Bodacious

I know. If it was I'd have said M-F street-rodders like I really wanted to.

Oh, I don't know. I think they'd look kinda silly on my '95 Corvette with 295/35/18 and 275/40/17 tires..... They can add an elegant touch on old original cars or on "era" hot rods for which they were intended though. That is the case with some tires but certainly not all, by any means.

Gawd, I love that thing! I'm a hot-rodder but no way would I do anything to alter such a complete and original beauty. A real hot-rodder would never do anything to it beyond a few bolt-on engine goodies. It's the (*expletive deleted by poster*) street-rodders that you want to keep it away from! Do you think it'd make it to NC?

I owned two '58 Fords that were former NC Highway patrol cars, both were the base model Custom tudors. One was a moonshine runner after serving the state and before I owned it. They also had the first year FE engine, the 300 HP 352 Interceptor.

Yeah, what he said!

I'm thankful to reside in the beautiful foothills of NC. Great car culture here too, vintage cars, hot rods, classic muscle cars and of course plenty of racing.

The firing order, as you know, is 153624. When you take that into consideration, exhaust pulsing isn't too bad as is, assuming dual headers on the first and the last three cylinders. Taking it another step, I've toyed with the idea of two into three (collector) headers and other combinations. What you do after the collectors is of little relevance, assuming a good dual or even a large enough single system. What I don't like is the lack of a true long tube header for these. So I'll likely make my own. Given that these are low RPM torque engines to begin with, I'd hate to leave low and mid-range torque on the table by using the shorty tube headers available. Or worse yet, just using split manifolds.

I'm building a 230 for use in a hot rod. This is my first performance build of an engine this old. I've seen a lot of good info here already but have a zillion questions. What are the porting do's and don'ts? Relieving seems to be a questionable practice on these, from preliminary research. Would this possibly depend upon head design? I don't know what head I'll end up with yet, vintage aluminum or an Edgy. Is the Edgy worth the money? It seems it might be due to advancements in flow design as well as in casting techniques, etc. Opinions? Should larger valves be a consideration? How about decking? What's the max and what's the maximum practical static compression ratio for a driver? I don't mind buying premium fuel. I'll also be using ARP head studs, main studs, as well as all other critical, internal engine hardware. Rotating assembly: Can the crank be lightened considerably w/o going to expensive, lighter custom rods and pistons? How much can be shaved safely from a stock flywheel? Mine is from a '56 Dodge half ton. Should a true damper be considered to replace the crank pulley? Are they available? How about a timing set, anything better than stock out there? Gear drive? Cam: Is a custom grind the option here? Anyone doing them or are there good off the shelf cams? I really don't trust regrinds. Oiling: Crank cross-drilling and the best factory pump spring are what I've learned so far. Anything else here? I've heard there's a rare pump that makes converting to full-flow filtering easily possible. Any enlightenment on this? Ignition: Yeah, I know there's a vintage-looking HEI set-up available but I'm kind of married to the idea of keeping this true to the 50s, as far as technology goes. Did they ever make an after-market dual point for these back in the day? Is a conversion available for the stocker? How about timing curves, total advance and etc.? Retain vacuum advance or straight mechanical advance? Overview: This will be mainly a street car that will be driven a lot! It will be bored +.060, as it needs bored anyway. I expect the total car weight to be under 2500 lbs. Gearing will be practical to a point and will depend on final transmission choice. It will be an overdrive manual or a vintage three speed (which I have) with an overdrive unit, which I don't have yet. All insights, ideas, brain-storming and etc. will be much appreciated.

I've read this too but am keeping an open mind. This is my first modified build of a flathead and of a Mopar flat six in particular. As usual with a build for a street car that will be driven a lot, power as well as flow, combustion efficiency and thus overall efficiency will be important goals.

We'll be taking some pictures of the engine mocked up as soon as I get this cleaned up. Everything else is about ready. I'll post them when that happens, within a week or two I'd think. Installation in the actual car is a long way away. I'll be starting serious chassis work as soon as I get some long-term customer projects out of the shop. The engine will be initially fitted into the chassis at that time. The place was seriously backed up when I started there in late January, but progress is now occurring, thank goodness. I've got some good help but could use a couple more. The best worker I have is an 18 year old, if you can believe that. He learns fast and works his ass off. I'd like to have some more from the breeding stock he came from. Great kid.

I bought a Tattersfield intake with carbs and linkage from him and it arrived today. Extremely nice condition, especially considering it's vintage. It's going to look like a million bucks when cleaned and polished. Thanks Reg, I'm quite pleased. BTW, those "mystery" carburetors say FoMoCo on them. It'll be interesting to find out just what they came on originally. I like the fact that they have an external accelerator pump diaphragm and also an external power valve, in the fashion of Holley and Autolite 2 or 4 barrel carbs. Interesting. It should make tuning for maximum efficiency pretty easy. My boss guesses they may have come off of an early 144 or 170 inline Ford, such as from an early 60s Falcon. I may still end up using Ball & Ball's though, just because I like their funky looks. Either carbs will look great on this manifold and with a couple of velocity stacks though.... This is the most fun hot rod engine I've built for myself in ages, maybe ever. I can't wait to hear this little 230 talkin' through twin headers. I should add that I think the price was very fair too. When someone offers me something nice at a fair price, I don't even quibble. It went to a good home Reg. And it'll be much appreciated by myself and other aficionados of real hot rods, not freakin' street rods! Just like my Corvette, the next owners of this car will be my heirs.

I'd recommend having the crank cross-drilled for better oiling.

Rewiring is not difficult, especially on cars of this vintage, if thought out in advance and approached methodically. It's very satisfying and rewarding work if done well. And it'll go a long way towards making a vintage vehicle much more reliable. It's actually one of my favorite things to do when building or rebuilding a car.

I suppose this won't get a newb any points here. But my current DD is a modified '95 Corvette with a very efficient 388 LT1 stroker built by me. It makes 400/450 HP/TQ at the rear wheels and is capable of nearly 29 mpg on the highway. It does prefer premium though, with it's 11:1 static compression ratio. It will soon share DD duties though with a modified Plymouth flattie hot rod with which I expect to achieve similar mpg numbers, using carbs and with no electronic engine management. I doubt the RWHP numbers will be as good, though. But the smiles per mile numbers will be at least as much.

It's not just in the flatties, Champions are just an inferior plug, have been for as long as I've been in the business and that's a long time. I've seen it proven time and time again in many types of vehicles.

I like it. It takes some nads to chop vintage tin but when done well, it's sweet.

Has it got an oil filter ass'y? I'd really like to have an original, cannister type for my project.