With the amount of sludge and grime in the motor I would definitely pull it out and disassemble the whole thing. I know it's a ton of extra work but it really needs it.
The condition of the motor doesn't match the overall condition of the car. The new bright green coolant seems suspicious in an engine like that. If it had leaky headgaskets and it sat for 30-40 years, it might explain the rusted up, stuck motor. Back in them days, nobody changed the oil. They just kept adding a quart. Even if the engine turned free, those piston rings would be toast. A couple of onces of WD40 on the rings for a few weeks should free it up
I agree, It is in need of a total stripdown, now that you have found so much debris inside of the engine, I would not trust any of the Valve seats or guides, and I bet the piston bases are rusted the same as the valves and That is why it won't move.
The last time I worked on a flathead Ford was in the 60s. It's good to see a younger guy keeping that knowledge alive. The car is definitely worth the effort!
From what I can see ,it looks like a couple of the pistons are seized in the cylinder walls of the block .which may require removing the block and maybe have to loosen the connecting rods and drive out the piston assemblies .h
I still think that ENGINE can be saved- I would just let it soak in automatic transmission fluid for 2,3 days, but know matter what! Keep, that car and engine together- ALL STOCK-$$- GOOD VIDEO!
Matt, they used asbestos in brake shoes in that period, in the future it would be wise to wear some breathing protection when sanding those shoes and drums with shoe lining stuck to them, as was the case here. That engine needs to be removed, stripped of accessories and pan, hot tanked, then steam cleaned, not pressure washed, steam will dissolve all the built up crap and flush it out.
I can't wait to see what sort of shit is in the oil pan. That will tell the story. That car probably has never seen multigrade, detergent or "trop/arctic" type engine oil.
@@johndonlon1611 A lot of cars sold back then didn't have an oil filter so sludgy oil pans were normal. Plus oil changes were expected every 1-2000 miles.
@@6arley4liv3 The Chinese are still using asbestos to this day, the last Company I worked for had a , "No Chinese parts, materials or equipment", policy, asbestos content was one of the reasons. They didn't like stuff from India either !
Old time mechanics told me that worn out engines don't usually sieze up but good tight engines will set up in storage let's hope its just being stubborn
My vote is to pull the engine, tear it down, clutch also and R&R as needed and you will have both car and engine/clutch for the ages with care. Love what you all are doing!
Easiest way would be to remove the engine and strip it down and clean out the sludge. Then you can replace what ever needs replacing and rebuild the engine.
Given the extraordinary overall condition of the car, finding all that corrosion, and sludge in the engine is baffling. Once pulling the pan, you'll likely find the rods rusted to the journals(or worse). Dispite the headaches, it's sure to be worth it in the end.
@@octaviocueva5843 What a mean thing to say. (Of course, being mean is much easier than being nice.) So, I'm not so surprised these days. What I do appreciate is the "long version" of what he is showing us; he is teaching what is involved in diagnosing a V-8 Ford engine, as well as all the parts and components and tools which were available in the day. And what can go wrong. He has patience; (you obviously don't).He may take longer, but he will not hurt this engine, whereas someone in your apparent rush might. Again, he is attempting to teach............
I apologize I really do my apologie Im having personal problems I'm sorry next time I'll think before I talk I wish you the best that is a very rare car
I am impressed with your persistence. I would have pulled the engine a long time ago, and put it on the stand to find out what the heck is keeping it stuck. I can't wait to see what you find.
@@icu22day The real fun is after the motor goes back in, the hood doesn't fit. Way back when, we had a '40 ford drag car. Once that hood came off the first time, it never fit right again.
@@thomasst.martin3308 An old body and fender guy showed me a neat trick on that idea a long time ago. Before you remove the hood, doors, or trunk lid, drill a 1/8" hole through the hinge and the surface bolted to it so you can use that 1/8" drill or allan wrench as a locating pin when it's time to replace it. Do the hinge too if you are removing that.
