Superformance MKII, Riverside Racer 289 FIA vintage race car

[1795]

The engine was most recently built by Fitzgerald Brothers in CT, they did the conversion to Webers. The crank is an original that was magna fluxed and machined so that the internals were balanced.

I was going to use Brent for this rebuild, but you scoundrels have so tied up his time that he would not be able to get to it in time for next season's race schedule. I have found a local engine builder who I will be working with, he has built race engines and after having numerous discussions with him I think that it will work.

At the time of the original build I was going to go with a forged steel crank, but at that time they were out of production. The current build just told me that he has found someone that is making forged steel cranks for a 289, not cheap, but given that I am not spending $1,000 to ship the engine that does free up some cash. He was going to take a look at the existing crank to see how it looked before deciding on whether to order one, but I am starting to lean towards getting a new crank irrespective of how good the old one works just because of increased longevity.

Jim

[1795]

Things are starting to show up. The Dart block arrived yesterday. It is quite beefy. The main caps are substantial. A lot of machining to do on it. I have the heads and am getting ready to ship them out and have them ported and flow tested, the engine builder has a full machine shop, but does not do heads anymore.



Parts are hard to come by with businesses having been shut down for a while, hopefully I will be able to procure everything that I need.

Jim

[1795]

Well, it has been awhile since the last post. The heads were finally ported and after many calls to FedEx, they finally arrived today and I ran them out to the engine builder. Good thing that I was not building an FE with iron heads, as my right arm just came out of the sling yesterday after 6 weeks in in post rotator cuff surgery to basically re-attach my rotator cuff. Had to carry and balance the heads in my left arm.

I did not see the flow test in the container and have sent an email to the guy who ported them asking about it. When we talked he said that based on other heads like these that he has ported he expected that at .700 lift that they would flow 290 cfm, at about .600 lift around 270 cfm. Out of the box these heads are supposed to flow 265 cfm at .700 lift. So, what ever he did will be an improvement.



The crank is installed and one piston test fitted. Using Oliver rods and custom pistons from Diamond. The engine builder contacted several sources and Diamond was the only one who could manufacture them in any semblance of a reasonable time frame. The lightened crank was pretty spot on for balance and all that the engine builder had to do was lightly grind two areas on the counter weights and the crank was internally balanced.




The engine builder is going to measure the volume of the heads, test fit the heads for clearance with the pistons and valves (Erson 2.02 intake and 1.6 exhaust) and make adjustments as needed.

Still waiting on rocker arm studs and head bolts. Still need to measure and order push rods, which will hopefully not be too problematic to obtain, and test fit the custom headers that Georgie is making.

Rick Muck will be helping with the install, as I am not allowed to carry anything heavier than my cell phone for the next 6 weeks, and then I get to start strengthening exercises. Still hoping to be strong enough to race by early July.

The weather is turning nicer, except for a snow storm arriving on April 1 that is going to dump 7" of snow on us, and I am getting the itch to get out and race.

Jim

[1795]

Just received the flow chart from the person that did the porting on the heads. They look pretty good. Stock they were supposed to flow 262 cfm intake and 204 cfm exhaust at .700 lift. Not sure if they actually ever performed at that level. Here is the flow chart:



That should provide some improvement in performance. Given that I do not plan on having a cam with a .700 lift, something in the .600 range will hit the peak flow. Looking forwards to getting this build done before the race season is over.

Jim

[xb-60]

Looks like he very much knows his 'craft'.
Might be a dumb question....will the Webers need any rejetting to suit the better flow?

Cheers!
Glen

[1795]

Originally Posted by xb-60

Looks like he very much knows his 'craft'.
Might be a dumb question....will the Webers need any rejetting to suit the better flow?

Cheers!
Glen

Glen,

Not a dumb question. Yes, I will be rejetting and tuning them in on a chassis dyno. You can't change one thing without it having an effect on other settings.

Jim

[Mark IV]

Picking Jim's FIA up on the 14th for transport to Time Machines. Georgie from Gas-N is coming to fabricate improved headers that once completed we will be offering as an upgrade to the factory supplied units. We will have them with a selection of port flanges to allow proper flow on the range of Windsor heads available.