Dreaming about the digger and fuel injection. I'm building her to fit the 1963 era. I've seen a LOT of the Hilborn two port injectors but I've got a real soft spot for the tall four port. When did Hilborn start selling the four port?
Cant tell ya the exact date Kerry, but Ive seen pics as far back as 61-62 with 4-port. It seems the more sqaured I think it was the Algon 4 port seemed to in service then. But I just spied a photot of the Greer Black Prudomme car in 62 sporting a 4 port.
I was just looking at the Hilborn website yesterday. You should call them and ask. May be an oldtimer around who remembers. My brother was talking to them at Columbus about injection units, and they were very helpful to him.
I called them up a month ago with a couple of questions. Great folks. FYI they are repopping the two port 6/71 injectors again according to the guy I spoke with. I think I might have answered my own question. Here's a bit about Gene Adams in 1960 " The Dragster Years In 1960 when Gene was discharged from the Army he and Scrima along with Leonard Harris as the driver, put the Olds engine into a Fiat to run in the modified coupe class. This car began their association with Albertson Olds as a sponsor. The car ran in the high 9- second range, which was very competitive at that time. It was at this time that Gene began working at Hilborn Fuel Injection as what he describes as a “flunky”. However before his 15 years at Hilborn was up, he was very important part of the legendary speed equipment manufacturer. After running the Fiat for a few months Ron Scrima bought a new K-88 chassis and after doing a lot of his own modifications they pulled Gene’s Olds out of the Fiat and put in the dragster and the Albertson Olds dragster was born. This car was a very strong runner and won many races including the 1960 Nationals in Detroit, turning a very impressive 9.23. They also amassed a record of 12 Top Eliminators in a row at Long Beach before heading east for a month of racing. Upon their returning they won another 6 in a row to amass a total of 18 in a row at long Beach, a record, which was never equaled. The Albertson Olds dragster was a very innovative car for its time. Ronnie Scrima made extensive modifications to the 93” wheelbase car, which included cutting out some of the struts to allow the chassis to flex more, and adding a champ car rear end with knock-off hubs to mount the Halibrand wheels. Gene’s engine work included many innovations such as installing offset valve guides to enable him to run larger valves and using one of the first Hilborn 4 port injectors atop the GMC 6-71 blower. An interesting side note that helps to show just how fast things were changing during this time is the story about the blower scoop. It seems that the Hilborn unit was so new that they had yet to build a scoop for it by the time that Gene and crew left for Detroit to run in the Nationals. Stu Hilborn, told Gene that if he could get the scoop finished in time he would air freight it to him in Detroit. When the car arrived and started in competition it was still using a home-made fiberglass scoop, but Stu called on Friday night and told them the new aluminum scoop was on it’s way. Gene sent a couple guy’s to the airport to recover the new piece and installed it on Saturday morning. The car won the event with the first unpolished Hilborn scoop in place. Upon their return to the west coast, Gene immediately removed the unsightly scoop and sent it to be polished. So the only time the Albertson Olds car was ran with an unpolished aluminum scoop was the last two days of the 1960 Nationals. This certainly helps to explain why photos of the car taken only days apart show the car in different forms. The parts and cars were evolving on almost a daily basis at this point in the sport."
Can't say too many good things about the folks at Hilborn. I ordered a new 4-port for my Fiat comp coupe and actually paid less than some used ones on Ebay. They called be several times to be sure of the combination I was using so they didn't set it up wrong.
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