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51 Concord Flathead Running Rough Question


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Posted

hello there,

I have a 51 concord with the original flathead in it, was out driving the other day and started to hear a ticking noise, almost sounded like a throwout bearing going deep six on me, very shortly after I picked up a miss. checked plugs and wires, all ok. any ideas on where to look next?

Posted

Why not try a compression test before gutting it.  It should give you an indication what cylinders to look at.  May be just a blown head gasket.

  • Like 1
Posted

Why not try a compression test before gutting it.  It should give you an indication what cylinders to look at.  May be just a blown head gasket.

Compression test is good but I have never known a blown head gasket to "tick". A broken ring on the top of a piston will tick.

Posted

cool, now I have a reason to yank the motor and give it a good rebuild. I have never torn into flathead before so this should be a lot of fun. cant be any worse then the caddy northstar motor I rebuilt a few years ago. any tips on what to watch out for, any weird stuff in there?

Posted

Compression test is good but I have never known a blown head gasket to "tick". A broken ring on the top of a piston will tick.

I've heard all kinds of different terms used to describe the same sounds.  Knocks and ticks may describe the same sound by different people as may whistles and squeals.

Posted

I've heard all kinds of different terms used to describe the same sounds.  Knocks and ticks may describe the same sound by different people as may whistles and squeals.

Good point. Sounds are different to different folks. But I do believe he has a broken ring land on one of his pistons. Have you ever had this hppen to one of your engines?

Posted

Yes, I've got a tick tick tick in my daily  that sounds like a sticky tappet but I know is a small ex manifold to y pipe leak and a head gasket leaking out the side sounds similar.  Onan 2 cyl air cooleds were famous for it.  You're probably right on the rings being the culprit, I've seen that too.  Usually end up with a lot more blowby coming out of the engine when that happens.

Posted (edited)

sorry, meant to say that 1,2,5 and 6 have indents, 3 and 4 are flat across with no indents. this is the second time it has blown a head gasket around the same area, i'm thinking warped head maybe. what is a better choice for the head gasket, stay copper or newer style?

it blew between 3 and 4. i'm guessing the ticking I heard was the piece of copper bouncing around until it went out a valve.

Edited by pumppy10
Posted (edited)

Have your head shaved around (30 to 50 bucks) at the machine shop, then check the block with a straight edge and a feeler gauge to assure you don't have a dip or a high spot in the block.  And as long as you have the head off and at the shop, you might as well have a good bit take off and raise your CR a notch or two. 

Edited by greg g
Posted

since I am only the third owner, and the last one had it for over 25 years, I was able to get a little background on the car. was told that it had been repainted in 1954 and some body work was also done then. they must have done some pretty good work as it is holding up pretty good. Pervious owner rebuilt engine but kept it stock with no performance done. Car has been kept as close to original  as possible. Last owner kept it garaged so i'm sure that helped keep it as nice as it is. I am also keeping it in the barn to protect it.

Posted

In the barn? At my place here in west Tennessee the wood boring bumblebees would have it buried under dust and wax inside of a month. And it would be filled with mice, mahogany wasps ( curious, but not aggressive until really pushed) and either a copperhead or a cottonmouth.

 

My 49 truck was barn kept in western Washington, the seat was full of hazelnut shells (squirrels) and the bed was usually full of potatoes or kittens. For 20 years.

Posted

I'm up in the barn everyday working on one thing or another, so there's always some activity to scare away the pest, as for snakes, well maybe a Gardner snake but we haven't had anything around here in years,, had copperheads about 5 years ago but they haven't been around for quite some time. I also keep a cheesecloth sack full of rosemary in the car, that keeps unwanted critters from nesting, not sure if it really works but was a tip I got from an old guy who stored his model A in his barn, so far so good.

Posted

I also keep a cheesecloth sack full of rosemary in the car, that keeps unwanted critters from nesting, not sure if it really works but was a tip I got from an old guy who stored his model A in his barn, so far so good.

Sounds like a good idea. Where can one get rosemary in the sack?

Posted

Look up bucket trap on the interweb.   Rosemary is also good, according to Native Americans, for warding off evil spirits, and skinwalkers.  Might work on electrical gremlins as well..................hey Don at your age you should be more concerned about getting out of the sack n the AM rather than whom may be there with you!!!!

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