Anything new from the straight 8 hot rodders?

Few of the things I'm working on. I need to finish the core box for the valve cover..might go match plate with them. I do my own foundry work and pattern making. Still new, lots to learn. The good thing that I dont need to rely on no-one else. Ill be making them for 320 as well,once I get situated with these. 4x2 high rise with ports right under carbs. Still have to make a tapped and spark cover, but wit time. Not many straight eights out there like there is nailheads,which I plan to cover as well.

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Originally Posted by alleycatoo

Greetings all! I have been lurking around this site off & on for a few years now, that is, since I got booted off a few years ago for what exactly, I don't know other than, I was a little too "out there" for some on this site. Well, I'm still "out there", perhaps even more so, as I haven't been sitting on my hands during the time I've been absent. I've changed my mind about several things that go into building performance engines, I've discovered a few things along the way and I've built a lot of stuff, not all related to str8 Buicks but at least tangential to building a better str8. Some of the stuff I've discovered will be, likely, controversial. It's not pie-in-sky stuff, I built it. It works. I've also noticed that the str8 hot rodding threads have almost come to a stop. Huh? There has got to be a few str8 guys out there wanting to build kick butt engines. Granted, this is now the age of 'putters and power adders and LS engines, and it's easy. But, for me at least...It's fun! building str8's! So, I'll just throw this "out there" and see what shakes out! Alleycatoo

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Well now!! It looks like some of the str8 rodders are starting to ring in! Hot dawg! We'll see where it goes. Do I have some new ideas about str8's? You better believe it. Some ideas I've been working on for 20+ years. Finely got a answer. Tested 'em in other engines, holy mmmmoly! I will be fireing up my 263 this summer, with my old perf stuff on it as I want to establish a approximate base line for compairison.

32: HOLY COW!! Yowza! Whoo-Hoo! Yah!! I gots to have me one of those valve covers!! Hot dang!! Right arm! No guts No glory!! Bang On! I was about to seal up my wood finned cover buck, paint it silver as a temporary. Send me one! I'll send you dead presidents or what ever else you might want! As cast! No prob! I'll machine it to suit! The multi-carb you may want to rethink. I have several str8 manifolds made back in the day. A Howard 5-carb specificly. Looks cool. 'bout all I can say about it. Perhaps a engine might run with it. Maybe. The exact problem is that the plenum is WAY too big. Any "log style" manifold has too much. And, the runner, even on bone stock manifolds, is way too short for the rpm range the str8 operates in. So, what to do? Put small plenums under the carbs, connecting tubes to each plenum, no bigger than 1"x1" smaller may even be better. Exit the plenums to the out side of the engine, not facing the engine. Stub out, put the taper, not much, 2*-3*, in the stub out. Drop down, run the runner under the manifold, it'll be 3-4" longer than stock. You might even be able set the manifold out a little and squeak another 1" in. Nothin but good. This would be amanifold that will make power, you'll know it. Runners for a str8 can't be long enough, well, there are practical limits, but you get the idea. alleycat

The runner I made around 7in long,so intake will sit pretty high. You can see it behind the intake. Most folks care more about looks than go fast, specially the lowryder crowd wich is what its mostly geared towards. I'm in for go fast and willing to try out your thoughts with the intake.
How bout a 16 port head just for fun?

I need to get my behind moving on that valve cover..I have a good waiting list,keep getting positive reviews on my design. You bet i have you on it.

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Originally Posted by alleycatoo

Well now!! It looks like some of the str8 rodders are starting to ring in! Hot dawg! We'll see where it goes. Do I have some new ideas about str8's? You better believe it. Some ideas I've been working on for 20+ years. Finely got a answer. Tested 'em in other engines, holy mmmmoly! I will be fireing up my 263 this summer, with my old perf stuff on it as I want to establish a approximate base line for compairison.

