Announcing New Kirkham Billet Aluminum 427 Block

[dynoroom]

Nikasil
Nikasil is a trademarked electrodeposited oleophilic nickel matrix silicon carbide coating for engine components, mainly piston engine cylinder liners. It was introduced by Mahle 1967, initially developed to allow rotary engine pistons to work directly against the aluminum housing. This coating allowed aluminium cylinders and pistons to work directly against each other with low wear and friction. Unlike other methods, including cast iron cylinder liners, Nikasil allowed very large cylinder bores with tight tolerances and thus allowed existing engine designs to be expanded easily, the aluminium cylinders also gave a much better heat conductivity than cast iron liners which is an important factor for a high output engine.

Porsche started using this on the 1970 917 race car, and later on the 1973 911 RS. Porsche also used it on production cars, but for a short time switched to Alusil due to cost savings for their base 911. Nikasil cylinders were always used for the 911 turbo and RS models. Nikasil coated aluminum cylinders allowed Porsche to build air-cooled engines that had the highest specific output of any engine of their time. Nikasil is still used in today's 911s with great success.

Nikasil was very popular in the 1990s. It was used by companies such as BMW, Ferrari,Honda and Jaguar Cars in their new engine families. However, the sulfur found in much of the world's low quality gasoline caused the Nikasil cylinders used by BMW to break down over time, causing costly engine failures. Eventually, the product was abandoned after BMW was forced to replace a number of M60 V8 engines in the USA and the UK. Nikasil or similar coatings under other trademarks are still widely used in racing engines where low quality gasoline isn't a problem, this include F1, ChampCar and NASCAR engines.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

GREAT JOB DAVID !
Finally someone is bringing motorcycle technology to the "old" car world. I have been involved in racing bikes for so long I can't remember.
A 1300 CC engine ,about 72 cubic inches can easily make over 200 HP. So your 427 cubes could easily make 900 HP with good heads and valvetrain.

Thanks for bringing us into the 21st century at last !
Perry.

[Woodz428]

I am open to the process, I have seen it for years in some of the applications mentioned and some not yet. I doubt that the weight of the thin steel sleeves would be that much. I do agree with the comment regarding side thrust, especially in the long stroke engines that seem so popular now.
Having said that, and being on record as having those concerns, I realize some "real world" testing will be needed before allowing them out the door for sale, at least it would be prudent. As an on the record skeptic, I will offer up my new SPF roadster that I was going to stick a '67 GT500 engine in as a test bed. I will run the piss out of it and will put plenty of miles on it and give an honest appraisal of it's abilities. David you can PM me or send me on offline e-mail to arrange delivery when needed .

[1985 CCX]

KMS, (David)

As I suspect, KMS will be the leader in innovation and truly sets the bar for the industry.

Jeff Gagnon

[flwolfman]

Looks great! Way to go! Let's see....wood block, wood crank....anyone making wood pistons yet? Jim

[RedCSX1]

There are several factors that I think the jury is still out on.

Cooling- Not sure I want to worry about making sure the inspection covers are sealed to prevent water leaks inside and outside the block. Also what about beak down or vibration of the seal over time?

Cylinder Bore Coating - This also worries me, first thought that comes to mind is the Chevy Vega. I know the coating has improved and yes it is used in racing motors but as Mike pointed out there have been problems with breakdown due to poor gas quality. Recoating is very expensive, how often would the cylinders need to be reinspected?

Price - So its basically the same as a Shelby block, right? Which now has an established history and has been going through several years of improvement.

Weight - Would like to see what the total weight is of a complete motor pan to carb compared to a Pond or Shelby.

I am sure that you will get several lab rats on this site who will want to be first to try it out. Should be interesting to see how it unfolds.

[David Kirkham]

Gents,

Thank you all for your great comments!

Ed,

Thank you very much for your kind words. We have been very lucky to have customers who have believed in us over the years and have allowed us to jump off into the unknown to explore what many think can not be done. I wouldn't trade my job for anything. I hear of people who hate to go to work and I just don't understand. I love coming to work...just ask my wife!

Brent,

Thanks! We have a new secret weapon set to arrive in a few weeks. I CAN'T WAIT until it arrives! I have dreamed about it since I started the company years ago.

Steve,

I haven't thought much about dental work because my very good friend Brent DeHart is a dentist! Thanks for being a friend for so many years.

Bunkie314,

I was going to announce it at the open house, but we had so many people wanting to buy cars that day I forgot. It was a good day. Good thing we have such great customers! I have a tunnel port head that I have been looking at for a lot of this R&D. Thanks for the offer, I just might take you up on it.

I hope to have a motor on the dyno in 3-4 weeks.

