Ford’s V8 may not have been the automotive epiphany that the Model T represented, but by bringing an affordable V8 powerplant to the masses it served nearly the same market. Its stoutness, simplicity and expandability also gave rise to a generation of hot rodders and a cottage industry of go-faster parts for Ford’s “Flatty.”
That was decades ago, and since then the L-head V8 has been supplanted in hot rodders hearts by the more modern OHV V8, most notably the ubiquitous “Small Block Chevy.” That doesn’t mean however, that the Flat Head doesn’t have a place in modern throwbacks and they continue to this day to have their advocates. You can count among those the good folks at Hagerty who have provided this mesmerizing time-lapse video of a 24-stud Flatty getting its restoration on before coming back to life under the hood of a ’46 pickup. The actual rebuild took just 100 hours but you can watch it in just a little over 6 minutes. Then you’ll get to hear just how sweet a Flatty can sound.