Q: Greg, what changes have to be made to put overhead valves on a flathead engine? Thanks, Dennis “Mike” Scott, Box 399, Manson, North Carolina.
A: Dennis, the flathead Fords have really caught on again with hotrodders as the nostalgia car market continues to boom. As for those heads, the person behind much of the Chevy Corvette’s success, namely Zora Arkus-Duntov along with his brother Yura, built and sold a Hemi-style overhead valve Ardun Head for the Flathead V8. They were purchased mostly by Bonneville land speed racers back in the 1950s.
The good news today is that Don Ferguson Jr., who along with his dad raced an Ardun head equipped Flathead V8 at Bonneville, resurrected the Ardun Head by purchasing all of the tooling from a noted author, Don Orosco, who built 30 sets of the former Ardun heads to run in England. The Ferguson contact is www.ardun.com or write to: Don Ferguson, Ardun Enterprises, Box 205, Wilmington, CA. 90744. Don’s business number is 323-775-6803.
Just to let you know, this much improved Ferguson-built Ardun cylinder head conversion set isn’t cheap, as $13,950 is what will be needed to bolt a set on your flathead. There are other companies out there, too, but the Ferguson-Ardun is the cream of the crop and merits this mention.
Good luck with your Flathead and let me know what happens.