Time to get serious

[OBFB HA/GR]

When the 'FLATTIE' cried enough is enough it was time to do a bit of to her.
So here she is in the shop getting the mains tunnel bored , the valve seats recut and the block bored to suit the pistons I had.
The cam in there had been reground by persons unknown and the lobes were allover the place, with as much as 20 thou difference in lift between some lobes. Not worn off, just not reground well. Now we have a nice new ISKY 400 JR to go in , this should make her sit up and take notice.
The main problem was when a valve guide retainer came unglued at revs it caused an bit of damage to the block , wearing out the guide tunnel so this is another block we're now using .
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1214973&stc=1&d=1295506795

[nexxussian]

That sure looks nice with the new caps and girdle. :)

What inserts are you planning on using?

The Isky should be an excellent cam from everything I read.

FWIW, as I understand it Clay Smith used to grind cams that way on purpose to maximise the power of each cylinder, from what I read no two lobes would measure or degree the same.

Keep up the good work. :D

[64 DODGE 440]

G'day Nigel...Looks like when you get "serious" you go all the way. Sounds like your new flattie is going to do the job!:p

[bobw]

Keep showing machine shop pictures, please. I can almost smell the hot shavings. You're going to exceed your Association's "speed & e.t. limit". What then???

[mudflap261]

looks plenty serious to me , is this going to be a 300 inch flatty

[Toymaker]

Keep showing machine shop pictures, please. I can almost smell the hot shavings. You're going to exceed your Association's "speed & e.t. limit". What then???
What Bob said:D

[97]

What Bob said:D


Outlaw!! Kiwi's don't have to obey Australian rules........ Outlaw HA/GR.:rolleyes:

[Drewfus]

looks like 'fun' Nigel, jumping in deep, good to see.

Cheers,

Drewfus:)

[REJ]

Nigel, have you figured out how to fold that thing up and stuff it in a suitcase, so you can bring it to the HAMB drags?
Looking good!
Robert

[OBFB HA/GR]

Sorry guy's , this is not going to be any giant killer power house just yet , only inching up the power slowly . The reason for the crank support was this new block had no main caps , so this seemed to be the simple solution to fix that.
We have removed about 2 pounds of unwanted cast iron from the ports and relieved the block to suit . Who knows it may even go better than it did before.
Nigel.

[64 DODGE 440]

Nigel...you need to paint it green so it will go fast.:p

[Black Knight Racing]

Hey Nigel
that is pritty much the same motor that we had in jeffs car before the big banger went in :), it ran 13.4's :D and we arn't far off puttin it back in as we are in the process of freshing it up... r you running on the 19th at willowbank ?

[OBFB HA/GR]

Hey Steve , no I won't have the engine back together by then , but I will be there crewing for a buddy running in GAS.
Should be a hoot.

[blackknight]

Hey Nigel, What bore and stroke you looking at. how many cubes

[OBFB HA/GR]

Same bore and stroke as the old engine.Just a new block .

[OBFB HA/GR]

Just finished with the boring bar , the valve seat have been cut and valves refaced , just need to have the cam bearings installed.
Pick it all up tommorrow.

[64 DODGE 440]

Looks good so far!

[OBFB HA/GR]

The mighty "flattie" is finally going back together , spent many hours refitting the valves and springs together , inside the block , not a lot of fun when you have big hands and not much room.

[nexxussian]

The mighty "flattie" is finally going back together , spent many hours refitting the valves and springs together , inside the block , not a lot of fun when you have big hands and not much room.

Amen to the big hands and no space. :(

[OBFB HA/GR]

Caught in a moment when I wasn't swearing at those valves. My wife has a knack of doing things like this , bless her.

[bobw]

Nice to see you giving life to that block.:) Surely worth some frustration and a few nicks. You know, there are engines with the valves in the heads. Much easier to assemble.:D
I love the sound of a healthy flathead though.

[64 DODGE 440]

Nice to see you giving life to that block.:) Surely worth some frustration and a few nicks. You know, there are engines with the valves in the heads. Much easier to assemble.:D
I love the sound of a healthy flathead though.

Valves in the heads? What an absurd idea...must take a bunch more parts to make that work...guess you can make it as complicated as you want these days.:p

[OBFB HA/GR]

Finally have all the valves in , valve clearances adjusted and the cam degreed in , went to fit the rings on the pistons and oh oh need to cut the ring grooves to suit . Oh well back to the lathe we go.

[bobw]

Were the pistons made for a thinner ring?

[OBFB HA/GR]

Yes Bob , the compression rings are fine , only need to chew a bit out of the oil ring grooves.

[OBFB HA/GR]

Not only that but my Edelbrock alloy heads only have 375 thou clearance over the valves , so now we're into flycutting the combustion chamber to suit a 400 thou lift cam.

