I thought for sure I had blown the engine.

Upon removing the driver side head, I saw that all of the water ports were clogged with debris.  Therefore, I decided to remove the passenger side head (which meant removing the distributor and other parts).

With all the parts off and degreased, I painted everything.  I also bought many new parts such as: generator and fan belts, heater and radiator hoses, tune-up parts (distributor cap, rotor, points, condenser), plugs, plug wires, etc.

I also spent a great deal of time studying flatheads and learning how to replace valve components.  I decided to go to Little Dearborn and buy the valve components.  I put them together.

This is the completed valve assembly.

I learned how to grind valves:

This is a valve "lapping tool" that attaches to the valve with a suction cup.  With valve grinding compound between the seat and the valve, you just spin the tool with your hands.

You can see the ring ground into the valve to match the valve seat.

Last weekend, Ben and I put them in. It went pretty smoothly.

When we were done with our first flathead valve job, everything looked good. Whether it was going to work was another question.

The new number 5 exhaust valve is on the right.

Most, but not all, of the valves are original.

Ben and I put the engine back together. This took many hours.  Torquing the many head and manifold nuts in the proper order was a job in itself. Everything went smoothly with one exception.  The distributor hold-down bolt broke.  But we were in great luck. It did not break flush with the block. Only the bolt head broke.  It was easy to get out.  This was our only problem (at least until I believed I had destroyed the engine).

Tightening new distributor hold-down bolt.

Ben was a huge help.  He is a natural mechanic.  If he ever wants to put his Ph.D in physics to good use, he can fix old cars.

Ben and I decided to fire it up. However, it would turn-over, but not fire.  I pulled the distributor cap and regapped the points at .015".  It fired! But when it did, there was this low-pitch metallic "thud."  It did not sound good. The engine would fire, but the thud would stop the engine's rotation. 

While I did not rule it out, I could not imagine how the new valve could cause this noise.  Maybe it was something stuck after sitting for so many years.  It was disappointing.  I left the dinner table early to try it again.  It started!

Jo and Ben came out to the garage.  It was running smoothly until I saw smoke and smelled oil.  Ben saw oil everywhere under the engine.  I was certain I had destroyed the engine. (The thought of documenting this moment with pictures did not cross my mind.)

We shut it down.  We looked over everything.  We could not see any holes in the engine.  We then found the problem.  We had simply forgotten to tighten the oil filter cap bolt.  The oil was being forced out of the cap.  What a relief.  We tightened it down and idled the car for about ten minutes.  

It ran very well.  I timed the engine by sound and adjusted the carb to make it run more smoothly.  (I need to get a 12 volt battery as my timing light will not work on a 6 volt system.)

Very glad that I did not wreck the motor!

The 100 H.P. V-8 looks pretty good for its age:

The next day, I finally took the car off the trailer and flushed the cooling system, flushed the engine, poured Sea Foam in the carb, put Techron in the tank, filled the tank with 91 octane non-oxygenated gas, and power washed the chassis and suspension.  It drives very nicely and idles very smoothly and quietly.

My only regret is that Ben did not get to drive it before returning east for school. But he'll get his chance.  The '49 should outlast both of us.