i have a 49 239 it's got new everything inside. i have a fenten 2 carb manifold i will be getting alum heads what should i get. what kind of carbs. headers, dist,
i keep hearing about a merc crank whats with that. i'm not trying to make tons of hp but 200 would be nice.

 

A Mercury crank is from a motor called a 255cid. When you put this crank in your 239 it increases the stroke therefore larger cid. They are sometimes availible from ebay or other small dealers/swap meets.
Since you have a 2 carb manifold I take it you would want to be using 2 Holley 94 carberators, these since Flatheads are becoming popular you can find them at any time over ebay. new, rebuilt and used
Unless you plan on running over 6000rpm factory distributor works fine I person ally like points. butif you change the coil you would be able to put in spark plugs with a larger gap, larger gap means cleaner burn, cleaner burn means improved HP and mileage.
Headers, just remeber you get what you pay for, it is a good idea to switch from manifolds to headers for performance theories

To get a actual effect from running two carbs better switch the cam.

 

Good lookin project there by the ways.
Sure someone smarter will step in I'm quite on the stock side.

 

You may want to consider our custom tuned Flathead Ford D.U.I. distributor:

http://www.performancedistributors.c...ead%20ford.htm

 

Very cool I didn't know those were available for flatties. I nay have to get one for myself around xmas.

 

i was thinking reds headers holly carbs seem the way i'll keep my eyes open for a crank were do i find a cam i've built sevral motors but the flathead is new to me

 

the cam is pretty easy, if you contact any flathead parts dealer they can hook you up with many different choices. For my 239 i opted to go with an iskey max 1 cam with edelbrock finned aluminum heads, edelbrock aluminum 2x2 intake with 2 holley 94's and a direct linkage, an aluminum edelbrock generator relocation bracket, a 4" merc crank (i have yet to get) running stock dist and wires (for now) and i have ceramic coated cast iron Fenton headers with smithy's out back

 

ok say i found a merc crank is it just the crank i replace or rods pistons and can you recomend a place to get a cam

 

well rods for sure as the stroke length has changed. Any shop that deals in flathead parts should carry some. I'm not sure about any in the US

 

To go from 239 to 255 you change the crank and pistons. Con rods are the same in Fords and Mercs! Ford increased the stroke with the longer crank throw and piston pin placement. Using Ford pistons with a merc crank will result in pistons slamming into the heads.

For cam/pistons, etc contact Red's Headers or Patrick's Antique auto parts.

Places like Egge (mfg) or Speedway (retail) also can supply your needs.

 

this engine is brand new my brother rebuilt it collage about 15 years ago it's never been ran but i remember that when he got it home he went to fire it and the pistons were hitting the heads so he had to take it back and put in new ones so how would i know if it already has a merc crank in it and thanks for all the info your giveing me it's to cold out for body work so i'm spending the winter on the motor

 

Remove a head and turn the crank clockwise. Measure the stroke with a piston at bottom of its movement. If the difference is 4" its a merc crank. 3 3/4" is Ford - pretty easy to tell the difference.

The sparkplug hole is over the valves - next to impossible to use the old wire-in-the-hole trick.

If he used stock heads and had them shaved too much (old trick to raise compression) he might have caused his own problem. You need to maintain .050" clearance from the piston top to the head when assembled. Lay the head on the block without the gasket and turn the engine over. If you can turn it without hitting the head you're probably ok - most gaskets compress to .050. To be sure you'll need to clay the pistons to the head.

 

4 in stroke i just keep getting lucky on this motor so he must of put ford pistons in it then had to pull them when he redid it so i'm just going to clean the outside put the headers alum heads and duel 94s on it and see how she does if that dizzy above goes down 100 bucks i'll get one off them 2

 

The vacuum advance on the factory distributer will not work properly with 2 carbs, you might want to consider a mallery unilite. The holley 94 carbs will have the vacuum advance ports that will have to be plugged, the strombergs will not. Barry Grant has an awsome three bolt replacement carb that flows around 205 cfm.

 

Type in flatheads forever in your search engine and you can find most anything you need for any Ford flathead in existance.
Good luck
Bob