What's happened here to Henry's bent eight?
#1
Posted 19 August 2012 - 21:56
Is it some kind of semi-ohv conversion, or just one man's way of decorating his Ford V8. I'm sure Magoo will be able to tell us...
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#2
Posted 19 August 2012 - 23:44
Speaking of weird antique speed equipment for the flathead Ford V8, look at this.
#3
Posted 20 August 2012 - 00:58
#4
Posted 20 August 2012 - 06:18
#5
Posted 20 August 2012 - 09:14
Please tell me you own that.
No, the guy wants stupid money so I passed. There are one or two other sets known to exist.
The weird part is that no family members purport to know anything about it. Our name, our town, but ?
#6
Posted 21 August 2012 - 01:03
Originally posted by Magoo
Less there than meets the eye, perhaps. Those are Tommy Thickstun covers which fit over stock or aftermarket flathead cylinder heads. Originally devised for marine use to shield the plugs and wires against water among other things, but then became popular as dress-up items due to their exotic, sorta overhead valve look.....
Thanks for that, I figured they were a dress-up of some kind rather than the real thing...
That manifold's a neat find, I hope you find another one that's easier to acquire one day.
#7
Posted 21 August 2012 - 17:08
No, the guy wants stupid money so I passed. There are one or two other sets known to exist.
The weird part is that no family members purport to know anything about it. Our name, our town, but ?
There just is no justice on this planet.
#8
Posted 21 August 2012 - 18:01
"That McGuire jerk should have offered me more than I'm asking!"
#9
Posted 21 August 2012 - 18:10
No, the guy wants stupid money so I passed. There are one or two other sets known to exist.
The weird part is that no family members purport to know anything about it. Our name, our town, and I'm special, but ?
FTFY.
#10
Posted 21 August 2012 - 21:02
FTFY.
Sorry if I kicked your dog. As you know, Toledo is not a very big town and it's interesting that none of us knew of this item until recently.
#11
Posted 21 August 2012 - 21:06
That's what the guy who owns it is probably thinking...
"That McGuire jerk should have offered me more than I'm asking!"
To be honest it's a poor design. The bolt-on top plate is intended to provide for different carb configurations but they all position the carb throats poorly relative to the intake ports via a shallow single-plane plenum chamber. I'm guessing the idle is rough and the mixture distribution is really odd.
#12
Posted 21 August 2012 - 21:43
FTFY.
I'm trying to figure out a way this wasn't just being a douchebag. Maybe failed humor attempt?
#13
Posted 21 August 2012 - 22:37
I'm trying to figure out a way this wasn't just being a douchebag. Maybe failed humor attempt?
Munks is my bud, no worries. Besides, I stood him up at a car show a few weeks ago so I have it coming.
#14
Posted 21 August 2012 - 23:28
#15
Posted 22 August 2012 - 00:35
Or is it just on threads I start?
I sure hope his dog's better now...
#16
Posted 22 August 2012 - 05:21
I'm trying to figure out a way this wasn't just being a douchebag. Maybe failed humor attempt?
Perhaps failed humor. But did you notice that the piece actually says "McGuire Special" at the top?
Anyway, the Toledo connection is interesting. And I imagine there's no chance they mean Toledo, Ontario ...
#17
Posted 22 August 2012 - 06:29
...or Toledo, Spain.And I imagine there's no chance they mean Toledo, Ontario ...
#18
Posted 22 August 2012 - 09:51
Perhaps failed humor. But did you notice that the piece actually says "McGuire Special" at the top?
Still working above the room I see. Maybe you could slow it down once in a while so the rest of us can keep up. We're not that sharp.
#19
Posted 22 August 2012 - 10:07
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#20
Posted 22 August 2012 - 10:35
#21
Posted 22 August 2012 - 10:42
#22
Posted 22 August 2012 - 12:48
Still working above the room I see. Maybe you could slow it down once in a while so the rest of us can keep up. We're not that sharp.
I think the only thing I'm doing fast here is digging a hole, so I'll stop now.
#23
Posted 22 August 2012 - 19:23
Anyone here had OHV heads on a Flathead that worked well?
ZORA'S WORKED OK CALLED ARDUN HEADS
Zora Arkus Duntov, WAS LATER CHEF AT CORVETTE
Edited by ray b, 22 August 2012 - 19:33.
#24
Posted 22 August 2012 - 20:09
Most likelly a two piece manifold which would have made it easy to cast. I have seen several made that way but never used one myself.
Yes, it's pretty much as you'd expect... though in looking at the photo today I see a longitudinal mouse wall I hadn't noticed before/forgot/whatever, which is a step in the right direction.
#25
Posted 23 August 2012 - 01:52
#26
Posted 23 August 2012 - 06:56
#27
Posted 23 August 2012 - 09:59
I forget now but they seemed a development of the Ardun heads.
I think Zora was playing with them before his exploits at GM with that unusual engine. The small block Chev!
#28
Posted 23 August 2012 - 22:35
It was Chrysler's way of making the SIMCA-modified V8-60 a more modern power unit when they extended the life of the SIMCA Vedette. They bought the rights, I gather, to the Ardun heads for the V8-60 model, I reckon it would be a very interesting engine in a hot rod.
