Engine Choices- Another ?

[gn7]

ANY issue/weakness that a FE wedge head engine had (block weakness/oiling issues)would only be multiplied/magnified with the unleashed power of the SOHC... FE wasn't a perfect engine, BUT what engine was??? The CHEBBY 409???

The SOHC was successful within the engineering limits of the blocks/cranks that were available and yes, I have discussed this with three guys that were successful with the SOHC in the race world... One setting a world record in the Nostalgia super stock circuit... ALL were N/A engines with no power adders and were running on race gas... NOT nitro...

What "unleashed power" are you talking about?? The damn things NEEDED nitro to get them out of their own way.

[2manymustangs]

What "unleashed power" are you talking about?? The damn things NEEDED nitro to get them out of their own way.

Yup, that is exactly why Ed Pink liked and ran them AND why the NASCAR sanctioning body NIXED them...

I talked to Riley Singley yesterday in person (392 fuel engine builder) and he said that the salvage yards were full of the blocks/cranks and they were strong... He said THAT is why they ran them due to his team budget THEN he reminded me how much Kalitta liked the 427 SOHC engine...



IF the FACTORY block was weak with the SOCH @ 1600+ HP in the mid 60's, the block was also weak with the wedge heads at lower HP numbers...

[Sharp shooter]

I would have thought by now 2MM would have chimed in on this, He is the self proclaimed authority on all things powered by the "wonder motor" 2MM is of the opinion it was one of the great motors of all time, but then he has never spoken with anybody that ever built one.
Just so happens I spoke with the gentleman that worked on the engines in this "engineering marvel" and had nothing good to say about the engines, or the boat.

Its a Unlimited Hydro. As in, it was built to take on the turbo charged Allisons and Rolls Royce Griffons. Although it is said to have qualified at a couple races at 100MPH, there is some controversy as to whether it ever exceeded 80. The 2-3 times I saw the boat, it failed to ever get fully on plane, or blow the tail.
The drivers of this thing in the 5 years it was run reads like the whos who of Unlimiteds.

The boat was called Miss O Neil-Knudson, U14, owned and built by Walt Knudson. It took over 10 years to construct, and ran from 1976 thru '82. The boat still exists somewhere in the Mohave desert sans engines.

Walt Knudson who was a relative of Bunkie Knudson, cousin, nephew, something.
Bunkie Knudson was the first person to ever walk out of one of the big 3 auto makers and go to work for another. He left GM in 68 and went to work for Ford as President of FOMOCO., and shocked the entire automotive industry. Nobody had ever done that before. Bunkie HATED the SOHC, and he assembled the team that created the Boss series of engines for Ford. He back doored a couple of the SOHCs to Walt in 1968 to use in the boat, as much as anything, to clear out the inventory of the POS. As far as he was concerned, Ford was done the damn things.

Anyway, the boat looks cool, but it was a major loser on the water. Like I said, there is nothing 1 Chevy ever accomplished that 2 Fords couldn't equal. RIGHT 2MM?

This chevy ran 73mph through he kilos at Parker, but that's not to say "all" chevy's are slow. Just sayin.

[gn7]

Yup, that is exactly why Ed Pink liked and ran them AND why the NASCAR sanctioning body NIXED them...

I talked to Riley Singley yesterday in person (392 fuel engine builder) and he said that the salvage yards were full of the blocks/cranks and they were strong... He said THAT is why they ran them due to his team budget THEN he reminded me how much Kalitta liked the 427 SOHC engine...

IF the FACTORY block was weak with the SOCH @ 1600+ HP in the mid 60's, the block was also weak with the wedge heads at lower HP numbers...

Makes one wonder, If it was such a fabulous engine as you claim, why they aren't still running them. They ran 392 originally because it was THE ONLY game in town, and they were cheap and plentiful. When they ran out of them, COPIED THEM IN AMLUMINUM, and they moved on to the 426 Hemi. When the supply of them dried up, THEY COPIED THEM as well.
WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY THINK OF MAKING ALUMINUM COPIES of the Ford SOHC. I give you a hint 2MM........THEY DIDN'T WORK!!!!! Nobody as foolish enough to copy it and believe they could sell them. Dove and Robert Pond both sell aftermarket SOHC heads ands a blocks. Why aren't any of the top fuel guys running them?

Lot of engines make great gasoline engines, but complete POS as nitro deals. The BBC is a perfect example. They gave it their all in the mid 60s to make the BBC 2 work in nitro classes. There 3 times the Chevy nitro cars in the 60s as there were Fords, and they did win a few. But in the end, when the power started to escalate, those poor Chevy guys had to make the move.

I don't know what drugs you are taking, or what shrooms your eating, but you can't show me anything that says Ed Pink even remotely liked that engine.
But I do remember linking you to a interview with Pink where he stated they were complete POS.

But just to really drive the point home, Mr Paul Grichar crewed and drove the Miss O Neal-Knudson, We had a nice little talk about the SOHC on the way to Parker yesterday. He called the engine a few things that make POS seem tame. He had some very descriptive words for the dung heap. None of them are postable.

[2manymustangs]

Makes one wonder, If it was such a fabulous engine as you claim, why they aren't still running them. They ran 392 originally because it was THE ONLY game in town, and they were cheap and plentiful. When they ran out of them, COPIED THEM IN AMLUMINUM, and they moved on to the 426 Hemi. When the supply of them dried up, THEY COPIED THEM as well.
WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY THINK OF MAKING ALUMINUM COPIES of the Ford SOHC. I give you a hint 2MM........THEY DIDN'T WORK!!!!! Nobody as foolish enough to copy it and believe they could sell them. Dove and Robert Pond both sell aftermarket SOHC heads ands a blocks. Why aren't any of the top fuel guys running them?

Lot of engines make great gasoline engines, but complete POS as nitro deals. The BBC is a perfect example. They gave it their all in the mid 60s to make the BBC 2 work in nitro classes. There 3 times the Chevy nitro cars in the 60s as there were Fords, and they did win a few. But in the end, when the power started to escalate, those poor Chevy guys had to make the move.

I don't know what drugs you are taking, or what shrooms your eating, but you can't show me anything that says Ed Pink even remotely liked that engine.
But I do remember linking you to a interview with Pink where he stated they were complete POS.

But just to really drive the point home, Mr Paul Grichar crewed and drove the Miss O Neal-Knudson, We had a nice little talk about the SOHC on the way to Parker yesterday. He called the engine a few things that make POS seem tame. He had some very descriptive words for the dung heap. None of them are postable.

IF they were a POS as a SOHC they were the same or worse with wedge heads... INCLUDING MR and HR 427 heads...

As stated before, my world and my idea of success doesn't revolve around FUEL engines... But I can appreciate that some folks worlds DO...

P.S. Im still waiting for you to detail the areas of failures in the engine... Oiling??? Split blocks???


“The biggest problem was the cylinder block. It was maybe designed for a maximum of 750 horsepower,” explains Pink. “In those days we were doing 2,500 horsepower. The block was the weakest link. The task we had was to make it through four rounds of qualifying and four rounds of elimination without coming apart."

“Once we got the engine developed, it could beat the Hemi. But it was a difficult engine to work on,” adds Pink. “Being overhead cam, it wasn’t easy to repair between rounds. If you burned a piston at the track, you had to have another engine to put in the car or you went home.”

Sincerely Ed Pink.......


Happy Thanksgiving Day Bob... I'm thankful for your friendship and our many discussions over the years... Please say hello to the tall blonde at the Cantina at the Blue Water for me, you will know her when you see her...