Further adventures with a Ford flat head engine

[Alastair Thomas]

Thanks a lot guys.

I have hopes that there will be plain sailing from now on and thus no need for chapter three of my adventures.

Alastair

[Dave Newcomb]

Worth the membership $ These fellows have been all about Flatheads for 60 years! Dave

[Alastair Thomas]

I have attached an update on my adventures in rebuilding the replacement engine for our F60S LAAT.
However, I now have a real problem. The reach from the timing cover to the end of the camshaft is about 0.91 inches. This is about twice the reach of the distributor. I seem to remember reading about this on this forum some time ago but cannot find it again.
Is there an adaptor?
If not, can anybody tell me if the dog on the distributor is held on with a roll pin, taper pin or something else? Close examination has not helped me. If I can get it off, I can make a longer one.
Does the distributor that has two bolt fixing have a longer reach?
I feel thoroughly faint at the prospect of swapping camshafts as I have got this far.

Kind regards,
Alastair
F60S LAAT
Ford Lynx I MkIII*

[Mike K]

I found this:

https://rodandstyle.com/blogs/rod-an...d-distributors

Sounds like you may have the wrong timing cover , it could be from a later model engine and somebody has fiddled around and fitted it onto your engine. Or, the camshaft is the wrong type.

Sounds like the truck came without a distributor fitted ?

Found this on a forum: you can buy an adapter plate to convert the three bolt front cover to a two bolt Crab (42-48) distributor, That then opens up a world of aftermarket distributors, or a good rebuilt stock one, which if done right are a great upgrade over the earlier diving helmet dist. someone will chime in where they are available in the states im sure. If you RANG Bubba, no doubt he would have given you all this info directly, so try that.

The write up is a good read and the valve length jig was a nice solution ! You did well with the off-hand grinding of the valve stems.... I am not that brave.

I remember doing the valve seats and clearances on the 85hp motor in my 1941 army MCP 11D truck , it had the divers bell dissy. Hillman spares had new split guides for $2 each pair !


Off topic: you can clean up some types of valve heads by machining rather than grinding them . I have done this on a Holden Red Motor , the valves cleaned up well with a HSS tool. The Vintage car engine business down the road from me used to machine valve heads down to size to suit whatever he needed but this was back in the pre-unleaded fuel days.

[Mike K]

I just read your article again and it is a little confusing:

Anyway we do not have any two bolt fixing distributors though we have plenty of Diver’s Helmet and Crab Top ones they are all three bolt fixing.

I thought the crab dissy is a two bolt fixing, not three.

If you do use the crab type, this may help you.

https://myflatheadford.com/wp-conten...tributor-1.pdf

[Colin Alford]

Alastair,

I haven’t read through all of your info to know exactly what parts you are dealing with, but the following info might help you enable the distributor to engage with the camshaft.

Here is the text:

[Colin Alford]

Here are the illustrations: