Tell me if I'm crazy. Or if I should look for a different flathead for a donor.

Anyways, so I'm thinking of buying this guys truck for the flathead motor for my ratrod project I'm working on.
Its a 1949 2.5 ton ford stakebed dually with the back end smashed pretty good from a rear end accident a few years ago. The truck has 53000 miles on it. He says the truck ran pretty good 3 years ago, he was hauling bales the day it got hit. It does crank over still.

So, what ci engine is this in there? Its a (4 speed?) manual tranny. Where can I look for some identification on the motor? This guy is not much help he just says its " the biggest, strongest flathead they made in there".

 

Okay, as far as the flathead goes, the first and easiest thing to do is look at the heads and tell us what number/letter combination might be stamped on there. Example could be "8BA", "8EQ", etc. A picture is worth a thousand words. We need to see the location of the water inlets and the distributor among various other things to tell you for sure which one it is. I'm thinking you may have a 337 Cubic inch engine instead of the 239 for the smaller trucks. But MANY engine swaps happened way back when.

Secondly, I gotta ask. How bad is that truck? We all love these old trucks around here. If it's fixable, we're gonna be biased and tell you to fix it or find another flathead so that this truck could possibly be saved from the crusher, etc. We have members on here from all around the country (and Canada). We'd be glad to help you locate a flathead nearby for your project. Could we see a picture or two?

 

Its a shame to part any old truck out but this one is finished! I'd rather see the drivetrain go into my 27 ford Model T 4-door tudor than see it get recycled. Which, by the way I saved 3 peices of Model-t history from the crusher to put this unique ride together. 2 pieces of tudors and a 1/3 of a doctors coupe.

Back to the donor 2.5 ton.....The wooden deck pushed into the cab and the doors are popped open. The cab is pretty mangled and even the doors are toast.

Stopped by there at lunch today but the guy must be at work. I popped the hood and searched for some #'s. Along the top of the block it has 11 12 8. At the rear/top of the block where the bellhousing bolts it reads C8EQ

I haven't searched and flathead sites yet for a decoding chart, if anyone has any good links let me know?

 

Also, the distributor is in the rear of the motor like a chev 350. I don't have a camera to take pictures but its quite a cool looking stake bed truck even though it is all mangled.

By the way, what model and speed of tranny comes behind flatheads in 2.5 tons?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm new to flatheads period. I'm more into the newer small block fords. But this truck came along and now I'm hooked on the whole flathead idea. I would never bash and ruin a ford by installing a SBC like everone else around my area.

 

If ya was to find or borrow a camera?

Quote:
Originally Posted by 76f350spercamprspeal

Welcome to FTE, Best Damn Forum EVER!
------------------------
Here's How to Post Pictures:
1. Login to FTE.
2.Click User CP (In the Top Left Hand Corner)
3.(On the Left, There will be a list, The 5th Option Down, will say "Pictures & Albums) Click That.
4.Then, Click Add Album, Enter a title, and description, if ya want to.
5. Click Upload Pictures, Then click Browse, Locate the Files of your truck. (You can add 3 files at a time)
5. Click Upload.
6. Add a description to the individual pictures, then click save.
7. Add more files if ya want.
8. Click The Picture you want to post, it will give you two codes at the bottom, Right Click The Second one (It say's BB Code, Then Say's [IMG]http:blahblahblah...[/IMG])
Then, Once that is highlighted, Right Click, Then Copy, Then Paste it into your post.
You can add up to 30 Images in one FTE Post.
If, Ya need any help, Don't hesitate to ask.

 

Oh, yeah I'd say that truck is indeed toast if it's mangled that badly. That's the big 337 cubic inch flathead. Very cool. See if you can search for threads here about that engine. There has been some discussions in the past about whether or not it fits in certain trucks, cars, etc. It's quite a bit heavier than the "traditional" 239 cu inch.

Here's a link to an identification description and drawing. The distributor is indeed in the back on those engines.

Flathead Specifications: 337 V8

 

Here's a really cool link. Be sure to watch Denverslim's video. To say the least, he's got a few of these flatheads laying around. That 337 is just way too cool.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...n-53-pics.html

 

Not necessarily, if the front clip (fenders etc...) is still ok you could just put any similar year cab on it and still have a BIG truck!

Yes....we DO like BIG trucks!!

 

Thanks for the couple links.

1st link. Good info... 850lbs wow!

2nd link. Cool video of the engine running on the stand.

I read on another link the C is for Canadian made and the 8EQ stand for monster 337ci.

Anyone tell me what the 11 12 8 means on the upper edge of the block?

 

1 - Not being a Shrinkiatrist or a Shrinkologist I cannot certify if you are indeed Crazy.
2 - I can state that evan the idea of working on any type of old vehicles certanily qualifies you as Crazy.
3. - The engine you have described is the 337CI Ford/Lincoln Flathead - The thing is a monster in weight, torque and cool.
4 - There are both stock and hotrod parts available - Scarce but findable.
5 - welcome and good luck

 

The 337 is much harder to get parts for, and heavy as you said. Especially for a T-based rod. I would not use that engine if it were me. The trans is a big heavy (pretty sure) non-synchro 4 speed unsuitable for use in a car. Engine speed parts are like hen's teeth, non-existent for most part.

You will certainly have a few head scratchers if you use the engine by people trying to figure out what it is.

 

I didn't see anybody answer the transmission question.

If it is a 2.5 tonner (F7) it came standard with a 5 spd OD transmission.
3 ton trucks (F8) came std with a simple 5 spd trans.

Either truck could be ordered with the other trans as an option.

 

But it would have to be a BIG cab, I believe that the F7 and F8 did not share the same cab as the smaller trucks (F1-F6)

 

Cab, doors, and hood would be the same. Fenders and grille would be wider than F1-6. A monkeyface with an extra wide grin.

 

It is a heavy motor, I didn't think it would be that much of a scud. As far as the model-t part, the truck I'm building is a very custom T-body mounted on a custom heavy built 2x4 frame. I did have it all set up for a 4.6L mod motor so I'll have to zip the mounts off and start fresh again.


I'm building it for a weekend toy/cruiser. So maybe that grain truck grinding tranny is a little too rough and farmer-ish for what I'm doing. I read on here about cornhusker rod and customs T-5 swap kit. This kind of interests me.