I'm sorry, but you lost me at the use of "rat rod" and "Mercury" in the same breath.

Anyway, not that it applies in this case, but, I've used compressed air to blow a spark plug ceramic out of an engine before. Loosened the rocker arms and got real lucky that the piston wasn't very far down. So, -if- it ever happens again, you might give that a try. I wish you luck with your project.

 

Hi Guys, thanks a lot for your suggestions. So for now, I took the head off. And here's what it looks like: Pictures of head removed

Does that look familiar? The cylinders look rusty but not too bad. No scratches or anything. The head bolts came off pretty easy. Ofcourse the radiator connector 2 bolts were broken off so I drilled them out. Now as far as the spark plug goes.. looks like the metal part is joint into the head. How do i get this out? Should I send it to a machine shop? Please excuse my ignorance.. I'm a newbie here. Thanks again.

 

Looks like you've got a burnt (or bent?) valve face too. I'd run it by a machine shop which is familiar with flatheads. First, you might want to slowly work on getting the pistons freed up. Going to need to asses the total damage before you can estimate cost or if it's even worth it to you.

 

The burned exhaust valve must have been sticking open a long time to be that burned. I think you should yank the engine, get it over with. This engine isn't going to be one of those "add gas, change the oil, and drive it" deals. But it could be a solid engine with some work. If you pull the cam gear off, the crank may be able to turn, but all you'll accomplish is scratching the bores.

 

Thanks Jeremy. I think I'll just yank the engine out and rebuild it [may be] at a later point. For now I'll try and swap it for the 302

 

Thanks Ross. Yes I think I'll just yank it out for now and put in the 302.