We need a thread of everyone’s favorite video of a 400jr car cackling. @oldsboy is my favorite but I don’t know if I’ve a video to share.
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1267977873668762 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=325142066124795
I got to drive a Model A with an 8ba with a 400 jr, and straight pipes. That was the meanest sounding flathead I had ever heard at the time!
I also have that cam in my engine. Open headers all of the time too. A second carb and a bump in compression would really wake that roadster up with that bumpstick, it really comes alive near full song.
A killer duece roadster hiding in my town?? I'll find out if he's still got it because I need to check it out if so.
I heard he sold the chassis and the body separately a few years ago. I probably listen/watch that video once a week.
Dang that rascal sounds good!! I have one of those cams in a box somewhere and wasnt going to use it but I changed my mind
My engine builder tried to talk me into a 400JR but I was a pussy and went with an 88. Still has a racy sound runs good and will be fine in my newest deuce roadster with straight pipes.
35 years ago I was building a '52 8ba for my '40 Tudor. Did all the machining but never assembled. Now it is going together for my '32 Fordor. I told the cam grinder I wanted a lumpy cam with low torque on the bottom end so I wouldn't be breaking the '40 trans like I did as a kid. He recommended the 400Jr. It should work good in the '32 with 4.11 gears and lighter weight. They sure sound good at idle! Dave
gentlemen after 2yrs of collecting parts im headed in , half way there with my upgrades . 400jr degreed in , working out installed spring height, machined keepers , goin to 8.1 to 1 sharp heads , navarro race model dual , mallory yb , plus a whole bunch of lil stuff ,ill put up vid when i get it to come alive !! cant wait , now if i had unlimited funds ,no family and job responsibilities i could really knock this out !!! actually the 400jr was the cam dad always wanted ,, so here i am fabricator john miss you dad
Hello, Nice story… Wow, if that sound was from a Isky 404 cam, perhaps I could have come up with some money to buy one for the underpowered Flathead motor in my 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. Then, maybe I would have enough power to make the climb up those steep coastal hills with some oomph and not down shift to 2nd or 1st. Also, I would have been able to go up to the gathering of the tribes during Christmas Vacation in the local mountains. (Except for this year due to the overabundance of snow + rain) Although it would have been cold in the empty rear cave, it would have been fun. Not only that barrier crossed over, but the sound of the 40 Ford Sedan Delivery idling through the local drive-in restaurant parking lots would have taken away the award for the “fastest of the slowest” hot rods and customs in the area title. We did see a built up Flathead motor at Reath Automotive, but the cost was too much for this relatively empty pocket book. So, this would not have broken the bank to buy and install. Maybe add a couple of carbs to go along with the cam. Jnaki The Impala would have taken turns going up the steep roadways into the local mountains. In the place of a under powered Flathead motor not having enough power to go up the steep mountain roads, the Impala did its duty, happily. But, the sedan delivery with the Isky 404 cam would have been in a world by itself, all along the coast of So Cal. Steep hills or not. Perhaps, the modified Flathead motor would have been a little cold with the empty shell in the back cave. But, I think of the extra power a cam would provide and it would have been a smile from ear to ear… in the cold mornings at the beach or freezing weather in the mountains… YRMV
Here is a little flathead music for you . . . 284 CI full-race style flathead . . . with a roller cam. Enjoy!
Joe Reath was my original flathead mentor . . . my Mom started driving me to his shop on Cherry in Long Beach when I was 15. I had acquired an engine that came from Kenz & Leslie of CO and it was my first build. Joe was a heck of a good guy and spent a TON of time with me. He introduced me to Ed Isky, Joe Hunt, Moon, Cook's Machine and a whole host of others. He even came out to Irwindale to watch me race in the Antique Nats (managed to win my class the couple years I raced). I can see him now behind the counter when Mom and I first rolled in to see him. I still have the K&L block - and recently acquired a Hilborn flathead injector that K&L ran. Now I need time to put that one together . . . but it is behind the FlatCAD Bonneville engine I'm currently in the middle of redoing.
The Jalopy Journal