One of the things that I love about vehicles and devices of this era is that they were designed to be easily repairable. That flathead could be torn down to the bare block while still in the car. The design of the valves and how the whole module can be pulled out is brilliant. I work on the radios and test gear of this era more than cars, and it's the same. Appliances even came with a schematic print glued into the inside of the chassis or cabinet. The crap these days is only designed to be thrown away, and manufacturers hide and even deny access to repair info claiming all sorts of stupid excuses. - BTW I don;t think it's a fail on this one, you found several issues and fixed them. There's just more to find. I am sure you will resolve all of them. Cheers,
Its a beautiful car, the body looks in great shape so in this instance a locked engine is an easier fix. Rather than making and welding up body panels for a change
Wow ... Mat... what a few days of work that has been for you guys. I just love that 39 Merc... reminds me of my own. Every time I see work being done on it I am reminded of my own as it is the same colour scheme inside and out. You can't win 'em all as the saying goes. I really enjoy the common sense approach and grass roots tips in the ITG videos. I am anticipating having to pull the flathead out of my '39 Merc so I am genuinely intrigued each time you work on it. I would like to say that I could rebuild the engine myself ... but I am not entirely sure. These videos help immensely. Thank You. G 😊🍟
Your new/old toy is a gem. It does a great job with capable hands. It's pretty exciting to have the right tool for the right job. Your car looks choice. Thanks for the hard work and show!
I don't know why you're messing around with the valves and all that. Pull the engine and tear it all down because it's going to need a complete rebuild
Coke works really well also. A neighbor was a hobby farmer. Always bought and used old equipment. The farm he bought had an early massy Harris combine that was sitting in grove. Six-cylinder Chrysler motor somebody had taken the head off years before he took clean the cylinders out the best he could boredom full of Coke and had a piece of 4 x 4 he went down every day and put the 4 x 4 in on top of the cylinder each piston and you have each one two hits with hammer . 30 days it came loose. He used it to combine beans . Said it never used any oil
Matt that is probably the best 39 Merc I have seen body wise! From watching your channel it is certainly one of your very best finds. While I would not paint or change much on this car other than getting the mechanicals right! This car deserves a full build on the engine! That would also be great content for your channel! Anyhow I am hoping to see a flathead build in the future for this car!
Man that's a shame that motor was so bad inside. I bet it can be saved though, just by tearing it down, cleaning everything real good, honing the cylinders, and lapping the valves
Sorry it's been such a bummer. Love the valve guide puller. You might try turning around three times while holding your tongue a certain way.... It's such a cherry original car and I know you will prevail. Nothing good ever comes easy. Stay safe.
Hi, This car requires a full rebuild using NOS parts. Not the "imported" junk. Beautiful car. I read some where Henry Ford once admitted privately that mercury was the way he wanted to build Fords but the competition from Chevrolet made it impossible.
I love this 39 Mercury. Keep that sweet flathead in it. But I would pull it, but that’s me. Make it a great engine and it will be an awesome driver. One day before I pass I’d love to own one. The body lines are so awesome!!! Good luck guys! 🥴🥸
great video Matt. I'm more into the 50's and 60's cars, but I still really enjoy watching you and Mike work on the older stuff. A lot of what you all do can still be applied to the newer cars to. Keep doing what you do! Hope to meet you in person some day.
COOL TOOL!!!! I bought a valve spring compressor off ebay thinking it was for a briggs & stratton,,,turns out it is for a flat head. Nice old Craftsman tool that probably never was used. The one you have is COOL!! Old box and everything!! Mine is for just taking the spring off not the whole guide assy. GREAT SHOW!!!!
I’d be cutting the drums. Every time my Dad put shoes on his 48 Ford he had to take the drums to a machine shop. The shoes were always thicker. Yes I’m old when a 48 was a daily driver! 🤪🥸
When my second son was born in 1963, I decided our family needed a second car, so for $100 I bought a flathead V8 49 Ford 4dr sedan that had just over 100,000 miles on it. I drove the car back and forth to work for about 2 months and then took it to my friend's service station for routine maintenance. Up on the hoist, I took the drain plug out of the pan and nothing came out , the sludge had blocked the drain so I tool the pan off and really cleaned the pan out good then put it back on temporarily while I took the intake manifold off and cleaned out the soft sludge that was in the valve valley and put the intake manifold back on with a new intake gasket. Then I took the pan off again and cleaned it once more and put it back on with a new gasket and put in fresh oil and was starting to take the spark plugs out to clean them when the STP rep stopped in and said let me show you how to clean those the easy way. We put the plugs back in and started the engine and revved it up a little while he dribbled a whole can of STP down the carburetor which caused a lot of blue smoke from the exhaust then he told me to drive it until I couldn't see any more smoke and then come back. After about 10 miles I went back to the service station and the STP rep took the plugs out and they were shiny, not a speck of carbon and I'm sure the rest of the combustion chambers were just as shiny. We set the gap on the plugs and put in new ignition parts to complete the tune-up. That car always started on the first piston to come up, you couldn't hear the starter turn, it was just like turning the key switched the engine on. I drove that car 87,000 miles and traded it in on a 62 Ford Galaxie 500. When the dealer asked about my trade-in, I said all I have is the 49 Ford with nearly 200,000 miles on it so he said "The deal comes to $1387.50 so we will just round it off to $1300 even", what a deal 87,000 miles for $12.50 plus one water pump, and routine maintenance . Financially, I came out smelling like a rose on a car that was the most reliable 'used car' that I ever owned.
