Printable View
Ken, I thought you were kidding about the 12 cylinder Ardun, but now realize you were serious.:eek: When I see stuff like this I realize how much of a hacker I am. Where would a person even begin on something that complicated?
I'm happy if I can get an engine together the way it came from the factory!! :LOL:
BTW, this thread has been one of my favorites on here. Keep the photos and info coming, please.
Don
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Thurm
Need some pictures and some details of that one - please - ASAP please:D How did it start life?? A V12 Lincoln, maybe??
Ya, no fires around here. The spring is usually our fire season, and things were getting a little out of hand for a while, but Alberta's had a pretty good amount of rain this summer to keep things in check... almost to the point that it's getting annoying because our street legal drags and a couple shows have been rained out a few times already this year...... but that's always the month of June around here - July's usually friggin hot though, so between shows, drags, the lake, and Indy, hopefully we'll have some good weather.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Thurm
Didn't GMC make a truck engine that was a V12, that was 2 six cylinder engine with a common crank case. Ken, I like the color choices, my favorite color for interior is dark gray with red piping or stiching.
BradC
I'm very serious about building a V12 Ardun. I bought a Lincoln V12 but haven't received it yet. There are a few problems that have to be worked out. I don't know if the bore center lines are the same as a V8. If they are then I will buy 2 sets of Arden heads and valve covers and cut the last cylinder off of opposing heads then weld them back to together and adjust the head bolt pattern. If the center lines are different then I will whittle a set out of billet. It would be a lot easier to cut and paste.
Here is a couple shots of what I'm going to build.
Ken
I don't know Ken, why don't you build something "different" from the pack. That Ardun/ V12 thing is just being done to death in my opinion. Everybody and their Brother has one it seems. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :D
I'll tell you one thing Ken, you sure aren't afraid of a challenge. That truck is going to be sweet and drop some jaws when people look under the hood. I can hear some of the funny opinions of what it is already. :LOL: :LOL:
Don
PS, I have a title for this build already. Project $ 300K is underway. lol
I'm just a follower :D :LOL: :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso
Ken,
Did I see your trailer line featured in the latest Street Rodder - Kendon Industries?? Looks like what you were showing us a while back.
The new truck design - love it. Even if the Ardun wont work, the V12 will be a great idea. But....if it does, even better
Dave-Yes, that's our new car trailer. Because the new truck will be stretched in the front end to carry the theme of it off there will be plenty of room in there.Quote:
Originally Posted by IC2
Ken
ah heck, Ken... Just get the aluminum out.... Heads would look better polished then painted anyway........
Dave-You are probably right, but I want to explore all the avenues first. A few years ago I decided to go Harley Davidson Pro Stock racing. So I built my own engine for that, so this project won't be as difficult as that.
Ken
Hey Ken, I did some research on the Ardun, since I had no idea of what you guys were talking about! Funny that one of the links was right back here in 2004, where Bob provided the following link to Ardun. http://www.ardun.com/ardun_histrory.htm
Very cool project idea!
Great idea for the power behind the truck too!:D
Ken, I was watching some car show last week and they had some clips of the Pro bikes running.............and wrecking!!! One guy's bike went into an uncontrollable death wobble, and he flipped off the bike. :eek: Some of the other bike wrecks weren't quite so bad, they simply laid them down. :rolleyes:
There isn't enough money in the world to get me on one of those things. :)
Did you do the driving yourself?
Don
Did you ever see E. J. Potter make a pass?Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso
This story is good for sitting around and having a beer. I will be as brief as possible. When NHRA decided they wanted Harley Davidson to win Pro Stock it was too tempting for me, I had to do it. Ever since I was in my 20's I have built H.D. I knew all the short comings of all the engines produced by them. I was making some products for the EVO motor when this came about. I knew if it was going to be competitive it needed a new dry sump system and cylinder heads and intake manifold. When I was running pro stock cars I new the benefit from building my own manifolds. So we went to work.
