Superformance MKII, Riverside Racer 289 FIA vintage race car

[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.

[1795]

Georgie from Gas-N and his crew came Saturday morning to start the mock-up for the new headers for the race car, these headers will also fit other SPF street cars and FIA's as well, and possibly other cars using the original frame design for the 289's.

What an impressive level of skill to observe. They were quick, efficient and highly talented. They would install a flange on one side, started with the driver's side (which was the most difficult one due to the steering shaft and brake/clutch master cylinders) and started piecing together the tubes.



There was a lot of trial and error, but not too much error, in getting them to fit. They would quickly figure out the angles required, cut a section of tube to fit, test it and tack weld it in place. There was a lot of time spent disconnecting the driver's side motor mount, rolling the engine over and then moving it back, as there is no way to drop the header in from the top on that side and you cannot put it up from the bottom either.



By mid afternoon they had one side done and were moving on to the next.



They will be completing it Sunday morning and then taking the mock-ups back with them to make a new set of headers and a set of side pipes for the car. Truly great people, both personally and professionally. Of course, between having Rick Muck there, Georgie and Rick's friend Mike (who was involved with Shelby's GT350 program) the stories were endless.....Wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Also, received great news from my PT during our first session, my ROM after the rotator cuff surgery is ahead of schedule and he expects a complete recovery. So, racing should be on the schedule at some point this year.

Jim