Yikes! I haven't ever seen oil turn to grease. Your channel and jonathanw are the best old car/everyman channels on youtube. I can't wait to see how the car cleans up.
As someone who has rebuilt at least 300 engines I would say those valves and seats need to be ground. It might run ok for awhile, but the rust pits will come back to haunt you down the road. BTW, a pressure washer works well to get out the crud if you know it will be rebuilt, but a shop vac and a wire brush can get 90% of that stuff before it washes into the pan.
Knowing you I know this will be on your mind but don't worry you will come with a great game plan by the time you start on it. It will be back on the road again. 👍
when I first met my wife 32yrs ago the family had a '43 John Deere "B" hand start tractor in the weeds that they gave me. Some ass had taken the carb off and it had had sit for many years. I got it home and replaced the tires but no matter what the engine was stuck. I pulled the drain plug and I bet a gallon of water came out before the oil. I'm your size so I got two big friends to rock the tractor back and forth. They had the front wheels jumping off the ground but it was still stuck. Her dad an old farmer (little guy) came over and chained a 8 ft long pipe on the flywheel (hand crank) he jumped up on that pipe and bam she broke free. I restored the rest and drove that tractor to shows for years. So don't give up you just haven't found the right trick yet to getting her free.
Whoa I see Matt pushing and shoving that Merc. It’s a rocking and the old car gods step in. If that Merc would have started rolling it would have stopped right in the middle of that cherry 34 grill! Things happen for a reason. Whew!!!
Hey Matt, Mike and crew When you pulled that left head I figured you had realized it was engine pulling time. Then you pulled the intake manifold and the valley was full of rust and sludge I figured you would just remove the hood and pop the engine out. When you fired up the pressure washer I figured you had lost your mind ! JUST PULL THE ENGINE AND DO IT THE RIGHT WAY ! Matt you are not a hack ! Why are you showing all this Mickey Mouse Crap on this flathead ? You have shaken my faith in you. I sure hope the next time we see the 39 Merc engine it is out of the car, on a stand and being treated correctly.
Matt isn't starting it as a full project yet. He said all he wants to do is whatever it takes to just roll it around in the shop as he's working on so many other other projects. Obviously he was hoping he'd get the motor turning without the disassembly. It will be quite a while before he gets very deep into that one.
Such a nice, clean looking old Mercury. I'm a little surprised that the engine was as gunked up as it was. I really love that valve guide tool too. That is mighty neat!
Youre right Matt soaking would have helped but this one's been left too long. we had a rare 1973 mercedes 600 with the large (6.9L)? motor that had been sitting for 15 years or so. You could do 7/8 ths of a turn in either direction but not a whole turn. We ordered the gaskets and pulled the heads and found the dirt and carbon had dried on the piston and slid across the piston over time (V8). This jammed between the head and piston as they came to the top of their stroke. I cleaned it off, oiled the cylinders and put it back together and it ran like new. Try giving it tug with the tractor while its there.. it would be best to pull the motor and as the pan is going to be as bad as the top end was. Ive had some customers that done believe in servicing to the extent that I've had to poke a screwdriver into the drain hole to get the oil to flow out of it and then it dribbles out like treacle. They are usually the ones that come back in a year later and blame the car for the bearings failing when you find the pick up screen is blocked up with sludge.
Ha! funny... when Matt started up the pressure washer, I thought, "wow, that engine sounds like a 2 stroke engine" then I thought, "sure doesn't move much". the whole time the car was in shot with hood up me thinking it was the car till he walked into view.
Pipe wrench on the crank after u use a torch to heat up the cylinders, while spraying it with penetration oil. That’s what unstuck my flathead, sat outside with water in it since 76.