32: HOLY COW!! Yowza! Whoo-Hoo! Yah!! I gots to have me one of those valve covers!! Hot dang!! Right arm! No guts No glory!! Bang On! I was about to seal up my wood finned cover buck, paint it silver as a temporary. Send me one! I'll send you dead presidents or what ever else you might want! As cast! No prob! I'll machine it to suit! The multi-carb you may want to rethink. I have several str8 manifolds made back in the day. A Howard 5-carb specificly. Looks cool. 'bout all I can say about it. Perhaps a engine might run with it. Maybe. The exact problem is that the plenum is WAY too big. Any "log style" manifold has too much. And, the runner, even on bone stock manifolds, is way too short for the rpm range the str8 operates in. So, what to do? Put small plenums under the carbs, connecting tubes to each plenum, no bigger than 1"x1" smaller may even be better. Exit the plenums to the out side of the engine, not facing the engine. Stub out, put the taper, not much, 2*-3*, in the stub out. Drop down, run the runner under the manifold, it'll be 3-4" longer than stock. You might even be able set the manifold out a little and squeak another 1" in. Nothin but good. This would be amanifold that will make power, you'll know it. Runners for a str8 can't be long enough, well, there are practical limits, but you get the idea. alleycat

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Hey Ben, fill me in on just what all you did to "hot up" your 263. Alleycat

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Originally Posted by alleycatoo

Hey Ben, fill me in on just what all you did to "hot up" your 263. Alleycat

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Bored it out to 85mm. Cam lift of 255 [original was 230], duration 250 , 26 overlap. Larger valves, as large as head will accomodate. 20 thou off head and block deck. Three angle grind on the valves and hogged out the intake and exhaust ports. Full flow oil mods.

Going to 85mm was about 126 over, if I used the correct converter. Should have been no problem. Now don't know. Started getting water in oil. Head is off and see a vertical crack in #6. I am hoping it is just a thin place in that one cyl and can be fixed with a sleeve , and I am not on the ragged edge with all of them. I will start tear down in a few days.

She ran like a scalded dog. Has a 3.36 rear gears and still could get rubber any time. 90 mph and still pulling hard. Hopefully be back soon

Thanks for asking
Ben

Ben; Who made your pistons, who ground the cam? What are the specs @ .o50? Did you sonic the block? When I lost a engine, [there were a few] it always seemed to be at the rear of the block. I tracked the problem down to "thermal distribution". The cooled water comes out of the pump around the elbow and into the front of the block, then it travels down the block, picking up heat, until at the back it's nice and hot, up into the head where it gets hotter still on it's way forward. Not a lot of cooling going on at the back. I think the real solution is a reverse flow situation but I haven't figured out how to do it. So, what I did is take off the elbow at the pump, block off plate on the block, and make a stainless steel pipe manifold that bolts onto the water pump output and down to the center frost plug, o-ringed bung, pluged it in and so far, so good. I think that the 248 has 3 frost plugs and the 263 has 4, I can't check to be for sure, as I'm in SoCal at the moment, as a slight change in manifold may be in order. Also, just where is the crack? Alleycat

Arris pistons and Dema Elgin cam. The crack is in the back wall of #6. I did not sonic test. I have ordered a tester. Will now.

Ben

I've had the same situation in inline sixes over the years.

One thing I've done to combat it is to open up the block-to-head transfer holes at the rear, and close off the ones near the front. This forces more of the water all the way through the system rather than allowing some of it to return via the front (something Buick apparently had already done a little of when they re-engineered the head gasket). Had to be careful to avoid restricting the total flow.

I'm looking at this inline eight, and considering a mid-point entry as well, as you've done. Another possibility may be an internal "dispersal" tube like Chrysler used on their inline flatheads.

I'm also giving some thought to either mid-point (a la Ford's flathead eight) or double end collection from the head.

Have to go down and look over the blocks & heads again this evening, with tape in hand, and your cobble in mind as well.

32special; I saw the runner behind the manifold, and it looks almost exactly like the runners on my Howard 5 carb manifold. Which will duplicate the same problem the Howard has, when the air/fuel tries to make it around the bend, it won't. It starts to tumble and goes into turbulence and never cleans up. So, the turns or any change in direction need to be made as close to the carb/plenum as possiable since the air/fuel is moving slow and will change direction without bad things happening. Making it taller also makes it worse. Intake runners just don't like curves. I think you are right on the edge of doing something nobody has done before: making a manifold exclusively for the str8, not adapted from something else. Right on!. I think you may be pulling yourself up short a little thinking that only the lowryder crowd will like it. You're still on the R&D curve, a few changes and that is a intake that will make any str8 able to at least start to bark with the medium sized dogs! Who won't like that? Keep at it! Alleycat

32 Special
The valve cover looks great, put me on the list, any idea when they may be available?
Thanks
Pat