The Morgan TeriAnn refers to is Jim Belardi's, and at one point he actually
won a race with a head I had prepared for him. And yes, it was a later design
than the Standard Vanguard it 'should' have had. No one gave him any grief:
he runs clean, never endangers himself, his car, or those around him. He has
those expensive furrin' cars at home, but the Mog is reliable and fun.
The really big cheaters are the Ford engined guys, both flathead and overhead
valve. There is so much that can be done to any Ford engine, from Model T on
up to today, you can just assume any Ford must be running something illegal.
Great Race inspects Ford engines very closely, but we all know Roush Racing
is running his flathead V8 motors on engine dynos at the race shop, and that
there are very few ancient cast parts in those engines. Just try finding
period prewar speed parts for a Chevy 216 I-6 or a flathead Dodge 6.
Yet, racing has always been about seeking out the 'unfair advantage' , so as
long as things are safe and the drivers not idiots, it ain't so bad, as long
as there aren't any trophies or money at stake. That Chevy 216 with aluminum
pistons, more cam and carb, and more compression (Mr. Kastner is very correct
there) results in a higher output and more reliable engine than the Ford V8.
Basically, that works out to the same displacement, but with 5 main bearings
and overhead valves the Chevy wins. Starting with a good motor design means
less work needs to be done.
The amazing thing about the old Standard Vanguard is just how much you can
get out of the old lump with limited options. It truly is an amazing engine,
brilliantly designed. Having driven Vanguard engined Triumphs, 120-130 bhp is
roughly double of their original output.
Steve Hedke
British Pacific Ltd.
Land Rover Parts & Accessories since 1974
26007 Huntington Lane, unit 2
Valencia, CA. 91355 USA
fax: 661 257-9765
orders: 800 554-4133
tech: 661 257-8634
e-mail: britpac@aol.com
web: britishpacific.com
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