This guy is so knowledgable and good humored, he's the kind of guy that every mechanic should learn from.

Very nice of ed to keep everyone informed of his tricks and experiences on these old engines. Thanks Ed and barry

This man is an absolute gem a wealth of knowledge.

Now there's a man worth knowing if you need an engine rebuilt. What a great guy!

Man I wish I had a dad or grandpa that would have taught me what he knows. These guys are amazing and an absolute wealth of knowledge.

Let's face it...technology has taken over years ago but if it wasn't for men like this with the foundation of the mechanical aspects totally mastered we would be nowhere! He is a treasure and deserves all the respect in the world! The best part is that you can see that he loves what he is doing And sharing it with the world. Keep this guy and his videos coming!

This guy is a treasure! He is really willing to share his knowledge. Great!

I've been turning wrenches for 30 years and I have the upmost respect for this older guy here. I can tell he really knows these old engines. Amazing Wealth of knowledge right there. 👍👍

This man is a genius on these engines, learned more in five minutes than I thought possible.

Nothing sounds better than a ford Flathead V8

This guy is a gem, they broke the mold with him. I am on my second flathead now and this is stupid helpful! Thank you so much!

I am 73 years old. The bill for bringing me into the world was paid for by my father rebuilding Ford flat heads at a Central Pa. Ford dealer. He had it set up with a local bank to finance the overhaul using the value in the car. That was in 1950s. He disliked adjustable lifters and never used them. He said you could hear if the engine had adjustable ones. I remember my Mother in 1947 SUPER DELUXE at stop sign telling us kids to be silent so she could HEAR if the engine was running.

This is the most helpful flathead video on youtube.

I like watching his hands. You can see the years of muscle memory at work.

I love hearing somebody who really really knows what he's talking about and this guy does.

I have learned more in the first fifteen minutes of this film than I have in years of asking questions. This fella is an absolute gem! I have a nice running flathead that I want to put a bigger cam in and now I am confident that I can do it without removing the valves! Thanks for this video!

Totaly corect way to educate . No braging -no ' lm the best in the world'- fellow taking to much ! Like stuff like this !

I found your channel yesterday, and today I learned the use of some of my Dad's tools! My Dad was a Ford man and had most of the same tools shown today. I think he would have killed for those magnetic value keeper installer! I knew the adjustable lifters came out of a tractor, but not which one! I think (not positive) my Dad ground the entire bottom threaded portion off of the adjuster and used a center punch in the upper until the adjuster dragged enough CEO it would not move after it was installed! I am going to recommend your channel to my Grand nephew today!

I wonder if Ed ever watches to see if he’s followed home. His lifetime of “experience” is most valuable. Y’all better take notes, Ya never know when you’ll need a bit of good ol fashion “horse sence” thanks Ed, very kind of you to share with us your lifetime of knowledge 👍❤️

It’s great to have short cuts and the ways one has learned from many years of working on the flatheads Many ways that have been lost from not sharing

I could listen to him all day.

Wow, great video. At 70 years old, I have only worked on one flathead V8. Very unique sound. And yes, if the valves hit the pistons on that engine, you have big problems!!!

I like those freeze plugs in the crossover passages. I used '49 wheat pennies in my '49 8BA

I think we should start making more Flat-head/side valve engines. The engine I have in my van is a common rail diesel- you can't service that yourself. We need to become more self reliant. Simpler engine that are reliable and serviceable is key to independence. 2 years ago my 3.2Ltr diesel Ranger stripped the pistons, because a hole in the coolant hose, that pumped the coolant out on the highway as I was driving. $10,000 USD later I had a rebuilt engine.

Wish his shop was in my town!!

Very informative, thankyou.

Thanks for sharing all the tips and tricks. I've worked on a few flatheads and shown them in my own videos. I have also used a lever down the inlet ports to push the valves down and this is the first time I have ever seen anyone else acknowledge the method. The screw in the lifters is a tricky one. If you have one that is too loose you can crush the screw lengthwise as that is how they produced the tight thread in the first place. You do need both parts of the thread in the thread in the lifter for it to remain tight. Once again, thanks for showing some real in depth flathead content, lots of it just gets glossed over. All the best, Mart in England.

What a legend, reminds of my apprenticeship back in the seventies having the old guy's showing me the correct way to do it.👍

This man has some great ideas and knowledge of the flat head motor someone please learn as much as possible from this man before we lose him

Barry thanks so much for documenting this treasure of hot rod knowledge, Ed Smith!

Love the video thanks

Thank you Ed and Barry. This is wonderful. Thinking of driving all the way to Phoenix to bring you my V8-60 to tune up and break in before I put in the car.

