The new "bullet-nose" grille featured "6" or "8" numbers to denote ... 239-cubic-inch (3.9-liter) V8 was optional. The latter was the already iconic Flathead, which Ford had introduced in 1932 ...

Casting the block ... is known generically as a flathead. The Ford V-8 debuted in March 1932 in the all-new Ford Model 18, ...