I had a LS2 motor in a Corvette and for the life of me couldn't figure out how Chevrolet could get the kind of power and mileage out of it. So I took it out and pulled the heads off, and there it was, the way they made the runners and the swirl port design. So I made a intake manifold with 12" runners with a plenum so both cylinders were tunable the same and whittled a set of heads out of aluminum and made some roller rockers that bolted to the head instead of the rocker box for stability. (there is a lot more to this but, as you can imagine)
It worked perfectly the very first time :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
We did some crazy stuff trying to make more hp. Once I thought I was pretty smart on what was going on inside the plenum, but it wasn't responding the way I thought it would witha cam profile change. So I cut the face off the end of the plenum and screwed a Plexiglas cover over it and I was only 180 degrees off of what was really going on in there. I bought a chassis dyno and I beat that thing to death, for months. This is all normal behavior for someone who has ever run a pro stocker :LOL:
I will finish this later here are some pictures of my beast with a couple of different manifolds.
Ken
What kind of HP did it make Ken? Very impressive bike mill.
Don
Ken, this is all making sense now with your back ground as to how you were comfortable at 205 miles an hour in the SLR. 135 or close to that was my high in a 65 GTO needle at 6 o’clock, it felt like the front end was really getting light.
I hope I’m around when you start building the new truck it is beyond beauty. I have been going through old post with out any luck trying to find some pictures of your present truck.
I have to say with all of your talent, you are truly a down to earth good guy.
Your post speak freely.
Thanks Richard
Richard
No wonder you like things so well packaged! After working on a Harly, this project must seem expansive. Ken you never stop amazing me with all you have done and continue to do. Wow!:D
Don- I will be happy to tell you but I want to wait till I get back to what happened, OK The reason I even started this story was to answer you and give some credibility to me taking on the Arden project.
Richard- Thank You, just click on my name and go to personnel profile, then to threads started then '32 Ford Truck. The build is there.
Steve- You are right, I build my bikes the same way, trying to hide things. I want them to look like there isn't enough stuff there for it to run. :LOL:
Thanks for the nice post.
Ken
Yeah, the guys always said my bikes looked better as long as anybody but me was riding it........:o :o :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Thurm
Why do you think California came up with helmet laws!:LOL: :LOL: :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
...Forgive the bad humor, but....After you splice the heads together are you going with a pirate motif and calling it an "AARR-dun" ??:rolleyes:
Ken, from what I have seen of your builds, I see no reason to think you can't handle modify the V12. It will be an awesome ride that I would love to see and watch you build. I've been known to drive anywhere just to see a nice ride up close.
BradC
I wear a full coverage with a tinted face shield to make the bike look better!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by stovens
You are welcome here anytime, just let me know.Quote:
Originally Posted by BradC
Ken
Ken, we've all been so intrigued by the V12 thing, I forgot to comment on the body style you are thinking about for the truck. The one you posted is really swoopy, looks great. How much modification are you going to have to do to a stock truck to get it to sit and look like that.
I gotta tell you, when I look at some of the work you and other talented people do, my jaw drops. I mean it when I say I wouldn't have a clue where to start engineering something like the bike engine or V12 engine. Or the front suspension on your new '32...........how do you figure that stuff out???????
I feel good if I can change out 8 sparkplugs without snapping one off. :o :o
Don
Don,
The changes in that model are tremendous, and usually when the model company's do something like this it really isn't possible to match it in real time. But this truck can be very close. The theme is a wedge, if you look at the side profile, the chop on the roof and the windows. I think the hardest part is going to be re shaping the front fenders for the small diameter tires. It's going to be all steel and no bondo :p
I'm going to stretch the cab 1 1/2" so the doors can be flush mounted, and from experience the extra cab room would be nice. After watching Dan's project I'm thinking about making it so the roof comes off. I will only do this if it isn't noticeable. So It can be a rpu also. This isn't as easy as it sounds, there are a lot of considerations to be made.
