I think I found a Unicorn!

[MGBV8]

Did he actually post something 8/28/2019, Jim?  I see that is his last activity date, but could just be the last time his account visited this site.  Something is not right.

[mgb260]

Carl, Remember on the Chump Car project he had a truck driver (Todd McCreary) on this board stop by and get a T5. I wonder if he has a route in that area and can check on him?

[MGBV8]

Are you able to check on Fred, Todd?

[tbo]

I have some info on FRed .Just testing to see if I can send a post

[MGBV8]

We look forward to an update on Fred.  Hope the news is not despairing.

[tbo]

I'm not good with computers and yesterday  I tried to send a long  message but it wouldnt go . Today is another day so here goes. Last year around Christmas I sent a reprint of a picture of Monaco dated 1920. Fred loved it . I checked my old PMs with Fred and found the mailing adress of his shop. It is Key Imports Ltd 2397 West Railway St Abbotsford BC Then I Googled the website for the shop  and got his email and phone number the number is 604 853 5171. A few days ago I emailed him at the shop and have received no reply Monday I called the number . No answer and I left a message for Fred but I have heard nothing back. Maybe the shop is closed for the holidays but around here most repair shops are open except for the official closing daysNext I checked the obits for 2019 in Abbotsford Fred did not show up there which was good . Bit of a goulish job.I'm pretty sure hospitals wont hand out information  so thats out . I'm going to check  the Better Business Bureau in Abbotsford  and also I will check other businesses on Railway St .  Repair shops or Machine shops . Fred must be well known in town and the place isn't that big so somebody must know something . If anyone who is  good with computers wants to do some checking  too please feels free to do so  Anyway this will give  all his friends who are concerned some leads to follow up on .  Merry Christmas to everyone

[britcars]

I spoke with Rob at Mastertek just down the street from Fred's shop this afternoon.  He said that he remembers seeing him not that long ago but that he would walk down to the shop to check on Fred and asked me to call him back after the Jan 1st holiday.

[tbo]

Hey Phil . That is great . I sent an email to Mastertek this afternoon asking if they knew the whereabouts of Fred  etc  and was hoping to get a response sometime soon. Hopefully we will get  some news

[britcars]

I spoke with Rob at Mastertek today and he check at Fred's shop after I spoke with him but he wasn't around.  I got a call about an hour later from someone who was in Rob's shop and knows Fred well. He advised me that he sees Fred regularly and Fred is alive and well although he's had a few bouts with the flu.  He told me that Fred recently spent two weeks in Mexico.  I asked that he tell Fred that we were inquiring about him. Good to hear that he's OK.

[MGBV8]

Thanks, Phil!

[mgb260]

Good News!

[Blown v8]

Good news,
Now we need some updates

[britcars]

An update on DiDueColpi, otherwise known as Fred.  Good news, Fred is alive and well!  I had a long conversation with him late this afternoon (BC time).  He and Mrs. Key took a 2 month holiday in Europe, swore off electronics for the trip and says that he hasn't got back into the swing of posting things since his return.
He is still working on some of his projects and said that he will be posting again in the future but that he has enjoyed the freedom from the internet.
I have missed following him and his projects on this site.

Phil

[MGBV8]

Great News!  Thanks, Phil!

It would probably do most of us a world of good to spend less time on electronic distractions.  Real life is out there & it is not waiting...

[tbo]

Well The mystery is solved Way to go Phil  aka Sherlock ps how did you get him to answer a phone?

[MGBV8]

Hi Fred!

How's that Unicorn coming along?

[mgb260]

Bump for Fred?

[Roverbeam]

I've been looking at going down a similar path with an engine build, as described in this thread.

I've been looking for piston/rod combos that work with the 28cc rover head, and either a 4.0, 4.6, or offset ground 4.6 crank. Using a custom spreadsheet, the best results come pistons with low 20's dish cc's, short piston heights, and 6" or longer rods as needed. Some combos offer mid-10's compression, 40thou squish/quench (does the perimeter ring quench matter with a dished piston?), and over 1.8 rod ratio. JE makes some, but they're not plug-in easy -different pin sizes, etc. and they're pricy.

Using the 305 pistons and rods, using -12 to -14cc pistons I can get a reasonable compression, but the piston needs to be way down in the hole, like over 80thou. I've been assuming about 3cc's of extra volume for combustion chamber porting work.

What trade offs would you go with? Grind the combustion chamber some (lots) more, or give up on getting a decent quench, to use off the shelf parts?

[MGBV8]

If you need more combustion chamber use the Buick 300 heads.

I have spent many, many hours over the years playing with the various combinations using the calculators below.  I have come to the conclusion that it is most likely cheaper & certainly easier just to bite the bullet & buy custom pistons rather than try to use off the shelf pistons.

https://uempistons.com/rt-4-calculators.html

[Roverbeam]

"use the Buick 300 heads"

I've been looking around for some, but haven't seen any in the last several months in the places I know to look. (some came up on eBay maybe two months ago, with an intake, for around $1k. I thought that was steep. Before I was really looking, I saw some earlier in the $300 range, which I'm kicking myself for not getting...) Where do the people on this site find them??

[mgb260]

Brian McMillan has quite a few parts to sell. He will probably post here and on the Mgexperience site.

[BlownMGB-V8]

It is worth noting that the SBB iron heads are just 35 lbs heavier than the aluminum 300 heads for the pair. They also have larger ports and valves. I have a set of iron heads on the Buick 300 currently in my '71 MGB which I just drove to the V8 meet and was quite satisfied with the performance. It was just about what you would expect from a stock 9:1 compression 300 ci engine of that era, specs are 210hp@4600rpm and 310ft/lb@2400rpm but with the EFI and equal length headers I'd say it was doing a little better than that. Not a racy sports car engine but I gotta tell you it is a vast improvement on the B series, very easy to drive (have still never stalled it once) and has a ton of performance potential. All that's needed to raise the redline a bit is a stiffer set of valve springs, and a step up on the cam can get you into the 6K territory. I wouldn't push the stock pistons much past that but hp should go up accordingly and get you well into the mid or upper 200's. That's good performance for little money.

The weight is a non-issue unless you are racing, but if you feel the ride height needs adjusted upwards these folks may have a spring spacer that will do the job.
https://www.suspension.com/universal-coil-spring-isolators.asp

We made 1" spacers for the Roadmaster with the 455 and used Moss 1" lowered competition springs IIRC and that worked out well on a GT that weighs in at about 2700lbs with the BBB, T5, and Jag IRS. Note: due to the 2:1 ratio from tire to spring 1" of ride height = 1/2" of spring height.

Jim

[roverman]

I've started machining a raw forging.  This will take a while.   Art.

[DiDueColpi]

The block has been machined for quite a while now. just haven't been down to pick it up.
Once the resto on the 65 Elan is finished I'll get back to the Rover engine.
Oooops sorry, the lovely Lynne says the boat motor gets built next. Just a normalish 350 sbc ;-) won't take long at all.
Cheers
Fred

[rich434]

Just for info, the top hat liners are made by Westwood cylinder liners. £300 a set here in the UK from Britpart distributors.

My 4.6L block is a later version form 2002. The liners in it sit on a step at the bottom to stop slippage but it's still possible to get a crack behind, although these blocks are supposed to be the most resistant to it. The liners are stock AFAIK but do appear to be either thicker than 'normal' or have some form of top hat on as they measure 101.5mm across the top.

Duncan at Westwood (a very helpful chap) says this is a bit odd as top hats are wider than this and orginal liners are narrower...