[QQMOON]

Not only that but my Edelbrock alloy heads only have 375 thou clearance over the valves , so now we're into flycutting the combustion chamber to suit a 400 thou lift cam.


For every action the is an equal and opposite reaction :D

QQ

PS: will i book you in for DOTD

[OBFB HA/GR]

Finally got the shoprt block assembled and painted . Just finished refitting to the frame. Next job will be machine the valve pockets in the heads.

[Drewfus]

Looking Great Nigel, will be fun,

Cheers,

Drewfus

[64 DODGE 440]

One question Nigel....does that thing glow in the dark?

[Living Hamb]

Great to see it coming back together mate

[OBFB HA/GR]

Don't you just hate it when you're tightening down the last head and you only have a few studs to go , then dang me the thread pulls up in the block. Just what I needed , oh well just another job to add to the list . Nearly ready for fire up .Then you have to be very carefull of Copper head gaskets , they can be very sharp on the edges , especially when thrown if a fit of anger.

[64 DODGE 440]

Don't you just hate it when you're tightening down the last head and you only have a few studs to go , then dang me the thread pulls up in the block. Just what I needed , oh well just another job to add to the list . Nearly ready for fire up .Then you have to be very carefull of Copper head gaskets , they can be very sharp on the edges , especially when thrown if a fit of anger.

Sorry Mate...perhaps while you are at it you should just put helicoils in all of the holes and be done with it. Ain't it amazing how it seems that we seem to get injured when we wig out in fits of rage over the things our old iron does to get our attention. :p

Heal fast and put her back together...looking forward to hearing how well it runs.

[OBFB HA/GR]

Do you guy's know how long it takes to fit 24 Helicoils . Then I realised I've still got the other side to do . The guy who did my machining for me advised to fit Helicoils to each head stud , 'cos next time the heads come off I'm gunna be doin' some again if I don't . Seems to be taking forever but the end is now in sight.

[64 DODGE 440]

Do you guy's know how long it takes to fit 24 Helicoils . Then I realised I've still got the other side to do . The guy who did my machining for me advised to fit Helicoils to each head stud , 'cos next time the heads come off I'm gunna be doin' some again if I don't . Seems to be taking forever but the end is now in sight.

As the saying goes..."if it was easy, everyone would be doing it". :p

[Living Hamb]

Make sure that lime green rocket is ready for Nationals in August Nigel. We might be able to out number the Mexicans for the first time

[OBFB HA/GR]

All going well she should be running this weekend , no more hiccups I hope. I'll post some pic's of the rear tyre smoke , yeh right.

[Old6rodder]

All going well she should be running this weekend , no more hiccups I hope. I'll post some pic's of the rear tyre smoke , yeh right.

Just put'em up to 45 psi for one run. :D

[ScottV]

All going well she should be running this weekend , no more hiccups I hope. I'll post some pic's of the rear tyre smoke , yeh right.


Oh hey Nigel ... ummm, you spelled tire wrong !!! :p

Can't wait to see how you do !!!

[OBFB HA/GR]

How does she sound , finally got all the helicoils installed and the heads on , she fired right up first kick.still needs the timing set but I'll wait until the cams run in . First run down the street tommorrow , that should wake up the neighbours.

[OBFB HA/GR]

Woops , seem to have had a malfunction , there was supposed to be a small video clip attatched to the last posting , so here's some stills instead.

[Living Hamb]

Good news Nigel. Let me know when you're hitting the track again. See if we can run some paired passes

[ScottV]

Oh hey Nigel ... ummm, you spelled tire wrong !!! :p

You know I was joking ... right ??? :confused:

[Old6rodder]

Woops , seem to have had a malfunction , there was supposed to be a small video clip attatched to the last posting , so here's some stills instead.

The stills sound rather seriously over muffled ........... but they look great.

[bobw]

I love a nicely dressed Flattie. Do you lock the advance in the distributor?

Dick, in the Midwest we spell Woops, Whoops.:D

[64 DODGE 440]

I love a nicely dressed Flattie. Do you lock the advance in the distributor?

Dick, in the Midwest we spell Woops, Whoops.:D

Dick didn't spell it that way, Nigel did, probably an OZ thing...part of being an "old bald fat bloke".:p

[bobw]

Dick didn't spell it that way, Nigel did, probably an OZ thing...part of being an "old bald fat bloke".:p

A big whoops on my part. I should have known better than to try to tweek the HA/GR master linguist. Sorry, Dick.

Nigel, your car looks outstanding. I hope you can post some video with your engine running. Love the sound of a flathead.

[OBFB HA/GR]

Sorry about the spelling , but I'm not very edjumat,edjuc, not very smart.

[OBFB HA/GR]

May be this time

[OBFB HA/GR]

Bob , yes the advance is locked , I run 25 degrees all in at 1800 rpm. The vacuum can on the side has now been removed and the lock plate installed.

