Fwd: "Hillman - " Re: Iron Head updating

From: TIGEROOTES(at)aol.com
Date: Thu Sep 23 1999 - 03:05:47 CDT

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In a message dated 9/22/99 7:48:01 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
jeyerman(at)ix.netcom.com writes:

<< Another possible aluminum head swap would be to use the late Series III or
Series IV Alpine Solex carb manifolds. These are very hard to get as all the
Alpine people want them for Webber conversions. But this should give you a
better fit. By the way, the Rapier uses a 1 3/4 inch exhaust pipe instead of
the 1 1/2 inch used by the Minx. Fortunately, a muffler shop with a pipe
bending machine can duplicate the 1 1/2 inch pipe with a 1 3/4 inch. >>

Jan,
    I have personally taken over a dozen Alpine Solex manifolds to my local
recycler for aluminum credit. The Solex and the Weber replacement compound
2bbl carbs are fine for a Pinto or a VW Bug in a street application, but they
are a poor choice for sportscar performance. The Rootes/Solex manifold/s are
basically designs originally used with the twin Zenith 36 WIA/P carburetors,
and they were poorly designed as a series of ninety degree kinks that really
compromise an engines breathing. For an aspirated engine, twin 40 DCOE
Webers in the Jack Brabham Rapier fashion are the best: you can't quite see
the valve stems with the throttle plates wide open.
    I was able to install an altered double downpipe exhaust from an Alpine 5
into my first Husky. The Husky series 1 (without the 'X' frame) is 200 lbs
lighter than an Alpine, so it went like stink! The starter could not be
removed without dropping the exhaust system in spite of making maximum
possible clearance for it: I was concerned if I located a hot pipe closer
than 1/2" from the rubber bushing, its lifespan would be very short.
    I kept the modified downpipe and when I build my Rapier 2 for Vintage
Road Racing I will have it coated with a modern heat reflective coating. I
had my Tiger headers 'jet-coated' and believe it or not, you can reach down
and touch jet coated headers (engine running, naturally) and they are
amazingly cool: the biggest advantage is the much higher velocity of exhaust
gasses causing better scavenging, resulting in more efficiency and power.
With a "cool" pipe, the bushing should survive and the lack of heat should
help the Lucas starter last much longer.
    The Rapier exhaust manifold is an entirely different casting than the
Minx, and even if your exhaust shop can make a larger diameter downpipe, the
Minx exhaust manifold remains extremely restrictive compared with the Rapier
series 2. More efficiency (power/mileage) could be gained by building a
tubular header. The same 1390cc iron head engine developed 52 hp in the
Minx, and 67 hp in the Rallymaster Rapier: the twin Zenith 36mm carbs on the
Rapier contributed to the (over 20%) power gain along with a slightly more
aggressive camshaft profile and an appropriate distributor ignition curve, as
well as a considerable reduction in exhaust restriction. Later, the alloy
head with larger valves and its associated manifolds added more power. Since
any internal combustion engine is simply a big air pump, the best engineering
practices say to let it breathe!
Jim

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From: jeyerman(at)ix.netcom.com
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 21:43:24 -0500 (CDT)
To: TIGEROOTES(at)aol.com
To: JGross(at)econolite.com
To: alpines(at)autox.team.net
To: hillman(at)can-inc.com
Message-Id: <1999922223846441(at)>
Subject: Re: "Hillman - " Re: Iron Head updating
MIME-Version: 1.0
Sender: owner-hillman(at)can-inc.com
Precedence: bulk

This message forwarded by the Hillman List.

Jim,

I never really looked into the iron head to aluminum head swap, but I have seen (and driven) a number of Hillman's with entire Alpine engines installed. One of these was done by an 18 year old kid that worked in a local auto parts store. He crashed his Alpine V, so he bought a Minx Series IIIA for something like $50 and put his Alpine engine and trans in it. It ran great until, due to rust, the higher engine power and his very heavy footed driving style, he tore the rear springs out. It then sat for some years behind the parts store. I got the original iron headed engine from him for $10 and sold it along with a Super Minx wagon when I started shifting to new American cars (I bought a Pinto wagon and a Granada). Not good choices but I spent much less time fixing them.

Another possible aluminum head swap would be to use the late Series III or Series IV Alpine Solex carb manifolds. These are very hard to get as all the Alpine people want them for Webber conversions. But this should give you a better fit. By the way, the Rapier uses a 1 3/4 inch exhaust pipe instead of the 1 1/2 inch used by the Minx. Fortunately, a muffler shop with a pipe bending machine can duplicate the 1 1/2 inch pipe with a 1 3/4 inch. This is impressive. We did this on my son's Mercury Cougar when we installed headers and glass packs.

Jan

On 09/22/99 20:55:09 you wrote:
>
>This message forwarded by the Hillman List.
>
>Jarrid,
> I do not recommend changing iron head engines to alloy heads, for use in
>an Audax body. Compared to an Alpine, the engine is located 4" further
>forward in relation to the front crossmember in an Audax (Minx/Gazelle) car.
>The lower 'A' arm rear swivel-pin bushing nut and the starter motor are 4"
>closer to eachother: this leaves precious little room for a single downpipe
>to pass. If a common 2-outlet exhaust manifold like for a series 5 Alpine
>was used, it would be very difficult to fabricate the two downpipes and pass
>them thru this gap. The starter motor would not be removable, without first
>removing the exhaust downpipes.
> Like a fool, I tried and finally succeeded in doing this many years ago
>and later found one exception that simplifies everything: if by chance
>someone has a supply of Rapier series 2, single outlet exhaust manifolds, it
>can be done easily. My machinist installs hardened seats and
>(metallurgically) modern silicon-aluminum-bronze valve guides with REAL seals
>on Rootes iron heads. When finished, the heads are ready for whatever the
>EPA sends us for fuel in the future.
>Jim Leach, Seattle
>====================================================================
>Please address all replies to messages from the Hillman List to:
>
> hillman(at)can-inc.com
>
>This will assure that all members of this list will benefit from the
>information in your reply.
>

====================================================================
Please address all replies to messages from the Hillman List to:

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