I have a 1935 1 1/2 ton with a flathead. I have been trying to find someone to tune up the engine or find something that explains the process. Any help?

Thanks, Ed

 

Hi Ed,

do you already know this site:

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_home.htm

or this books:

How to Build Ford Flathead V-8 Horsepower (Motorbooks Workshop) )
by George McNicholl

or : Flathead Tuning Manual by Mike Davidson

So much for the explanations.

Best regards,Gab.

 

Check out the Techno Site Link on this page or just go to the live forum.

http://groups.msn.com/FordFlathead19...pgmarket=en-us

Also a bunch of early flathead gurus at http://fordbarn.com

 

Unlike the new owners manuals, that tell you how to drive, how not to drive, when to drive, and have 50+ lpages on tuning the radio, the original owners manual for the truck will have a lot of information in it on what you need to do and what kind of settings need to be checked (valve lash, point gap, plug gap, etc.)
hope it goes well.
Howard

 

The distributor points will last a very long time in the stock distributor. New USA made points are hard to come by, so don't replace yours unless they are severely pitted. The foreign made points have a tendency to bounce at low RPM and float at higher RPMs. If they need to be replaced, have the dwell and timing set up on a distributor machine.

The plugs should be checked for condition and good burning characteristics. The new Champion H10C plugs do not seem to work very well in the flatheads. Try the Autolite or NGK equivalent. They seem to work better.

Add Stabil or another gas stabilizer to your gas. The current mixture of gas goes bad in as little as 90 days without Stabil, adding varnish to the interior of your carb.
I hope that this helps you with your tuneup

 

Thanks, for the information. now that the weather has gotten a little warmer I can work on it again. It is just not fun working in the unheated barn when it is around 10 degrees. The last flathead I worked on was when I was a teenager around 1962, I had a 1952 sedan. I used to tear it apart weekly just to keep it running, not a bad car though for $125.00 Got me to the drive-in, had a great time with that car.... I tried to upload a photo of it to my profile but it keeps telling me the photo is too large, I have it down to just about nothing and it still won't load??

 

I have a couple of the early Motor's Manuals which have a full description of how to set up the early Ford distributors. If you use this you don't need a distributor machine. Also has a good deal of info on how to fine tune the advance mechanism. I have a good number of the early distributors and could set one up for you if you needed that done. Joblot Automotive in Queens NY has tons of flathead parts, mostly new old stock. If you need a scan of the MOtor's Manual info, e-mail me at jharris7@maine.rr.com

 

Thanks, I sent an email to you and also included a photo. Ed

 

I have e-mailed you scans of four pages from the '51 Motor's Auto Repair Manual. This explains the process and has good illustrations. My Norton's popped up a message that says my server didn't accept the e-mail. Let me know if you didn't get the message and I will try again another way. I suppose we could always resort to the old fashioned "snail mail".