question about ordering parts for Mk 2

[Piper]

Ok, you'll all have to bear with me as this is new. The UC we have is a 1942, 85 hp model. Am I to understand that when ordering parts I should really be asking for parts for a 1940 if we're talking about a flat head ford motor? I know that I can get knowledgeable help from Macs but I have a local auto parts owner who wants to help out. He says that he can get "all the parts I need" but I want to make sure I know what to order.

So far I'm getting the distributor adapter plate from Macs; is the coil available commonly? If so, what am I after? The macs site only seems to list a 6 volt 4 cyl model. I'm also wondering about head gaskets. The one I removed has 24 studs, was black (I'm guessing metal not copper). The other thing I need is the exhaust pipe where it attaches to the header off the block. Both sides are badly rusted and have huge holes. Are these available?

Any leads on this stuff really appreciated.

Cameron

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Piper

Ok, you'll all have to bear with me as this is new. The UC we have is a 1942, 85 hp model. Am I to understand that when ordering parts I should really be asking for parts for a 1940 if we're talking about a flat head ford motor? I know that I can get knowledgeable help from Macs but I have a local auto parts owner who wants to help out. He says that he can get "all the parts I need" but I want to make sure I know what to order.

So far I'm getting the distributor adapter plate from Macs; is the coil available commonly? If so, what am I after? The macs site only seems to list a 6 volt 4 cyl model. I'm also wondering about head gaskets. The one I removed has 24 studs, was black (I'm guessing metal not copper). The other thing I need is the exhaust pipe where it attaches to the header off the block. Both sides are badly rusted and have huge holes. Are these available?

Any leads on this stuff really appreciated.
Cameron

Order the head gaskets by stud number..
There are two different stud patern by stud number..you need the 24 stud ..
If I remember the gaskets are tin with an asbestos composition layer,but the new ones will be slightly different,but metal and composite anyway..DO NOT OIL THE heAD GASKETS BEFORE PUTTING THEM ON.
a GOOD MUFFLER SHOP will make you up a set of pipes for exhause pipes..
Take in the old stubs and a pattern with measurements ,,better still take the carrier in and have it done on site..or do it your self..
It is not brain surgery building custom pipes..a chop saw..mig welder and a bunch of pipe..and you are away..and a pipe bender..


Cameron[/QUOTE]

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Piper

Ok, you'll all have to bear with me as this is new.

So far I'm getting the distributor adapter plate from Macs; is the coil available commonly? If so, what am I after?
Any leads on this stuff really appreciated.

Cameron

The Coil adapter kit allows you to get away from a specific distributer mounted coil and use ANY GENERIC COIL. The choice of coil is now up to you, with only a 6 volt or 12 volt electrical system being the deciding factor. What electrical system are you going to run? Original 6 volt, or a change to 12 volt?

[Piper]

Thanks Tony, I'm sticking with the 6 volt for originality. At my local autoparts place today they have in stock a 6 volt coil used for tractors etc. which I think will do fine. I'm just now trying to decide what to do for wires as they're pretty bad. I'm leaning towards making my own but unsure if it's possible to easily connect to the distributor terminal cap. The cap seems pretty good.

Thoughts?

Cameron

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Piper

Originally Posted by Piper
Ok, you'll all have to bear with me as this is new. The UC we have is a 1942, 85 hp model. Am I to understand that when ordering parts I should really be asking for parts for a 1940 if we're talking about a flat head ford motor?

Originally Posted by Alex Blair

Order the head gaskets by stud number..
There are two different stud patern by stud number..you need the 24 stud ..

Cameron, what Alex is saying is that although your engine has similar specs to a 1940 motor, the 1940 85hp has 21 head studs and a cyl bore of 3 1/16. Your carrier has 24 head studs but still has a bore of 3 1/16. Most 24 stud head gaskets available today will be for the slightly larger 3 3/16 bore (95hp, or referred to as 59A), but will still be suitable for fitting to your engine. Just be aware that from 1949 to 53, a different version of the 24 stud engine appeared called the 8BA. The gaskets for this engine WILL NOT be suitable for your heads/block as the water passages differ.

[Jordan Baker]

HI

Here is the coil adaptor that you should be after. This is what I have on my machine and it is a lot better then using the original type coils. Just check your distributor to see if it has 2 or 3 holes drilled into the top surface for the coil mounting. The 1932-36ish dist had a 3 hole mount for the coil whereas the 37-41 models had a 2 hole mount. When you buy a modern type coil make sure to get one with an internal resistor. It just means you have one less bit of wiring to do. Ive also included a picture of how I mounted my coil to my engine.

As for the distributor wires I got a set off of another MLU member who bought them from Macs or Dennis Carpenter. The nice thing about these sets were that the wires had individual colours. It made it really easy to hook up the wires in the dist cap and get them in the correct spot.

You should also replace all the wiring. It is not hard to hook up the bare minimum to have it run the engine. Plus this way you know everthing is new and correct.

As for your engine. Does it have the water pumps at the bottom or the top at the front of the engine? Also where do the water pipes that connect from the top of the rad to engine hook up at the engine. Are they towards the front of the block or are the centered at the top of the heads? Without pictures this will help us identify your engine properly. As a few have said there was a number of engines that came out all within decade and making sure you get the correct parts will save money and time wasted.

One last thing.

I bought a brandnew complete fuel pump from Macs as I was tired with messing around on the old original ones. I splurged and bought the made in USA vs the offshore crap one only to find it had actauly been made in Canada. Don't use original pumps unless they have been rebuilt with all new rubber parts. Todays fuel will destroy the old stuff in no time

[Lynn Eades]

The original coil in the Ford is only a 4.5 volt coil. The 6 volt supply is reduced via a resistor in behind the dash panel in most carriers. You would need to by pass this resistor if you fit a 6 volt coil.
The next thing is to change the condensor for one which suits the coil. (with a change of coil voltage it is nessassary to change the capacitence of the condensor, (measured in microfarads), other wise the contact sets (points) life expectancy will be reduced. The capacitance of the condensor dictates whether metal transfers from one contact to the other (or not)(please excuse the spelling) As long as the capacity is correct, the physical look of a condensor does not matter as long as it can be mounted and the wire can be hooked up. ... So ...basically you want a condensor made for a 6 volt system to go with your 6 volt coil. This applies to all standard coil ignition systems of this type.
Hope this helps.

[Piper]

Thanks Jordan and Lynn. To answer a couple of questions, the coil (right now) is on the dizzy. I want to use the adapter plate and a new 6 volt coil. The rad hose enters the head right in the middle at the top, not in the front as yours does Jordan. I agree about replacing the wires. I'm hoping that I can go to Princess Auto and buy the wire and ends. I haven't looked at the fuel pump yet. The glass bowl was filled with old gas which was like lacquer when I dumped it out. Next is the carb.

On a good note, the heads came off well and we've cleaned them up nicely. No cracks or dings and look really flat. We're building a crank to manually clean the valve seats as a few of them were really crudded up and likely that's why our compression was so poor.

Cameron

[Ledsel]

Get your wires from Napa. Princess won't have them. I'd ask for the real wire type instead of the carbon ones but either will work. You will have to make them so buy the ends and the wire buy the foot.

[Jordan Baker]

Here is the part # for the colour coded set from Mac's

This is the set I have used.

# 78-12259 SPARK PLUG WIRE SET COLOR CODED 8 PIECES V8 PASSENGER, COMMERCIAL & TRUCK 1937-1941

$31.95

This is the part number for the coil adaptor kit
# 78-12036-S KIT COIL ADAPTOR KIT 2 HOLE STYLE INCLUDES GASKETS 1937-41

$38.00