Thread: Ardun Heads

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It is a delight to converse with such engine experts! I guess the key question is whether the Ford Motor Co. actually refused the Duntov design and the other question which I cannot answer is to compare the actual dimensions, bore and stroke of the '55 Dodge Red Ram hemi to the 59AB flathead block for which the ARDUN heads were made, I have only seen pictures, but I remember being impressed with the Red Ram V8 in 1955 but only from the point of view of my checking the oil as a gas station jockey back in the days when that was routine service (designed to sell oil!) Does anyone on the Forum have a Dodge hemi or a picture? Having spent over 33 years in a bureacracy with plenty of "meetings" it is easy to understand why such a retrospective plum as the ARDUN design fell through the cracks at FoMoCo. Since I am hoping to build my entire roadster to better than rat rod standards for less than $25K, the fantasy that keeps me going is that the SBC is a close descendent of the early '51-'53 Cadillac OHV engine so I will imagine that I am installing an improved Caddy in my Fordelet rather than what was called a Fordillac in the '50s. The ARDUN heads are wonderful peices of historical machinery and should certainly support around 400 H.P. on a flathead block right up to the point where the crank fails due to only three main bearings, but still a wonderful design. Now can Tech1 find a dyno sheet for the ARDUN setup? My vague memory is something like 400 H.P. using 10% nitromethane fuel but alas my teenage stacks of Hot Rod magazines are long gone, but I guess some public library has microfiche copies somewhere. Since the $25K is out of my range it is only of academic historical interest to me anyway. Thanks to Bob for the picture of the Lincoln 337 which I now remember as a V8 and the 337 displacement, but the '48 and earlier used the V12 which was generally considered a dud (probably too much internal friction?)

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder