Greg Myers Posted July 19, 2013 Author Posted July 19, 2013 and for the regular Ford Flat head or the V8 60
W-Machine Posted July 19, 2013 Posted July 19, 2013 They certainly dress up a flattie quite nicely. What's not to like?
Greg Myers Posted July 19, 2013 Author Posted July 19, 2013 They're not your normal Ardun covers. Note the eight square thingies.
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 19, 2013 Posted July 19, 2013 (edited) They certainly dress up a flattie quite nicely. What's not to like? They're not for "dress-up" though, just for clarification. The Ardun setup was an entire HEMI HEAD, overhead-valve replacement for the "flat" heads on the Ford flathead. They were somewhat similar in design to the Chrysler Hemis of the early '50s. ===================================================================================================== A set of valve covers kinda like those pictured above are on the 296c.i. Mercury flathead in this Ray Kinney-built custom roadster. Apparently clearance for roller rockers accounts for the odd square thingies. The plug spacing is different from the OP. ======================================================================================================= Just for the record, there were only about 250 sets of the original Ardun head conversions cast, in England. They were originally designed to be aftermarket parts for Ford TRUCKS, to get better power and lower operating temps from those underpowered vehicles. When Ford came out with the bigger Lincoln flathead and started putting it in trucks, the Ardun head project looked doomed. Some Allards were equipped with Ardun / Fords, but it was the USA hot-rodders that really got the heads to make serious power, much modified from what Ardun supplied. And just in case there are those who don't already know, ARDUN was named for the company founder Zora Arkus Duntov, the same guy who designed the '55 Chevy smallblock and fathered the Corvette. Edited July 20, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 20, 2013 Posted July 20, 2013 And the winner is... "The owner is Kirk Wright of Scottsdale, AZ , and you’re looking at a valve cover for a one of kind Hemi headed model T engine. It’s a modified original Ardun valve cover. Kirk added extra room to clear the custom made aluminum roller rockers. Displacing 190 cu. in, Kirk expects this engine to put out about 320Hp. "
Ognib Posted July 20, 2013 Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) They're not for "dress-up" though, just for clarification. The Ardun setup was an entire HEMI HEAD, overhead-valve replacement for the "flat" heads on the Ford flathead. They were somewhat similar in design to the Chrysler Hemis of the early '50s. ===================================================================================================== A set of valve covers kinda like those pictured above are on the 296c.i. Mercury flathead in this Ray Kinney-built custom roadster. Apparently clearance for roller rockers accounts for the odd square thingies. The plug spacing is different from the OP. ======================================================================================================= Just for the record, there were only about 250 sets of the original Ardun head conversions cast, in England. They were originally designed to be aftermarket parts for Ford TRUCKS, to get better power and lower operating temps from those underpowered vehicles. When Ford came out with the bigger Lincoln flathead and started putting it in trucks, the Ardun head project looked doomed. Some Allards were equipped with Ardun / Fords, but it was the USA hot-rodders that really got the heads to make serious power, much modified from what Ardun supplied. And just in case there are those who don't already know, ARDUN was named for the company founder Zora Arkus Duntov, the same guy who designed the '55 Chevy smallblock and fathered the Corvette. That's one fine looking automobile! Love the flatties in any configuration...but OMG, looks like it's got, gasp, radial tires on it... Edited July 20, 2013 by Ognib
Art Anderson Posted July 22, 2013 Posted July 22, 2013 One correction though! Zora Arkus Duntov didn't design the small block Chevy V8--that was done by other Chevrolet engineers before Duntov joined Chevrolet. Duntov did, however, make the fairly mild SBC into a small block stormin' engine, which went a long way toward saving Corvette from oblivion though! Art
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 22, 2013 Posted July 22, 2013 (edited) One correction though! Zora Arkus Duntov didn't design the small block Chevy V8--that was done by other Chevrolet engineers before Duntov joined Chevrolet. Duntov did, however, make the fairly mild SBC into a small block stormin' engine, which went a long way toward saving Corvette from oblivion though! Art I'll take your word for it, Art. It was my understanding that Ed Cole (who successfully co-ran GM's first OHV V8 engine program for the '49 Cadillac) became head of Chevy engineering in 1952, and that his team was responsible for the little Chevy V8 engine. Duntov joined Chevy in 1953 and the 265c.i. smallblock Chevy engine was introduced in 1955. Duntov has been credited through the years by many sources as having had a heavy, perhaps the primary, influence on the final design. I wasn't there, I don't honestly know, and though this may not be true, he is certainly responsible for bringing together various influences for making it an outstanding performance engine early on. According to Ed Iskenderian, the Duntov 30/30 cam, an iconic hot rod performance part, was actually designed by the great Ed Winfield, one of the pioneers of scientific cam grinding and a self-taught engineer. So much for proper credit being given. The Corvette itself was a project spearheaded by Harley Earl (also credited with the concept of "Dynamic Obsolescence", and the annual model change). The Ed Cole / Duntov team are credited with improving the lackluster performance of the early Corvettes (originally equipped with inline 6-cylinder engines and 2-speed automatic gearboxes only). Again, it was Duntov who was responsible for developing the car as GM's high-performance flagship, and running many of the exotic R&D programs that made the Corvette name synonymous with racing. Duntov in the Corvette SS. Edited July 22, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy
Greg Myers Posted July 22, 2013 Author Posted July 22, 2013 To make sure this doesn't get moved to some other place Here's a model tie in : http://www.rodauthority.com/news/video-ron-bement-runs-his-13-scale-ardun-at-goodguys/
Greg Myers Posted July 22, 2013 Author Posted July 22, 2013 (edited) Ever hear of an "Esplanada" OHV Conversion ? Edited July 22, 2013 by Greg Myers
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 22, 2013 Posted July 22, 2013 That's a new one on me. Fascinating. Tell us more...
Greg Myers Posted July 22, 2013 Author Posted July 22, 2013 (edited) http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31527 and http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/simca-forum-other-french-makes/21887-esplanada.html and (scroll down ) http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/318-poly-engine-143324-2.html Edited July 22, 2013 by Greg Myers
Gramps2u Posted July 22, 2013 Posted July 22, 2013 Ever hear of an "Esplanada" OHV Conversion ? Thank you for posting the internal diagram of the head & engine block assembly. Great subject .
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