It's an interesting idea but that engine will never fit in a Model A frame. It is much longer and heavier than the Ford 4 banger. I would start by making a ch***is frame out of 2X4 steel about a foot longer than stock. Use a Ford front end if you must but slip an extra leaf in the spring to carry the weight. Trans, driveshaft and rear axle should be something more modern. Set the A body on the frame. I would like to see it with a full set of fenders and hood, a real Betty Boop millionaire's roadster. It would certainly be unique and draw a crowd at any old car get together.
A hundred years ago an old friend added a magneto to his hopped up Model T by bolting the mag to the frame and driving it from the front of the engine with a bicycle chain. Wonder if you could do something similar with an 8 cylinder distributor? Your water pump resembles the kind used on hot water heating systems, as well as some old cars like Buick and Nash. Probably the easiest, cheapest solution would be a heating system water pump. You could drive the pump off the PTO that was meant for the generator, distributor, water pump. And drive the distributor off the same shaft. What is the gear ratio between the crankshaft and PTO? If it is not 1:1 or 1:2 you will have to gear the dist accordingly. Maybe a Ford crab driven off the end of the cam would be easier. I still like the crank trigger idea. Wonder if you could somehow add 8 magnets to the crankshaft? Maybe 4 would do. I see you have a belt drive for the fan. It would do for the alternator and water pump if necessary. Just some random thoughts.
Hey @carbking while I've got you on the line let me amend that statement to: " a small sidedraft carb (or injector) that is reliable and fairly readily available TODAY"
Probably the easiest to find would be the Carter type YH. Carter produced 38 different type YH carburetors. All, with the exception of the neoprene diaphragm type accelerator pump, are extremely reliable. The key to NOT having issues with the diaphragm type accelerator pump is to start the engine sufficiently often that the neoprene is never allowed to dry out. We have sold dozens of these over the years for everything from one on a turbo-charged Corvair (original), to four to be used on a supercharged V-8, to six to be used on a large inline 6 cylinder. If using these in multiples, important to use MATCHING by tag number carburetors. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH FLAPS REBUILDING KITS, AS INCORRECT PARTS ARE THE NORM! There are four different, and distinct "generations" of the YH. Parts that look the same are not, and are not necessarily interchangeable. The most common FLAPS rebuilding kit has an incorrect fuel valve, bowl cover gaskets for only two of the four generations, and throttle body gaskets for only two of the four generations. The Carter metering rod technology is a double-edged sword. The carbs are infinitely tuneable, but few have the ability to machine new metering rods, so these can get expensive; but any calibration is available mail order. The metering jets are the same (or may be replaced by) as the most common of the four styles of Carter AFB jets (Carter strip kit 10-201), thus readily available. SOME (certainly not all) of the Carter AFB step-up springs may be used in the YH, so these are fairly readily available. If you search hard enough, you will find some comments about these being fire hazards (like the Holley teapots) from less than knowledgeable "mechanics". There were some that caught on fire, but the underlying cause on the YH's was the use of the large fuel valve seats from the FLAPS kits. When one uses a fuel valve that has an orifice 80 percent too large, flooding can occur! All of the fires on which I am aware were on boats with closed bilges. We have never had an issue with any of the ones we sold. There are quite a few on Ebay, just remember the caviats listed above. Jon.
Definitely not traditional but a compe***or with a pre62 6 a little over 300” used 3 S&S HD carbs. Since they were use to running on an odd fire there was no problem with them. He also had a small balance line between them. 4 Kiehin carbs from early 90’s HD’s would work too.
The YH gets a bad rap in my opinion. They can be very irritating when improperly tuned and the diaphragm issue mentioned above. Once sorted they work just fine. I have my YH on a turbo Corvair and it performs well. Blackhawk engineering sell custom tapered needles if desired. A quality rebuild kit can be found through several vendors.
I know this is OT but motorcycle carbs will work very well in some automotive applications when properly modified. Slides are better than ****erflys.
1” Amal sidedraft monoblocs were introduced in the ‘50’s. http://amalcarb.co.uk/monobloc-series/376-series/base-line-specifications.html They do have cable operated chokes.
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