Why would you think the guy is full of crap? Tony's exactly right. Flathead V8s debuted in passenger cars and trucks in 1932. They were used in domestic vehicles until 1953. They were also built all over the world under license (Simca of France is one example) until the 60s.
Here's a
web page that is devoted to them. It's just one of many.
As for having a 44 coupe, that's highly unlikely. Autombile production was suspended early in the 1942 model year and resumed in 1946. I'd guess that he meant a 40 F**d coupe like
this one. This car has been running on the salt flats for as long as I've been going out there. He runs a blown flathead motor and hits speeds around 140 mph, iirc.
Not to be outdone, the stovebolt contingent is always well represented by the
MRJ Racing AD pickup that runs over 144 mph on a normally aspirated stovebolt motor. I don't know the details of the motor...but it's a sweet one
I may have the opportunity to pick up a couple of complete flatheads here soon. My wife will prolly kill me, but what the heck?
Btw, if you want to see a whole lotta flatties go to the Bonneville 2004 section of my website and check out the first couple of days of Speed Week. There are a whole lotta "traditional hot rods" (some folks get testy if ya call 'em rat rods), many with flatty power.
