Hopping up a Model A 4 Banger

I was planning on building an av8, but after some investigation into the cost of building a flathead v8 I was thinking that maybe a better first step would be hopping up the original Model A 4 banger that I've already got. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction for learing about these engines? I don't really know anything about them as of now.

 

Search for the monthly Banger threads and get ta readin'!

 

http://www.hotforhotfours.com/

http://www.secretsofspeed.com/

 

You might be suprised how much it will cost to hop up a 4 banger.I have a Riley 4 port, model B block and 39 trans that will go in something someday.To have the block machined and put together will probably run 3 to 4 grand.

 

The latest Hot Rod Deluxe has a few pages on bangers, worth a read!

 

Yup...the Banger Meets are the place to be.

 

Nothing is cheap when you start hopping it up and a 4 banger is no different. There is a lot of oiling mods that have to be made on the A's and the 32 4 banger has a better crank and oil system but hard to find. Either way look to spend 5K plus for a top of the line 4 banger which does not include some of the exotic heads out there.

 

go for it but it wont be cheap you can build 3 sbc or 2 mild flathead v-8s I was going to put my 48 flathead 8 in my little A but I fell in love with the little banger
my 2 cents
later Bill
1/2the pistons
2 times the fun
3 times the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

If your into Cheep and Dependable, your in the Wrong hobby. This little Banger may look stock and that's how I like them. It's warmed up with counter balanced crank and inserts, and the list goes on. Bottom line is it's a warmed up 4 Cyl Banger motor and I'm a few bucks over 4K and I supplied the basic motor parts to start with. Looking back, I should have built a V-8. I must be NUTZ.
The Wizzard

 

Oops. I forgot the Photos'

 

I really need to come visit..... I live soooo close!

 

i got a stock banger and its fun, but i wouldnt want to pay to hot rod it, i dont plan on doing more of them and id rather have somethin i could beat on without haveing to worry about destroying what i did, when it goes im going with an iron duke i think, where you at in SD?

 

A mild hop up will run 4 to 5 G's.
One like this pic will be a bit over 10 G's. 160+ hp.

 

Building your project based on cost as opposed to building it into what you'd really want it to be will only cost you more in the long run.
That being said, if you do decide to go with the banger and start doing some research i think you'll start to see how exciting building a real "period' street rod can be.
I too purchased a flathead V8 soon after aquiring my 31 Tudor. My plan was to make it look like every other flathead powered Model A.
As luck would have it i struck up a friendship with Mel(Dirtyest Devil) from the Rumblers and he hooked me up with a Banger and ******. I started researching the all the banger stuff i could find and soon became addicted!
Sorry i got a little carried away from the point but what i was really trying to say is, build it the way you really want, even if it takes a little longer. In the end you'll be a lot happier for it.

 

The dollars add up quickly when restoring an A engine and ch***is. I'm embarased to say how much I've got tied up in ours and I've done all the work except the carbs (97's) and the engine (H and H short block)
I can't imagine what the cost is if one gets heavy into engine mods because then you have to address the ****** and rear end. You can't, or wouldn't want to run those two items stock with a hot banger?

 

I've got a diamond block A, fresh rebuild, bored .040 with a stock head and a B carb, leakless waterpump and a stock trans and rear. It'll do 60 on the highway all day long. I'm planning on putting a higher compression head on and thats it ($250 -$300). It probably won't get me any more speed, but if it will get me up the hill a little faster than a few of my buddies, it'll be hopped up enough. I've got $485 bucks in it- total, but I've got a cheap machinist (read "slow"), buddies with spare parts and tons of patience. If you want to drive one on the interstate, and you've got patience, you can build one pretty cheap and retain your dependability. If you want to go over 100mph you're going to lay down some big bucks (definitely in the relm of what the other posts have stated) and remember, the faster you go, the shorter the intervals are between fixing. I drive mine all over and have a ball doing it, but it's no racing machine. It goes up the hill at the Newport Hill Climb one weekend a year, and that's the only time I put it to her. Everything else is just day to day driving- cruises, work, school, around town etc.
If you're mechanically inclined and like working on your own stuff, you can have a lot of fun with these engines, without breaking the bank. Don't get discouraged by the prices. You don't have to take it to the salt flats the first time out of the garage. Luke.

