New block source

[shady]

According to Wallace at 700 hp in a 3700# car, it takes 20hp. also a 100# is worth a tenth as per his calculators.  FWIW.

[Dumpling]

Just out of curiosity, do you have a source for the carbon fiber valve covers?

KS

Sorry, saw them, noted them, but don't know where they came from.

May be ignorance talking, but I would think Jay Brown could lay some matting and resin in the molds he uses for his clear plastic valve covers.

[jayb]

The molds for my clear valve covers are actually positive; the plastic is formed over the molds.  For valve covers you would need negative molds, so that the carbon fiber and resin laid up from the insdie.  Otherwise the outside surface would not be smooth.

[frnkeore]

Female molds are fairly easy to make. Although I haven't done any carbon fiber, I've made a few fiberglass molds.

All it takes is a ridge "plug", here we can use a valve cover. With mold release, sprayed onto it, you layup the valve cover, using gel-coat, polyester resin and fiberglass mat.

After curing, you have your mold.

[funsummer]

just a thought.
If aluminum blocks expand a lot, then surely that means the quench gap will expand and subsequent compression will be lowered, as the crank center to head face should lengthen.
Now on a low comp engine this would not have a large effect, but on a 15.1 engine where tolerances are really close then the extra expansion would cause the cylinder to lengthen, hence lowering compression.
It was mentioned that you need to run larger tappet clearances with a solid tappet to assure you keep clearance.
Would those with these measurements be able to do the math on a 15.1 comp ratio and see what it would be reduced to?
Thanks
Joel
 

[blykins]

If you don’t allow for it at design time, you could lose about .2 of a point if the block grows up around .009-.010”.

[machoneman]

If you don’t allow for it at design time, you could lose about .2 of a point if the block grows up around .009-.010”.

Which IIRC is why the F-1 engines are heated up with a coolant transfer cart (piping, heated water, a pump, quick disconnect fittings) well before starting to avoid crank bearing seizure and other nasty things. 

[cammerfe]

Another thing to remember is that when an aluminum part 'grows', it grows in ALL directions. All that needs to be taken into consideration.

KS