One thing though if those are mercury grain truck there is a good chance your getting a 255 not the popular pickup 239.

 

Just the 255 wasn't available in the trucks. The only reference I can find about a 255 in a truck was you could special order a 255 in a 1953 M-600. Other wise they were swapped in the 48-54 trucks and not factory.

 

In large trucks and Lincoln cars the 255 was commonly used.

 

The only modern big is a 460.....
Depends on what you want to do but a 302/351 isn`t big when stacked up against a 454 or a 440!

 

Sorry here is a edit the motor I was thinking of is the 337 that was used in Lincolins and large trucks.
The 255 was used mainly in Mercury cars but also used in 3 tons production years 1949-54.

 

good points there Ryan, ummm Fom, i just heard you say 2 things i thought i'd never hear from you...

 

There is a few out around so carry a big Ford stick....

 

its called a five pound sledge, right through their windshield, right between the eyes.

 

Och but so fitting....

 

Hey Joe so see my new picture thread I posted today.

 

teh 49er, yessir i sure did, looking good.

 

The 255 was only used in 1953-54 Mercury M-500/600 trucks. Here's the scans directly from the Ford of Canada parts book. Note the 1CM is the Mercury crank prefix.

 

Hmm I have alot of things to think about. As far as i remember my uncle told me both of the trucks he has with the engines are mercs.

So much to think about, I sure would like to have it as a daily driver, something I could drive to edmonton a few times a year with no problems, if I wanted too.

Main reason i would use the 460, is just because i have it allreaddy and it runs nice. Also wouldnt mind it being able to go when it needs too, but I realize I wouldnt get that with a flathead, not as much as a 460 anyways.

 

1. 3 spd column, go with a 64 1/2 and up 3 spd tranny off a inline 6 motor. The ones to the v8's wont work as the input shaft is too long. This way you only need to shorten the drive shaft a little (not too sure if the one from the 64+ would be correct link, heres one for numberdummy.) and best of all it bolts directly to a 48-53/54 flathead and is totally syncronized.

2. To add to he oil filter thing...... CHANGE IT! the original style worked.... sort of. i took my pan off the other day and it nearly blew my mind how much crap didnt get filtered. Upgrade definately should be in mind. The stock filter does an extremely ****ty job of filtering the oil.

3. Mercs are awesome because right from the factory a 239 merc flatty has 10HP more than a ford 239 due to the 4" crank (which is sought after as speed equipment). Definately a good motor to start with.

4. My dealer's name is Keith Lee from Jitney Auto Parts (its in the saskatoon phone book). He Knows a hell of a lot about flathead and has been cited as references in some articles in Hot Rod magazine.

5. Running hot; ya they do. definately invest in a fan shroud (if doesnt already have one) looking into higher flow water pumps and an electric fan arent a bad idea either. i havent had too many problems with mine but better safe than sorry.

6. Ya if the valve seats havent been changed in the rebuild, its not a bad idea to run a bottle of lead additive every other tank or so. Its like $5 a bottle and you can buy it at crappy tire. Speaking of fuel, they are hard on it. Remember when they were designed there wasnt a fuel shortage like in the 70's so no one cared about fuel economy. Mine right now with one 2 barrel gets about 10-12 street driving with 4:56 gears

7. Also consider storage during the winter. Ryan will tell you that it sucks big time when the block freezes. It cracks. There isnt anywhere for the fluid to expand too because the water jacket is made up of many small passage ways for which the coolant runs in order to cool the engine. No frost plugs so be wary.

 

My uncle was telling me that the flathead was prone to cracking. He said he has a few good running engines with cracked blocks.