Folks Of Interest Vintage speed equipment better than aftermarket?

It all shakes down to this...
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An ew luk mava-lis

 

I have a few non HAMB friendly parts under the hood of my 57. I wouldn't call them new, but they are still from the seventies. I'm still using my dual point Mallory distributor with the cap that looks like it came off a mini mag. I do agree that if all you are after is speed, then this might be the wrong website for you. In the warm weather around here, there is a pretty good size cruise night. From talking to a lot of the guys there it seems that very few do their own engine building and rely on crate motors. I'm not against that but almost every Chevy from 1960 to 1965 and newer have 350 small blocks. I'm sure it has a lot to do with cost.

 

I am certain you are referring to DeDe Lind, the Italian progressive rock band from Varese, but, that's not the picture from their album cover.

 

There is a reason people favored the SBC in stuff that did not come with a V8 or if they wanted more than a flat head. It was a superior choice . That Willie's jeep wagon had a 283 in it in 1962 . My dad installed it.
That's me on the front of the totegoat . .
Dad said he had a Pontiac engine he could of used at the same time but why would he given the choice ? Wish I had the Jeep. It got sold to pay for a 73 Datsun. I was sad when it left as a kid. It was cool to me then because people sad that things cool its got a chevy in it .



Guys like to bag on the SBC but it's the flat head of the geneations who started/ got into hot rodding in the late 50's on .
Today we look for something differant to power a nostalgia build but honestly the SBC kept hot rodding obtainable to the kids and common man . Like it or not a SBC looks right in many older cars.
If they were rare guys would be dying to have one.

I'm sticking one in my 27 roadster build . 1 because I collected all the cool old stuff since I was driving in the 70's and kept it . 2 it's easy to get one still . 3 it's affordable 4 it's about the easiest to build. 5 it delivers the most power for the dollor and per pound . 6 I have the stuff .

I have been wanting to run the Ridge Runner tunnel ram I bought for 30 years . That Joe Hunt mag needs a home. Those corvette valve covers some guy added breathers to 40 years ago will be OK on a hot rod. Those Holley 660's will find a home . I might even get the vintage Hilborn injection on it some day .
The angle plug heads that used to be the ultimate will be fine despite new aluminum would make 70HP more. I'll use a large journal 327 because it what I have and if a guy thinks the larger balancer , spin on filter and lack of road draft tube or having center motor mounts make it just another SBC then so be it.
I'm 60 and I grew up dreaming of full race SBC and built sprint car engines in the 80's. To me its the engine to have for a reason.
Yea it sucks guys just buy a crate engine and make it boring but I remember at one time a flat head was boring before my time.
I have a early Hemi here and hopefully I'll get to use it in something but the original parts are hard to find and expensive when you do . I have been looking for a affordable aluminum 2x4 manifold for years .

Even if I never run any of this old aftermarket junk I like looking at it and wondering about its history .
I have like 5 shelves of it .
With out it I'd likely not be trying to finish some POS speedway glass body 27 car that is at least 30 years old .
I spent tonight trying to figure out how to get two Holley four barrels sideways on a early Edelbrock 2x4 SBC intake so they will fit and I can use them . Do I care if the 413 SBC I have with a new intake and heads will make 300 HP more??
No not really.
I'm not racing this stuff anymore.

I guess I'm sad the cool SBC stuff I bought in the 80's that was old then and never made it on a car or boat will be looked down on day because everyone used a SBC for the last 60 plus years and there boring .
Then there is the BBC pile.

Kind of lost my train of thought .
Sorry .

In my day a SBC in something non chevy was still cool .
Today a International truck engine would be more admired in a roadster LOL

 

Hello,

As much money and effort as we put into this 292 c.i. SBC motor with one of the first Isky Gilmer Belt Drive 671 supercharger Kits, would we build a similar motor today? If my brother were still around, yes, for the simple fact that we would like to have put that motor in something different, say, an extended cab street Model A RPU, a 62 Corvette, or a full bodied Altered Roadster would have been fun.

But, even if we found a 1960 671 supercharger at a swap meet, we would trade it in for a new one from Hampton Superchargers or Littlefield Blowers and made sure it looks like the sandblasted unit that we originally bought in early 1960. The rest of the “new” motor certainly would not be 60 year old pistons or connecting rods, let alone all that moves in any motor. That whole scenario is moot since those classes we so much enjoyed are history and drag racing is not what it used to be.

Those two supercharger places are well known in So Cal and have ties to our drag racing background history. So, for an SBC motor to drive well these days, old stuff is not going to cut it. Just because it is nostalgic, it does not mean it will be reliable. With the power the 671 gives any motor, we would want reliability, not oohs and aahs at car shows. The outside could still be made in the 1960 style versions, but with new parts purchased locally. We all get a good dose of nostalgia when we go to places like the Lion’s Dragstrip museum in So Cal with all of their race cars and museum quality builds on display.

No reliable builder is going to rely on a 50-60 year old part to hold up under any normal pressure and stake their reputation on the parts, regardless of those that say nostalgia first. We all like to think that looking like it was made 60 years ago is still a possibility, but when a new paint job is applied, like the GNRS builds, it is now, not an original, but a copy of what used to be built back in those early history days. No one is crazy enough to drive around in 50 year old “mag” wheels (or aluminum street versions) due to reliability problems.

Jnaki

So, if and when anyone buys, builds or restores anything for the daily drives on the street, and not just sitting in a garage somewhere, it means reliability in today’s traffic/road conditions. Not, just a showpiece with the so called “nostalgic” parts people will recognize after the “garage queen” comes out for its monthly drive to the local cars and coffee event. YRMV