In August, there will be a celebration in Dearborn, Mich., to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 1932 Ford. What was so special about this car? Under the hood was the first V-8 affordable to the everyman.
The 85-horsepower engine led the way for a lot of change on both the highway and the race track. For the consumer, there was a car that could go more than 40 miles per hour. This led to necessary improvements in tires, roads and other components.
Apparently the 85-HP rating was scary for some car buyers, Ford made a 60 HP version in 1937. This engine was very significant to racers.
Midget racing had been booming. The emergence of midget racing was important to the future of our sport. As Chris Economaki pointed out in his book, “Let ‘em All Go,” midgets brought racing to neighborhoods.
The Ford V-8 60 was perfect for midgets. Outboards were cranky, as they’d foul plugs all the time. Cycle engines had their problems, too. The V-8 60 was more reliable and cheaper. Parts were easy to find.
Midget racing prospered until racing was stopped during World War II. After the war, gas rationing ended. Men came home and were eager to have some fun. Cars were the easiest way to amuse a guy.
Ford continued to make the flathead V-8 while General Motors and Dodge/Plymouth had six-bangers. Midgets were still the big attraction but went away quickly. Frank Kurtis made an assembly line of chassis, and Offenhauser designed a small engine for them. The costs went up and the racing dulled. There wasn’t as much passing since all the cars were the same. The cheaper V-8 60s stayed around as some tried to keep midgets alive by banning the Offy. Midget racing nearly disappeared in the early 1950s.
In California, hot rodding became the main hobby and with it came speed equipment. The newest big business was speed shops, specializing in modifying the flathead V-8. Ardun even made an OHV conversation kit for the more adventurous.
The rumrunners down south bought these goodies to outrun the “revenuers.” As legend goes, this led to the formation of NASCAR. With midgets fading away, promoters turned to stock cars. At first they were junkers. Then speed parts were added and “modifieds” were born.
Almost every stock car that raced in those days carried a flathead Ford V-8 engine. It was a low-cost way to race. There were thousands of them racing at more than 1,100 tracks across the country.
The famed flathead did not succeed in NASCAR’s Grand National division. Only a few wins by Lincoln are in the books. In those days, more powerful Hudsons, Oldsmbiles and Chryslers prevailed, although the lightweight Plymouth managed to outlast the heavier cars at times.
In 1952, Ford came out with an OHV V-8 for the Lincoln. In two years, flatheads were gone. They continued to be housed in stock cars until the early ’60s.
In 1955, Ford’s rival, General Motors, devised a 265-cubic-inch OHV V-8 for Chevrolet. This took the flathead’s place as the weekend racer’s choice.
The flathead Ford V-8s holds an important place in racing lore. They had a special sound to them. They were nice to look at, too. If you ever saw a chromed-up one with Offy or Edelbrock heads and three Stromberg carbs, you were impressed.
There is no doubt this powerplant led to the growth of and interest in racing. There are still some around and they always draw attention.
It was one of Ford’s “Better ideas.