Yup I had a set for a small block Ford. The Mopar was probably rarer. Weber DOCE carbs bolted straight to the head ports. I even had a super rare 4V intake.
WOW! What a fantastic video and a great restoration. Thanks for posting it. I gotta say that modern Holley looks a little out of place. But it seemed to idle well sobe it.
I used a google image search and found, Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire motor assembly and inspection, Bristol, 1959. The Sapphire, introduced in 1953 is regarded as the most handsome of all the company?s varied saloon cars. It had a 125 bhp , 3.4 Litre six cylinder engine and cost in its first year ú1728. Unfortunately the market was against Armstrong Siddeley and by 1960 they gave up car production to concentrate on aircraft engines
I would guess at more hp than 125 from 207 cu. in. with dual carbs, cross flow head and nice exhaust manifolds. Maybe low comp ratio due to junk gas, another guess.
It is a beautiful crossflow headed inliner. I wonder if, since British cars were taxed by how much power the engine had, if they "hedged their bets" as far as how much power was claimed? As an example, Anglas were rated at either 8 HP or 10 HP.
Thank you for that ad. I read they claimed 150 HP in the ad. Does anyone else think, with a 3" taper chop, that car would make a bitchin' custom? It already has full fade fenders and suicide doors. Not to mention that six-banger. Anthony?
That was the British "fiscal horsepower", which was used for tax purposes only. The formula was [bore in millimetres]² x [number of cylinders] / 1613. That would have made the Sapphire a 30HP car. The specific output of 40-odd bhp/litre was a bit on the low end for the time, but not remarkably so. It probably featured a cam profile aimed at bottom-end power and smoothness rather than high specific output.
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