Flathead Fever

The car that mobilized the U.S of A was the Model T. Fact. At one time, every other vehicle on the road was a Ford. By the end of the twenties that lead had slipped and Henry's Lady - the Model A - did little to halt the slide to Chevrolet with their Stovebolt Six.

So in 1932 Henry tried to shake the world from it's depression with the Flathead V8. The cheapest V8 ever produced. Two more cylinders than Chevy's six.

It boiled. It cracked. But it went, and went well. Smooth running, beautiful sound. Bonnie and Clyde's favourite car to steal.
From 1932 to 1953, Ford churned out this cast iron monobloc sidevalve and threw it into everything. Cars, vans, trucks. They sold it as an industrial engine where it ended up in generators, water pumps, forklifts. The flathead went to war where it sat sizzling in the belly of bren gun carriers.

Hot rodders grew to love it when they didn't hate it for it's idiosyncratic ways. Modified it till it burst at the seams. Fixed the seams and went at it some more. Fitted superchargers, multiple carbs, high compression heads, and filled it full of exotic alcohols in search of a bigger bang.

And then, almost overnight the Flathead became obsolete. Overhead valves by Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet - even Ford themselves.

Except. In some strange twist of fate, the Flathead lived on. Ford sold their French factory to Simca who carried on producing it. And supplying it. NATO bought Marmon trucks fitted with a new improved version of this ancient 8. Which guaranteed it's prodution until the early 1990's.

A little history of a quarter ton of cast iron. Nestled in the confines of my garage there's a few of 'em including a couple of French ones. After draining three pints of water from the sump on the old 21 stud in my T Modified, it's time to wrestle another in it's place...