Back to my truck after a long dry spell. Everything on the chassis has been rebuilt, suspension, rear end, steering and engine. I have a T5 transmission bolted to the block thru a Speedway adaptor.

We have had the truck running and warmed it up to 180 degrees. Everything seems fine with a couple question marks. Let me preface the questions by saying that this is the first flathead I have ever rebuilt or in any way monkeyed with. I have rebuilt many other engines from SBC to motorcycles, but have no experience with flatheads.

When the engine was running, oil was squirting up into the "stack" where the fuel pump normally is. I have a block off plate because I will run an electric fuel pump. Apparently my gasket installation was not perfect as we had a pretty significant leak at both the base of the stack and at the block off plate. Should oil be squirting that high or is something wrong. I was going to tap into the block off plate and install a PCV valve, but that much oil in that location rules that out.. Maybe I should mention I am running an Offenhauser intake manifold with dual carbs.

Question 2 concerns operation temperature at the heads. I am running Offenhauser heads with stock compression ratio and a very mild cam, but the heat off the heads felt very warm. Water temps climbed to 180 and held there, so the engine was not overheating, just seemed to be radiating a lot of heat from the surface of the heads. This may be normal because the fire in the engine is only a fraction of an inch away, but I thought it best to check.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate any help coming my way.

 

There is a hole in the bushing that the fuel pump pushrod runs in. You didn't remove the bushing, did you? (it's very hard to do) So there is oil being squirted into the hole directly off the main oil galley. That you have oil leaking at the FP stand makes me suspect you have high crankcase pressure. Are you using the draft tube? If you want PCV, put it in the draft tube hole in the manifold.

There's no reason to have the FP stand there, usually the manifold surface is where the block-off plate goes.

Are you sure there's no air in the cooling system? The heads do get hot, the water cools the block first, then the heads, so it's going to be warm and aluminum dissipates heat easily. 180° is perfect.

 

Thanks @ALBUQ F-1 . I never thought about top end pressure. The manifold I have does not have a provision for a downdraft tube and I was using the FP stand as a place where I could add oil. I got it and a couple Stromberg's at a swap meet and with your response, did a little further checking. Seems my manifold is designed for an earlier engine. and although it bolts up nicely, does not give me what I need. I am now on a quest to find the correct manifold. Speedway and a few others list them, but they are over $500.00.

Thanks again for responding to my post.
ALBUQ F-1 is offline
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You can use your early manifold on an 8BA, you just need to work out a way to vent crankcase fumes. There are a couple of ways to do that, but I don't know if it's worth the trouble.

Also, dual carbs look cool but nowadays I'd be inclined to go with a small 4-barrel, a lot less trouble.