Anything new from the straight 8 hot rodders?

Cassi

Ol6rdr; I have found 'n lost your thread on Cassi 2 or 3 times, very interesting! A slant str8! The intake will be, along with a few other things, most interesting... What engines do you have for this rig? Do you know what the past history is? Old race cars have gotten very big in the last 15-20 years and you actually fell into one! Cool! Alleycat
 
Hey Ben; Good idea getting Demo Elgin to grind up your cam. I've tried several cam grinds over the years and what worked fine in V8's did not seem to work so well in the str8. I also was getting more and more of the notion that there was something "wrong" with cam grinds in general. About 10 years ago I called Demo and talked with him for a while, that guy knows his stuff and I got the hunch that he dose not think much of off the shelf cams either, anybody's ! I also called and talked with Ultradyne Harold, another REALLY interesting guy! Well, I finally figured it out. Somewhere here, possiably on this thread, someone mentioned the rear cylinder on any of the siamesed ports, "steals" air/fuel from the front cylinder. Well, kinda. What's actually going on is a shift over from the front to the rear. The front fills 'n fires then the rear. The siamesed ports turn the str8 into a really long stroke 4 cylinder engine! And during the process there is a place where 3 valves are all open, not good, reversion is almost a sure bet with a longer v8 type grind. I never could make 'em work. I'll just bet Demo know this. With only 26* overlap, he kept it down to almost nothing. I've been somewhat slow on the draw. I got Scott at Delta Cams in Tacoma to grind me up a cam almost the same, if it worked for you it'll likely work for me! Did you get your engine apart? Alleycat
 
Engine

Yep. The sonic test on the cracked wall indicates only .147 in.. Al the rest were .160 or more. Block is at the machine shop. He is backed up, will likely be couple weeks. Have not found a sleeve. All in stock are too short. They were available in 2008 as one was installed in the 248.

Ben
 
Well now, that's interesting. Hurting a engine is generaly disturbing, but something is almost always learned from the event. It's called "destructive testing" in engineering terms, I always tried to avoid it... Your pistons are probably forged, I think Arias almost always are, what's the wear pattern on the thrust face look like? A lot? Not much? I'm curious about the piston/wall clearance. I've found the str8 doesn't like a loose piston and forgings take more clearance and every piston I've got my hands on for the str8 also has way too much "cam" in it which concentrates all the load in a area about 1/2" wide. With the piston "rattlin" around, it's just possiable it didn't help. A few years ago, I got a bunch of piston blanks for my 248 from Egge, I'm making my own pistons and I'm thinking a close fit and no "cam" may be the combination. I would love to see your engine. What kind of carburation are you running? Alleycat
 
alleycatoo said:
Ol6rdr; I have found 'n lost your thread on Cassi 2 or 3 times, very interesting! A slant str8! The intake will be, along with a few other things, most interesting... What engines do you have for this rig? Do you know what the past history is? Old race cars have gotten very big in the last 15-20 years and you actually fell into one! Cool! Alleycat
Click to expand...

I have a '40 248 that I'm using for fitting in, and hope to run initially. Also have a '50 263 that I'll to do a decent street build on, and swap in at some point. Yeah, the intake'll be a fun cobble.

I scratch build cars in the styles and techniques of the periods I like. I guess I'm a bit of a nut on re-living the whole process. Hell, perhaps simply a bit of a nut in general.
:laugh_1:​

History's thus;
A bit of back story on this car. She started as a parts pile my buddy gathered back in '71, did some assembly on, but sold to me some years later when a move made it necessary. After re-engineering'er considerably I took'er nearly to the street around 2005 , but swapped'er in 2006 for the parts pile for my HAMBster just before she would've hit the bricks. The friend I swapped'er to took'er all apart for cleaning & paint, but died before he could get'er back together. His son eventually brought'er back to me to finish whenever I could get back on it. So she's been over 45 years in the build so far.
Who says "I'll get to it some day." doesn't actually happen? Especially when the thing keeps showing up on my doorstep repeatedly?
:laugh_1:


For anyone interested, here're some links to other Cassi stuff ........​
Cassi's original build pictures.
Team Buick (re)build thread.
H.A.M.B. (re)build thread.

As to "old race cars", what I have currently is "Barn Job 18> Flyin' Brick> Flyin' Brick II", an early '50s type HA(mb)/G(as)R(ail) I built with that 2007 parts pile, that has gone through three iterations in ten years. A mid engine open "rail job", a mid engine "comp roadster", and now a "side" engine "comp roadster" a la the Midnite Oil Special.

