Got a minute? I bought my '49 F1 in 1977 for $200. It was running but needed a rebuild. Upon tear down, it had three blown pistons and a crack: valve seat to down the cylinder. I found a local guy with an indie garage who took a good block and my parts to build a motor. He put in one of his Merc cranks. It was a daily driver for me until 1984 when it made a horrible noise, crunch, crunch, etc. It still ran, although not much power so I took it off the road. I got it back out in 2006. My brother in law said he would work on it for me. It still ran but down on three cyl. On tear down, one blown piston with a badly scored cyl. I wanted to keep a flathead but didn't want to spend the $$$ at that time for a rebuild. Another friend found an EAB, still in a '53 Ford at a junyard. The yard owner said it was good. We bought it, cleaned it up and it ran fine. I drove it for 5 summers then committed to a real rebuild. We got out my Merc crank, got a Schneider 248F (mild) cam. The friend who found the EAB for me did the engine disassembly and reassembly. My brother in law supervised the removal and reinstall. Another friend and I helped as 2nd, 3rd or 4th wrench. It is bored 0.060, EAB heads with Merc crank. est. 265 C.I. here's the pics: '53 Ford, EAB on the ground, EAB in the Truck '08, EAB/Stroker now. A big THANKS (yes i'm shouting) to Ross/Albuq F-1 for all his help and wise counsel along the way. Thanks also to all the FTE for sharing their knowledge and keeping the hobby (obsession) alive. Dick R.

 

Congrats! Fine looking engine and truck.

 

Any time a thread starts with "Got a minute?" you know it's going to be good.
Engine and truck and looking very nice.

 

Looks great Dick! Video on the way?! What air cleaner is that, it looks good?

 

Keepin' it Flat - That's what these ol Trucks deserve

Good story on you perseverance and ending up with a sweet ride.

 

Nice work! Beautiful truck!

 

This is great! Glad you're driving it again. And glad it's still a flathead.

 

Sweet looking engine in a great looking truck. Props to you and all who helped you.

 

ok, guys, thanks for the nice comments. after i posted it and youtubed a video (3 min vid = 80 minute upload) we left on a two hour drive to see a rockabilly band we like. i'm in VT now (home is in NY) getting caught up

Ross: air filter is from an 80's?? ranger. the throat is about right, but i used some clips from hardware store to grab the ring on the carb. my paper element has no number on it. i think i have a small gallery on it, may even show the filter number.

here's my vid of 2nd try to start. first one, carb hemmoraged gas. we reset the float, cleaned the bowl and turned down the pressure at the regulator. i also turned off the fuel pump, so that's why it did stall after it was going. sorry the vid is 3 minutes long, gets boring quick. it does run great and starts immediately. i thought it might be tight and hard to start but no. all i know how to do is post a link to the vid.

 

Isn't it amazing that the factory could put out a thousand cars/trucks a day, and every one of them start right up and idle fine?!

Your starter sure sounds different, like maybe it's hitting crooked. Did you use the truck's starter plate, or the one that was with the car engine?

 

my starter has a history. between the starter plate and the chewed up old ring gear my starter would jam bad. the bendix would jam against the fish can type cover. we had the clip on the back of the starter to pan as it should have been. the only way to avoid it was to put a thin metal shim under the side of the starter near the engine. that worked. after a time we started to get milder jams: a push in gear and it freed up. when we took it apart it had broken the back clip. when we rebuilt, we got a new ring gear. the starter plate looked fine. we decided to put our shim back which prob created the noise. we'll take it out soon and see if the noise is gone and no jams. as i start it more, it starts so easily the starter barely turns a rev. we are using our original starter plate, which i assume is a truck plate.

 

Hey Dick,
Your engine sounds & looks great! How fast does it go on the highway?
Our 1950 was upgraded in the '70's so nothing was left of the original drivetrain - jealous of your's.

If you get a chance to get over to Manchester/Dorset area of Southern Vermont - just beautiful - though your wife may never leave the outlet shopping.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

There are a dizzying array of starter plates, it sounds like you may have the wrong one. Check here: http://www.flatheadv8.org/bellhousing.pdf
Since adding a shim (angle) to your starter helped, I'm suspecting the starter plate you have has the wrong angle.

 

thanks, (again) ross. the problem goes back to my original 8BA (same bell and starter plate). prob continued with the EAB and the old bell/starter plate. i will try just removing my shim and see what it sounds like. it was never that noisy before, just tended to jam, but the ring gear was pretty well chewed up. i rem when the starter plate was out, i expected it to have been deformed over the years by the jams, didn't now about diff angles, diff plates. but it did seem parallel to plate itself. maybe it should have had an angled starter mount. i'll see what i find out be removing my shim. dick r.

Ben, we do go to manchester a couple of times a year. it is very nice country. it's so crowded during "leaf peeping season" we avoid it then. i do suffer through some outlet trips, but my wife thinks the prices are still too high (a good thing). i have a 3.50 ratio 9" ford rear in it. seems to be a nice ratio for a variety of situations. want to be able to pull out of a turn in 2nd since 1st isn't sychro. i think it will cruise nicely at 50 to 55mph. with stock suspension and drum brakes (dual master), i don't really want to go any faster. i love 45mph speed limits.

 

I have been having the same problem. Discovered that i have a car engine in my '49 F3 truck. New ring gear Rebuilt starter motor, but it sits at an angle to the axis of the engine. Had to take the can off the end and see that the starter motor shaft in way off center. And it jams about every third time. What starter motor plate should I get? (or try to get, if they are availble).

CarlH
1949 F3