510 MEL on the dyno!

[machoneman]

Say Royce, with that big bore spacing and your great results.....

I wonder if a revised hi-port version of the O.E.M. MEL head (intake and exhaust ports as is current practice on lots of push-rod race engines) would allow the engine to even surpass say a hi-riser FE engine in hp output? 

[Royce]

It would probably work.. but not a lot of room to raise the roof.. Unless Jay writes some MEL code for a Hi Port head.  It needs the floor raised as much as the roof.. The short turn is not very good and the floor slopes up toward the valve.. The ports are sure big enough though. The exhausts are a lot better than most Ford heads. Joe Craine, who ported my heads, was impressed..

[57 lima bean]

Unless Jay writes some MEL code for a Hi Port head.

  He would truly be J.C's hero if this was to be done.Definetly be towards  "The trailing edge of technology"

[machoneman]

I was actually thinking of a new casting, in aluminum, where a lot of port raising like 1/2" to 1" on both sides, would pop new life into this large bore engine design. Still, few would buy such a beast these days as most are used IMO for restos, not racing.

[Joe-JDC]

Do you have a dual four top to try?  I am not impressed with a single four top on a tunnel ram intake.  I bet there is a lot of horsepower left there.  Joe-JDC

[Royce]

Joe,  Jay said the same thing.. and I had mentioned to the owner that these were not as good as the 2x4 tunnel ram, but it is what he had..Jay had an Offy 2x4 top for an FE that looked like it would fit and we were going to try a couple 660s.. Alas it had different bolt spacing
 Between the single 4 and the old school cam I figure we left nearly 50 horse on the table, but owner seems happy.

[Royce]

Bob, designing and producing a new head for the MEL would fall into the more money than brains category, and I have a deficit of both

[machoneman]

Royce you are incorrect! More money, yes.

But brains you have in abundance! 

[Rory428]

Pretty cool "off the wall" engine. As for the aluminum MEL heads, I imagine the market would not be huge, but perhaps if the heads were available, there could be some added incentive for MEL powered nostalgia cars. A local bracket racer runs a 58 Olds Super 88, all "old school", 371 cube Olds , 4 speed Hydramatic etc. Over the past several seasons, he has gone from mid 15 second ETs, and normally runs 13.4-13.5s, pretty impressive for such a heavy scow. He used to run an Offenhauser low rise 2x 4 barrel setup, but has since installed a factory Olds J-2 Tri power setup, but one thing that really picked him up was a set of aluminum cylinder heads. (Yes, Really!, For a 371-394 Oldsmobile engine.) I asked where he found the heads, and he told me a group of nostalgia racers got together to have some heads made up for their Olds powered gassers and gas dragsters. I don`t know how many sets they had cast, but I doubt that it was a whole bunch.

[Richard F]

I love to see non common engines like this. 

[chris401]

Royce,
Have you built any power with the 63-65 heads that have the small combustion chambers?

Do the C3VE blocks tend to be thin in the cores?

[cammerfe]

The '59 Nationals in Detroit (at the brand new Detroit Dragway) featured a lincoln-powered Devin (I think) taking the win in Modified Sports.
It looked a bit awkward because a spare cylinder head was fastened under the back bumper area to help traction.

KS

[Royce]

Chris I have only worked with 58-60 and the later 462 blocks.   I have never owned the  chambered heads, but I doubt they would be useful for performance.. It is hard enough as it is to get enough compression out of a MEL.