But if you want to put a smile on his wide, grizzled face, ask him about the engine that put him on the map: the flathead ...

The engine was introduced to the British market in 1935; unlike the 221 cubic-inch blocks it's based on, Ford's 136 Flathead ...

The "shoebox" was a big hit, selling more than 2.5 million units through 1951 and helping Ford bounce back from the financially difficult post-WWI2 period.

While the Small Block Chevy may be the most tunable and the Chrysler HEMI the most powerful, Ford’s Flathead V8 engine has been around for nearly a century and is the grandfather of every V8 ...