FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => FE Technical Forum => Topic started by: jayb on December 15, 2019, 08:24:03 PM
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Just got back from this year's Performance Racing Industry show, and really had a great time. Some of you guys here ought to figure out how to attend; all you really need is to show up with a business card with your name on it, and a story about how your business services or buys from the performance racing industry, and you can get it in with no trouble. I'll bet I saw about 50 badges with somebody's name on it, and under the badge it said "Somebody's Name Racing". You get the idea. All it takes is a business card to see 1200 of the best companies in the performance car market.
For me one of the highlights of the show is seeing all the FE luminaries in person, and this year was a banner year. Seemed like every half hour somebody who I've watched and admired for years showed up at the booth. Ohio George Montgomery, Ray Paquet, Jon Kaase, John Calvert, Jim Waldo, Blair Patrick, Kurt Neighbor, etc. etc. We were also visited by some of the other manufacturers who I really like, such as Larry Tores (from T&D Machine). I spoke with Larry about the rocker arm setup on my new heads, and may work a deal with him so that he actually will manufacture them for FE Power, which would give me supreme confidence in the valvetrain.
We had lots of interest in the new cylinder head package, and even generated some interest from the press, including John McGan (sp?, former editor of Hot Rod and Car Craft), and a production company that was interested in putting an engine with the crossram injection package on a show car in a few months. Kevin, Jeff and I were constantly talking to people at the show, which made it fun but exhausting at the same time. Nevertheless it was a worthwhile endeavor, and I expect we will be back again next year.
Pictures tell the story, so the first few photos are of the many FE luminaries who stopped by during the show (yes, Jon Kaase falls into that category, he used to run a tunnel port!). This is a picture of me and Ohio George Montgomery. George is a great guy, and I love talking to him. He's very enthusiastic about the cylinder head project:
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/ohiog.jpg)
Here's Jon Kaase looking over the new heads:
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/kaase.jpg)
Here's a couple of photos of Ray Paquet. I had a great talk with Ray about how I might be able to get the heads approved for NHRA Super Stock competition; it would be pretty cool if we could actually pull that off:
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/paquet.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/paquet2.jpg)
John Calvert and Jim Waldo stopped by the booth on Saturday. I had never bet Jim before, and only met John once, but of course knew immediately who they were. I used to watch their exploits all the time when I was a fledgling FE guy:
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/calvertwaldo.jpg)
And of course I had to go corral my friend David Freiburger at the Motor Trend booth, where he and Finnegan were signing Roadkill posters and handing them out. I invited them to come to the booth and see the products, but my guess is that EVERYONE in the show did the same thing, so of course they didn't show up:
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/Roadkill.jpg)
The next photos show all the parts in the booth that I displayed this year. Last year the booth was only 10X10, but this year we went up to a 10X20 booth, with all the new parts we had to display, and it worked out much better. It gave room for people to stand in the booth and talk, without blocking everyone else who might want to come in. I hope you guys enjoy the pictures, and try to make it to PRI next year if you can. You won't regret the trip!
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_1.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_2.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_3.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_4.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_6.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_7.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_8.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_9.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_10.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_11.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/FEPPRI2019_12.jpg)
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Livin' the dream, Jay.
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Jay, thanks for all the cool pics and all that you do to keep the 'FE' alive.. I wanted so bad to come this year but life got in the way.. 2020 for sure.........Tom
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Nice display. If that crossram were smoothed and polished, that would be a great showpiece. I'm sure it'll end up on more than one show car. Getting T&D to do the rockers would be a great thing, I'd think. And if you could get the heads legal for SS, that would be awesome! I don't know all the politics of SS racing, but I wonder if it would cause a re-factoring or weight penalty? I'm not sure how all that stuff works.
So, I don't recall seeing or reading anything about that printed tunnel ram? What's the story on that?
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So, I don't recall seeing or reading anything about that printed tunnel ram? What's the story on that?
