Flatheads: Identification Mercury 4" Stroke vs. 3 3/4" Stroke Crankshafts

How To Identify a 4" Mercury Crankshaft

by Bill Boomer, aka 4tford

   The intent of this article is to enable you to identify the crankshaft you are looking at as either a Mercury 4" stroke or a Ford 3-3/4" stroke. I will try and describe to you what to do to make a somewhat positive identification and then the pictures can be used to clear up what is foggy.

The 4" stroke crank in North America came in the Mercury vehicles from 1949 to 1953 in the United States and to 1954 in Canada. The Fords were 3-3/4" stroke in both countries.
Because Henry Ford did many different things in many different unexplained ways, the only positive way to identify the crank is to measure the stroke.

If the motor is in the vehicle and you are able to remove a head and rotate the engine, it is a simple matter. Rotate the engine so one piston is at the top of a stroke. Mark the location of the piston and then rotate the same piston to the bottom of its stroke and measure the distance the piston went. If it went 3-3/4" it is Ford and if it went 4" it is Mercury. Another way for a quick check, but not a guaranteed method is to remove the oil pan and measure across the widest part of the thickest counterweight. If the measurement is about 6" it should be Mercury. If it is about 5-1/2" it should be Ford. If the cleanout holes are 5/8" then it should be American made Mercury and I have seen numerous American made Mercury. 

Cranks with a 3/8" clean-out plug. If the letters EAC, 1CM or 0CM they should be Mercury as these are known to be Mercury symbols. I use the word "should" a lot because the only positive method is to measure the actual stroke.

99% of the Canadian made 4" stroke cranks had a 3/8" cleanout as well as an approximately 7/8" long kidney shaped dimple recessed into either one or both of the first thin counterweights. Again, this is not a guarantee but a very strong indicator.
Now on to the pictures. I hope they are self explanatory

Article created by Bill Boomer (4tford) 11/2007

Source:  http://www.flatheadv8.org/boomer/crank.htm

Identifying Early Ford Rear Ends

Resto-Rod Modernization of a 1929 Ford Model A - The Deceptive Gentleman

You See a Beautifully Restored Stock Model A Coming Your Way-- butWhat's That Noise?

By Christopher Campbell, Photography by Makela Auto Tuning, Stefan Bau

Hot Rod Magazine, March, 2008

1  

It sounds angry. Really angry. And man, it's hauling ass on thosewooden-spoke wheels on a winding road through the beautiful Finnishcountryside. By the time you catch up to it at a diner down the road,it's chugging, sputtering, and sounding like a standard 200.5ci L-headfour-cylinder engine. What's going on here?

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  "Would you care for a run, my good man?" Take note of the license plate;there's a clever h
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  It's really not even close to what a factory L-head four looks like, butit has the right f
• 

  The '29 was a solid base for a project, but 64 years in South Americanecessitated copious

You've just encountered the most clandestine prewar sleeper we've evercome across. What appears to be a nuts-and-bolts restoration of a ModelA sedan is actually a very precisely tuned and stealthily constructedhot rod.

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  Once the car was blown apart, Kari sketched out the plans for theredesigned suspension and
• 
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  The body and chassis were completely disassembled for metal and paintprep. It looks like a

Kari Maekelae and his team of metal craftsmen at Maekelae Auto Tuning(MAT, www.mat.fi), which specializes in building and restoring vintagesports cars and race cars, is the mastermind behind this surreptitiousbuild. The owner of the A, a widely renowned rally driver who wishes toremain anonymous, found it and a '24 Model T while racing in the WorldRally Championship in Argentina in 1993. The cars were mostly complete,and the word is that he didn't pay much more than the price of shippingto get them back to his native Finland. The T received a full resto backto stock standards, and the A was slated for the same until the intrepidrally racer happened to mention to Kari that he'd like a bit more powerunderhood, but without going the typical hot rod or street rod route--hewanted to maintain a vintage look to the car. After a few moments ofbench racing with Kari about what could be done, he mentioned that hisfavorite engine from his decades of racing was the high-strung Group 4Ford Escort BDA built by Cosworth. That sparked an idea, and Kariimmediately started envisioning what the car should be. After airing afew ideas, he persuaded the owner to give him full license to build theA as he saw fit.

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  Once the frame was squared and boxed, the custom X-brace andcrossmembers went in. Here, th
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  Not a single part in this shot of the rear suspension is original ModelA, but MAT blended
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  The metal patchwork is seamless, and very little filler was needed tomake it like glass. M

The goal was to keep the body, interior, and feel of the A stock whilemaking it perform like a sports car, all the while using as many factoryparts--or at least factory-appearing parts--as possible. That's a tallorder considering the canvas. While he may have relished the idea ofrevolutionizing the art of automobile production, ol' Henry wasn't bigon technology for the car itself. Simplicity and low cost were the keysto the success of both the T's and A's. That meant using the stock Aframe and buggy spring suspension for this build created a multitude ofchallenges.

