Robin (UK) Posted May 8, 2008 Report Posted May 8, 2008 robin....how does your car run with the finned aluminum head? improvement? easy starts, etc.? i have a 230 motor i will put one on. any advice..? dual B&B's. bill Hey Bill, I LOVE the car with the finned head. Mine is also a 230 and driving it is now a whole different experience. It's set up with dual Carters on a Sharp intake with tall repop Edmunds air cleaners It's also got Fenton headers and dual exhausts through Smithys mufflers. It sounds great. I had to have the head skimmed slightly, so I'm not sure of the compression. I found I was getting quite a bit of pinging at first, but I switched to premium gas and it's perfect now. The engine revs very freely - second gear performance is incredible. Starting is OK, but working against the increased compression it has shown a weakness in the starter motor. I've just got a reconditioned unit from George Asche to take care of that (hoping to fit it next week). The car is also running an R10 overdrive transmission, so it loves freeway speeds. All in all I would wholeheartedly recommend you fit the head but I think you'll need to make sure you have an efficient exhaust set-up to really get the full benefit. THANK YOU for selling me the head. I really appreciate that. I've lost count of the times I've had to pop the hood to show people, once they have heard the car run. (I don't like to leave it with the hood open, as I prefer to show off the fabulous lines of the P15) Let me know how you get on with your 230. All the best. Robin. Quote
martybose Posted May 8, 2008 Report Posted May 8, 2008 (snip)Starting is OK, but working against the increased compression it has shown a weakness in the starter motor. I've just got a reconditioned unit from George Asche to take care of that (hoping to fit it next week). This surprised me, as I've never had any starter issues with my hopped up 230. Are you sure that you've got good grounds to the block and 0 or 00 gauge wiring to the battery and starter? Marty Quote
Don Coatney Posted May 8, 2008 Report Posted May 8, 2008 This surprised me, as I've never had any starter issues with my hopped up 230. Are you sure that you've got good grounds to the block and 0 or 00 gauge wiring to the battery and starter?Marty I am not sure if Robin is running 6 or 12 volts but I had an issue with my 6 volt starter running on 12 volts. On 12 volts the 6 volt starter bendix engages at a much faster rate than with it did on 6 volts. A couple of times it locked up on me and I had to put the transmission in gear and rock the car back and forth until it popped out. I have sence installed a 12 volt starter and had no more problems. Quote
Andydodge Posted May 10, 2008 Report Posted May 10, 2008 Robin....got a pic of the engine?.......thanks, andyd Quote
claybill Posted May 10, 2008 Report Posted May 10, 2008 thanks robin...i have my 230 rinning nicely on the test stand i made. (thanks ken)..and i have dual ex manifolds ready, and will get the offy intake or whatever i can find for the carbs,,using B&B's. with huge aircleaners. i have a nice 41 candidate for this motor ..trying out the overdrive unit now to see if it, and I, can get along.....!! i dont like pressing buttons, free wheeling..parking in gear and rolling etc..! very glad you like the head, it was a long time getting it rememebr? that was story in itself..all would like. bill Quote
Robin (UK) Posted May 10, 2008 Author Report Posted May 10, 2008 Guys My car is 6 volt It seems that the starter armature is worn, so when it's hot the motor won't turn. Once it cools, all is OK. Hoping the new starter will fix the problem. Getting the head was a LONG story. A friend imports Airstream trailers, so the plan was to have the head shipped inside one of those. Bill shipped the head to the address where the Airstreams are held, before shipping. My friend fills the trailers with other items, to make shipping more cost-effective. It was almost a year before the trailer was full and then nobody could remember where the head was. In fact, they couldn't even remember receiving it. Luckily, Bill had shipping information and we were able to confirm that it had actually arrived at the destination. I was getting worried, but the guys did some frantic searching and found it, still wrapped, under some boxes on their porch!!! A story with a happy ending. R. Quote
Robin (UK) Posted May 10, 2008 Author Report Posted May 10, 2008 Here's a picture, for AndyDodge Quote
Normspeed Posted May 10, 2008 Report Posted May 10, 2008 Very nice, Robin. A real classic setup. Quote
claybill Posted May 10, 2008 Report Posted May 10, 2008 robin....what did you do for the water flow into the head? and that by pass hose/tube? use it or eliminate it? anything else i should think of.? did anybody ever run in the summer time without a thermostat? i put the head on this afternoon. will button it up monday and see how many leaks i can find... my floor is a big puddle of 'juice' under this project!!! bill Quote
martybose Posted May 11, 2008 Report Posted May 11, 2008 (snip)did anybody ever run in the summer time without a thermostat? I have run my 47 with no bypass and no thermostat for a couple of years. For all practical purposes, I couldn't tell the difference! My car ran at about 180-190 in either case, and it is warmed up within a mile from my house. The engine is apart to fix a sparkplug hole problem in my Edmunds head, and I will probably add a washer of some sort to add a little restriction in the thermostat location. My mechanic thinks doing so will help get more cool water to the back of the block, as well as circulate a little more hot water through my intake manifold. Right now I'm working on sealing up all of the head and waterpump bolts/studs! Marty Quote
greg g Posted May 11, 2008 Report Posted May 11, 2008 Robin, your starter problem is likely related to bushing worn oval. This allows the armeture to drag on the field coils when everything expands. The drag causes either a slow starter or a stalled starter till things cool and go back to normal size. the wear allows for movement of the armature shaft so it contacts the windings. Then it ca't overcome teh friction and magnetic attraction. You should be able to find someone who can rebush the ends and put you back in business. Quote
claybill Posted May 12, 2008 Report Posted May 12, 2008 hi all i put my finned aluminum 'fenton' head on today...aside from a little weeping at the thermo housing it was a song! accelerates nice.. engine is on a test stand.. but it has a miss...it had same miss with the stock head as well. i changed plugs...i diddled with the distr. and checked plug firing with the 'plug checker' and all plugs are firing well.....but there is a miss.! a noticeable one. it idles,but at speed it misses also. ideas..?.. bill Quote
martybose Posted May 13, 2008 Report Posted May 13, 2008 If you've already checked your valve clearances and they are okay, have you checked your compression? It could be one valve that is leaking slightly. Or it could be one cam lobe that is worn down. Or several other equally expensive problems ..... Marty Quote
Robin (UK) Posted May 13, 2008 Author Report Posted May 13, 2008 robin....what did you do for the water flow into the head? Bill, Not sure what you're asking. Are you referring to the extra water port on the front of the head? If so, it matches my motor as my car runs with a 51 Dodge 230. Sounds, from your most recent message, that you have it sorted, anyway. Best of luck. R. Quote
claybill Posted May 13, 2008 Report Posted May 13, 2008 robin...mine is also a D24. what plugs are you using? gap? bill Quote
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