 

If you build a B engine with quality aftermarket parts like H beam rods,
BB crank, forged pistons, high perf. ignition, alum head etc etc etc.,
there is no reason it won't last 50K miles and put out 100 hp.

 

is that your motor? if it is, is 160+ a guess or has it been dyno'd?

 

modelastore.com call and ask for Steve he will help you reasonably

 

Beefstew:
That was on a Clayton dyno.

 

See the thing is you guys just dont "hop up" your A motors you way above that. A simple Hop up job will keap your engine reliable and cheap.

 

I have a very nice B diamond soon to be ***embled, the crank is in the states getting drilled for full pressure. I will probably be selling the engine/T-5 and newly built rear end with Hi speed gears. The engine had 10,000 miles on it when I pulled the crank to have it fixed for pressure and a Burtz rear seal. Has new rods fixed for pressure, lightened fly wheel, C/ Balanced crank, S/S valves, auto adv S/S ign, 7.1 Lion head, B water pump, trick oil pressure reliefe valve (internal) and all the stuff neede to do the oil pressure right (according to SSOS.) 0.60 pistons. Wont sell it till its running, but that should not be to long. iceman

 

Someone needs to buy your engine and put it in my car that is for sale.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=355510&highlight=1930+model

 

That banger would be embar***ed to be seen with a street rod.

 

In the first place, "street rod" is a nasty word with me!
Street rodders are people with fat wallets, limited automotive knowledge and big arms from applying wax.
My car is better cl***ified as a street legal race car.
The last engine it had was the 160+ hp flathead "B".
It won every hillclimb it entered for 6 straight years,
setting a few hill records along the way.

 

Are we talking about the one on your avatar, or the one with the billet wheels in the listing you linked to your previous post? Luke

 

The 2 door sedan with the billet wheels.

 

[FONT=&quot]I got my roadster a year ago this month and ripped it all apart the first week I had it. Hydraulic brakes was the first thing (disc would have been so much cheaper but would look like ****!)
Added then new springs in the front and back to lower it a bit, 37 spindles, blah blah blah a bunch of other odds and ends...
Then I took it for a ride and the engine was pretty sick, Well a rebuild and re-babbit...$3000… then added a new head ,downdraft intake, header, FS ignition,
New Stromberg 97 ( that thing is sweet ) Slightly lighten flywheel and V8 pressure plate .
What do you know my $3000 is now $5000…? I’m going to stop adding my receipts…
Any who, I fired it up last week. So YES to anyone telling you if your going to have a banger and it needs some help, your looking at 3-5k to have it running nice, never mind running fast. The reason I went the banger road is simple, I don’t see anything like it around here! 350 fiber-rods are all I ever see; you know... pretty polished fake hot rods...
Did I say hot rods… silly me I mean street rods...
I will be getting a Bill stipe cam over the winter after I use it the way it is this summer ( only got a regrind mild cam now )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1fWmQwkEFU


See the vid, I was crossing my fingers in my head..! Started it up and was so glad it did not blow up.
I am adding a fuel pump and smithy gl*** pack this weekend, so I will test run it again.
I need to check the timing also. Anyone thinking of getting into a 4 banger should read everything they can; I know a lot more then when I first got the car last year but still don’t know a fraction of the stuff many of the 4 banger guys know on this site!
I owe a lot of thanks to everyone who posts here, without them I would be sitting in my driveway screaming What the F was I thinking[/FONT]

 

Bangers, bangers, bangers... I went the bolt on route and that mushroomed into inserts and a counterweighted crank plus lots more - still a flatty and around $6K for parts and the long block. However, the motor should last 60-100K miles if it holds together like the rest of my builder's do.

I doubt I'll build another. Probably go SBC or 2.3 Ford in the next car and run with the hood closed.

 

ahhh tghe gl*** pack ****ed for sound, trying just a 1 3/4 inch pipe all the way to the back..i need more sound