I have a mental picture of Mike stirring an enormous cast iron cauldron of bubbling molasses as Matt slowly lowers the engine into it while explaining that some old Ford guy told him this works great.
11:39...Old school. If you know you'll be taking it apart again to do a proper B job, pushing it around for awhile with some valve grinding compound on the lining could help. 32:14 Never a FAIL. Reminds me of work'n with my Dad 60 yrs ago. If your ever in the Western NY area stop by we'll go for a ride in my DW's Grandmothers first new car, a registered every year 53 Crestline Victoria, un-restored survivor. Real Fords don't have Valve Covers. I think it would be a kick for 'ya.
Check inside the bell housing for a mouse nest that could jamb everything tight. I know of a car that was bought with a stuck engine and the mouse nest was the problem. Good Luck.
I remember when my engine 'siezed ' in my Datsun, as soon as we separated the motor and gearbox, a locating dowel for the pressure plate,which some how came out, fell to the floor, no more siezed engine!!! Maybe some thing that simple, is stopping your engine from turning???
Great video and instructions. Love the way you explain what you are doing and then show it. Not always do you get so much in depth knowledge of how to repair a problem. Thank You for Sharing!
Great video, my first car was a 40 Merc two door. Bought in about 1955 fo $300.00. It was an oil burner, so instead of fixing it had a early olds engine installed. All tricked out, cam, fly wheel, 1/4” over bore for 345 inches, 4 carbs, Lincoln transmission, 4.44 rear end. Heavy car but would still eat up the 55-57 Chevies in the 1/4 mile. Top end with a 2.70 rear end was good. Money pit had to sell it. So I’m watching this series with avid interest. Thanks for posting.
What a shame! But I am sure you will get it running. Looks like the rings are stuck worse than they initially appear. Hope there is not too much water in the pan after the pressure washing!
Happy New Year. As an old (73) mechanic and motor head I love your videos but this one stuck in my craw. I expect you learned a lot from this experience but it was painful to watch the sequence you followed when there there is a better way to do it with less mess and better results guaranteed. Appreciate you reviving this marvelous classic, though. Will look for followup videos on this project.
One of my first cars was a '39 Merc convertible. I noticed in one of your videos that the ignition appeared to be integral to the steering lock. On mine the ignition was a separate toggle switch located on the left side of the steering shelf. The key only locked and unlocked the steering. Just found it interesting.
For what it's worth, if its like a Lincoln Continental, the motor serial number is not on the engine, but on the top of the bell housing. You could put a different block in the car and drive it while you work on the original engine. Most people would not know the difference.
Excellent video and a lot of good information there, including (perhaps most importantly) the possibility of disappointment. A vintage flathead is like a box of chocolates... You never know what you're going to get! Which is part of the fun, actually. Love the eye candy in the background of almost every shot.
Nice try and more work than most folks would do before pulling the motor , thanks for walking us through the the steps to free it up but keeping it together till you can focus on it is prudent.
Ran a machine shop a man brought a flathead in that had been under water for a long time we re did it got it running so don't give in take your time their good motors
Matt, if you ever have to remove a complete set of then again instead of doing them one at a time so you don't get the mixed up. Take a 2 inch thick time 2 blocks screwed together 2 to 3 feet long wood block 8 inches wide and cut round holes in it they will fit in. Then mark each hole to correspond with each cylinder number. That way you can soak them all at the same time with kroll or Marvel Mystery oil. We did that on Pratt and Whitney radial aircraft engines when I was working for Dean Franklin aviation and we'd remove cylinder jugs for inspections. Works like a charm.
Sure nice to see someone using the Ford valve puller for stuck guides again as I see so many guys struggling to do such an easy task if they would only use the right tools. By the way this guy should have just pulled the engine for a rebuild in the first place.
I agree with the other commentators; don't waste any more time with the motor in the car, Pull it, take it apart, and clean thoroughly. It'll be quicker and better.
So I'm watching Matt rocking the car in his initial attempt to free the engine. Watching the car's motion, I'm thinking, he's a powerful guy. Then he gives up and straightens up, at which point a second guy pops into view on the other side of the car. LOL!
Hi Matt,,,I find when cars are siezed that bad the rings are rusted to the piston also. Best to drop the pan & clean it out also. If not much ridge in the cyl. it might be better to pull the motor & knock it apart and check everything. Just might save a good motor from further damage. Cheers
