Everybody knows what a Ford/Merc flathead is. Trying to sneak something else in on a technicality isn't happening.
Rich,
One must remember not everyone who buys a rule book was born in the 1930's or 1940's, or has tribal knowledge on what is acceptable vs. what is not acceptable.
When I started my project I read the rule book and adhered to the rules as written. I was not trying to sneak something in on anyone. Just because the motor was a 337 inch motor does not matter, as sleeving, boring, stroking, and de-stroking motors is all a common practice in most if not all classes of the SCTA. If at the time the rulebook had said something to the effect of 221-239-255 Ford Flathead engines blocks only are allowed in this class, I would not have pursued the 337 Ford motor.
In 1986 the SCTA rule book was a whopping 80 pages. In 2019 it is 281 pages plus a few that are not numbered. Granted there have been some new classes formed and a change from just jumping up two classes for supercharged to new supercharged engine classes. I am also sure some of the rulebook growth is based on clarification of the rules in the rulebook. This conversation is a perfect example of a clarification question.
Tom G.
I totally agree, the truck vs passenger car distinction is not the best answer. I latched on to it because that is how the rulebook tries to clarify this issue for XF and XXF. Stating the as manufactured displacement would remove all ambiguity. This would be my recommendation if someone wanted to reword this section to remove any ambiguity. Again, I am sincerely trying to help improve things for the next Rookie that reads the rule book and is just trying to figure out what it really means.
If the 337 was only a Lincoln engine and not also a Ford, this section of the rulebook would not be so complicated. I think it is not fair to desotoman to consider this just a technicality because some 337s were absolutely Fords. If Ford just put Lincoln engines in its trucks I would not feel this way. The exact opposite is true. The 337 was an engine that Ford design and used in its trucks for an entire year (1948) before Lincoln started putting it in their cars in 1949. History remembers the 337 as a Lincoln motor mainly because more were sold in Lincolns but it is totally correct to also consider the 337 V-8 a Ford flathead because it was one first.
Graham-34,
I appreciate you bring this up. I think the idea of stating Flathead block years of manufacture and displacements would end any confusion on the issue. Here we are xxxx amount of years down the road and there is still confusion on the way the rules are written. I appreciate your post stating that the 337 was a Ford motor first before it was ever designated a Lincoln motor. I did in fact have heads that said Ford on them and nothing else and that is how I was able to prove I had a ford flathead engine.
Thanks again for bringing this up.
Tom G.
