The Flathead Ford Fix Is In...

I work on a lot of Flathead Ford powered vehicles, and...much like a vehicle entered in the Great Race... you need to address three primary issues to make your Flathead a reliable driver, one that will take you anywhere you want to go. Those issues include the electrical, the cooling and the fuel. If you get those three things working properly life will be good. Let's take a look at each system separately and I will explain what you need to address and why. So pay attention here...

A 1950 Ford is a good example of a car that can be made into a reliable driver

First is the electrical. You know from reading my other Garage Tech articles that the difference between an alternator and a generator...is the alternator has the ability to recharge the battery at idle and low rpms, something a generator cannot do. That helps with the dead batteries and dim headlights and the hard starting.  You also know by now, the importance of the correct size battery cables (use at least one gauge) for both the positive and negative posts on the battery, AND be sure and move the ground so it connects to a starter mounting bolt or as close to the starter as you can get. Your goal is to create a direct path between the battery and the starter so all of the current needed from the battery gets delivered directly to the starter. In simple terms...it will increase your cranking power 30 percent. That should get your attention. You also want to be sure you have a clean metal to metal connection at the starter ground and include a toothed star washer under the bolt head.

A wide selection of alternator pulleys are available to cover most any application

If you are using an alternator (I manufacture both 6-volt and 12-volt alternators) you want to use a one piece pulley on your alternator. The pressed tin spot welded two piece pulleys common to most generators (and some alternators) will break and separate when belt wears thru spot welds in the groove of the pulley. When the pressed tin pulley separates from the alternator, it usually ends up in the radiator. That two dollar pulley can end up costing you a fortune. I have lifetime guarantee on all my pulleys and you know if the Great Racers have not yet destroyed one it is not from a lack of trying. If my alternator pulleys will hold up to that environment, they will survive most anything.

Special alternator pulley for use with mechanical fan mounted to the alternator pulley

But...you say... "I have a 1936  Ford with the mechanical fan mounted to the generator pulley, bet you don't have a fix for that? Well guess what...I do! I have an aluminum one piece pulley that will accept your mechanical engine fan that will bolt onto either the 89 or 90 series alternators. It is made of solid aluminum so it will not destroy the from bearing in the alternator. Using a heavy steel pulley large enough for the mechanical engine fan would wear out the front bearing in the alternator, which is why they had a double row bearing in the early Ford generators.

Fifth Avenue 6-volt alternator mounted on a 1950 Ford Flathead engine

I also have alternator mounting brackets that will work for the Flathead Ford, Lincoln and Mercury engines. It mounts the alternator up in the same position as the old generator was, and the belt adjust procedure is the same as before.

Alternator mounting bracket allows for the same belt adjustment procedure as before

I also have a host of different alternator pulley combinations to accept either the early Ford "B" width fan belts or the later 3/8" fan belts. I also have dual groove pulleys that have the "B" width in the inside and a 3/8 on the outside so you can power modern accessories like an A/C compressor from the alternator pulley. I also have dual groove 3/8 pulleys and dual groove "B" width pulleys, you get the idea.

Fifth Avenue has a wide pulley selection to cover most any application

Stainless coolant overflow tank is available from Fifth Avenue

Next up is cooling. First off you need some kind of coolant overflow tank. Then a 2 - 3 pound pressure cap is enough to transfer the coolant back and forth. It will also raise the boiling point of the coolant slightly, which is a good thing.

Your goal is to keep the outside air out of the cooling system. When your radiator overflows it pushes coolant out on the ground, when it cools it will draw outside air into the cooling system. then...the next time the engine gets up to operating temperature the outside air mixes with the water in the cooling system and a steam pocket is formed. If that steam pocket expands enough it can slow or even stop the circulation of coolant thru the engine block. You know what happens then, cracked block, usually between the two middle cylinders, a common Flathead Ford experience.

Remember there was not permanent year around anti-freeze when these cars were new, Most anti-freeze in the early days was alcohol based and would evaporate out in the summer months. That is why it was common practice to drain the antifreeze out in the summer months, and replace it with water. Flathead engines will run warmer with a 50/50  mixture of modern antifreeze in the summer months, than they will if straight distilled water is used. Don't forget to add a pint of water pump lubricant in with the water,  (which was water soluble oil (brake fluid ) in the old days.

