The Ford Flathead V8 was the first mass-market V8 and the starting point for uniquely American performance. What's interesting about it is exactly what made it possible—simple and cheap to build—is ...

For the first few decades of the 20th century, V8 engines were finicky, expensive things reserved for low-production luxury cars. Fancy pants Cadillacs and LaSalles were powered by V8s, while more ...

Even if you're not all that familiar with pre-war American engines, most modern American gearheads have at least heard of the Ford flathead V8. If you have heard of it, you're probably conditioned to ...

Produced from 1947 for the 1948 model year through 1952, the original F-Series line was offered with the venerable flathead engine. Named after the flat cylinder head, the side-valve V8 was replaced ...

V8s are about as close as you can get to a "default" American engine. The Chevy Small Block V8 is one of the most versatile engines ever produced and it's been swapped into cars and trucks practically ...

The Ford Flathead V8 wasn't the first V8, but when it debuted in the 1932 Model 18, it brought this brilliant engine configuration to the American masses. With a simple design featuring a flat ...

Starting life in 1932, the venerable Ford flathead V8 engine was refined and updated until its overhead valve successor filled its spot under the hoods of Ford passenger cars in 1954. The earliest ...

It was considered a major breakthrough when Ford launched its Flathead V8 engine in 1932. Up until that point, V8 engines were expensive and limited to just luxury cars, but Henry Ford wanted one that ...