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Thread: Cross-flow/OHC head for str8

  1. #1

    Exclamation Cross-flow/OHC head for str8

    I have been a fan of the straight-8 since my first car, a 1950 Buick with a 248/Dynaflow. I am a mechanical engineer, and I have been thinking about an advanced cylinder head for these engines for a long time. Basically, there are two ways to go about it - build a wax model and mold and cast the head, or machine it from a billet using a CNC machine. Either way, it would have to be done in two pieces, an upper half and lower half to allow you to properly design the coolant flow passages.

    The way I would do it would be to start with a Honda 4 valve-per-cylinder SOHC head. I would cut this head apart horizontally to get to the insides and make a wax copy of it. I would then make an 8-cylinder version of the wax head with the proper bore spacings and head bolt pattern. I would also make a cam design using the original cam and the bearing arrangement of the new head, keeping the firing order the same as the original Buick cam. Then I would put the wax head into a sand mold and have it cast in aluminum - then start the machining.

    I think a cool design would place 8 intake and 8 exhaust ports on each side of the head. The engine would use two intake manifolds, one primary and one secondary, and two headers (or 4) that would make it look like a very narrow V16. I would have to leave the cam in the block to drive the oil pump and distributor. I think I would use two four-barrels, one on each side, or maybe port EFI. Each side could have a turbo or a small (3-71 or 4-71) blower also.

    The problem? Cost! This would cost, what $15K-$20K, plus the straight-8, which of course should be a 320 with custom rods, pistons, and bottom-end girdle.

    Anyway, something cool to think about. If Jay Leno wants to fund it, I would be glad to tackle it, and make up some extra heads to sell to you guys!

    Rick (NASA guy)

  2. #2
    I have built a custom cylinder head for an inline 6 cylinder datsun engine, by cutting and bolting together three pairs of heads, its pretty simple. Your 15-20k is about half of what casting and mold cost would be, trust me Ive looked into it. We are actually milling a billet head for our straight eight, 8 intake ports and 8 exhuast ports, but not crossflow, and not OHC. You might wanna look at a studson motor, as they are a ohc straight eight.

  3. #3

    Head

    My cost estimate was pretty low, come to think of it, but I was also assuming a lot of free labor and didn't include the manifolds, carbs or blowers.

    Pontiac made an OHC six back in the 60s which would probably make a good pattern to copy for a new head. You could also copy a Hemi design and keep the pushrods.

    I would be interested in seeing your existing custom head as well as the one you are making now.

    Thanks for writing,
    Rick

  4. #4

    Studson motor?

    I can't find any reference to a studson motor. And Hudson's were flatheads. Where can I find info on this?

  5. #5
    I have a studs motor, Ill take pics on monday, its down at my shop. Here is some pics and info, LOTS of reading.


    http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=120659


    Theres about twelve pages of pictures, and info there on my existing custom head.

    Heres a dyno graph of RWHP as well


  6. #6
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    What vehicle are you planning to put this engine in? I have a 1940 Buick with an original 248 straight eight. It runs as good as the brakes and suspension will handle. If it had muchmore power I think I would have to add disc brakes and alter the suspension and steering. .

  7. #7
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    Actually, this idea is not new, and has been kicked around here any number of times. I also, am a ME with some tool&die background, and have been fooling around with str8's since I was a kid, and the head problem keeps cropping up and I just don't see a easy way around it. I've managed to engineer my way around the head and actually get good power out of the engine, as have a bunch of other guys around the country. But, the basic limitation is the head, it will flow only so much and thats it. Period.

    Buick had different plans for the str8 and the 263 is the only hint of it, the 248 and 320 were basicly obsolete by the time they were made and Buick knew it. The 263 was the answer, it is a WAY better engine and it indicates the direction that Buick was going to go, and a very much better head was, at the least, in the works for the 263. Something went wrong and all we got was the engine. The lack of a good head has bugged me for years!

    I think I'm getting close to a answer. Here's my thinking. Someplace along the line this country decided it did not like inline engines and r&d on them stopped. The little minor detail that it took about 40 more years of V8 r&d to get back to where inlines were, is of little importance. So the likelyhood of anything made for anything in this country fitting the str8, is about zip. However, in Europe inline r&d did not stop and there are some of the coolest cross flow heads that can be imagined sitting on inline engines from "over there". These are 6 cylinder engines or 4 cylinder engines so this will be a "2 heads to make 1 head" effort from the get go.

    I just got my hands on a mercedes benz 6 head from the late 80's or early 90's. It is so close to doing it, that its unreal. Like, within .060 per cylinder. I also got to see a beemer 6 head, I was not able to actually measure it as it was going back on the car, it looked reeeealy close. These companys made several different engines, one may have the exact bore spacing. There are others that should be looked at. These heads do everything that could be asked for.

    It would not be a weekend install. The str8 is a narrow engine. These heads have a lot of gear in 'em, they are wide. Therefore, putting a new deck on the engine will be almost manditory. Fabbing up a cam drive will be intresting, water pump issues...And then the intake and exhaust. Would it be cool? Would it make power? Oh yeah...Alleycat

  8. #8
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    crossflo head

    I wrote in an earlier post about one of the OT racers welding 2 Toyota 22R cross flow OHC heads I,ve seen it in a old Hot Rod Mechanix mag , and talked to him about it. The magazine shows it sitting on a 320 block. I had thought about that before. In fact I had a used 18R gasket laying around my garage [dont ask]and it looked to be close to the cylinder bore and spacing so I threw it on an old 320 block , an lo and behold it is pretty close! his is already welded but he stopped becuz that head wouldnt be allowed at Bonneville. He was trying to get a quarter-speed cam made up but couldnt . I think it would be possible to run the toyota cam with a 1-1 belt drive off the Buick cam!!! ??? pretty far out eh? But the possibilities are there, and the cost would be within reason. I,m sure that would really wake up that baby!

  9. #9
    Exactly, like you say you CANT run an OHC head in the vintage classes. You can run a alluminum 4 valve crossflow push rod head though, thats what were building out of billet.

  10. #10

    Studs motor = Stutz motor?

    Stutz made a SOHC inline 8 - could this be what you are talking about? They were very much ahead of their time, as was Duesenberg with their DOHC 32-valve 8.

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