the recent list discussion about torque convertor slip plus some time spent
pondering my misspent youth ( while waiting for the wife ) caused me to
reflect on the engines I tinkered with during high school hot rodding days in
the early 50s.
they were the usual flathead Ford V8s, Chevy stovebolt sixes, Chrysler
flathead sixes---later put a 1950 Olds V8 in a 39 Ford ( paid 50 bucks for
that junkyard engine ), and when I got "rich" built a fairly radical Stude V8
for the street
high school was low budget stuff, but a lot of fun because stock engines/cars
in those days could be much improved by simple low cost improvements---milled
heads (used to cost me about 8 bucks at a local machine shop ), dual exhaust,
dual or triple carbs ( couldn't afford stroker kits in those days )---even
handling could be vastly improved with 24 bucks worth of heavy-duty Monroe
shocks and 6-ply pickup tires ( to reduce roll under on curves--no radials in
those days ! )
Now, I think me and my crowd missed considering one interesting engine for
our low budget 1950s machines---the large Buick straight 8 ( don't laugh yet
). it had 320 cubic inches and in the small Buick "Century " model had an
OEM dual carb manifold and had more horsepower and torque than the "modern"
OHV Olds V8 I in put in the 39 Ford ( yeah, I know it was probably heavier ).
Now to connect the dots---those old 3-speed transmissions had a wide ratio
spread between 2nd and 3rd gear, so the shift to third dropped you way down to
the bottom of the torque curve ( unless you had a Ford trans and put in Zepher
gears )---lots of drag races were won until that 3rd gear shift, and then
lost, on the local Rankin Bridge,and at the Erie, Pa, and Salem, Ohio drag
strips.
Now the original Century models were rare and expensive even as used cars in
the 1950s, but Buick "Specials" were plentiful and cheap and given the factory
"Century" model, a "junkyard" 320 cid engine would probably slip right into a
1938-40 Buick "Special" ( a four door sedan would have been sneaky ).
Automatic transmissions were heresy in the 1950s, but I now think a Buick
Special with modified 320 cid straight engine AND the Dynaflow automatic would
have made a neat, fast, low cost machine.
The Dynaflow had a planetary gear low range for launching, and even with the
torque slip, probably would have been better than most of the old 3-speed
trannys.. As the old German said " we get too soon old and to late smart"
If anybody out there tinkered with Buick straight 8s ( somebody on the list
used to run a straight 8 Buick in early drag races ?), I'd like to hear from
you.
lance
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