I don't have the motor back in the Coleman Coupe yet, If they want to use it: : Very cool thread and information
As a fan and an owner of a centrifugal blown flattie, the Frenzel is at the top of the game. Great job Keith on that engine. It looks amazing. I spoke to Doc last year about this project after he saw my Mcculloch. I'm really glad it is coming together! Hats off to the Austin Speed Shop!!!
Holy. Crap. That's beyond cool. Thanks Ryan and the whole gang at Austin Speed Shop. Really cool to see history in the re-making.
Hey guys, Im glad you are diggin' my new motor. Keith,Ryan, and the ASS guys have been awesome during the build. Keith is the only one I trusted to pull this off. He has been awesome during the whole process, and I really appreciate him building the motor for me.The blower is awesome, but the motor itself is pretty darn special too. His attention to detail is mindboggling. Even the fuel pump was picked out especially for this motor. It is a NOS 32 Ford high volume "bus pump." I didn't even know they made such a thing.It has Keith's special recipe in it and I'll let him share the detail as he sees fit.I can't wait to see and hear it in Austin. Oh yeah, just in case you were wondering,this is not the Doc's giveaway prize this year. LOL As far as the motor going in the Salt Flat Special,that is not set in stone. Just for the record Keith doesn't think it should go in that car either. Once I get the motor home and do a mockup,I will know immediately if it will work in the car. I'm not interested in changing the profile on the sedan. If It doesn't fit/look right at first glance it will not go in that car. I will build something else to put it in. If that is the case Keith will just have to build me another motor for the sedan. Trust me when i tell you that i won't ruin either the sedan or the motor with my choice. See you guys in Austin in a few days. Doc.
I saw it in person last Friday night. Very impressive up close, hope I get to hear it run this coming weekend. Thanks for the story
I got to hand it to you Doc, most folks would be offended if that was said about their car, I'm glad you don't get offended and understand what people are saying. The engine is a pretty special piece (so is the tudor, the build quality and design is superb) but on paper it doesn't seem like a perfect match...but then again Ive been wrong before...many times. Either way, Im interested to see what happens to both the engine and the tudor. Good on you for putting this blower back onto the streets, and letting us see it (and hopefully hear it...video hint hint)
Hi Ryan: This article is one of the best of your many fine articles. The flathead and the Frenzel set up with Keith's hand is truly a lovely piece of industrial design/art. By the way what kind of distributor is that? Thanks.
Nice! Doc, Are you going to Bonneville this year? You need to get the 'salt bug', even though "stuff" has changed in the past 10 years.......Your motor looks BEAUTIFUL & have been 'stalking' it on the web. Glad to hear that it's landing in the right hands. Chris Nelson Kansas
I have always wanted to get a Frenzel to put on my Model A pickup.. Sure are cool!! Hopefully Someday!!
My pal George in Vermont is the caretaker of another Frenzel. And... I'm glad to be the purveyor of Doc's two chrome 97's! Wow, do they look at home!
That is truly the best looking engine I've ever seen. That is adds high performance function to that form is even better. Wow.
Just spotted the Frenzel feature article Ryan has just posted. That flathead engine is a real beauty and I can also see that the best parts that are available today have been used in the build. I know a thing or two about flathead speed equipment and I know a thing or two about Frenzel superchargers. Jeff has posted a picture of the Frenzel supercharger that I have here in my basement. I have had this piece for many years and it was obtained back in the day when flathead speed parts could be purchased for a fair price. I think the Frenzel that is pictured in Doc's build is the one that Mike Russell had in the Moonjean roadster. There are only a couple of Frenzel superchargers that are fully polished out there like that and chances are pretty good it is the same one. I know that it was sold at the LA Roadster show and from there it went across the pond to Denmark and has made it's way back to the USA again. John Frenzel never made a Frenzel intake manifold. The intake manifold that is on Doc's engine is from a Canadian Mercury late 1940's early 1950's pickup truck and someone has put the Frenzel name on it. I have had this discussion with George Perry, Tommy Fitzgerald, Gene McKinney, Jim Etter , Bob Whitehead, and Bruce Dahl over the years at the annual fall Hershey swap meet and everyone has the same opinion, that the Frenzel intake wasn't cast by John Frenzel. I have just listed some pretty knowledgeable flathead guys here! The Frenzel that has been posted here with the $20000 price tag on it is my good friend George Perry's supercharger. He takes it off his roadster and brings it to Hershey. After Hershey it goes back on the roadster again. George is a very smart guy and has purchased all the remaining Frenzel literature from John Frenzel's widow. The story that George heard and has told to me many times is that John Frenzel made 12 Frenzel superchargers. His shop was broken into and 3 of the superchargers including the prototype were stolen just before they were going to be sent to Warren Fraser's speed shop in Culver City CA. to be sold. No more were ever made and that left 9 remaining Frenzel superchargers that remain today. I don't know how accurate the story is but as you can see, Ryan has been counting them all up and it looks like the end result could indeed be just 9. About the onlt thing missing in Doc's build is an Elco Twin right angle drive for mounting that Nash twin 8 distributer I see in the pictures. I got one of these when I purchased my original Elco Twin heads a few years ago. I have never seen or even heard of another one. Congrats on the build. That flathead looks mighty nice!!