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  Even though it's a 30-plus-year-old design, a great deal of work wentinto retro-izing the
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  The coup de grace on the engine's masquerade is the original bangerspark plugs mounted on
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  No room for a picnic basket in here. The original trunk now hides thedry-sump reservoir an

The key to any good performing car is the platform, so the first orderof business was to strip the A down to its basic elements and develop aplan for the chassis. Of course boxing the rails was on the list, but tomake the frame exceptionally rigid, Kari designed crossbracing andbrackets that would not only stiffen everything up but also blend rightinto the chassis and give a factory-built impression. The stock frontsuspension was strengthened and given a Panhard rod, but the rear had tobe completely rethought. No banjo rearend could survive the wrath of arace-bred Cosworth, so a Toyota 4x4 van rearend (which was actually usedin Toyota rally cars) was selected for its width and durability, and aparallel four-link with a Panhard rod was designed to locate it.Coilovers would have been the easy choice but not the right one for thiscar. Kari's team fabricated mounts to use a stock-style buggy springmodified for a progressive rate and swapped in friction shocks from anAston Martin DP4. Who would have thought? The list of illusory mods islengthy, but to really appreciate the level of detail and time spent onevery aspect to keep the identity of the A correct requires hourscrawling all over it.

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  Wire or steel wheels would have been easier, but Kari wanted theabsolute stealthiness of a
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  Of course wooden wheels willnot hold up to this combination, so MAT built its own mold to
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  Other than the steering wheel, shifter, and pedals, everything in theinterior is OEM Mode

Now the answer to the question on everyone's mind: What does anear-stock-height Model A with a race-prepped original chassis and adrivetrain that'll propel it 0-60 in a tick over five seconds feel likeon the open road? Stupid fun--and we don't use that term lightly. A goodsleeper puts a wicked grin on your face, and there's no bigger sleeperthan this. The absolute contradiction of sitting in the gentlemanlyinterior grasping the four-spoke steering wheel and stock-length shifterand hearing the high-strung wail from the Cosworth is delicious.

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  The Tilton Engineering pedal assembly simplified the packaging for thenew hydraulic brakes
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  Factory Model A seats may not provide a great deal of confidence duringaggressive driving,
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  The dash features restored original gauges, but a data logger wasmounted overhead next to

If given the chance to enjoy the A for a weekend or so, we'd go for theultimate covert action and dress in our Sunday best as if the onlyintention was a leisurely drive to an antique car show--with theMAT-designed ignition misfire circuit activated so it chuggedlaboriously along like a stock Model A. Of course we'd only pull theSimpson race harness over our shoulders at the stoplight once the guy inthe BMW in the next lane had thoroughly dismissed us as nothing morethan an antiquated and sluggish museum piece. Then, with a flip of themisfire switch and a tip of the hat, it'd be time to lower his smugnessa few points. You with us? Bonus points for doing it with vintagedriving gloves and a newsboy hat.

Trial-and-error testing has dialed the suspension in, and Kari plans touse it occasionally

Quick Inspection: '29 Ford Model A sedan
Maekelae Auto Tuning (MAT) * Kannus, Finland

POWERTRAIN
Engine: The little beastie in banger guise is an '81 122ci aluminum Cosworth BDA originally designed for European Group 4 rally and touring car racing. Nearly everything in the engine is original Cosworth-spec including the billet steel crank, forged rods and pistons, and solid-tappet Cosworth L1 cams. The twin-cam 16-valve head received a thorough porting and polishing from MAT and was fitted with stainless steel 1.4- and 1.2-inch intake and exhaust valves respectively. Power: The naturally aspirated Cossie revs to 8,400 rpm to make 250 hp and sees 200 lb-ft of torque at 7,200 rpm.Transmission: At the end of that long shifter is a ZF quick-ratio five-speed transmission sourced from a Group 4 Escort rally car. Rearend: An '85 Toyota Celica rally car gave up its rearend, but a limited-slip diff and stronger axles were swapped in

Looking like a scene from 1929, this thing is the ultimate sleeper.

 

CHASSIS
Suspension: It's still original-style buggy springs front and rear, but they've been lowered a little over 2 inches all around and feature adjustable bumpstops between the leaves to create a progressive rate. Shocks are Girling friction shocks from an Aston Martin DP4. MAT designed and built the front and rear Panhard bars as well as the 0.79-inch adjustable sway bar. The front radius rods are the originals but are strengthened considerably by MAT, while the rearend is held in place by a custom parallel four-link by MAT.

Brakes: Toyota manual drum brakes take up all four corners with two 21mm Girling master cylinders providing the push. Pedals are from a Tilton box assembly. A hydraulic hand brake was fabbed up to allow some hand-brake-turn fun.

Wheels: The 19-inch cast-aluminum wheels were made in-house by MAT.

 If only this page had audio... wait, it does - check the video link below to see and hear

Tires: Dunlop Racing 500-19s take up all four corners and stick better than you'd expect.

