Ford Flathead Performance

The Ford flathead V8 engine revolutionized the automobile industry by offering a compact, fuel-efficient, powerplant from 1932 to 1953. The flathead V8, so named because the heads were flat, became the engine of choice for automobile racing enthusiasts.

Early Flatheads

Ford's first flathead V8 was a 65 horsepower (hp), 221-cubic inch model placed in the 1932 coupes and sedans. It featured a 3.0625-inch cylinder bore and 3.750-inch stroke. The compression ratio was 5.5:1. The engine, however, burned oil after only 1,000 miles and the engine had a tendency to seize when oil inside the engine drained from the crankshaft bearings during hard cornering. The V8 got about 20 miles per gallon (mpg) of gasoline.

Improvements

Ford engineers worked out the kinks to make the flathead V8 more reliable. They added aluminum heads and increased the compression ratio to 6.33:1 to boost the horsepower by 10. A new cooling system also was added. By 1936, the compression ratio was hiked again to 7.5:1 to give the V8 94 hp.

Different Displacements

In 1938, the small 60 hp, 136-cubic inch, flathead V8 debuted that could achieve a top speed of about 70 miles per hour (mph) and more than 20 mpg. Ford also produced the 100 hp Mercury 239 flathead V8, the 100 hp 255 and the massive 152 hp, 336-cubic inch V8. The 336 powered Lincoln automobiles and Ford trucks.

References

• Classic Car Database: 1936 Ford 48 V8 Series Cabriolet