Engine Rebuilding Questions

[billrigsby]

 

Being new to this forum since my project has been on the back burner since 1995 yes I know, no excuses

I can't come up with a good one anyway. I am slowly making my way through the 440 some odd pages of the Flathead 6 Truck forum to see what information I can glean.

There was nothing like this available when I first started this project and if there was I probably would have not been able to access it very easily with my old dial-up modem.

 

So going through all my bits and pieces seeing what's in what stage of completion I'm coming to the engine.

 

I have seen online numerous different rebuild kits and really not knowing anything about any of this at this point I figured it's best to ask some people out here that have been into this longer than me.

 

To start with I'm in the Colorado Springs Colorado area so if there's anyone locally that can provide information on good quality and reasonably priced machine shops

I would appreciate it. I'm not sure if I should just have machine work done and build the engine myself or if I should have someone professionally do the whole thing,

I am welcome to any comments on that.

 

So I guess basically my questions are;

 

Who to choose to do the machine work

What rebuild kit to use

Any good information available if I decide to build the engine myself other than the factory shop manual that I have

And any advice from anyone who's already been through this before

I am not sure this is the original engine, if I remember the original had bullet holes. Is there such a thing as "matching numbers" on these old 48s?

 

 

Thanks, Bill

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by billrigsby

[DJ194950]

From what I have seen of rebuild kits, you should look Not for Kits. Not a a small block Chevy/Furd  so give up that idea. Only one I have seen offer such and is Way overpriced on the parts alone and most/all  seem to be from China anyway.

 

Finding a good rebuilder in your area is the way to go. Asking about same here is great idea. Second ask other old vehicle owners around your area who has a good rep.

 

Take your motor to the chosen shop for evaluation and recommended repairs and costs.

 

Prepare for what seems to be high costs  compared to the Popular motors. Off the mainstream brand and year= few suppliers is the norm here, but worth the time/costs in the long run!

 

One opinion from experience and about 8 years of following this forum.

 

DJ

Edited July 24, 2020 by DJ194950

[JBNeal]

additional information - flathead rebuilding

[billrigsby]

 

Thanks DJ194950, was wondering about the kits, made that mistake on my Subie,

idler pulley on timing belt seized, cost me a head rebuild, at least only one and no piston damage.

 

I see a lot of reading in my future JBNeal been looking on the web for a good tutorial,

I think you have provided that with a cursory glance. I see a "build card" I guess the 40s version

of a build sheet? Wish I had one for my truck. 

 

I should have mentioned, I have a NOS crankshaft and head I plan on using for this build.

 

 

 

 

[Bdblazer1978]

I'm in the process of rebuilding my engine now. This is my first time. Someone pointed me in the direction of this thread, has a lot of good info but drops off before completion. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rebuilding-the-plymouth-flathead.315555/

[billrigsby]

 

Thanks Bdblazer1978, looks like some good info there.

 

 

 

 

[lostviking]

Try youtube. There is a guy on there who goes through a complete rebuild, over several videos. From tear down to complete. As far as gasket sets, Summit has a complete gasket set for $117 and change. That sounds like a good price to me. Bearing and rings depend on what your engine needs. RockAuto is a good source to try. Remember that the engine didn't change, so different years than yours still work fine.

[JBNeal]

There was a change to the rear main seal, timing cover seal, and head gasket somewhere around late 1950 or beginning with 1951, that dictates which gasket set to use...I found this out the hard way ?