Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

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panic
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by panic »

Most popular "flathead to hemi" conversion: Harley-Davidson K model (1952-69 in all variants) > iron Sportster (1957-85)
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by Rick! »

SchmidtMotorWorks wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:57 am
Schurkey wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:23 pm Moser built DOHC 4-valve heads for SBC. Harvey Crane was involved.

Made the front cover of Hot Rod magazine. Perhaps others, too.

https://s908.photobucket.com/user/mojo_ ... t=2&page=1

A version of the Ardun heads were factory-installed in vehicles in South America.
Richard Moser was a friend of mine.

Those heads were the best conversion head for an SBC, but still had a lot of limitations.

Very few were ever sold, in fact they never even machined all of the first run of castings.
There never has been much demand for heads that change an engines configuration.

As others have mentioned, an LS7 would have much higher performance.

There is a car in the speedomotive museum with one in it.
These guys built two copies of their version of a 32V sbc.
https://www.swissauto.com/e/motor/proje ... lay=20000M
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by Kevin Johnson »

Rick! wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:29 pm ...
These guys built two copies of their version of a 32V sbc.
https://www.swissauto.com/e/motor/proje ... lay=20000M
But will it fit in a 79 Vette... ? :-k
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by Mark O'Neal »

NormS wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2020 12:23 pm The story I heard, was that at the start of WW2, some of our smaller tanks were built with the flathead Ford V8, and that more power was needed because of the weight of the tank. The Ardun heads evidently took care of that problem.
Ford built a 1,000ci hemi engine for tanks in WWII.

Here's one in a Mustang.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by Mark O'Neal »

englertracing wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2020 2:02 pm Hey pdq
Have you ever considered it would be easier to put a newer drivetrain in something.
You know motor and trans mounts
Than to Frankenstein an old junk pinchport pooch thats neutered by a 3" stroke?

Have you ever seen an LS7? In person?
Do you know how much you would have to spend on a gen 1 turd to truly get it to match?
Ok its not that hard to get it to match a stock one powerwise. But to get the raised/large cam and the orderly intake location, your talking an aftermarket block and symmetrical heads.
Why not just start off with one that comes that way?
Afraid to make motor mounts???
Someone already makes them
Whats the excuse now?
Why don't you go down the the junk yard and buy yourself a junk LS and pull it down and see for yourself that there's just about nothing better about a gen 1
Besides....everyone knows that a 500 hp LS motor makes 237 more horsepower than a 500 hp Ford.
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

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Mark O'Neal wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 4:38 pm
englertracing wrote: Mon Sep 07, 2020 2:02 pm Hey pdq
Have you ever considered it would be easier to put a newer drivetrain in something.
You know motor and trans mounts
Than to Frankenstein an old junk pinchport pooch thats neutered by a 3" stroke?

Have you ever seen an LS7? In person?
Do you know how much you would have to spend on a gen 1 turd to truly get it to match?
Ok its not that hard to get it to match a stock one powerwise. But to get the raised/large cam and the orderly intake location, your talking an aftermarket block and symmetrical heads.
Why not just start off with one that comes that way?
Afraid to make motor mounts???
Someone already makes them
Whats the excuse now?
Why don't you go down the the junk yard and buy yourself a junk LS and pull it down and see for yourself that there's just about nothing better about a gen 1
Besides....everyone knows that a 500 hp LS motor makes 237 more horsepower than a 500 hp Ford.
And the LS makes more power than a gen1 only from the heads.
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by Mark O'Neal »

For fords....or LS...since their the same engine...there is always Greg Brown's Hammerhead Hemi conversion.

927 NA hp from a 427ci Ford.....and I've heard a couple of guys have done over 1,000 na.

An LS should at least double that....... :lol:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyP_jhv ... e=emb_logo
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by Ericnova »

If you want to get deeper down the rabbit hole, how about the pushrod 4 valve Arao SBC head that never really got anywhere either.
Had they actually built a quality piece and delivered, it might have gone somewhere.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-98 ... ance-test/
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by Truckedup »

Mark O'Neal wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:11 pm For fords....or LS...since their the same engine...there is always Greg Brown's Hammerhead Hemi conversion.

927 NA hp from a 427ci Ford.....and I've heard a couple of guys have done over 1,000 na.

An LS should at least double that....... :lol:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyP_jhv ... e=emb_logo
Hammerhead also makes hemi heads for the LS..
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by panic »

since their the same engine

Please list similarities?
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by mfdcar51 »

Ericnova wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:20 pm If you want to get deeper down the rabbit hole, how about the pushrod 4 valve Arao SBC head that never really got anywhere either.
Had they actually built a quality piece and delivered, it might have gone somewhere.

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-98 ... ance-test/
His valve train was terrible
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by SchmidtMotorWorks »

Adapting new heads to old blocks was an interesting idea when high performance engines for new cars were stagnant.
The LS7, Gen3 Hemi and Coyote Ford all make that idea pointless.
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by RCJ »

My dad drove a flathead delivery truck way back when. He told some good stories about how underpowered and always running hot they were.
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by panic »

Chrysler's first hemi was almost a dimensional copy, just short of it being interchangeable

Just that tiny difference: every single dimension is miles off.
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Re: Why no Ardun hemi head SBC conversion?

Post by PackardV8 »

RCJ wrote: Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:45 pm My dad drove a flathead delivery truck way back when. He told some good stories about how underpowered and always running hot they were.
Back in the dark ages, a friend's father had a contract to haul mail. He'd buy a new Ford truck every three years. It would need a valve job at 50,000 and a complete rebuild at 75,000. He'd make an appointment at the dealership and drop the truck off at 5 P.M. They'd swap in a rebuilt engine and he'd pick it up tuned and ready to go at 8 A.M.
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