Doug, list,
Caught up with Kenny Kloth on the phone. He was marveling at the size of
the engines you were talking about.
He said that he runs a 2 3/16" cam and, using 8BA '49 or newer rods, he
notches those stock rods for clearance with a 4" stroke.
Kenny wondered how large a cam you could run with those larger engines ...
if you could get lobes with any lift on something necessarily that small.
Kenny and Mike Chapman of Chapman Cylinder Heads are two like minds on flow.
Neither has had lots of formal training but they are willing to learn and
experiment. Mike has the company and equipment ( just added a 4th CNC
milling machine) and the respect of the large companies as well as the
NASCAR engine builders. A very large percentage of his R&D is for them.
Kenny does
amazing things with his flow bench and the guys in the local USFRA group
really listen when he talks about air flow and related subjects.
A story printed in a national publication tells something about Chapman.
Seems he was in a meeting with Chrysler brass a few years ago when they were
looking into better performance from one of their new engines and Mike was
at the meeting to talk about heads for racing. The man conducting the
meeting indicated he knew everyone in the room except Mike and asked what
his qualifications wereto be there in such a high powered group. Mike
didn't reply except to put his hands on the table, palm down, with the two
rings he was wearing facing the questioner. They were an Indy 500 winners
ring and a Daytona 500 winners ring.
Wes
----------
> From: ARDUNDOUG@aol.com
> To: land-speed@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: Flathead question
> Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 11:47:36 EST
>
>In a message dated 02/21/2000 6:14:15 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>lsr_man@yahoo.com writes:
>
><< For years I thought that the 286 and 296
> configurations were the biggest you could go with
> a flathead, then this weekend, re-reading through
> last year's Bonneville program, I noticed that
> the Pappas/Stevens XF roadsster is running a 314
> flathead. How'd they do that? I though that
> would get into the water jacket.
> >>
>Dick,
> No, 313 or 314ci ( 3 3/8" X 4 3/8") is very doable without hitting any
>water. In 1989 I ran that combination in the XXF/GL. One could even go to a
4
>1/2" stroke and stay "wet" as long as stock Ford rods were used, netting
>around 324 ci. Beyond 324ci things get a little "dicey" due to the fact
that
>3 7/16" bore is past what most blocks will take, the wall thickness gets
>pretty thin, and the Flatty rod becomes the weak-point of the system. Using
>Cunningham-type rods in almost any length stroke requires grinding
clearance
>notches in the bottom of the cylinders. I've run as long a stroke as 4 1/4"
>with Cunninghams and didn't hit water when I notched the cylinders. Whether
>the block would take much more notching without hitting water is another
>matter.
> Another factor is cam-to-connecting rod clearance with a combination
long
>stroke (over 4 1/4"), Cunningham rods, and a larger base-circle cam. Kenny
>Kloth in SLC has had extensive experience in that field. Maybe Wester or
one
>of the SLC guys could get a reading from him and post it for
>us..........Ardun Doug in CA
>
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