Does anyone know how to bench start a Ford Flathead V8?

I'm just looking to try and get spark out of the thing.
I believe it was pulled from a 1948 F-100 truck.
I would imagine its a 6v system.
The yard hooked it up to a 12v jumper box to turn it over, so I don't know if something might be fried in the distributor or coil.

Any advice?
Or a good flathead forum?

Thanks

 

You should not have hurt anything if all you did was put 12 volts to the starter to turn it over. If you have a 6 volt battery charger, use it to energize the coil, positive lead of charger to coil and the ground lead to the block. Use your 12 volt jumper box to spin engine over.This should get you going. If you want to run it much, I would get a resistor to put in the wire between the 6 volt charger positive lead and the coil. Good luck, nothing like the sound of a flathead!!!!!

 

I should have mentioned that they also ran a +12v from the jumper box to the coil feed wire. Do you think this did any damage?

If I am using a battery charger on 6v, shouldn't the +6v lead go to the block and the -6v lead go to the coil wire?

And the +12v from the jumper should go to the block, and the -12v from the jumper should go to turn the starter?

 

i started mine using a 12volt coil..i just put a 12v battery with a wire to the +side of the newer coil..a 1gal. fuel can to the fuel pump..touched the starter and it started right up..