I am glad you liked the food. We looked a long time to find the good stuff and I was lucky to find it in my next-door-neighbor.

Duane,

We will have a block at the Western States Cobra Bash for display.

Woodz428,

In the past few years certainly have seen a drastic change in that Nikasil has now become VERY common in motorcycle engines--particularly bullet bikes. I must admit, however, my comments were directed toward Japanese bikes--in particular. I haven't paid much attention to Harley motors as they are pretty low performance motors comparatively speaking. Bullet bikes have long set the performance standard for power to weight.

With a decent production, the cost of the Nikasil is very competitive with sleeves. There is no problem having a bore recoated. Another HUGE advantage of the Nikasil is less heat is generated because the bore is so slick. Less friction (heat) is generated in Nikasil bores.

As for motors being pulled down every race. That is true. But ANYTHING that can last an entire F1 race will forever on the street. The loads on F1 pistons are mind-boggling.

That said, I appreciate the concerns that you raise! Who knows that I have overlooked something stupid. I pays to have more than one mind on the problem. That is one of the reasons I love this site so much.

Jeff,

Kirkham Motorsports will not build turn key motors. We will build a few prototypes to make sure they work and then we will sell blocks for now. Later we will sell heads, intake manifolds, etc. Who knows what the future will bring.

Craig,

The heads will oil through the pushrods. The FE oiling system isn't the best IMHO. There isn't any way to do that old style oiling system with our bolt on water jackets.

Murphy,

More than one have now asked. Maybe I'll have to make a few wooden block coffee tables...

Paul,

Thanks!

Ernie,

100,000 miles! Now that is a worthy goal!

Whats'aCobra,

You can rest assured we will do our best to try to blow the motor up many times over before we start to sell them to the public.

Sal,

The bore can easily be re-coated in case of damage. As for the fiberlass failure, I don't think any of the customers who purchased fiberglass cars are unhappy.

Ernie,

Right on. LOW weight.

Igofastr,

I hope you don't blow up your motor...but if you do, give me a call!

mrmax,

We intend to wear the dyno out making sure the block is good.

Mike,

Thanks for your comments and observations on the block. I REALLY appreciated the time you took to evaluate the block and to give me suggestions. Thank you for coming!

I hope people don't use junk gas in these motors! The problems they had we all attributed to bad gas with a high sulfur content from many years ago. Today, the EPA rules don't allow that high of sulfur content in gasoline.

Perry,

That is EXACTLY what we are trying to do--bring 21st century technology to the parts of yesterday to make them as cool as possible!

Jeff,

Thanks for your kind words!

flwolfman.

With all the people wanting wooden blocks, we may have to soon!

RedCSX1,

Thank you! You bring up valid points. The whole world is not roses and there are issues that HAVE to be looked at to make sure the block is reliable.

Leaking--I got the idea on 0-rings from a Honda water pump I changed a while back...no leaks in 100,000 miles. The shaft seal failed--not the o-ring. We use o-rings in our billet water tanks and have not had a single one leak--ever. Honda and Toyota still use o-rings extensively in their motors. They are cheap and EFFECTIVE.

Cylinder bore recoating.

Mike quoted Wikipedia in his post. If you look further into the process (and failures) you will find they were all attributed to bad gas (too high of sulphur content) from the not so stringent EPA standards of 5-10 years ago. All failures were attributed to people who put REGULAR unleaded in their tanks--not premium unleaded. Even back then, people who ran premium unleaded didn't have the coating failure (premium had a lower sulfur content. If you take apart a new Kawasaki bullet bike you will find Nikasil coated bores. The loads, RPM's that a bullet bike piston sees are much greater than anything I will ever do in a 427. The beating on a bullet bike it unbelievable. But then again, so is Japanese engineering.

Weight--I hope to save 50 pounds. Time will tell if I am dreaming!

Lab Rats...

There is already a LONG line of lab rats waiting around here...I am the FIRST one in line!

David

[Excaliber]

Hidden costs.

I don't know about the CURRENT crop of Shelby blocks but the early ones required a LOT of machine shop work, as I suspect other 'modern' blocks do as well. These 'hidden costs' drive the up the 'real' cost of the block considerably. If Davids block comes out 'good to go' with only light machining required here and there it would be a bargain compared to others.

[David Kirkham]

Ernie,

Our block will be supplied with NO additional machining required. The bores will already be HONED to size with torque plates. No decking, no line boring, no honing. Just assembly.

David

[Wayne Maybury]

35 years ago, I used to race snow mobiles. At that time the "chrome" plated aluminum cylinders would not stand up to much severe punishment and there was no one in this area who could re-coat them. After having to replace several cylinders, I switched to cast iron as an economical alternative. I have no idea what type of chrome was being used at the time but the engines were made in Germany. It is too long ago to remember any of the details.