STYLE
Body: Though the chassis is full of tricks, the body was restored to stock form with panels from Snyder's Antique Auto Parts (www.snydersantiqueauto.com) and some handformed pieces by MAT.
Paint: The paint is a custom-mixed two-tone acrylic from PPG swirled with an eye toward a classy stock look.
Interior: The interior is almost 100 percent restored original parts with material supplied by LeBaron Bonney (www.lebaronbonney.com). The steering wheel is a custom piece by Moto-Lita, and the Simpson four-point belts can be easily hidden under the rear seat pillows. HRM

Source: http://www.hotrod.com/featuredvehicles/hrdp_0803w_1929_model_a_touring_car/viewall.html#ixzz2KGxmmZbT

Ford Model A - Modification Front Brake

This is the brake wedge with the wedge stud and they can normally not float from side so side.

Here you can see the mounted wedge on the bottom of the picture.

On the left hand side you can see the original wedge and on the right hand side the wedge floater kit. The floater kit allows the wedge to float, so both brake shoes will be pressed with the same pressure to the brake drum and this gives you a better brake.

Here you can see the difference, the stud on the right is smaller. You don't have to make this modification yourself, Snyder's or Bratton's do have this item on stock.

Source:  http://www.maurer-markus.ch/ford_a/mod_vorderbremse.en.html

Ford Model A - Cover for rear camshaft bushing

The rear camshaft bushing is normally open and the cause for oil leaks. It is normally only covered by a gasket between the Engine block and the flywheel housing. If the flywheel housing lays not properly on the engine block, an oil leak is the result. What I did is to close the bushing with a plug. This modification is not my idea, it is published in the book 'The Model A Engine' written by William H. McRee and Paul H. McRee (Page 58/59). In the book they used an existing freeze plug and I have added a blueprint for those who want to make one.

This is the end of the camshaft with the self made plug.
My plug was newly made on a lathe.
This are the blueprints to make your own plug. To get a better view just click here onto blueprint or into the picture.
The camshaft was too long and I had to grind it a little bit until I hat an end play of about 0,5mm between camshaft and freeze plug.
This is how the rear bearing with camshaft inserted looks like.
The freezing plug is a little bit oversized and can be inserted with a hammer. Then make sure that the camshaft does not get in contact on the inner side of the plug. Now you should never see any oil under your flywheel housing.
Source:  http://www.maurer-markus.ch/ford_a/mod_nockenwellendeckel.en.html

Charlie Yapp Timing Cover and Distributor

Charlie Yapp

 

   

Above is the front cover ignition system. The unit a complete kit that drives off the front cam timing gear with a new specially design cam-nut and drive gear. The housing has a distributor drive shaft and pinion gear installed.

It uses any distributor that would fit a VW BEETLE (Clockwise rotation). The Distributor is optional and extra (not included)

     

  

WANT a PDF copy of the

INSTRUCTIONS?

EMAIL US & REQUEST A COPY & WE'LL EMAIL IT RIGHT BACK TO YOU.  

 

Daily Driver Distributor, shown below, is available from us: CW rotation, points, centrifugal advance, 6 or 12 volt, rust color cap and ready to run. It sells here for $76.50 (no coil). This unit works very well for touring and daily driving. It comes with a second set of points and a pair of and a second pair of advance springs to better reach the proper advance curve for bangers. If maximum performance is required then I suggest the FSI VW unit.
For those of you wanting something a bit more, I suggest that you contact FSI Ignitions. They have an Electronic VW version that is best suited for those of you needing more advance, performance curve and spring control. fsignitions@cableone.net or call Mel at 580-762-8322
 Distributor (points type) - Optional at $76.50 Complete + ship. Wires not included.
Buyers need to obtain one of these inexpensive VW distributors. The options are huge (a good thing). You'll find points and electronic, advance curve kits, vacuum and centrifugal advance, high speed balanced rotors, hi energy spark systems, Magnetos and conversion kits and caps of all kinds. Brands include FSI, Mallory, Bosch, MSD, Empi, PRO, Pertronix and several other major aftermarket brands. There is a profusion of websites to Google and Ebay listings that discuss these distributors and their advantages and possible upgrades.
VW distributors generally run from $80 for new centrifugal advance points units and $100 to $200 for electronic and up to $400 for ball bearing jobs. We have internal replacement advance springs that get you to about 32 degrees advance.
NOTE: Any clockwise four banger distributor that has its shank, shaft and tang machined to VW specs (below) will fit. Next image is a print to work from. . . Most aftermarket manufactures carry a ready-made VW distributor. Units with a larger housing will have more adjustability (weights can move farther out) than the "009" models.
Measurements are in millimeters.
Questions? let me know . . .

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HERE IS THE DEAL
If you want one total is $489 + ship.
(SOSS members may take 10% off this price)
Questions? Contact me by email or phone (513) 724-0700.  . . . C.Y.


Source:   http://www.secretsofspeed.com/IGNITIONS.htm