Greetings! I stopped to visit a neighborhood acquaintance the other day to see if the motorcycle I noticed in his driveway was a Harley-Davidson. It wasn't, but I had some time so I parked and walked toward the open shop door. Ivan is a couple of years older than me and works on cars & trucks that are older than the ones I'm competent with. He had a '40 Ford pickup and a Model A in the shop and a '36 Ford chassis outside in the 95 degree sunshine. All of them were powered by Flathead Ford engines. Seeing that, I mentioned that I had a '51 Ford flathead in my shop that was never going to be used in my Chevy shop and he responded with an offer for $250.
I went home and listed the engine on Craigslist and eBay to see what kind of interest there was in it. Before 7 the next morning my phone woke me up with text messages from interested parties. I'd listed it for $650 and within 30 minutes it was up to $800. I told one caller that I should have sold it on an eBay auction only, because I felt like a loan shark telling guys that someone else had already offered me more than them. I told the caller that I'd call him back with the URL for the eBay auction.
Before I had the time to make the ad, the caller from Walla Walla Washington called me back and told me that he'd give me $1,000 and come get it the same day. He said he had an Offenhauser intake manifold and the combination would really be a standout in his '34 Ford Pickup. I agreed. I asked him if he would give me a few minutes to contact my neighbor Ivan first, since I'd already spoken to him about it just yesterday. No answer on Ivan's phone so I texted him the message. A couple of hours later there was still no reply so I called the guy from Walla Walla and told him it was his for $1,000.
For some time I had considered making a manifold to allow the Flathead to accept the Pontiac supercharger pictured above. Other guys have supercharged flatheads, it was nothing new, but I had this Pontiac screw supercharger laying around and it didn't seem like it would be too difficult to make a manifold for it and bolt a V-belt pulley on the front instead of the serpentine pulley. I have a milling machine at my office in town to make the intake manifold flanges and the carburetor body flange. I could use exhaust tubing for the intake and have it bent in a 180 so that it brought the carb up on top of the blower. I've got a great idea for a TPI engine and this supercharger!
So this morning I got a phone call from Ivan as I'm getting out of the shower and he tells me he's out in my driveway with a friend and wants to get a look at my flathead motor! I had to break the news to him and it felt bad doing it, but I invited him and his friend Bruce into the shop for a quickie tour. They were both very gracious about the engine sale thing and we're still friends. I'm hoping we can still do some business together and help each other out.
Doug
I went home and listed the engine on Craigslist and eBay to see what kind of interest there was in it. Before 7 the next morning my phone woke me up with text messages from interested parties. I'd listed it for $650 and within 30 minutes it was up to $800. I told one caller that I should have sold it on an eBay auction only, because I felt like a loan shark telling guys that someone else had already offered me more than them. I told the caller that I'd call him back with the URL for the eBay auction.
Before I had the time to make the ad, the caller from Walla Walla Washington called me back and told me that he'd give me $1,000 and come get it the same day. He said he had an Offenhauser intake manifold and the combination would really be a standout in his '34 Ford Pickup. I agreed. I asked him if he would give me a few minutes to contact my neighbor Ivan first, since I'd already spoken to him about it just yesterday. No answer on Ivan's phone so I texted him the message. A couple of hours later there was still no reply so I called the guy from Walla Walla and told him it was his for $1,000.
For some time I had considered making a manifold to allow the Flathead to accept the Pontiac supercharger pictured above. Other guys have supercharged flatheads, it was nothing new, but I had this Pontiac screw supercharger laying around and it didn't seem like it would be too difficult to make a manifold for it and bolt a V-belt pulley on the front instead of the serpentine pulley. I have a milling machine at my office in town to make the intake manifold flanges and the carburetor body flange. I could use exhaust tubing for the intake and have it bent in a 180 so that it brought the carb up on top of the blower. I've got a great idea for a TPI engine and this supercharger!
So this morning I got a phone call from Ivan as I'm getting out of the shower and he tells me he's out in my driveway with a friend and wants to get a look at my flathead motor! I had to break the news to him and it felt bad doing it, but I invited him and his friend Bruce into the shop for a quickie tour. They were both very gracious about the engine sale thing and we're still friends. I'm hoping we can still do some business together and help each other out.
Doug
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