Jim,
For formula Ford, aluminum heads were approved by most vintage racing
organizations some time ago. I was talking to Auggie about getting one of the
aluminum heads to replace my cast iron head (that he's worked MANY hours
on......). BIG MISTAKE!! Auggie chewed on my rear end for some time!!.... NOT
because of the work he had in the cast iron head, but for all the reasons that
made the aluminum head less than ideal (i.e. metallurgy, heat transfer,
combustion chamber cooling, ad nauseum....). This guy isn't just a machinist,
he's 'by experience' a chemical engineer.......... you name it!. Not just the
type who started grinding the metal out of the port, etc, etc.... He has a
specific reason for "WHY" he does everything he does; and can explain what the
end result will be...... And he'll be correct!
Referring to your friend who is the diesel engine "coroner"..... I have a
similar friend who is a mechanic with Washoe County. Gerry is ASE certified on
everything from "skateboards" to emergency vehicles, heavy equipment...... you
name it, he's the best!!!! During my tenure on the Washoe County Sheriff's
Office Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT... I was the senior accident
reconstructionist on the team my last ten years before I retired), Gerry was
the ONLY civilian member of the team, and at that didn't even work for the
Sheriff's Office!! With his hair and beard, if you saw him you would think he
was a guitarist for Z.Z. Top(!!), but beyond that, he's the most knowledgeable
man on engines, transmissions, differentials, brakes and suspension of anyone
I've ever known. Expressed another way.... if Gerry said "gap the plugs and
points at 0.240 and set the timing at 180 degrees"....... I'd do it in a
heartbeat! The guy is that smart!!
If I've learned nothing more in life, probably the most singularly important
lesson......... Someone who on the surface doesn't appear to know much may,
indeed, know a very great deal! Keep your mouth shut, eyes and ears open,
listen and learn...... they just might know more than you know about a given
subject! That's a standard that's yet to fail me!
Carl
----- Original Message -----
From: TIGEROOTES@aol.com
To: carlynneracing@sbcglobal.net ; alpines@autox.team.net ;
hillman@can-inc.com
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2004 5:43 PM
Subject: Re: rebuilding 1725 (horror stories)
carlynneracing@sbcglobal.net writes:
Al and Auggie 'live' for the opportunity to do the 'exotic stuff'.
YES, Carl! That is exactly what my guys love. Currently, there is an
amazing Lagonda short block at the machine shop and a dozen Model B Ford and
Ford V8 heads, at the head shop. Oddly, these guys "bread and butter" is the
local fishing fleet and diesel engines of all types.
My headman is a certified diesel engine "Coroner" and to keep his
certification he is required to return to school at least annually, to stay on
top of modern alloy metallurgy among other things. This technology is what we
use to update Rootes alloy heads for unleaded fuels with
silicon-aluminum-bronze valve guides that wear like iron (pun not intended)
and nickel-alloy seats. He is too often called to testify in Court regarding
engines that have failed in service. By that, I mean if a fishing boat engine
stops running in the Bearing Sea and it causes someone's death, he is one of
few that is qualified to state what caused a mechanical failure.
Jim
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