Timing gears use.

[johnneilson]

John,

The work that I have been involved with has been on the Dan Price 4 port Cragar head.

Basically, the horizontal flange is removed and replaced with a flange on approx 45 degrees. This takes some welding, have not had any problems, it is a really good casting.
Results, pretty good improvement since it allowed for larger throttle bodies and injection stacks. It did quickly start to show up the other limitations in the head with valve placement and CC shape.
IMHO, the gains are not worth the investment if the vehicle is street driven. The supplied manifold attachment is difficult but workable. If this is done to make a hill climb motor, you had better make the investment in the bottom of the motor.

Stay safe, John

[Dan McEachern]

Straight cut cam/crank gears will remove most all of the thrust loading on the cam. There will still be some thrust due to the oil pump drive- not so much from the distributor unless you re running a mag.
Accurately made straight cut gears with the correct backlash do not produce much if any noise, that is an old wives tale or the result of poorly made gears.
Do straight cut gears make a huge difference in power output? no, but if you are chasing every tiny thing, it all helps.
Steve Nelsons V4 Fuel Lakester engine has straight cut timing gears in it and I can tell you after working on that engine for many years, that there is no gear whine at all.
I made numerous sets of straight cut timing gears for Bob McKinney when he was making his twin cam heads and never had a complaint from him or his customers regarding gear noise.

[CarlG]

I have Dan's bronze/steel matched set of gears in my engine. If there is any noise, I can't detect it. Great set of gears!

[JOHNCL]

Originally Posted by johnneilson

John,

The work that I have been involved with has been on the Dan Price 4 port Cragar head.

Basically, the horizontal flange is removed and replaced with a flange on approx 45 degrees. This takes some welding, have not had any problems, it is a really good casting.
Results, pretty good improvement since it allowed for larger throttle bodies and injection stacks. It did quickly start to show up the other limitations in the head with valve placement and CC shape.
IMHO, the gains are not worth the investment if the vehicle is street driven. The supplied manifold attachment is difficult but workable. If this is done to make a hill climb motor, you had better make the investment in the bottom of the motor.

Stay safe, John

What is the reason for a non-vertical flange? and why do you suppose Dan used horizontal? I hear that Steve Serr's upcoming 4-port has something like a 60 degree angled flange.

thanks for your info.

John

[johnneilson]

John

It is all about air flow thru the valve.

Having a straight shot with less turn means the fuel stays suspended in the air more uniformly. This is a very simple explanation, there are many factors. Simply put, the more air that can flow thru the valve and into CC the more HP that can be attained.
If I had to guess, Dan wanted something with more conventional look.
I have seen Steve's 4 port and it looks really good. Yes angled port flange. I am not sure what he is planning for manifolds.

This is what one iteration looked like.

All the best, John

[JOHNCL]

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Originally Posted by johnneilson

John

It is all about air flow thru the valve.

Having a straight shot with less turn means the fuel stays suspended in the air more uniformly. This is a very simple explanation, there are many factors. Simply put, the more air that can flow thru the valve and into CC the more HP that can be attained.
If I had to guess, Dan wanted something with more conventional look.
I have seen Steve's 4 port and it looks really good. Yes angled port flange. I am not sure what he is planning for manifolds.

This is what one iteration looked like.

All the best, John

Thanks. Based on your photograph I can see that a vertical manifold face would interfere with the spark plug indentation. Kind of what I was expecting based upon inspection of my own head. BTW, if you have Dan's original intake manifold I would be interested in buying it.

And, my shortblock is a fully reworked set up by Ora Landis including 5 cam bearings and (I think) a modest Brierly cam with a smooth idle. But I am only interested in driving my deuce pickup on the country roads of my neighbor hood along the northwest Chesapeake Bay.

[hardtimes]

Hey John,
'not sure what he is planning for intake manifold'

Steve has stated that he intends to have an intake with OPTIONS for buyer/owner.
From say strombergs, to blower platform, etc. I guess a buyer will have to indicate what he wants that way. Options are good, eh !