[OBFB HA/GR]

We took the old girl down to where I work , you've gotta love the colour of our bulidings, we have a big carpark so we could hammer around without the law chasing us away.
First runs were a bit sluggish , lean running , so we changed the size 48 jets for the only other I had , these have been bored out to 1/16 inch.She over fuielled bad but the power is there.So now I need some jets between what I have and I think we will be on the money.
This is the first time Kerry has ever sat in the car , now I'm worried I won't be able to get her out.

[97]

We took the old girl down to where I work , you've gotta love the colour of our bulidings, we have a big carpark so we could hammer around without the law chasing us away.
First runs were a bit sluggish , lean running , so we changed the size 48 jets for the only other I had , these have been bored out to 1/16 inch.She over fuielled bad but the power is there.So now I need some jets between what I have and I think we will be on the money.
This is the first time Kerry has ever sat in the car , now I'm worried I won't be able to get her out.

Jeez mate , now we know where ya flogged the paint from!! and "on Ya " Kerry, make him build another one if he wants to drive....he had the fun of building it, you take charge and drive the thing. :D:D:D

Nigel, Holley jets are not sized but are numbered according to flow , however a jet drilled with a 1/16 drill is about equivalent to a 64 or 65 Holley Jet.... depending on how well the hole is chamfered and how wobbly the driller was..:rolleyes:
For racing I reckon you need about 52s if you are leaving the power valves working and 57s if they are blocked off ( best) , with all three carbs working in unison . You should only need idle circuits in the center carb. The end carbs idle can be blocked by making a base to body gasket without idle holes and screwing the mixture screws all the way in. Put all the pumps on longest stroke, and the floats on the high side of specs ( 1.322) .
You can go higher if you find it nosing over at the top end, Lincolns ran the float level at 1.260. Near enough the came carb.

If you have it set up progressive there are a few more tricks to running 94s PM me .

[ScottV]

Hey Nigel ... this is the first time I realized that your car is not black !!!

Wow, judging from the pics from work that thing is really nice !

[Living Hamb]

Do you work at Gemini Nige? What store?

[OBFB HA/GR]

Yes mate I work for Gemini ,our shop used to be Mal Gilbert Smash and we were bought out . I've been here for going on 8 years at the same desk , I'm an estimator and our shop is in Southport.

[Old6rodder]

Sorry, Nigel, I just can't resist a couple cheap shots on those pictures, so here they are .......... :D

Now that's a truly loud color, one with the raw power to bleed onto the surrounding buildings.
Perhaps some clear coat would contain that.

Oh wait, I understand now.
It's actually camoflage ....... at least in that enviroment it is.

And I'm with 97, Kerry, but challenge him to build another one. :D



OK, I'm 64, I finally have an excuse for these things. :rolleyes:

[Living Hamb]

Small world mate. I'm the Sales Manager at SSS Auto Parts. We supply parts to Gemini stores at Mermaid, Burliegh, Aspley, Bulimba and Enoggera. Maybe we could supply some to Southport wink, wink, nudge, nudge!!!!

Also mate, might be taking Hambster up to test n tune on the 9th. Will keep in touch, let you know

[FULLY SIX RACING]

thats a serious machine thar nigel :eek:

that means some serious $$$$$$$:(


$$$$$$$ equals MPH


MPH equals smiles:D


smiles and low ET's go hand in hand:D

see you at the nostalgia nationals in august

pimpin pete

[OBFB HA/GR]

We took the old girl out to our private test track today, a quiet Industrial street , she pulls real strong to about 3500 rpm then just hits a wall , well back to the fuel I think.
Off the line she really hauls some a##, so once we get this fuel sorted I'm sure she will rev out a heap more.
More testing next weekend. I'll try to post some video. just built a bracket that clamps onto the rollcage, race cam.

[bobw]

Sounds like your are closing in of some great performance. Good luck next weekend.

[OBFB HA/GR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxnIuarXVY0

Testing time at our local private road.

[ScottV]

Sounds great nigel ... how do the neighbors feel about it ???

[OBFB HA/GR]

All my neighbours love me, well I think they do. That run was down an Industrial street on a weekend when there's no one around.

[Living Hamb]

Looking quick Nigel, let me know when your heading to the track. My cars not ready but would love to come and watch

[HAMBsterLady]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxnIuarXVY0

Testing time at our local private road.