If interested, here're some links ........
Pictures here (Barn Job 18), here (Flyin' Brick), and here (Flyin' Brick II).
Build threads here (all 5 Barn Job 18), here (Flyin' Brick), and here (Flyin' Brick II).
 
oldsix

Just scrolled through all [ I think! ] those threads, etc. Some serious stuff to catch up on. Thanks. What a Ride. And the Rose Bowl , Too? When do you eat and sleep.?

Ben
 
Straight 8

Allyocat, when I bought my machine shop over thirty years ago. It came with an old piston grinder. You are correct when you say that most pistons now have too much cam grind. They original specs actually gave them just a slight cam grind. Every important as pistons warm up. When looking for correct pistons always ask how much cam grind the skirts have. Any reputable company will share that info. Good luck.
 
pistons

A piston grinder... That would be a cool hunk of equipment to have. Hardly anybody makes their own pistons anymore and for good reason; you can get just about any piston for just about anything for anything, sorta...Except the str8 Buick. It's either bone stock or forged, neither of which I particulary like. Finding the original spec's for the str8 piston is mostly impossible and even the original pistons seem to have way too much cam in them, like .010. Perhaps Buick in switching to the aluminum piston from iron was being very conservative and did not understand what the alloy would do over the long haul. I do know the alloy has a t3 heat treat and is age hardening, possably they thought it average out and take a set, it did, too much. And, every piston manufacturer just copied Buick thereafter. The str8, any of 'em, actually has a small piston, they are actually in motorcycle piston territory now, which opens up a whole new world of possibility now, and motorcycle pistons don't have that much cam in them. So, the majority of pistons that everybody makes for v8's, (forget jap or euro stuff for now) is 4" or bigger. Can a 4-5" piston take .010 cam? Sure. There is only 1 str8 piston maker that I know of: EGGE. Really nice piston, 15-16% silica alloy, otherwise, bone stock and too much cam. And a hypereutect piston expands like a iron piston. So, whats the right fit for a forged unit, don't know. Several different pistons with different cam, run 'em test for fit. Only way I can think of. I got EGGE to make me a bunch of blanks, making my own for just this reason. Alleycat
 
Straight 8 pistons

Alleycat. Straight 8 piston have .005 cam grind that's it. If you use new pistons with .010 you should knurl both sides of the skirt. Preferably half point from center of skirt to the edge looking at the piston from its side. Dnt forget when replacing cast piston with aluminum pistons clearances have to be for the new pistons. I have a vintage knurler that was use on inline engines while they are in the chassis. Booklet says to do the same thing to quiet piston noise. So you can give those blanks a .005 grind or knurl the pistons where I said. I have had good success with the knurling. Keeps more oil on piston surface.
 
pistons

Knurling the pistons to get a nicer fit is not a bad idea, at all. I don't know who, if anybody, in my neck of the woods, who would have one of these tools... Exactly what is the pattern that the knurler puts on the piston? Since this is a "old skool" tool and we are working on engines from the same era and if a person had a nice set of pistons that are not quite as nice a fit as would be desired, this would be a really good way to have a solution. Since I am going with a unreasonable oversize and have to make my own pistons to suit and once they are done, they go to Calico for Teflon coating along with anything else that moves, knurling is kinda pointless in this case. Never the less, a good solution! Alleycat
 
cassi

Ol6rdr; I managed, after many starts and stops, to read all the threads about cassi. You nearly got it on the road. I recognize a lot of the parts you used to make it, I sure wish I'd had the brains and foresight to pick up the same sort of stuff that was laying all around the edges of fields, behind barns in the bushes and build my own, what a hoot! I was sorta operating in a vacume at the time and the idea NEVER even occurred to me, oh well...Cassi really needs to hit the road, under power! Very cool. Alleycat
 
Well, It's been a while since I've been on here. We're heading for the Salt Flats with the Buick powered Jaguar in a couple of days. The Salt is supposed to be good this year albeit not very thick. Smooth and hard. Since last year's fiasco we have added an air suspension system to the rear which should cure the traction problems. The car should be fast enough to set a couple of records in August. Doug
 
Buick Guy said:
Well, It's been a while since I've been on here. We're heading for the Salt Flats with the Buick powered Jaguar in a couple of days. The Salt is supposed to be good this year albeit not very thick. Smooth and hard. Since last year's fiasco we have added an air suspension system to the rear which should cure the traction problems. The car should be fast enough to set a couple of records in August. Doug
Click to expand...

some guys from my car club in Illinois are heading out. GOOD LUCK guys. I hope this thread never dies.
Andy.
 
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