Electric Radiator Cooling Fan - 
Also...an electric radiator cooling fan is a good investment and I have them for both 6-volt and 12-volt applications. When you shop for one, look for a ball bearing motor, they will use less electricity and last about three times longer.






Also look for ten blades that are straight like helicopter blades (remember you are in the air moving business) which is why you are going to add an electric fan in the first place.  I know they sell curved blades which are quieter but they are also less efficient.  Just remember the helicopter analogy.... Helicopters depend more on air moving than you do... so if a curved blade was more efficient ...than helicopter blades would be curved. They aren't... and yours shouldn't be either. Also watch the pitch of the blades, the more aggressive the pitch the more air the fan will move...but the bigger motor it will require. Your goal is to help the radiator transfer the heat out of the coolant. That happens when air passes thru the radiator. Anything you can do to help that along will be to your benefit.

You want a ball bearing motor for a long service life!

Here is an example of an electric radiator cooling fan installed on a 1950 Ford. The electrical system is still 6-volt. The fan reduced the operating temperature of this car 25-30 degrees which meant the owner could now drive in the annual local parade and enjoy cruise night without social embarrassment. It is more fun to be a participant in cruise night than it is to have to sit along the sidelines after two laps because your car overheated... in front of everyone.

And then their is this if your Flathead is non stock or you are entered in the Great Race or you want a cooling system you never have to worry about.  This is what I use in the cooling system of Great Race cars and especially in antique vehicles built in the teens and twenties that have a non-pressurized cooling system and no water pump to circulate the coolant, that instead depend on thermal-siphon cooling. The Model T Ford is a good example. This coolant also works great in a Flathead Block.

Evans Waterless coolant boils at 370 degrees and freezes at minus 80 degrees

Evans Coolant boils at 370 degrees and freezes at minus 80 with no pressure in the cooling system. It is a waterless lifetime coolant. It is expensive initially...but it pays for itself many times over in the long run. You never have to worry about overheating again!

Fifth Avenue Gear Driven Electric Fuel Pump

Lastly is fuel. An electric fuel pump is almost a must these days and you need a Fifth Avenue gear driven electric fuel pump that will survive the modern gasoline. (to read more about electric fuel pumps (see electric fuel pumps in the garage tech section). You also need to add a pint of diesel fuel to ten gallons of gasoline, when you fill up.

That will do two things....it will raise the boiling point of the gasoline so it does not vaporize so quick, and it will lubricate the gaskets in the carburetor so they will not shrink. The alcohol in modern fuel causes the gaskets in the carburetor to shrink leaving you with a leaking carburetor. If you try and over tighten the screws in the top of the carburetor to stop the leaks, one of two things will happen, you will warp the top of the carburetor or...strip out the screws or damage the carburetor housing itself...none of which is good.

The alcohol in modern gasoline also swells up the diaphragms (causing them to tear) in the old Stewart Warner electric fuel pumps that we all used for years. The modern gasoline also destroys the modern rotary vein style electric pumps (the modern gasoline provides no lubrication so the veins just grind themselves up much like you sawed graham crackers in kindergarten.

The inner workings of a Fifth Avenue electric fuel pump

The Fifth Avenue pumps have two stainless steel gears inside and are unaffected by the modern alcohol gasoline and modern fuel additives. They are available for both 6-volt and 12-volt applications. So if you address these three basics... you will be on you way to having a reliable car that will take you anywhere you want to go.

All the parts mentioned in this Garage Tech article are available in the "PARTS" section of the Fifth Avenue website. Now you know how they work.

I Remember Those...

The 1940's and 1950"s were clearly the golden age of owning an automobile. This was before computers and cell phones so most all of the advertising was visual and "hands on." In order to stand out from the crowd the manufacturer had to use bright colors and graphics to catch the eye of the consumer.

Radios in the early automobiles did not always have the best reception especially in the rural areas, where radio stations were few and far between. This device was supposed to help solve your poor radio reception problem...if the wind did not wiggle it loose and it blew off going down the highway which happened more than once.

