Quote:
Originally Posted by Admiral
Are these V12 blocks made of better material than V8 blocks? I thought I read they had more nickle or something like that in the cast iron.
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If they have higher nickle content than domestic V-8 blocks I'd be surprised based on my experience porting a couple of V-12s several years ago. French blocks and some Canadian blocks I've ported and modified, with higher nickle content, are noticeably harder that the majority of domestic V-8 blocks, as evidenced by the feel and metal-removal speed of carbide burrs; the burr won't give you any numbers but it doesn't lie! Carving a French or other high-nickle block takes me about 20-25 percent longer than the same work on a domestic V-8 block.
Admittedly two blocks are not a significant sampling of Lincoln V-12s. They were both mid-'40s castings and essentially identical in casting quality. When I was asked if I wanted to do the work the first time I was excited to work on what I assumed would be a superior piece compared to the V-8. Sad to say that wasn't the case; overall casting quality was comparable but the siamesed inlet tracts (1 & 2, 5 & 6, 7 & 8, 11 & 12) looked like an afterthought. They were rough and inconsistently sized and generally not well shaped. And there was no evidence of corrective handwork -- not unreasonable for a car costing 60-100 percent more than the companies baseline cars . My budget didn't allow nearly enough time to do what was required to do what I would have liked to have done. I'd cut someone a smokin' deal to port a V-12 the way it should be, time be damned! FWIW, the single-inlet center ports were all rather decent.
Mike
