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Hopping up a Model A 4 Banger

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by andrewvolsen, Apr 6, 2009.

  1. andrewvolsen
    Joined: Sep 16, 2008
    Posts: 53

    andrewvolsen
    Member

    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.
     
  2. Search for the monthly Banger threads and get ta readin'!
     
  3. Tuumer
    Joined: Apr 12, 2006
    Posts: 21

    Tuumer
    Member
    from Finland

  4. 51 mercules
    Joined: Nov 29, 2008
    Posts: 4,437

    51 mercules
    Member

    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.
     
  5. The latest Hot Rod Deluxe has a few pages on bangers, worth a read!
     
  6. Artiki
    Joined: Feb 17, 2004
    Posts: 2,014

    Artiki
    Member
    from Brum...

    Yup...the Banger Meets are the place to be.
     
  7. RAY With
    Joined: Mar 15, 2009
    Posts: 3,132

    RAY With
    Member

    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.
     
  8. BCCHOPIT
    Joined: Aug 10, 2008
    Posts: 2,604

    BCCHOPIT
    Member

    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 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
     
  9. 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
     
  10. Oops. I forgot the Photos'
     

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  11. Jimmy2bottle
    Joined: Dec 29, 2004
    Posts: 233

    Jimmy2bottle
    Member

    I really need to come visit..... I live soooo close!
     
  12. junk yard kid
    Joined: Nov 11, 2007
    Posts: 2,717

    junk yard kid
    Member

    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?
     
  13. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,262

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    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.
     

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  14. Jersey Joe 67
    Joined: Jun 12, 2008
    Posts: 427

    Jersey Joe 67
    Member
    from J Town

    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.
     
  15. Jupiter Zone
    Joined: Apr 18, 2009
    Posts: 81

    Jupiter Zone
    Member

    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?
     

    Attached Files:

  16. 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.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2009
    barrnone50 likes this.
  17. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,262

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    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.
     
  18. Beef Stew
    Joined: Oct 9, 2008
    Posts: 1,253

    Beef Stew
    Member
    from So Cal

    is that your motor? if it is, is 160+ a guess or has it been dyno'd?
     
  19. 7&7
    Joined: Jan 6, 2006
    Posts: 362

    7&7
    Member
    from Colorado

    modelastore.com call and ask for Steve he will help you reasonably
     
  20. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,262

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    Beefstew:
    That was on a Clayton dyno.
     
  21. SlamCouver
    Joined: Jun 26, 2006
    Posts: 2,000

    SlamCouver
    Member
    from Brazil, IL

    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.
     
  22. Ice man
    Joined: Mar 12, 2008
    Posts: 983

    Ice man
    Member

    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
     
  23. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,262

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

  24. That banger would be embar***ed to be seen with a street rod.
     
  25. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,262

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    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.
     
  26. 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
     
  27. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,262

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    The 2 door sedan with the billet wheels.
     
  28. wildthunder
    Joined: May 26, 2008
    Posts: 14

    wildthunder
    Member
    from RI..USA

    [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…:confused:? 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]
     
  29. Wildfire
    Joined: Apr 23, 2006
    Posts: 831

    Wildfire
    Member

    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.
     
  30. wildthunder
    Joined: May 26, 2008
    Posts: 14

    wildthunder
    Member
    from RI..USA

    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
     

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