[Eberhama]

I was recently given a flat head out of a '48 ford, and it got me wondering how much power can they make?(without having to sell internal organs). I'm talking the usual rebuild stuff cam/pistons/etc. as well as alum. heads, multi carburation, and headers. I'm assuming that due to the way this motor was stored, it will be junk, and will end up in the corner of the shop as eye-candy. If not, it could find a home in my '39 if I can find a way to stick a ford AOD behind it. Anyone have a ball-park figure or real world experiance on what they can do?

[BOBCRMAN@aol.com]

These were available with od from the factory. 49-53 passenger car is what you want to look at. I believe it was a Warner box. I am told that the later(mid sixties) Rambler od's will adapt.

As for horsepower. Anything that can improve breathing is a welcome addition. Speedway Motors has a lot of go fast goodies for Flatties. As does Motor City Flathead or Flathead jack.

Speed (horsepower) costs money. How fast do you want to go??..

Be careful and check for cracks around valve seats and head bolt holes. The last one I built had to go thru three blocks to find a usable one and it wasn't cherry by any means.

[NAIRB]

A 250 horsepower flattie is getting up there. With today's advancements, I suppose you could possibley get more, but if you want to drive it daily, figure 200 horsepower, if you want a "full race" flat head that overheats all the time, you can get more power, but with the price of streetability.

You could put a blower on it, and turn up the wick. You know I've seen some blown flatty rails runs 8s, so don't every underestimate the potential in one.