A-Bone Banger

[bill-e-boy]

A local FB group is having a motor sport build off. Whilst most have opted for a more roundy-pounder themed builds I am having a go at a straight line build as it fits into my way of thinking.

Looking for an early 60's style, nose high and banger powered

I had a subject in mind but first I went looking and found these in the junk yard. I would have preferred slightly narrower slicks but this is all I could find 

Then I got this out of the stash. It is a recent arrival but I have at least one more

Toying with motor choice - I have either this Banger Cragar OHV conversion or I may go a different route with something more exotic but it will definitely be an OHV conversion. 

I did the Cragar conversion a while back where I milled the valve cover from solid ally and the head is hand shaped and milled plastic

 

Thanks for looking

 

[bill-e-boy]

Much as I would like to use the Cragar engine I was thinking of something with a bit more power.

I looked in the resin flatty stuff that was bequeathed me from my late mate Mike and I discovered I have three of these heads - perfect. Fits the esoteric theme I mentioned above perfectly. 

The discovery - an Ardun head on its lonesome just crying out to be fitted to a banger. Alo in the box was a S.C.O.T blower (or two)

I mocked this up on the Monogram motor for the pix but I will not be using it as it is a bit blobby

I have a donor Revel A kit with a motor I can use. This is an oldish kit that someone has chopped in the past and it has a few bits missing. I have made a start on gluing it together

Oh - the mph is a reference is the FB group I am on - mph = miniature petrol heads

Thanks for looking

 

  

[Quiet Eric]

Now we're talking! Even an overhead banger would be losing a lot of its power trying to make those slicks spin. An Ardun and a ScOT change things!

[sidcharles]

that's kinda cool. please keep this thread in motion.

not understanding all the mechanics which would make this work, but following along 'til the bitter end.

[bill-e-boy]

6 hours ago, sidcharles said:

not understanding all the mechanics which would make this work, but following along 'til the bitter end.

Not sure I do either. Logic tells me if you can put OHV heads on a flatty V8 you should be able to put a single head on a banger. In the real world not sure how things like water galleries and lifters would line up but with a flat head motor the valves take up quite a bit of real estate in the block so should be able to do it. The biggie of course is the cylinder spacing and how that mates up with the head

But we are working with 1/25th scale models and have wild imaginations so we can do anything😁 Sounds a bit like Bob the Builder - we can do it

[stavanzer]

Well, the Ardun Head, was designed to fit a Flattie, so Your Strategery looks good to me.

I like the Little S.c.O.T blower as well.

Nice , Outside-the-Box thinking!

[TarheelRick]

Definitely an interesting concept. I remember a few years back a real 1:1 dragcar builder used three 351 Cleveland heads to make a head for his six-cylinder powered car. He cut the front two chambers off one, the middle two from another, and the rear two from another. He used some form of exotic pressure-brazing concept to put them all together and bolted it to a big-bore Ford 6 cylinder. Can't remember induction used, but supposedly it worked pretty well. That being said - why not an Ardun 4 cylinder.

[bill-e-boy]

Thaks for the feedback guys. 

I was concerned that the slicks I have chosen would be too much rubber on the road. The ones in the photo above were the skinniest I could find in my tire bin. I know there are narrower ones around but I could not think of what kits they were in. Then I thought, I have another slow moving project that has skinnies so it got robbed and they are cheater slick to boot. I will need to face finding replacements, but I will face that dilemma another day

 

Meantime I have started clean up of the chassis. Battery box is gone and front bumper mounts have ben clipped off. I am looking at the shocks next. Not sure if I need shocks but if I decide I do need them I will make something a bit nicer looking that the kit blobular ones. I have found a quick change and a tubular front axle again stollen from the stalled kit - but these are in the overrun bin for that project. 

Thanks for looking

[sidcharles]

not sure of the timeframe you've chosen, but i think anytime after WWII you could adapt some of those fancy "aircraft type shocks" and still be in the game.

[Dennis Lacy]

@bill-e-boy

This sounds like a fun project. There was a resurgence of interest in early Ford 4-cylinder performance in the 60’s thanks to the formation of the Forever Four Cylinder club. They even ran a rail dragster. 

ARDUN never originally made a Model A/B head but they do exist now as a modern day creation. I knew a guy that ran one in his 29 Roadster Pickup. It sure looked neat!

Inspired by that, some years back I created an ARDUN 4 in scale using a Revell block and a head & rocker cover from a Revell 50 F1 Pickup kit with a scratch built intake. I put it in an old Revell parts pack Dragmaster frame. I’ll leave a few pics to help inspire your conversion.

[bill-e-boy]

On 9/20/2025 at 9:21 AM, sidcharles said:

not sure of the timeframe you've chosen, but i think anytime after WWII you could adapt some of those fancy "aircraft type shocks" and still be in the game.

Hi Sid - exactly what I was contemplating - late 50's when things were very experimental and people were using all sorts of power plants. The big hemi's were still new and bangers were old and cheap

Hi Dennis - thanks for the inspirational pix - I know I have seen a banger thread here - I even contributed with the Cragar motor - but I have not gone looking for it as the seed was sown way back then. It just needed a couple of other planets to align to make it a reality. I have finished my 32 coupe build so I can now focus on this build - and it has a deadline  

[bill-e-boy]

A little bit of progress on the banger. I have turned down the rear wheels to fit the slicks - sorry no pix.

I have cleaned up the Revell motor/gearbox and painted them Tamiya Pure red that I will be using on the drive train too. The head is SMS aluminium 

The head on siting the wrong way around as the valve gear on A motors is on the RH side of the motor so the push rods for the Ardun will need to be on that side as well along with the intake.

I have also been doing prep on the chassis, guards and body. The chassis was in the paint shop when this was taken

 

Thanks for looking

[MeatMan]

Very cool!

[mchook]

Great project, I can't wait to see it come together. This reminds me of the A that I built a while back. I remember you commenting on it. Incase you don't remember, here's some more inspiration pics to check out.

[sidcharles]

three twos; can't lose.

[bill-e-boy]

Thanks for the pix of the real deal Mark. A picture is worth a thousand words. I have been scouring the inter web looking for pictures of an Ardun headed banger. Lots of words mentioning a Frick head - good and bad - but alas no pictures.

Your photo answers some of the gray areas I have like how to implement the ignition and water pump. I had in mind to fit a pump to the front of the head where a water outlet already exists similar to what you have done. But I was heading down the thought road of a front mounted distributor or magneto on an angle drive but space is limited as I need room for a blower drive set up and your pix shows a mag mounted off the rear of the cam drive - perfect

I do like your headers and the mana-free inlet manifold too.

And yup Sid - three two's are what I have in mind and I will need to Neanderthal build an adaptor to fit the blower. I need to scratch build an intake manifold too.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by bill-e-boy

[bill-e-boy]

Being doing some work on the interior - paint stripped and painted a fibreglass racer bucket seat and added a roll cage. The down tube is loose and will be connected on assembly of the top to the body. I just need to extend the roll bar to reach the floor.