Sounds awesome!!!! I am so jealous - Oh to have a street like that.
We sure would love to have somewhere to run it more than 40ft-uphill....LOL
Just got back from ANRA @ Bakersfield. Dick ran well and made it to the semi-finals, but he spent Saturday debugging because of nowhere to run.
Enjoy,
Kay

[97]

Sounds awesome!!!! I am so jealous - Oh to have a street like that.
We sure would love to have somewhere to run it more than 40ft-uphill....LOL
Just got back from ANRA @ Bakersfield. Dick ran well and made it to the semi-finals, but he spends Saturday debugging because of nowhere to run.
Enjoy,
Kay
Those Aussie (dwellers) just run anywhere.
OBFB will know who I am talking about here:

I was driving down a street in Anaheim , when out of the corner of my eye I saw an FED coming at me from a side street as I drove past .
In the mirror I saw that same FED , turn left to follow behind me take the next left back into a side street.

I later discovered it was an Aussie, driving the " Scorcher" . Psycho Steve!!.... going for a "drive around the block". :D:D

[ScottV]

I also heard "down under" in the southern HEMIsphere that they actually race from the finish line to the starting line !!!! :eek:

[64 DODGE 440]

All my neighbours love me, well I think they do. That run was down an Industrial street on a weekend when there's no one around.

Hey Nigel, if ya want to do it right...get a buddy with a flag and another HA/GR next to ya.:D

[OBFB HA/GR]

Just back from the Saturday nite test & tune. Only managed to get 2 runs in though.
First run we had a huge dead spot off the line, had to clutch it and get going again, ran thru at 16.2. Really dissapointed in myself with that one.
Second run she wheel spun all the way thru 1st gear and then spun in second as well but it ran thru at 14.50 @ 89.9 mph, so I just need to learn how to drive and all will be well.

[Living Hamb]

Good news Nigel. 13's coming for sure I'm saying

[OBFB HA/GR]

What do you think, official print out.

[smitty city]

what does the machine weigh, what gear in the rear end, any guess on horsepower

[Living Hamb]

92 mph is down on your 95 PB Nigel, but your half track looks pretty good. You off it a bit early? Or running out of fuel?

[OBFB HA/GR]

It's just amazing how a new set of pipes makes such a big difference.
The idle RPM increasede by 800 and the engine sounds so much more alive.
Off to Warwick Dragfest next weekend so I'll let you know how she pulls now.

[Old28]

Those look like true "equal length" headers that are the correct size and length. Really look nice on the motor. Hope you run 13 teens this next time.

Good testing & be safe;)

[Living Hamb]

Pipes look awesome Nigel. Got something on next Sunday but will try to make it Saturday to see how you go

[OBFB HA/GR]

We ran the car out at the 1/8 mile strip in Warwick over the weekend.
The new headers have helped her breath a lot better, but this has shown up another problem, we run out of fuel at the top end. Seems we need to upgrade the fuel pump and lines to get more flow happening.
Stiil an 8.820 at 76.14mph is OK by me.

[bobw]

Looks like the headers are going to unleash some hidden power once you get the fuel problem solved.:)

[nexxussian]

"Sounds" like a good header if you have to add more fuel (or add it more quickly).

However I'm kinda bummed, I figured we would have gotten to see (and listen to) a vid of it running with the new pipes by now. :(

[OBFB HA/GR]

Sorry Erik,havn't been able to video the old girl running yet, but I promise I will real soon.

[nexxussian]

Look forward to it, thanks.

[OBFB HA/GR]

Since my last run at the 1/8 mile drags at Warwick it was time to service the engine, not good. I found what looked like traces of metal in the oil. This turned out to be bearing material.
When the crank was turned the edges of the oil holes were a littel sharp and this has caught on a couple of shells.
The good news is no serious damage, just some new bearings and get the shaft polished. Nearly ready to fire up again.

[64 DODGE 440]

Since my last run at the 1/8 mile drags at Warwick it was time to service the engine, not good. I found what looked like traces of metal in the oil. This turned out to be bearing material.
When the crank was turned the edges of the oil holes were a littel sharp and this has caught on a couple of shells.
The good news is no serious damage, just some new bearings and get the shaft polished. Nearly ready to fire up again.

Glad you caught it before it did any major damage. Get it fixed and running. Doesn't your season start up about now?

[Living Hamb]

Nice catch Nigel, glad it didn't get ugly. Let me know when you're heading to the track again

[OBFB HA/GR]

Sorry it's taken so long, but here's the mighty flatty, finally back together and running.Happy Christmas all.Nigel

[ThingyM]

Nigel.. Have ALL the holes champhered on the Mains and rods journals, So there are no sharp edges and it also will help hold a "lil" more oil on the bearings..

[OBFB HA/GR]

what do you guys think.http://youtu.be/CBPNlpOE5RU

[OBFB HA/GR]

http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/VKZjXqGarxk/default.jpghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKZjXqGarxk

[Old28]

Nigel -- Motor looks great and sounds real nice.

A FH with 3x2, it don't get much better than that! :)

[nexxussian]

Sounds good. :)

[Black Knight Racing]

sounds great mate , looking forward to seeing everyone in Feb