I polished mine although I don't remember it being quite as rough as the photograph. Of course that was back in 1997. I realize this seeing this photo is repetitious but I feel someone should show what an engine running one of these "high school" castings is capable of!
Here's a couple taken at different places, different times. Can you tell what car is parked in front of my car in second photo?
Nice looking little modified. Hard to tell on my phone, but that looks like the recreation of the Warth/Hilborn streamliner Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
ya looks like the hillborn car.Aawesome car. The little red modified looks like alot of fun too. Looks like it can get pretty cozy on a long road trip! How much is it narrowed?
Car is narrowed 8.5" or what ever the width of the vent/opening in the T cowl. 2 people can ride if they are good friends.
When finished it weighed 1500 lb. Been a few changes so it might be a few pounds lighter. I have seen one other of those tanks in a very small sports car that had a couple of photos in an old Hot Rod mag late 50's or early 60's. I think I paid 20 or 30 bucks for it. Damn, I miss going to all those swap meets![/QUOTE] Thanks Bill. Looks like I have a lot of lightening up to do.
Update on model B distributor conversion Solved my idling problem, engine now idles at 600 Rpm, possibly a little slow for engine modifications. At idle 5 degrees advance, at 1500 RPM's 30 degrees advance. There is a caveat on the advance number, apprentice wrench took readings. Didn't go any further. Car has been driven with no apparent ignition problems. Could stand more initial or static timing. Slower, smoother idle, might be explained by taking into account flywheel weight is now 30 lb. instead of the Al. flywheels. The B distributor has a new (rebuilt) shaft and a new point cam from Renner's. New bushings fitted and a NOS condenser and a NOS Niehoff round aftermarket cap from Ebay. New springs and weights from FS that give 29 degrees advance and spring's allow it to be all in at lower RPM's. The weights I received require a little "massaging" (polishing) in slots to smooth the advance. The next step would be an electronic conversion from FS but price wise total and labor you might be better off buying a new FS distributor. The B distributor has a nostalgic look especially with the "wing" cap. For most of the trips my car's make,1/4 mile or less, they work just fine. Now, what to do with the Wico's and early Y series Mallory distributors.
Bill, did you notice any improvement with your motor running the Winfields as sidedrafts over downdrafts?
I think I would have to say there is no difference but they are on 2 different engines. I have the side drafts on the engine with the flathead Winfield repop only because I didn't want to cut the hood to clear downdrafts. I devised a simple adapter to convert them to side draft and they worked quite well. With the 2 port and down drafts I just left the hood off. I will say the engine performs better with the stock air horns on the side drafts. I tried some shop built shorter tapered air horns but they would bleed fuel at speed, probably have that same problem with downdrafts and short air horns.
Alright brothers of bangerdom, quick question - I found a super nice "A" exhaust manifold for my build at a swap meet a few weeks back; before I purchased it, took a tape measure to it to check for straightness - looked pretty good to me. Pulled it out yesterday for a closer inspection and noticed that the rear port is 0.09" lower than ports 1, 2, and 3. I've read that anything over 0.125" is an issue - you guys think mine is straight enough, or am I destined for a leak? I know repops are available, but I'd rather stick with original parts if possible.
i would use it , but put orange hi-heat silicone on both sides of the gasket to be sure it sealed . if used properly you wont see it ......
Mucho thanks Steve! Should I try to use the gland rings (may have to be bent slightly) ? Any tips on applying the silicone?
i use my finger to get a lite coat but full surface . ive tried both (with & witout gland rings) , up to you . i have had no trouble with a nice coat (on both sides) of silicone high heat . tighten & recheck in a while . my header is on the same way with no problems ...........
Thanks guys for all the tips, references and links. I hope there is more out there......! I have been down many of these paths over the last few years. I have the Ricardo book and have researched, the Harley Heads, Jr Dragster Briggs & Stratton Heads asked around all the banger guys I could find, looked in back issues of Secrets of Speed and found a surprising number of different heads and combustion chamber designs. Most of the opinions and experience shared seem to be gained from, for lack of a better term, fly by the seat of your pants. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm surprised I can't find more dyno and flow bench testing with definitive information. Has any one install a high performance head then ran it on the dyo to see how much it improved the performance. Has any one done flow bench work on a Model A or B block and head. I sure would like to find some of this type information . We have all seen the advancements made in the internal combustion engine through the application of technology. I am looking for information about the newest technology applied to making a Flathead perform.
If you look in the back issues of S O S S you will find an article by Wayne Atkinson In which he does flow testing on the model A block. He tests valve size and porting.
Interesting comparison of Austin 7 head designs here - can't remember if I've posted it before. http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/speedex/index_files/Page2476.htm
I'd like to see some of this info also, but I believe that the people who really know arent giving up much. Even if you had a flow bench, its not as simple as bolting on a head the way they do with overheads. For it to be accurate, the whole block/head/valve combination will have to flowed together...and of course there will be some blocks ruined before the " best" combo is found. There's too much time and effort involved to expect to find this for free on the internet....but we can still ask.
Thanks for the response I get the basics of hooking up the flow bench to a block with head and valves installed, I have just bought a used flow bench hope to start on some testing in a month or so. I understand that a lot of guys keep there information close to the vest but I was hoping a general combustion chamber design would have surfaced as the best one. It was worth a try to ask.........
Thanks for the tip, was the article writen by Wayne Atkinson? I have tried to contact him but have not heard back. I wil track down this issue. .........Thanks..............!
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