Rarely post but thought I'd share,
I own a professional competition engine shop and recently received a nasty
bite from the OD bug & bought my first MV (after being a military collector
of diff. sorts for some time). Well after what was supposed to be a "nice"
restoration turned into a concours,bolt by bolt, grease marks, the whole
deal, resto (at my fathers insistence...you know Vet types) I became
moderately curious about the engineering involved in the antiquated little
f-head sitting in the shop. It turns out that after spending some time with
the cyl. head on the flow bench, the cam profile on the cam doctor, having
several sets of custom pistons donated by friends in the industry, and
several hours flogging the poor spare engine on the Dyno. there emerged a
huge expenditure of time & effort to gain valuable insights. Did it make
more power? You bet, how about 126 hp & 221 ft/lb (and was still climbing
when its reprieve was granted). Did it cost much? well lets just say that
i'd hate to have gotten my bill..
The most important thing learned was (and this was done to the original
engine built for the resto) these are designed as I/C powerplants and should
be treated as such when discussing modifications. They were supposed to be
reliable as a claw hammer and if built correctly, are. There are a few
longevity tricks you can do and several power enhancements but in general
........ they are long stroke small bore tractor engines that are
designed to putt through a field or make short trips from Bastogne to
Noville along dirt roads littered with "arty" holes.
-Scott
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Sep 02 2001 - 11:15:37 PDT