That red 2X4 intake is a model of the 2X4 intake that I will be making for use with my cylinder heads. The design isn't quite finished yet but it will be soon. I should have it ready in aluminum in time for the FE Reunion.
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Would the red tunnel ram be in a configuration that it could be machined for the Cleveland guys?
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Nice display. If that crossram were smoothed and polished, that would be a great showpiece. I'm sure it'll end up on more than one show car. Getting T&D to do the rockers would be a great thing, I'd think. And if you could get the heads legal for SS, that would be awesome! I don't know all the politics of SS racing, but I wonder if it would cause a re-factoring or weight penalty? I'm not sure how all that stuff works.
Agreed.. great looking display and lot's of product on hand for the touchy feely types. Had to be a ton of work just getting setup and tore down but doing the FE crowd proud. I had a couple friends t the show so will get the update later this week.Also, Jim Waldo looks good. Haven't seen him in a couple years.
As for the SS stuff, I think it would be a tough sell to get NHRA approval. Runner volume has to be the same as factory and while you can run any intake that fit's under the stock hood with port shape or location not an issue you're stuck with the factory carb and configuration. (I.E.. no sideways etc.) The limitations probably outweigh the upside but then I'm not very adventurist so braver men may try.
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Very impressive setup Jay, but I wonder whats the big sprocket looking thing below the timing chain sets on the display board? Doesn`t look like anything I have seen in a FE before.I talked with John Calvert at Pomona a few weeks ago, but like Dale said, Jim Waldo is looking good, I have not seen him for a few years since him and his sons quit racing. Getting to PRI appeals to me much more than SEMA, I would really prefer to see actual performance type stuff than a bunch of billet show car stuff and ugly big wheels and other fluff.
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Very impressive setup Jay, but I wonder whats the big sprocket looking thing below the timing chain sets on the display board? Doesn`t look like anything I have seen in a FE before.I talked with John Calvert at Pomona a few weeks ago, but like Dale said, Jim Waldo is looking good, I have not seen him for a few years since him and his sons quit racing. Getting to PRI appeals to me much more than SEMA, I would really prefer to see actual performance type stuff than a bunch of billet show car stuff and ugly big wheels and other fluff.
I guess it is a crack trigger wheel
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Very impressive setup Jay, but I wonder whats the big sprocket looking thing below the timing chain sets on the display board? Doesn`t look like anything I have seen in a FE before.
That is a Crank Trigger wheel that Jay makes.
Rory, you really need to get to PRI. We talked with a bunch of FE 4 speed racers.
Thanks Jay, for letting me go with this year. It was a lot of fun.
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Would the red tunnel ram be in a configuration that it could be machined for the Cleveland guys?
Jay, and I discussed this some at the show. I told him it might be a good idea to make a 2x4 cast intake to fit the Cleveland adapter also, as it would work well for the NSS racers, and many others that have regular type FE heads. This is where attending the PRI show is good for racers, and buyers in general, can voice their wants, and needs, to the manufacturers. If there is enough interest, things get done. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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Thanks for all the pictures. Looks like you had a fantastic time. That’s quite the list of
FE people to see all at once, how cool!! It’s kind of like the icing on the cake for your project.
My brother and I set up a booth at the Columbus swap frequently, and the time I’ve spent
Chatting with Adney Brown, Paul Adams, and Ray Paquet is way better than anything I’ve bought and
sold. Looks like a trip to PRI should be in the future.
I really like the looks of that tunnel ram. I was going to go with the single four when I buy my
heads but I think I’ve changed my mind. Just out of curiosity...why the separate plenums?
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The plenums are connected.
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Thanks, I did notice the connection. Just more of a “tunnel wedge style” connection than
the continuous plenum that you would see on say an A460 tunnel ram. Not in any way looking
for fault in a beautiful part. Just found it curiously different
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I really like the looks of that tunnel ram. I was going to go with the single four when I buy my
heads but I think I’ve changed my mind. Just out of curiosity...why the separate plenums?