#29
Posted 24 August 2012 - 11:37
Spotter's Guide to the 1937-1940 Fords | Mac's Motor City Garage
I am considering a piece on the various overhead conversions for the Ford V8... what do you think? Much interest?
#30
Posted 25 August 2012 - 05:56
I only knew of the Ardun one, as well as the Simca version far later.Since you guys are hardcore, more Ford V8 lore here:
Spotter's Guide to the 1937-1940 Fords | Mac's Motor City Garage
I am considering a piece on the various overhead conversions for the Ford V8... what do you think? Much interest?
So lets see it.
#31
Posted 25 August 2012 - 06:54
Were there others? Well, of course, I know about the Tornado OHV heads, but other than them?
#32
Posted 25 August 2012 - 12:59
#33
Posted 26 August 2012 - 05:36
#34
Posted 26 August 2012 - 06:51
Designed to use in a speedboat (named Tornado, naturally enough), they did good service in series of cars. But when the Corvette engine became available they were thrown into a road car... and later discarded, AFAIK. The patterns, too.
#35
Posted 26 August 2012 - 12:10
We'll be seeing the results of your efforts then? Please.
It will take some weeks to put together, esp the photos. Stay tuned.
The performance record of these conversions is not terribly impressive, to be honest. The Ardun was retailed in rather crude form and took some work for racing use. Some of these conversions -- Maxi and Ardun are two -- were designed and marketed not so much for performance but for HD truck use, to get the exhaust valves out of the block to stop overworking the cooling system.
In a way it comes down to this... you can do the perfect OHV conversion but at the end of the day you still have to bolt it onto a Ford short block. When the Detroit overheads began to arrive in 1949 -- Cadillac, Olds, Chrysler, and then Chevy -- they obsoleted the Ford in most every way.
In the meantime please check out all the Ford and related stories at MCG.
#36
Posted 26 August 2012 - 23:43
They were built in the late forties and remained on the car through a couple of forms until 1956 or perhaps early 1957. After an horrendous crash at Bathurst in 1955 a new chassis was built and the car was lapping in times better than 2m 10s at Albert Park in the Australian Grand Prix of 1956. For reference, Stirling Moss in a 250F blew everyone into the weeds that day and left the lap record at 1:52.2.
By that time Abrahams had grafted fuel injection onto the engine.
#38
Posted 27 August 2012 - 07:13
Originally posted by Magoo
.....Some of these conversions -- Maxi and Ardun are two -- were designed and marketed not so much for performance but for HD truck use, to get the exhaust valves out of the block to stop overworking the cooling system.....
The same is true of the Roof conversion for T-Models, a 4-valve ohc setup...
Their advertisement in the 1919 Pears Cyclopedia highlights the profit-improving potential when used on trucks. I've previously posted a copy of this advertisement.
.....In a way it comes down to this... you can do the perfect OHV conversion but at the end of the day you still have to bolt it onto a Ford short block. When the Detroit overheads began to arrive in 1949 -- Cadillac, Olds, Chrysler, and then Chevy -- they obsoleted the Ford in most every way.
Include Ford's own Y-block monster in that, of course...
Indeed, the long stroke and general pre-war build, along with very heavy castings, made it hard to realise great potential. When the Tornado was fitted with a Chev it was every bit as quick as the fastest Maserati 250Fs.
#39
Posted 27 August 2012 - 11:01
LINK Another look at the 1932 Ford | Mac's Motor City Garage
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#40
Posted 27 August 2012 - 11:39
At the time I was a mechanic working for a Ford dealer and used it to haul the car in my profile photo which was powered by a engine built on a "99" [ 39' Mercury ] block bored to 3 3/8 and fitted 4" crank [ 49' Mercury ] which gave it 286 CI
#41
Posted 27 August 2012 - 16:17
Video: tiny Ardun V8 --- hear it roar! | Mac's Motor City Garage
#42
Posted 28 August 2012 - 09:34
A lot of work, you really need to give full marks to people who do this sort of thing...
#43
Posted 28 August 2012 - 10:48
#44
Posted 28 August 2012 - 11:29
#45
Posted 29 August 2012 - 04:23
It's only the castings that are 1:3, all the internals are full size, hence the lovely sound.
The "internals" are full size? How can this be?
#46
Posted 29 August 2012 - 04:30
#47
Posted 30 August 2012 - 02:24
It's only the castings that are 1:3, all the internals are full size, hence the lovely sound.
Thanks Tony. Made me smile - yet again.
#48
Posted 30 August 2012 - 02:25
The "internals" are full size? How can this be?
Very thick-walled castings on those old timers.
#49
Posted 01 September 2012 - 11:48
Our conversation here about Ardun Ford V8s made this thing suddenly pop into my mind. This will make you laugh out loud. It's a beautifully constructed 1/3 scale Ardun V8 and it runs and everything, but that's not the half of it. It's how it sounds: totally badass. Cracks me up every time I listen to it. The builder is Ron Bement.
Video: tiny Ardun V8 --- hear it roar! | Mac's Motor City Garage
#50
Posted 10 September 2012 - 10:30
It would be nice to catch up as I head through there...