Ramon; you state it is a II but has a V engine. Confirm this by the
V having the engine oil dipstick being inserted into a hole directly
in the block. The prior series have dipstick into a tube on the oil
pan!
There is no point in doing up a small 1,2,3 or 4 series 3 main brg.
engine.
With the 1725 cc V engine you can go .060" overbore and find pistons
to fit that size. Or you could go the custom piston route at big
costs.
The V block is husky and would allow perhaps .100" overbore (if the
casting cores were properly centered when that block was poured).
You would get a nice high CR result from just this change alone. The
stock gasket would no longer work and you would need a handmade
gasket which might be tricky as the head bolts are not well arranged
for this game to be played. Possibly a hot rod shop could cut the
block for soft wire sealing grooves as is done on nitro engines etc.
I am not certain if this alloy head would hold up to the needed
clamping required. Get advice from pro shop on this matter.....not
from me.
Using some flat top cheap piston (Volkswagen??) which agrees with the
.060" oversize, you would gain about one full point of CR. Do the
math as follows:
Combustion chamber volume = CC
Swept vol. of piston = SV
Vol of space in cyl above piston (unswept vol.)= UV
Head gasket vol. = HG
HG+CC+UV
------------------ = compression ratio
SV
If you use a piston having a cast on top baffle or raised area, this
vol must also be factored in but I assume you will obtain a flat
piston or perhaps use the dished Rootes piston design (which is a
bummer and to be avoided if you want more power).
------------------------------
Bill; you mentioned your V had twin Zenith WIA on the log type
manifold. This was never system used on the series V in the USA.
It was std only on the series III GT model which used the 36WIA 3
which has only a 29mm throttle bore size and is way too small for a
1725 cc engine like the V.
See my remarks to Ramon above and determine for sure you do have a V
engine block???
Back to your original query on cost effective work to gain power.
First, get the twin Stromberg CD carbs and manifold. This is worth
perhaps 2-3 hp . But it is a better rig and more reliable than any of
the old Zenith or Solex carbs.
As you know, a cam grind is always a compromise and the mfr. wants
his engine to idle nicely so he gives away upper end torque and HP.
For the money, I would buy a mid range torquer grind cam. One which
is designed to boost torque in the 2800 to 4500 range where 99% of
driving is done. Idle might have to go up 100 rpm at most. Benefits
include real feelable power change and also reliability remains good
because you don't have to reach for severe high rpm to make the baby
fly nicely.
As for most bang for the buck....nothing really matches the bang you
get from having a freshly built engine which has top compressions and
is well tuned up. If yours tests out strong, then you have nothing
more to do but put in the cam. Talk to some cam people for advice.
Crane always handled my race car and customer needs but no there
must be no secrets and any grinder can do what you need.
You can ask for more lift as well as a mid range torque grind and
have sweet results.
------------------------------------
Dick T.
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