As Jeff mentioned the plenums are connected, kind of like the plenum connection on a tunnel wedge intake. I did the design that way as kind of a throwback to the tunnel wedge design. In fact I was going to model the whole thing after a tunnel wedge, with the slant to the carb pads and the front carb lower than the rear carb, but the purpose of that would be to fit the intake under the hood, and after some measurements I concluded there was no way that was going to happen. So, a straight shot to the ports is better, and that's how I ended up. I could have made a huge plenum like a traditional tunnel ram, but the bigger the plenum, the more of an accelerator pump shot you need to get the engine moving, so I went with a design similar to the tunnel wedge manifold for connecting the plenums together. Should make it easier to get the carbs to work, and if you really want a max effort intake, the billet intake I will be making for this setup will be just like a sheet metal intake, big plenum, straight runners, etc. Hopefully between the four intake selections for the head package, I can meet just about everybody's needs.
Also, that crank trigger wheel bolts onto the FE harmonic balancer, and provides a good target for a magnetic sensor. I used one on the dyno mule where I tested the 351C intakes on the intake adapter, so you can see how it is used in that thread, in the Member Projects section.
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Jay ,
Sorry I didn't get by. I went looking for you not realizing you were in "the other" room. My "leash" was too short. LOL I too saw lots of great people . We went three spaces wide this year and were constantly swamped with customers and information seekers. It was a great show.
Randy
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I wanted to go bad but got the flu on Friday morning leaving the house , left work early morning and felt crappy the rest of the weekend . My friend Flying Ryan Oehler had two of his Pro Stock Bikes there in somebody's booth too . Sure looks like it was a good time from the pics so thanks for sharing
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Wow you have a wide variety of FE Power parts...really great things going on Jay!
I wish there was someone putting that kind of time and energy into the Ford 351 Windsor style engines as we are still lacking in the intake manifold area.
Plenty of cylinder heads and great big inch blocks but not much in the 2X4 intake area....tunnel rams!
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I'm pretty sure the sixth picture in the opening post is really three cardboard cutouts of Jay, Freiburger and Finnegan.
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I'm pretty sure the sixth picture in the opening post is really three cardboard cutouts of Jay, Freiburger and Finnegan.
LOL! You promised you wouldn't tell anybody about that... ;D
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Jay -
Lots of good stuff! I haven't seen Ray in several years. Would love to catch up with him! I do need to drag my butt out there for PRI next year.
- Bill
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Some really good looking stuff there, Jay. I don't know if I'll ever reach that level of sophistication in the FE world but it's encouraging to know the components are available.
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You got all that accomplished and it only took 28 hours a day and all 8 days in the week! :o
KS
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Wow, very professional looking booth there. Pretty cool to get those guys attracted to your stuff. Did Kaase say anything about the design?
On that red intake, I sacrificed a bunch of plenum volume to get enough runner length and still fit under the hood. It's almost an IR manifold. It seemed to work very well and gained a ton over the factory C4AE-D High Riser intake. A friend of mine had a sheetmetal box made with huge plenum and short runners and it was terrible. It would fall on it's face launching at anything less then valve float RPM, mine will pull a wheelie letting the clutch out at idle. I think cutting the top of the plenum down 2" would help a bunch. Might need it in a car rather than a dyno to tell though.
SEMA is certainly in a warmer place, much bigger with a lot more happening and easier to get to but PRI has some great hardcore racing companies that you don't see anywhere else. Probably more than three quarters of the companies at PRI were at SEMA but they are just a small percentage of the total. Wish I could do both but December in Indianapolis is a tougher trip for me.
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It's a weird world I live in, but in picture #2, what do you suppose the old guy is talking about in the background? Doesn't look good....
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That's easy. He (long hair) was unhappy with the vendor's (short hair) answer that the only solution to the vibration he is having with his Harley, is to buy a Jap bike.
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LOL, it looks like you are right!