AutoEsoterica

It's Cars & Coffee season. Before you get on the road, watch this! Craig sat down with one of Hagerty's experts to ask whether you REALLY need classic car insurance. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/R9b0mJfh9HM?si=gQjU4...

1 week ago | [YT] | 7

AutoEsoterica

Spring has sprung! Before you eagerly pilot your classic out of the garage with the battery tender still plugged in (not again!), join Craig Cole for a conversation with Hagerty's Bryant Kolle. They'll get you up to speed on everything you need to do before hitting the road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClIVx...

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2 months ago | [YT] | 44

AutoEsoterica

From early engines to latter “24-stud” models to the 8BA series, the last iteration of the famous flathead V8, Ford offered a huge range of different cylinder heads. Some were made of cast aluminum and many others of iron. Naturally, compression ratios varied extensively based on year and application (trucks generally had lower compression to help avoid spark knock in heavy use), though they generally increased as the years went on and fuel quality improved, providing greater performance and efficiency.

Of course, aftermarket manufacturers made a staggering number of different high-performance cylinder heads for the flathead V8, companies from Edelbrock and Offenhauser to Evans, Kong, Navarro and many more all got in on the action.

If you’re looking to boost the compression and improve the performance of your 8BA flathead, there’s a set of factory iron heads that provide more squeeze and don’t cost a fortune. Look for a pair of EAB cylinder heads. These were installed on 1952 and ’53 cars and should provide the most compression of any factory Ford head. When installing these on a modified engine, however, make sure to check the clearances between the pistons as well as the valves and the head. You don’t want anything to touch because that’s, understandably, really bad.

You can see how to go about that here:
www.youtube.com/shorts/Ybf9Lz...

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3 months ago | [YT] | 17

AutoEsoterica

Despite its flaws (most notoriously a propensity for running way too hot), the Ford Flathead V8 was an engineering marvel when it debuted in 1932. While far from the first V8 ever manufactured, this was nonetheless the first mass-produced V8, which the company designed specifically for low-priced cars and trucks. And the key to achieving this, the engine’s secret sauce, was the block, which was cast in a single piece, a revolutionary engineering advancement in the early 1930s. At the time, other V8s, which were nearly always found in high-priced cars far out of the reach of everyday motorists, were made of several pieces that bolted together, which required expensive and time-consuming precision machining plus assembly time to boot.

Casting the flathead block in one piece eliminated all that and helped keep the price down, though this took a lot of engineering work to achieve. In fact, it required something like 40 individual sand cores to cast one of these blocks, a dizzying amount – remember, wherever there’s an opening (a cylinder, an exhaust port, or even part of the bellhousing), no cast iron, that was once a sand core.

During the manufacturing process, wire was sometimes used to hold these cores in place, to keep them from shifting before molten iron was poured into the molds, and believe it or not, you can still find this wire inside the coolant passages of these engine 70+ years after they were manufactured.

See here the core wire I found in my block:
youtube.com/shorts/WymXZKfBd2...

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3 months ago | [YT] | 26

AutoEsoterica

Ford’s flathead V8 is a smooth-running and reliable little engine, but it is generally not known for delivering huge performance. Sure, when this V8 debuted in 1932, its 65 horsepower was a massive upgrade over the 40 horses the Model A’s four-cylinder delivered, plus, by 1934, engineers boosted the output to an even more impressive 85 horsepower, but still, that’s nothing compared to more modern engines. GM’s large bore, short-stroke V8s arrived shortly after World War II, the Chrysler Hemi hit the road in ’51, and the last nail in the coffin was the fantastic small block Chevy, which launched in ’55. The flathead didn’t stand a chance against the overhead valve revolution, and production in the U.S. ended for the 1953 model year.

The curse of this engine is, of course, the horrid design of its ports, particularly on the intake side. Airflow into and out of the cylinders is extremely restrictive, which limits the power potential. Still, there are some cheap, quick and simple tricks to help optimize the flow, including port matching. By tracing the shape of the intake gasket openings on both the block and intake manifold, these parts can be matched to each other, ground and cleaned up so there’s no offset to restrict flow. With a couple hours and a few sanding rolls, you can help your flathead V8 produce a little more power.

I recorded my process here, if you're interested: www.youtube.com/shorts/bcAgtW...

Sure, some engine builders aggressively hog out the ports on these ol’ V8s, but this is a risky operation. Coolant passages run above and below each intake port, and if you go too deep and hit water, it can be nearly impossible to correct this problem, so it’s best for novices to tread lightly here.

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3 months ago | [YT] | 26

AutoEsoterica

Not long ago, we achieved an important milestone in the restoration of my 1951 Ford Crestliner: The body shell finally has color and clear! Earlier in the year (read: over the summer), I painted all the car’s smaller components, items like the chin pan, various trim pieces, the fuel filler door, hinges, front fenders, trunk lid and more. That was a huge undertaking to be sure, but getting paint on the body was even more difficult because of the size of this component. Because of the cold weather, I painted the body in my garage, which was quite a tight squeeze and required a bit of spray-gun gymnastics, but in the end, everything worked out OK. With some wet sanding and a good polish, the finish should look pretty nice.