I'm 75 and started working on cars as a teenager.....I never worked on Flathead Ford engines that I can recall. By the time I was driving they were not really out there much. I can only recall one friend had one in high school. I know they were tough to work on because of that vale train arrangement. Ed's one very smart and knowledgeable man....sharp as can be! Experience counts !!

Excellent tricks of the trade information. I'm going to fab up one of those bars for pushing the intake guide down.

More Ed Smith please. See if you can do a whole series of him, building a flat beginning to end the whole machining process.

I run a flathead in my very old speedboat build 1947 🥳

Thank you from Bangkok,,,,, l love your job, very nice❤

I wish I had seen this before I installed my lifters. Cool idea about sticking dowel rods under the valves to get the cam out.

Wow, some serious gems in there. I am getting ready to do some Flathead Ford content and Ed's tips and tricks will certainly help.

Be nice to see a video for this guy once a week he's on real

Just so you know KZfaq sent me your channel I'm loving it and subscribed immediately I do know where a Lincoln Zephyr V12 is just sitting four-door though and I have a 1942 Ford staff car it's been sitting in the bushes for years and want to work on it and bring it back

Great video! I bet this guy forgot more than other mechanics will ever learn :) and the engine is beautiful, probably this work costs more than an average car

Man you are awesome Mr.smith

I would like to get more detailed information on the oil pump/pan modification for full filtration.

Great info on the lifter. I had the same issue. Now I know why…thanks

I've used those "Johnson" keys with absolutely NO problems...

Thanks for all your information. What are the differences in the early 221 ci engine and the later 239 ci engines? Thanks!

Still curious how assembly line workers were able to install the valves at the speed of production let alone be able to machine the parts so everything was in spec. I was able to meet Don Sullivan who was one of the original Ford flathead designers while working as a prototype engine mechanic at Ford but never thought about flatheads until many years after he passed.

Thanks!

Split keepers, for valve ends.

I'm inexperienced wishing I knew this stuff long time ago although I don't know why.

I had a '50 Custom with the 239, 100 HP. You MUST have those special tools to do flattie valves. Johnson adjustable tappets are a must-have. Although legendary, the Ford flatties were NOT great engines.

Awsome video ,,,,, I seen a model A block in the background,,,, can he fix them to take insert bearings ,,,, or re pour the babbitt bearings

What size hole does he drill?

Absolute wonderful old gentleman! This kind of experience and knowledge, you can't buy at any price. The only thing I would dare ask is how do you lock those tappets, when the bolt now moves more freely? From what I gather most people drill holes in the block seats to hold with a rod whilst adjusting, and the sheer difficulty of adjusting the bolt is to maintain that adjustment. 'Modern' tappet adjustments have a locking screw/bolt for this purpose. Just asking :)

I wonder where this guy shop is is I'm from Connecticut

I have a 42 Ford flathead 6 I wonder if he has tips for that too

😎👍😎

I have 1947 flat head it has distributor front engine. I like to know more about engine oil pump conversion. also want type oil use engine after overhaul. In your you tube were buy life for this engine. Really enjoy you take about value adjusting .were found tool put lock back on value stem? What make tool out the for intake value? Want charge to do complete overhaul on 1947 engine?

So, is Ed advocating replacing the camshaft and reusing the old undamaged lifters? I'd like to know...seriously.

i would like some info on the shop Name Ed works at. impossible to find someone with this kind of knowledge to build your Flathead V8. I have one i need built

Why did Ford stop making Engines using Full Floating connecting rod bearings after the 59AB --cost ?

Ask Ed if he remembers John Lane...

Hi Ed , I have a 239 flathead that I can not put the fuel pump pushrod back into the port. Same cam new bearings installed by a builder .I am using the same pushrod. The bearing is aligned but it looks like the opening in the cam bearing is to small. Any ideas. Fred

Did you catch that this block is bored .100 over??

Are you guys in Phoenix?

There is no reason to turn the camshaft so many times when you can turn the engine one revolution one time to set all valves. I cut my teeth on flathead fords & i have the chart that tells you how to do that. I've used it many times before adjustable lifters were available. We ground the ends of the valves to set the clearance,: pretty fast when you could set one third of the valves at the same time.

Lifters are Ford tractor

The other guy should hush up

Erroneous info on the oil filters! They were by-pass units and used a tiny orifice to meter oil flow through the filter so oil pressure was not lost by an empty filter. Plus, that orifice was near the top of the filter so all the oil never drained down into the pan! By the way, Red's Headers is in California, not back east.