I have a 337 Lincoln flathead and my neighbor and I are toying with the idea of running a 1951 Lincoln at Bonneville. We want to use the original drivetrain and since we are in Indiana, we are going to get ahold of Uncommon Engineering to stoke it, Crower can regrind the cam and Ken Austin has manifolds. The only thing we are lacking is good heads. Casting will cast alot due to the fact that we would have to make a lot and their probably isn't enough demand for them. How much do you think it would cost to have Billet heads made? I know Billet is a bad word here but this seems to be about the only option at this time. Comments?
Sure, been done in the past, two piece heads, water jackets milled into the inside. No probs with that............besides, the only time billet aluminum is bad is if is tasteless square streetrod type stuff.
Casting them in two pieces would be less than carving them out of billet. Easier to make the patterns,than for a one piece head. Smaller foundries should be able to do small batches.
Many billet heads at Bonneville have no water jackets. Ever seen an air cooled engine? I made mine without water. Worked fine. I have seen blown flatheads with solid heads. Get some aluminum and a mill and have at it. I did take water out at the exhaust valves to insure water flow in this hot area
Necessity is and has always been the mother of invention! I personally am going to make 2 piece heads for my Flathead Bonneville truck project! Mostly because many of the mods are going to be so radical that many of the currently available heads are going to be impractical to alter or change without many hours of cutting and heliarcing back together to be cost effective to do so. Time wise, I can have a pair of heads made in a little over a day, and while the machine is running, I can be doing other things....Go for it!
As far as I am concerned billet isn't the curse word, Rat Rod is. And the fact that you are wiling to go fabricate some heads for an old engine rather than do the standard SBC swap out is more admirable than anything else. As far as cost goes - I can't be the quote guy, but for consistency sake billet has to be the method of choice in terms of getting the parts right every time. Something to add to your list of the "pros" when considering which to choose.
The parts should be consistent,from one to the next, but it's up to the programmer if the are correct. We always figured $80-100/hr for CNC time,plus material. Programming might be extra. If the part is drawn in CAD,it might be possible to generate the program from the drawing.
To Panic, The heads are about 7:1 i m looking for about 9.5:1 and milling them that far will probably not be the best idea.
"Back in the day", IOE chambers were modified by insertion of a bronze casting. Without seeing what you have now, I can't tell if this might help, but the alternates suggested may be possible to do (in the sense that the end product can be bolted on), but will not be easy to make work (in the sense that the shape of a flathead chamber is far more complex than appears, and many subtle changes in contour are the result of much R&D and patent fights).
Thanks, glad you like it. To bad i didn't have a camera of my own when it was an overhead. The point of that motor was you can do it with what ever you want to do it with (Lincoln) and nremember, Bonneville isn't NASCAR. A flathead has no moving parts in the head to worry about getting hot and seizing. And the exhaust is the real hot part of the motor and it's in the block. A blower motor might need more cooling but McKian and House have solid heads on their 6:71 blown flatmotor and run real fast. In 3 miles you don't generate that much heat.
One thing Ken Kloth has always stresses is that any engine is just an air pump, and the more air and fuel it pumps the more power it will make. Ken spent many hours testing one cylinder flat heads on his flow bench with various head configuations. The design he set records with was less than 6.25 to 1 compression ratio and had no supercharger. Rich Fox is a bonneville record holder in the vintage cl***es,and whos suggestions should be considered very valuable.
There is a big difference in billet do-dads whittled out for m*** consupmtion and functioning works of art produced to make an engine live up to its ultimate potential. Whittle away! Oh, and be sure to post pictures.
My friend and I are not experts here but the plan is for **F in Compe***ion Coupe and Sedan Unblown Gas. We also want it streetable. A Gear Vendor unit behind the Hydramatic and a 2.76 9 inch rear with a chop and channel on a custom ch***is is in the works . If dry heads will work with unblown gas, we may be in business.
Not to sure about dry heads for the street. There were dry bronze heads made for Fords at one time. Most have extra water. Jim 32 is right. Getting the charge between the valves and the cylinder and back again is the trick to flatheads I think
Here is a pair of Norman Frick heads that will be running on my flathead...........hopefully soon. They are about 78cc.
a billet is just a block of metal, unless you use cheesy billet parts(grilles, dash insertd,etc.,) theres nothing wrong with it
By the way, you might want to rethink the **F/GCC deal. More like **O/GCC. Open record anyway. Showup and your a hero.
By the time I get there, it will probably not be open. Besides, with the 337 wouldn't I have to run **F? **O/GCC I thought was under 325 ci.
Thats the way I read the rule book Joe. You can go up to 375 cubic inches but you will still run against 325 cubic inch Arduns. You would have to destroke to get under 325 cubic inches to run **O, and there is an inline GMC from Colorado with a billet head making some real HP. Am I missing something Richard?
Unkl Ian/**** Drake Bought these about a year ago. These are the 3" heads, the bottom piece is made from 1" thick 6061, the top is 2". They were $950. He also makes 2" heads($850), the bottom is 1" as is the top. You can have the spark plug placed where you want it and combustion chamber done anyway you like. I just wanted something different and that would perform with the blower setup............. since this is probably the last hot rod I'll build.................just getting too old.
**F is Ardun/Fords/Mercs up to 325 cid and Flathead Fords/Mercs between 326 and 375 cid. **O is for all other engines with specialty cylinder head (Wayne GMC) up to 325 cid and all other inline and flathead engines between 326 and 375 cid. So a Lincoln not being a Ford must run with the GMC and Buick and Hudson engines
Does it matter if it was Lincoln/Ford Truck? By the way, A Chop, PM me some info on these heads. It would be appreciated.
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