Loren Posted June 12, 2020 Report Share Posted June 12, 2020 I admit I've been a hoarder but I am trying to reform. If you just can't find a way to part with stuff, re-purpose it. Scrap prices are so low right now it's awful, so recycling is not justified. Re-purposing however makes good sense. Here's my solution for the pallet load of old Flathead Ford V8 cylinder heads I've accumulated. I used them as pavers, saving a ton of money! Oh and a couple of V8 blocks too cracked to use? They became a nice bench! Too damn heavy to move very far. lol No Mopars were injured in the making of this yard art. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 12, 2020 Report Share Posted June 12, 2020 you do know that Chrysler cast the last of these block in the early 70's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loren Posted June 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2020 No I did not. I know Chrysler bought Simca (which Ford had owned at one time) which made the Vidette which had the Ford "60" V8 in it. The French Military used Flathead V8s (59 AB) and had blocks made for years after Ford stopped. Simca sent the tooling for the Vidette to Brazil where they converted them to Hemi overhead valves like a mini Ardun. That didn't last very long in production. I know a guy who imported a set or two but he tried to put them on Ford "60" V8 blocks and had nothing but trouble. I heard it run and it sounded real good, until a mismatch of oil passages filled the water jacket with lube oil. If Chrysler made Flathead V8 blocks, I hope they did a better job than Ford did. These things really awful! I can only say that now because my Dad and his Hot Rod buddies are all dead. I would have caught hell if I said that within their earshot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captden29 Posted June 13, 2020 Report Share Posted June 13, 2020 curious. why would Chrysler or anyone make ford flathead V8 blocks in the early 70's? at that time what would be the demand? maybe racing? restoration may not have been that popular for these engines? I do not know the answer to this quantum sized question. capt den Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loren Posted June 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2020 One of those "a friend of a friend of mine" stories: When GM decided to stop making 6.2 Diesel engines the government contracted with Navastar (Formerly International) to produce them. This factoid came from the engine builder for Rod Hall, when he was racing Hummers. And of course we know about the DeVal Chrysler engines, so this is not uncommon. The tire industry is famous for "Sublet Production" of tires. I don't know how they get away with it but they used to swap capacity all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50mech Posted June 13, 2020 Report Share Posted June 13, 2020 AMG's GEP has made since the 80s and still does make 6.2/6.5s for the military. Not definitely excluding navastar but.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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