I use a front-end rig similar to what you
describe, but it just mounts to the regular water
pump mounts.
Dick J
--- ardunbill@webtv.net wrote:
> Hi Folks, More to my last note about the pix of
> the French Flathead
> block at the Flathead Fords and Nostalgia Drag
> Racing website. Whoever
> was displaying the block shown was committing a
> major flathead no-no
> because the 59A block must not be hung out from
> a conventional engine
> stand by the bellhousing like that. It sticks
> out too far and the four
> 3/8NC bolts have been known to break the
> casting off and drop the
> mortally-wounded block on the floor. This
> could happen when rolling the
> setup around in the shop, and is even more
> likely if more weight is
> installed in the block. Ford did not approve
> of this in the good old
> days. Their approved stand mounted onto the
> exhaust port bolts.
>
> It is perfectly simple to overcome this
> problem, however, by making a
> triangulated support for the front of the
> engine out of angle iron,
> resting on the front of your stand, and bolted
> to the 7/16 holes
> thoughtfully drilled and tapped for your use on
> the front of the block.
>
> I say 3/8NC bolts, as that is what was used on
> our domestic 59A-style
> blocks. If this French Flathead was made in
> France by Simca, did they
> use American standard threads, or close metric
> equivalents?
>
> The above caution does not apply, of course, to
> the '49-'53 8BA domestic
> flathead block, which has a removable
> bellhousing attached by 7/16NC
> bolts in the fashion still current today, and
> can be hooked up to the
> common engine stand at the bellhousing flange
> with no problem, and no
> need for a front support. Cheers Bill
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