Bangers are bitchin’, and prehistoric bangers are better yet. There
are many dedicated fans of the old-and-slow 201ci, L-head four-bangers
originally found in millions of Ford Model Ts, and Model A/B/C-equipped
’28–’34 Fords—and especially of the speed equipment manufactured for
them. The good news is they’re popular enough that you don’t need to
sweat scouring endless swap-meet spaces to score a find—much of it is
reproduced and better than new. Bangers are now hotter than ever.
There was a time when the whole of hot rodding was based on making
old Model Ts and later Model As run as fast or faster than anything in
Anytown, USA. For the few who could afford it, a reground cam, improved
ignition, and an overhead conversion could make a stripped-down roadster
dance to the tune of 115 mph on the dry lakes. Bangers were the
hardware to beat, even into the Ford flathead V8 era until about 1938,
when hot rodders were able to apply their talents to four more
cylinders—and the rest is hot rod history. Their depression-era cost and
obsolescence after WWII make them a genuine score today.
For those eager to learn more, there’s the Secrets of Speed Society (SecretsOfSpeed.com),
which publishes a quarterly journal with lots of tech and also holds
meets throughout the year, where you can see and hear first-hand what
the commotion is all about for a modest yearly membership.
If you’re ever near Lincoln, Nebraska, Speedy Bill’s Museum of American Speed (MuseumOfAmericanSpeed.com)
is a treasure trove of virtually every speed part ever made, including
super-rare and one-off banger hardware, plus long forgotten overhead
conversions like Cook, Fargo, and Rutherford.
Once your roadster is running and you’re ready for something more
than “motorvating,” the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA)
has classes for racing both vintage flathead fours (VF4) and vintage
overhead four-bangers (V4)—with Bonneville records of 152.1 mph in Gas
Roadster and 169.3 mph in the Fuel Roadster class! Yes, you really can
caffeinate half-an-eight.
Our friends at H&H Flatheads (Flatheads-Forever.com)
in La Crescenta, California, have been collecting and assembling hot
bangers for years and were kind enough to let us photograph these
coveted gems. Check out what vintage speed looks like.
The A-B-Cs of As, Bs, and Cs
All Ford four-bangers are L-head configuration in stock form—which
means the valves are in the block. That’s why the overhead conversions
are conversions. Riley heads contain the intake valves while retaining
the stock exhaust valve location in the block (surrounded by water
jackets). Miller heads contain both intake and exhaust valves for a true
overhead valve or F-head configuration.
Model A engines are rated at 40 hp stock. They use a
smaller crank than their B and C counterparts, and use a gravity-feed
or “splash-n-drip” oil system—not a pressurized oil system.
Model B engines feature a larger crank with no
counterweights and a four-bolt water pump. They feature a pressurized
oil system with direct lubrication to the mains. The oil galleys can be
tapped to provide better lubrication for the crank, cam, and timing
gears.
Model C engines pick up all of the advances of the
B, but feature a counterweighted crank, a lighter flywheel—offsetting
the crank counterweight’s heft—and a three-hole water pump that will
help you eyeball the difference at a swap meet or estate sale.
Whichever engine is used, H&H modifies the stock oil pump to
redirect the oil by running tubes directly to the main and cam bearings
and timing gears.
Miller-Schofield Conversions
The Miller-Schofield overhead conversion was designed by Leo Goosen
for race-car builder extraordinaire Harry Miller and was funded by a
consortium of businessmen led by George L. Schofield. Their plan was to
capitalize on the presumed long run of Model As spewing out of Ford’s
plants. Model As were produced from 1928 to 1931. With Miller’s
collapsing fortunes, the Miller Hi Speed head tooling was soon sold to
Cragar and slightly reworked as a Cragar head sold through Bell Auto
Parts. (Yes, Cragar S/S wheels are the offspring of this long-ago
race-parts manufacturer.) Among many racing triumphs, the team of Miller
and Goosen were best known for developing the Offy engine that
dominated Indy for decades.
