I am looking for a good rebuilder for my 51 8RT moter.

 

Allen, I and my young partner rebuild 4 or 6 a year in our spare time if you are in no hurry. I have lots of references and pictures to show qualifications. Shipping may be a problem. We are in Denver.
Email me at keithnwood@msn.com if interested. Slim

 

seems to be a hard thing... finding someone in your area with flathead knowledge and equipment . was / kinda still looking around myself for a good machine shop with flatty experience here. got one guy , Browns automotive , who'll probably end up doing it . he's got cancer so he's gone a lot ..... and i'm probably going to be in a rush as i'll miss driving her !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Rebuilding a flathead is quite straight forward to do yourself. I did several in the past. The amount of machine work is generally limited to boring the cylinders and/or sleeving and boring if required. Any competent machine shop/engine rebuilder can do that. Then it is just reassembly. It is a little trickier to set up the valves on the earlier flatheads if you did not use the adjustable lifters but with the adjustables it is a piece of cake.
A friend has a one man shop 5 miles from me. He builds a lot of sbc for the race track guys but last week when I was there he was unloading a partially torn down 1932 V12 Packard engine and a older gent arrived with a tired flathead V8 out of his 1940 Mercury convertible (which he bought used in 1952!). The 40 block had the "tin can" sleeves in it. It will probably be bored and cast iron sleeves installed to bring it back to original. He was doing a 20 valve 4 cylinder head (that would be 5 valves per cylinder) for a VW Passat when I arrived. The point is that the flathead is not some exotic motor and you can do most of the work yourself with some standard machine work done by a variety of shop.
The rarest and most expensive engine that my friend did was for a late 30's Mercedes 540K. I arrived at his shop when it happened to arrive. I looked down at the engine head in the back of a customers truck and commented "now that is no sbc head!"

 

ill ask the napa man if his dad still does it and get back to ya i know theres a guy around here that does but cant think of his name if ya want just call napa in milltown wi and ask them he knows some peps

 

I have heard that there is some expertise required for the common problem of cracked valve seats in the flathead V8's. Other than that it ought to be an easy build. I have done a lot of old Continental flatheads for welding machines. All in all the flatheads are pretty simple machines.

Later Man...

 

yep tha's what i'm refering to dave . the knowledge of what needs to be done and how on a flatty as they do require some things done differently , and i'm told some different equipment for some jobs . i dont wanna trust mine to joe average and he screws something up in the machining process 'cause he treated it like a ohv late model ! putting it back together , well 'tween common sense , the readily available manuals , and how to books and the guys on here that should go easily . FAMOUS LAST WORDS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

We have to be careful with the indication that the average do-it-your-selfer can rebuild his own flattie. True, you may be able to get it accomplished by doing your own research, and we'll help all we can here, but todays cost of aftermarket parts combined with the scarcity of good blocks ditates the necessity to do it right.
I've helped many amatures do their own flattie and believe me there are plenty of bad mistakes that can be made to ruin your overhaul (or worse yet your block).
The very least you want to do, is to find someone with a micrometer and the ability to read it when it comes to the bearings. (main, cam, and rod)
I won't say it cannot be done, but a lot of guys I know that love these old trucks don't want to tackle it...slim

 

I guess maybe I assume too much but I have to wonder why anybody would tackle a rebuild job without the benifit of mics and guages. Most small engine rebuild shops I know of have the tools and equipment to do the job. The DIY'r usually just puts 'em back together after the shop is done. That requires very few special tools other than a good torque wrench. The rest is common practice which you can get from books or a number of weekend TV shows. If someone has the ability to get the engine out of the truck and taken apart I have to assume they have the tools and some degree of knowledge.

Later Man...

 

Ron Holleran of Vermont. Only does flatheads and been doing them for 50 years plus. Excellent reputation. I love my motor he did for me. He hangs around on Fordbarn.

Dick

 

The key skill needed is the understanding of how to do the valves, such that the clearance comes out right. There is no adjustment.

 

now see your all gonna make me rethink doing it myself ........... done plenty of belly buttons { c-word }and some ford small and big blocks , but a flatty no . i sure as hades dont want a pretty conversation peice that USED to be the motorvation for my truck ! well i'll think on it ........... but not too long as it makes my brain hurt !

 

If your valves just need a freshening of the seats (hand grinding with lapping compound) and you don't change cams or guides, you're likely not going to have any issues. Valvetrain wear on flatties is less than OHV, they are essentially just like an OHC engine; the cam is acting directly on the valve stem, a lot less weight to move and a lot less off-center load on the valve stems. The cylinder bores are where they usually need attention. 4-rings really eat at the bores.

 

Certainly not meaning to scare you off, man. If you've done the Ohv's you ought to be able to handle the flattie. Also a lot of builders convert the lifters to the adjustable type. Pretty easy fix and makes the valve clearences easier to accomplish. slim

 

Years ago I found out from local Ford - New Holland that tractor stuff is the same as
a V8. They said you use intake guides for all 16 and also they use adjustable lifters
(16 suppled with wrench) Last one I did used 8N parts and they are gen Ford. Also
a very good idea the dealer said is to take off the cam gear so you can turn the cam
over by hand and lash each valve one at a time (you have to put the keeper in for
proper spring tension) With adj. lifters its a 12 pack job. With solid lifters its a case job.
To me, this is the area where all the time is spent to be correct. Properly done a good
running V8 will be silent. dont be afraid, just inspect cracks between valves and I
always said Im only working on an overgrown Briggs & Stratton****