Hi all,

I normally hang out in the 57 to 60 group but I came across a motor that I may acquire and wanted to find out how to identify it. I work on tractor electronics (GPS, auto steer, leveling, etc...) and I find some cool stuff.

A farmer has a flathead V8 sitting on a crate back in the barn and wanted to know if I was interested in it. A friend of his put it there probably 30+ years ago and then passed away. Family told him to keep it. He believes it may have come out of a boat but he also is adamant that it is a Buick or Olds.

I'm a Ford guy but only 52 so not much flathead experience. This has a magneto on the front and bellhousing is part of the block. I located a casting number on the bellhousing. Hard to read. 24 bolts on the heads but they are aftermarket heads. I will post pictures.

Any help would be great. I'm thinking about building a 60's Ford ratrod so this motor has me intrigued.

 

Well I looked into this a little and based on the Tattersfield Baron Head info in the picture it may be a 48 Merc. It was the motor that Bob Tattersfield used in his belly tank racer.
Tattersfield made speed parts for Ford and Merc engines in another bit of info.

 

Really appreciate the info and the literature. According to the literature on the heads, they were for 1938 – 1947 24 head bolt motors. Other info I found said the motors with 24 bolts versus studs and nuts were 1949 to 1953 239 and 255 CI motors. Actually the more I look, the more I am finding conflicting info.

Is there a way to ID the motor with more detail without tearing it apart? Does having a magneto versus a distributor help ID the year and CI?

 

That is a lot of good information on the engine! It is a rare find. I wonder what the sprocket on the crankshaft is for?

I see a distributor.

I would want to look inside.

 

It's just an old rusty piece of junk. I'll take it off your hands to save you a trip to the dump..... NICE SCORE if you can get it!

 

That's not a magneto, it's what is called the crab distributor. It's likely a '39-'48 engine as it has that style distributor and the center water outlets and 24 studs. Most likely it's a 239, but it could be a 221, you'd have to check the cylinders to be sure. The heads could be worth some money. Depending on the price, the best thing you can do is pull the heads and check the block for cracks. Unless the engine has had internal work to boost the power and torque it's just another flathead, although with nice aftermarket bolt ons. Most guys who would "hop up" their flathead would usually also do an aftermarket intake, not be leaving the little 2 barrel. Let's put it this way, assume the engine will need some clean up inside, check the cylinder bores, sitting so long, you'll need to freshen up the internals a bit and be sure it's not frozen.

 

 

I think the heads alone are a great score. I see a screen in the carb that might be consistent with a boat since most of them just use spark arrestor and not an air cleaner. Also the tilted spacer under the carb means the engine was mounted at an angle with the front of the engine down to line up with the propeller shaft, like an early inboard might have been. Also the sprocket could have been a drive coupler, kind of a forerunner of a love-joy, 2 sprockets butted together with a double row chain over them.
If the engine was ran with an open system in salt water, the heads might not be usable.