Dan Webb’s green B-block seen above started life in his original
Model B standard Deuce sedan, stored in a barn for over 55 years! The
Burton, Michigan, resident decided to retain it and contacted H&H to
do a rebuild with a repro Miller-Schofield overhead conversion.
The similar but blingy blue banger below started as a Model A block
and is destined for Jim Norman’s ’31 Model A cabriolet from Southern
California. Though his A is a restoration, it’s more of a touring car
than a show car.
Both Miller-Schofield conversions run reproduction Stromberg 97
carburetion—a single on the Norman A and a log intake with dual 97s on
the Webb B. Additionally, on the Webb engine, a vintage Wico magneto
handles spark.
Internally, H&H assembled both Millers with its private-label
cam and forged rods, forged Arias pop-up pistons, steel-sleeved
standard-bore holes, line-bored inserts (eliminating the original babbit
bearings), Scat crank, and ceramic sealed-water jackets.
Says Dan, “The sedan loves 60 mph—that’s its sweet spot. There’s
still more grunt there, but even at 60, you know this is the fastest
this old sedan has ever run.” And the sound? “I ran a 2-inch straight
pipe, no muffler, and reduced it to the original, rusted 11⁄2-inch
exhaust. It sounds like a screaming banshee and feels like a laser
cutter when you walk past it.”
Do “Model C” Engines Really Exist?
Don’t let the old timers tell you otherwise—Ford made lots of Model
C engines, though they were not referred to as Model C by Ford. Bangers
became an option, not a separate model designation, but the public
still called them Model Cs. They were available in both passenger cars
and trucks in 1933 and 1934, and they have improvements and differences
from their Model B counterparts. Henry Ford used up everything he had in
his manufacturing plants, which is why some ’34 Fords ended up with
bangers. There were 263,765 Model B and C engines produced between March
9, 1932 and late 1934.
Riley Four-Port Conversions
The Riley two- and four-port overhead conversions were the
brainchild of George Riley, an inventor who also raced cars, planes, and
boats. Among other creations, he came up with the inboard/outboard boat
engine configuration.
He opened his shop in 1919 to produce speed equipment for Model Ts
and continued to build new Ford speed equipment for years. He also
created many wild, one-off race engines, including some cool
opposed-two-cylinder midget motors. His four-port head first came on the
race scene in August 1932.
Riley stated that the high point of his career was when the Blue
Crown Specials won numerous Indianapolis 500 races in the late ’40s
while running his Riley race carburetors.
The Riley four-port conversions shown on these pages both feature
vintage heads—one that’s cast iron from 1938 (red engine), the other a
later, rarer aluminum version from 1948 (white engine). Both Rileys are
race engines. The white version features original Riley sidedraft carbs
sold as a package. In fact, this particular head is as it originally
came from George Riley himself. It was built in the ’50s.
Max Herman Jr. of H&H says the sidedrafts make a direct blast
to the cylinders, with no twists or turns like a top- or bottom-draft
carburetor—meaning they take in more air quickly. More air in = more
power out.
Besides the Riley carbs, the white engine also features a Model C
crank drilled for a pressurized oil system and Buick rods and pistons.
Both run bigger, better forged stainless valves, springs, iron guides,
and original rockers that are re-bushed and re-shafted.
The red Riley features the more popular Winfield carburetors run on
many a race motor of the era. These, as well as the stalwart Stromberg
97, are what you’ll find on most hopped-up bangers.
Both Riley’s run “split-grind” cams, which means the exhaust lobes
are ground differently than the intake lobes—saving wear and tear on the
valves as opposed to a race-grind cam used with a high-compression
flathead.
Riley also manufactured a milder two-port head conversion, which
can easily be distinguished by the exhaust and intake being located on
the same side of the engine.
Source: http://www.hotrod.com/thehistoryof/retrospective/hrdp_1210_vintage_ford_model_a_b_c_four_cylinder_engines/
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