Well written and fine pics, it's got me thinking of a time when craftsman stepped up to the plate, laid it all on the line and designed and built these implements of speed, before cnc machines and laptops, hats of to the designer and to those bringing it back into service. ( All I wish for is a limited run of repop frenzels) Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
that's it, everybody go home, hot rodding's over. doc wins.... here's a song that I think fits ...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdXu_BWlzpw
The dizzy is an early Nash twin 8. It has a contact point on each end of the rotor,180 degrees apart. It uses dual coils and fires both plugs at the same time. I sent it to Bubba and he cut it down and worked it over for me. It sets in a Don Orasco angle drive. Yes, the oil pan is a repop of the Italmechanica one from the 50's. They were built by the same company that built the early ScoT blowers. They were suppose to go in an early sports car of the same name. The cars were to use a Ford flathead for power and the pan was dveloped to help with cooling. The car never went into full production. Don Orasco also provided the oil pan.
WOW! This is great stuff! Is there anyway we could get a copy of all that Frenzel literature? Was there a patent submitted? And yes, this is the Frenzel that was on the moonjean roadster. As for the intake, I don't know that I agree or not. I've attached some more photos, but the lettering is almost certainly part of the casting of the intake. So, if a guy was to have made this out of a Canadian truck intake, he would have had to recast the intake - a huge expense for just one unit. Seems to be, if that were the case, he would have just engraved the intake like an early Edmunds. Maybe this intake was part of Frenzel's display? Obviously, I have zero first hand knowledge. I'm just going on what I've had in my hands and my limited knowledge from research. Meaning, I'm no expert on the subject and any of my opinions should be taken with a grain of salt.
Thanks Ryan: I didn't notice the "cast-in" name on the intake previously. Also, the oil vapor/return mounting boss looks cast and machined as well. The lettering looks simular to Fenton or All-Power type font. Now my interest is piqued for if you look in the add, all of the parts that are advertised as part of the kit are drawn completely and those that don't come ewith it (carbs, intake) are not. Doesn't mean it didn't come with the kit originally and I think seeing those copies from the Frenzel estate would help to clear this up. One more thing I noticed: If you look at the carb mount, it was either machined or cast with about 1.5-2" of open penum and them it has a scooped divider to seperate the top of the runners. I wonder if this is to let some of the compressed charge collect before it makes it way into either side of the intake. Not that it takes anything away from piece and I don't want to hi-jack or derail the thread on trying to find out the source of the intake, but I love and want to learn everything and anything flathead.
That engine could fit on your sedan just fine. No reason it couldn't have a home there for as long as needed. Then you could move it to another car if you want. I mean, who would have thought the Moomjean car would ever be disassembled? Might as well have fun with it since the sedan is ready for it now. Change things up later when it get's stale (yeah, right).
Hey guys, I have a request. Is anyone going to the Roundup who has a copy of the Hot Rod little pages that came out last year? I have been told that there is a picture of my Frenzel in it,and I'd like to get a copy. I would be willing to pay someone for a copy if they have a spare. Thanks.
The Jalopy Journal
