a truck i got when my father passed away but i dont know much about it yet as it is still back home and i have to go get it. but i do believe it has a flat head motor in it and im trying to decide if i should pull out the flathead and put in a newer motor or rebuild the flathead and advise would be awsome.

 

keep the flathead. i'm not one to keep things stock (darksider) but i do like the flatheads

 

i dont know anything about them are they hard to work on and get parts for them? id like to get decent power out of it. i like the name my grandfather went by grumpy

 

there not hard to work on. parts are harder to find than a newer engine. you can get plenty of power. it all depends what you want and how much you want to spend.

 

lol good point. i mainly want to have it to tow stuff and to show it at shows

 

it will show real nice with edelbrock heads and a 3 carb manifold. i personally wouldn't want to tow heavy stuff behind it. but that's just me.

 

If i had a flatty in my truck when i bought it ( pick any of the 4) i would have keep it! But since not than i went elsewhere. I really like the look of a flatty!!!!

 

any good places for parts and info on the flathead?

 

that i can't tell you. i haven't built one in many years. get on the internet or e bay. pick up a few street rodder mags. hit some shows and ask those who have flatheads. at shows you will make friends and maybe get help and ideas. just have fun doing it all

 

I'm in the middle of making these same decisions for my truck, and learning about flatheads and where to find stuff. One of the best sites I've seen has been shared by the guys here. Take a look.

Red's Headers and Speed Equipment

 

wow i like this site so far thank you for the info

 

IMHO, the flathead is a boat anchor. It won't pull much and it won't give you much horsepower without spending a lot of money on it. I'd go with a later engine and transmission. A 302/351 is a good engine for these old trucks. I have redone two trucks that both had good flatheads in them. I sold both of them and went with a 350 Chevy in one and a 302 Ford in the other. I am happy with both trucks....

 

will a big block fit in the 50's trucks? if i do a swap i want to try to do something really nice and also id like to try to do something different that no one else has done.

 

Top late, big blocks are a dime a dozen in 48-56 trucks, including a Viper V10, Mercedes diesel (from this site), not sure about a Cat yet?

I don’t know your experience but any engine transplant is major project and the bigger and more unusual the harder it gets. Plan for a couple of years to finish it, newer engine means better brakes, suspension, and differential.

Get the flatly running if it’s fixable, drive it for a while until the hot no-start, vapor lock, gear whine, gets to you and then think about what you what to do.

Just MHO.

 

lol ok so it sounds like the flatties have alot of gremlins to them then? i liked the sound of a v10 but i doubt i can afford one lol. yeah im planning on taking my time and i dont believe itll be done anytime before atleast 2 years working unless i get alot of money soon lol.