Ford also replaced the poured Babbitt crankshaft bearings with modern inserts, which were easier to manufacture and service.

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 ...

models in the Ford lineup: the 3.6-liter version of the flathead V8 engine. Another one of Ford’s successful sub-brands was the medium-priced Mercury, which arrived on the market in the late 1930s.