This was also the era when cars did not have a ton of accessory options from the factory, so that left the field wide open and literally hundreds of small companies survived and prospered making all kinds of unique automotive related accessories. Ideas for car accessories were limited only by imagination and the public who decided which products became popular for their function or their "cool" factor.

This is a "Passing Mirror" which attached to the drip rail of the driver's door and allowed you to see around the car in front of you to determine when it was safe to pass without having to weave over the center line.

When I started buying out dealerships and auto parts stores in the  early 1970's I only wanted the parts related to the 1948 thru 1955 Chevrolet cars and trucks. There were lots of car accessories available from those same vehicles that were by then obsolete. I would find whole displays of obsolete accessories in the basements of old dealerships and auto parts stores. The displays and the NOS accessory parts were twenty plus years old by then and had no value to the store or the public.

Many people smoked in the old days so there were dozens of accessories for smoking in your car or truck. This is one of the more unique smoking accessories. It held a pack of Lucky Strike or Camels (remember no filters) and when you flipped down the little tray in front... a single cigarette rolled out and the element on the left lit the cigarette for you... so it was ready to smoke. It was advertised as a safer way to smoke in your car or truck. This smoking accessory attached to the steering column of the car or truck and plugged into the cigarette lighter.

I got hooked on those aftermarket accessories and started buying them up. You can imagine what my collection looks like today after 25 plus years of collecting.

I first used old JC Whitney catalogs to help identify some of the more unique accessories,  then I started to collect the old auto accessory and wholesale auto supply catalogs to further help identify the pieces in my collection. Now I have a good sized collection of the old accessory catalogs. Many of the accessories were also sold as private label accessories thru such stores as Firestone, Gambles, and Western Auto.

Now some 25 years later I have a unique collection of automotive accessories from the golden age of automobile. I will share a few pictures with you here. These serve as a reminder of how simple and carefree things were in the old days. As more and more accessories became standard on new cars the sales of aftermarket accessories gradually declined and many companies went out of business or began manufacturing something completely different.

Some things they sold back in the day were a little questionable such as this Ring and Valve job while you drive which was pretty expensive, even for the late 1950's. Inside the package was a series of lead pellets that you were supposed to drop into your gas tank and somehow they would dissolve and fill the tiny holes in the cylinder walls and the valve seats to restore compression and engine horsepower. I have quite a few examples of these types of products in my collection, this is one of the more questionable ones.

Auto parts stores had some unique collectibles from the manufacturers. This was a desk lamp from Fram Filters given to the store owner for his desk. With the lamp shade on... these lamps did not put out much light so most of them you find are missing the lamp shade, it got tossed in the trash.

This was a Fram Filter ash tray that was designed to set on the parts counter( remember a lot of people smoked in those days). These had a pretty rough life as they got knocked on the floor quite often and then were picked up with greasy hands. That little flip tab in the middle was the first to go by a well meaning customer who just happen to have a pair of pliers in his pocket. It made flipping the ashes into the can easier.

In case you are too young to remember here is what the typical Fram oil filter looked like back in the day. You can easily see the resemblance between the actual filters and the Fram advertising pieces.

Hard to imagine today but prior to the mid 1950's automotive engines did not come with oil filters from the manufacturers. They quickly became a popular add on accessory for obvious reasons. Here is one for a 216 Chevrolet engine that bolted to the intake manifold. The oil filter shown above on the right was used in this filter.

This was by far the most popular Fram Counter advertising example. All that you had to do was pick up this Fram advertising display and tip it 45 degrees and the lighter in the center would glow cherry red. It was big enough to light both cigars and cigarettes. You often find these with all of the writing worn off the sides but the lighter still working. I talked to a retired Fram rep who said these lighters were the most difficult to keep in stock. These were also known to burn little fingers if the mechanics helper wasn't watched closely.

It is amazing all of the things that we grew up with and never paid much attention too. Today's plastic advertising is not near as visual and not made to last. When you find something from the old days... (and if you are like me) it jogs a memory of our youth and the auto parts stores and car dealerships we grew up with. While those places are long gone... a piece of advertising like those shown here can be a welcome reminder of how things used to be. Now...if we could only explain that to our grandkids!