ST Guy
Well-known member
And the venerable flathead Ford only had 3 mains.
Does anyone have any M10 reverse thread allen bolts?
- Thread starter W800
- Start date
And the venerable flathead Ford only had 3 mains.
W800
Noob
ST Guy
Well-known member
Well, at the low HP levels back then, they'd run your typical 30-40,000 miles, sometimes more if taken care of. The first Ford V8 made 60 HP. The last, in 1953, made 110 with more displacement.
Actually, many engines back then didn't have a bearing between every journal on the crank. And engine life wasn't nearly what it is today. There's been a lot of development in both design and materials to get to where we now are.
The flathead Ford V8's also had another major flaw. The exhaust ports ran through the block, between the cylinders. And to make it worse, the two middle cylinders shared an exhaust port. This made The engine hot running and the problem would get worse if you added more HP. Ardun solved the exhaust port problem with bolt on overhead valve heads (expensive), but that did nothing for the two missing bearing journals. Still, people managed to extract more HP out of that motor, simply because it was plentiful.
Actually, many engines back then didn't have a bearing between every journal on the crank. And engine life wasn't nearly what it is today. There's been a lot of development in both design and materials to get to where we now are.
The flathead Ford V8's also had another major flaw. The exhaust ports ran through the block, between the cylinders. And to make it worse, the two middle cylinders shared an exhaust port. This made The engine hot running and the problem would get worse if you added more HP. Ardun solved the exhaust port problem with bolt on overhead valve heads (expensive), but that did nothing for the two missing bearing journals. Still, people managed to extract more HP out of that motor, simply because it was plentiful.
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ST Guy
Well-known member
By way of comparison, a Ford flathead V8 was 239 cubic inches. That's 3916 cc's. It made 110 HP.
I have a JCW Mini convertible that's only 1600 cc's but it makes about 220 HP.
If you downsized the Ford to the Mini size, the Ford would only make a bit less than 45 HP. Or, going the other way, a Mini with a 3916 cc engine would make about 538 HP.
Times have certainly changed.
I have a JCW Mini convertible that's only 1600 cc's but it makes about 220 HP.
If you downsized the Ford to the Mini size, the Ford would only make a bit less than 45 HP. Or, going the other way, a Mini with a 3916 cc engine would make about 538 HP.
Times have certainly changed.
W800
Noob
Yes - my Cadillac CTS has a 3.6 "LLT" V6 that makes 304 HP. That's more than most 5 liter V8 motors made when I was growing up! Some of the newer small car motors are even more amazing in regards to power to displacement. etc. . .