1953 Ford: The End of the Flathead V8 Era

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After 21 years, the flathead V8 era came to an end for the Dearbon automaker in 1953.

 

For more than two decades the familiar flathead V8 was the signature feature of Ford passenger cars, but the flathead’s reign came to an end on January 6, 1954, when the Dearborn automaker rolled out its modern Y-Block V8. (See our feature on the Y-Block here.) Still, it wasn’t quite the end for the trusty flathead in some parts of the world. The flattie was carried forward for one more model year in Ford products for Canada and Austalia and elsewhere, and meanwhile the French carmaker Simca continued to build the flathead V8 under license through 1964 (and there was even a SUMB military truck variant produced all the way through 1990). But in the USA market anyway, ’53 was the final year for the flathead, and it signaled the end of an era.

 

From its introduction in 1932, the flathead V8 was the product of continuous detail  development, receiving a significant makeover in 1938 and a second redesign in 1949. With its 221 cubic inches of displacement and a 5.5:1 compression ratio, the original ’32 V8 offered a modest 65 horsepower, while the final ’53 Ford passenger car version boasted 239 cubic inches and a compression ratio of 7.2:1. Billed as the Strato-Star V8 in the Ford sales materials, the ’53 V8 was rated at 110 hp at 3800 rpm—competitive with the 108 hp Chevy six, but no match for the latest Cadillac and Oldsmobile overhead-valve V8s with 170 hp and more.

 

The flathead V8 found in the ’53 Mercury, below, was nearly identical to its Ford sibling but with a boost in displacement to 255 cubic inches, which was achieved by increasing the stroke from 3.75 to 4.00 inches. (Thus the Merc crankshaft became a favorite with hot rodders, naturally.)  This bigger V8 was also offered in Ford police cars, where it was called the Interceptor V8, and in Ford trucks. According to the home office in Dearborn, the final 255 CID V8 of 1953 was good for 125 hp at 3700 rpm and 211 lb-ft of torque at 1900 rpm, and could be called the pinnacle of the flathead V8’s development.

 

10 thoughts on “1953 Ford: The End of the Flathead V8 Era”

  1. “According to the home office in Dearborn, the final 255 CID V8 of 1953….. could be called the pinnacle of flathead V8 development”. Of “Ford” development perhaps, however, the Cadillac 346 CID V8 that ended production in 1948 produced more horsepower and torque than did the Ford V8s.

    • The Ford V8 was the superior engine. The Cadillac V8 weighed 910 lbs and developed .43 hp per cubic inch. The Ford V8 weighed 509 lbs and developed .49 hp per cubic inch. Not surprisingly, the early hot rod world was dominated by Ford V8s with rarely a Cadillac V8 in sight. Until the OHV V8s arrived of course.

  3. The flathead was good for what it was designed for, lightweight cars. As the 40’s progressed, cars got bigger and heavier, and the flathead couldn’t keep up. It really should have died in 49 with the new bodies, but Ford probably spent most of their development money on the new from the ground up cars, so it had to carry them until the Y block became available. The real winner for Ford though was the small block Windsor series that came out in 63 and ran well into the 90’s. 20+ years is a good run for an engine design though.

    • The “Fairlane V-8” debuted in 1962 as a 221 cid . Later in ’62, it was upgraded to 260 cid and called “Challenger V-8”. 1963 brought the 289 cid. 1968 brought the 302 cid. 1969 was the first year for the 351.

      The small block family was only referenced as “Windsor” on the 351 version (officially).

      • Oh…the last of the smallblock Ford was available in the 2001 Explorer here in the US.

  4. What Ford engine fam was the 352 ca. 1965? My grandma’s Galaxie 500 had that motor.

    • The 352 was introduced in 1958 as part of the new FE (Ford-Edsel) family of engines to replace the 1954 Y-block.

      The FE included the 390, 427, and 428 engines. 429 and 460 were a different design.

  5. Automotive engineers across the world knew the flathead V8 was obsolete when it was introduced in 1932. The trend was toward over head valve engines. The OHV engine was first introduced into mass production in automobiles and trucks in 1929 with the modern inlne 6-cylinder Chevrolet.

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