Wayne

[Excaliber]

No additional machining required on the Kirkham block? Now thats just down right unfair competition. How you expect KC to pay the rent?

[David Kirkham]

More pictures here:

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/mfg/block_index.html

I have lots more pictures coming up!

David

[mrmax]

better you wear it out than me!

[Commander]

It is not clear to me whether this block would be available in any bore size other than 4.25". Will it?

A block that is CNC'd; can we specify a taller deck?

Will some cross-drilling between the cylinders (through the siamesed portion) be an option, like on the new Ford Boss 302 block? To aid with coolant flow?

What is the lead time considering you start with forged blanks?

Considered a gerotor oil pump mounted to/around the crank snout to do away with a perennial problem area of the FE? The oil pump drive.

If not webbing in the lifter valley, how about something like a series of mini Monte-Carlo bars? Removable. I don't completely buy the "moon glow" dismissal of the benefits of that webbing.

[David Kirkham]

Ernie,

I am sure Keith Craft will be VERY happy to just do the assembly and not have to worry about extra machining.

mrmax,

I am going to do my best to wear one out!

Commander,

Thanks for your questions and comments!

Currently, the block is only available in 4.25 bore. If we start to make a bunch of them we will tool up to do a 4.375 bore as well.

It isn't possible to cross drill an FE. Unfortunately, the head bolts are in the way--right in the path of the drill. We ran the head bolt bosses all the way to the bottom of the block so there isn't any room to do it. I think it is more important to have the clamping force on the heads for the strength of the entire system. I don't think cooling will be a problem with this block.

Lead time to the public should be 2-3 months. First running motor should be within weeks.

I have considered an external oil pump, but we will keep provisions for the internal one as well so people can run the stock oil pans, etc.

After looking at the latest Ford 5.4 on the Ford GT (no ribs) and having customers put over 700 horsepower to the rear wheels with those cars, I can't imagine why we would need them (ribs in the valley). That is simply way more power than can be used in our cars. Also, no modern engine runs them that I am aware of.

David

[xlr8or]

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

Gents,

Sal,

The bore can easily be re-coated in case of damage. As for the fiberlass failure, I don't think any of the customers who purchased fiberglass cars are unhappy.
David

You got that right.

So if I order a wooden block could lightning strike twice?


Very cool David, I hope this is a very successful project.
I would be concerned about damage to the bore as well. If there are marks from valves, broken rings, blown rod etc. how do you fix it? Can the coating fill voids left by these things or would you need to bore the cylinder larger and then recoat at the new bore size? Would it be possible to sleeve the block later in the case of bore damage?

[STEVE POTTS]

David,

Any improvements to the way the rear main cap seals against oil leakage would be well received by future customers. Most FE's have leaks in that area from that old design that uses side seals/rope seals, silicone etc...you get my point.

[Excaliber]

The new Shelby alloy blocks were also noted for leaking at the rear main seal, so it's not just the old FE's were talking about. Not a big enough oil drain back hole in the Shelby, which would flood the seal area.

My side oiler don't leak, I took special attention during assembly to 'get it right'.

[Commander]

I realize you're working with forged, billet aluminum, not cast aluminum. But I don't think a factory ford casting is proof that it's not needed. Looking at a current ebay auction for a Keith Black block (water), you can clearly see that they think the webbing is a good design feature. Besides (I did notice you skipped that question), if you can produce a tall-deck version then the webbing might become more critical as the manifold to head junction will most likely have a spacer plate in it, weakening whatever cross-connection you (and the factory) may rely on to substitute for the webbing. Plus, I think you may want to look at the newer versions of the mod block, they do have webbing in the "lifter" valley area.

[olddog]

Well not too much talk about the main bearing cap design. I very much like that idea.

I will point out that all the aluminum blocks, I have seen, have steel main caps. Since aluminum's thermal expansion is about 4 times that of steel, the only time the mains are round is when everything is at the temp that it was line bored at. At all other temps the mains are out of round to some degree. Making the caps as a single piece of aluminum certainly solves this problem.

However since both halves of the caps are now aluminum, the bearing clearance will likely change by almost twice that of a steel cap engine. Have you calculated the main bearing clearance, when both cold and at operating temp? It's a little scary starting a modular ford when it is -15 F, as there is almost no clearance left - with a steel cap.

As for the Nikisil, is it similar to nickel? My industrial experience with nickel and other coatings has been that when done correctly it sticks very well and when not it peals off like a bad paint job. We have yet to find a coater that does it right more than about 90% of the time.