With this major hurdle out of the way, all I have left to paint are the hood and doors, which should be much more manageable. If you’re curious, the lower hue is the original color called Hawaiian Bronze, while the upper one is Pale Gold, which is very close to what this car was painted at the factory. The paint store wanted something like $1,200 to perfectly match a gallon of the original Sandpiper Tan, but Pale Gold is 99% the same and only $300 per gallon, so that’s what I went with. (What can I say, I’m pragmatic!)

Check out this short (youtube.com/shorts/M7CeU5B2pa...) to see these two paint colors and make sure to stay tuned for more updates and videos on the restoration of my 1951 Ford. After I get the doors and hood painted, the body can go back on the frame and reassembly can begin.

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4 months ago | [YT] | 28

AutoEsoterica

From the AutoEsoterica family to yours, Happy New Year! Thanks for riding shotgun with us during the past year. We have a ton of fun and fascinating content planned for you in 2026 and more than a few surprises. Buckle your seat belts if you've got 'em.

4 months ago | [YT] | 1

AutoEsoterica

It may be laughably quaint by 21st-century standards, but the flathead V8 engine block is an intricate and complex piece of engineering. Casting this pig-iron lump as a single unit – which required something like 40 individual sand cores – was the major technological advancement that allowed Ford to offer an eight-cylinder engine in affordable, mass-market cars. At the time, this development pushed foundry technology to the limit, though after much trial and error, Henry and his engineers persevered, introducing the flathead V8 in early 1932.

Even today, this engine block, with all its oddities and flaws, is a marvel. The intake ports flowing through the upper deck, the complexity of the center section where the valvetrain components reside, and those exhaust ports, which run through the water jackets, exiting on the outer sides of the block show some real engineering thoughtfulness. And that last item, in particular, the flathead’s exhaust design, manages to both confound and impress at the same time.

Taking the heat from roasting-hot exhaust gases as they exit the combustion chambers and immediately dumping that energy right into the cooling system is a terrible flaw, one that plagued these powerplants right from the get-go, but this unconventional design keeps the engine pleasantly compact and simplifies the manifolds. Take a look at Cadillac’s flathead V8 and you’ll see the difference. Here, exhaust exits right next to the intake ports, a design that keeps excess heat out of the cooling system but turns the engine’s topside into a labyrinthian mess of manifolds.

Now, the block pictured here is an 8BA variant, the last generation of this engine produced by Ford. These feature several improvements over earlier designs, including reworked decks and heads to further improve cooling, while the integral bellhousing was eliminated. These engines were used in post-war passenger cars and trucks, and this example will be installed in my 1951 Ford Crestliner. The block recently came back from the machine shop. It was cleaned, checked for fatal cracks, the bores were opened up 0.125” (1/8th of an inch) over the stock diameter, the main bearings were honed, and hardened valve seats were installed. I gasket-matched the intake ports to the manifold for ✨slightly✨ improved performance and eased some of the rough edges around the block. All that’s left now is a thorough cleaning, then this engine can be assembled.

- Craig

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5 months ago | [YT] | 45

AutoEsoterica

Finally got some paint on the body shell of my 1951 Ford Crestliner a few weeks ago! The results are far from perfect -- I've never sprayed a car before, I painted the body right in my garage, and I used a $20 spray gun from Harbor Freight -- but overall, I'm super pleased with the results. There are dust spots here and there, so everything will have to be wet sanded and polished, but still, the finish is nearly good enough to run as-is.

I'm using two-stage paint (separate color and clear) on this project, as close to the original colors as I could reasonably get. The lower hue is called Hawaiian Bronze, while the upper one is very close to Sandpiper Tan. The paint store wanted around $1,200 a gallon of *perfectly matched* Sandpiper Tan, far more than I wanted to pay, especially since I would be spraying everything myself and the risk of screwing things up was high. Instead, I picked a different paint out of their standard color library that was basically indistinguishable and only $300 per gallon.

Now, I have to address the doors and hood, and all the paint will be finished. The doors are ready to go right now, but I still have to sand the hood. Stay tuned for more...

- Craig

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5 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 28

AutoEsoterica

What's your favorite vintage engine? The Ford flathead has its flaws, but this V8 is still a great little powerplant.

This right here is an 8BA I recently got back from the machine shop. The block has been bored out 0.125", hardened valve seats were installed and everything got balanced. With a 4" Mercury crank, this engine will clock in at 276 cubic inches. With an Isky 1007B cam and no crazy modifications, this should be a torquey little engine, but hopefully reliable and efficient, too.

Stay tuned for updates as I assemble this V8 and continue restoring my 1951 Ford Crestliner! We've got big plans for 2026...

- Craig

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5 months ago | [YT] | 25