I honestly don't know where some of this stuff comes from, I'm sure some of it spurs from things that I have seen other people have done and the rest of it I don't have a clue. But I know most of it comes to me about 3:30 a.m. The suspension stuff comes from owning a chassis shop for 18 years.
You are selling yourself short, I know of a real nice BLACK BEAUTY that came from some where, and the beginnings of a real cool truck.
Ken
Dave,Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Severson
Have you ever seen or heard of a torsion bar rear suspension that was adjustable, for the early Softails?
Ken
Hi Ken, I'm a new member here and I know about your KT Components torsion bar system for the Softails, and being a Springer owner, also know about the front end rockers you made that lowered the front 1". Didn't you also offer a non-adjustable torsion system?
A friend from another rod site told me about this site and I have to admit, it is much better than he told me it was.
I spent last weekend reading all of the posts here regarding the build of your '32 and it's an amazing project. I check in daily just to see what's new. Having the mechanical engineering background and the design, manufacturing, and fabrication resources available to you makes me wonder what's next, keep the ideas coming, it's an inspiration to many of us.
When I first started reading your posts, I knew that I recognized your name from somewhere and when I saw the pics of your truck at the photo shoot with the trailer I knew the connection. I owned one of your Kendon fold-up motorcycle trailers, not the newer round tube trailers like in the pics, but the old style with the square and rectangle tubing. That was one of the best pulling trailers I've ever owned, if you didn't look in the mirrors, you would never know it was back there.
Come on, get busy on the '32, I can't wait to see what's next.
Mike
Welcome to the forum. (I'm not the official greeter, just practicing up for my new job manning the door at Walmart :rolleyes: :LOL: )
Probably get to meet you at Turkey Run in November?? :)
Don
Mikes really my brother :LOL: :LOL:
Don- I thought you told me it was K Mart, how am I going to find you when you can't keep a job? :LOL: :LOL:
Nice shot Ken, slipping a relative in to praise your products.........with thinking like that, you should be running the Country! :eek: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Yeah, WalMart is a better deal. I have a fancy title " Personal Inside Greeter" So when you walk in the door and see a guy with a name tag with a big P.I.G on it............that would be me. :D And I get a discount on cookies.:p
Don
Heh, heh... I can see Don now. It'll be just like ventriloquist Jeff Dunhams puppet, Walter: "Hi, welcome to Walmart. Get your shit and get out!... Have a nice day.":rolleyes: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
I thought I would show what these access plates look like before I weld them in. These are larger than what I usually put in but there is so much going on in this one area I want to make sure everything is accessible without disconnecting one thing to get to another. We start with a 3/8" plate then machine off to the thickness of the existing frame material. Then slip it inside the frame and rosette weld it in and weld around that lip, so the finished access panel is flush to the existing frame . Also on the other wall of the frame that I didn't molest, I put in another 1/8" plate that looks like the other side but isn't cut out. In my opinion it is stronger in that area than we I started hacking :LOL:
Ken
Mike52-Thank you for the kind words. Yes we made both under the Sofspension name. (HD sued me for using that name, but we won)
This is a great place, some really nice cars are being built here, I think the only requirement is you better have a good sense of humor :LOL: It gets pretty ruff at times. Welcome aboard!
Ken
Thanks for the warm welcome guys.
Don, I look forward to meeting you in Daytona.
Hey little brother, can I borrow the keys to the red Deuce, I won't be gone long, I'll fill it back up with gas and I won't do any burnouts, I promise!!!!!
Sure, if you promise!! :LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike52
check this out
http://www.fordbarn.com/earlyv8/foru...les/miniardun/
Clickable link ???
See there you go again, great idea, I think i'll rough out somthing similarQuote:
Originally Posted by Ken Thurm
for the hole in my floor pan to access my master cylinder! I used rough out, to clearly state, that mine won't come close in the pretty dept.!:D
That's a great way to do that Ken. Takes some time certainly, but what a difference it makes in the overall car. Gonna be a shame to upholster this one and hide all the neat touches you have put into it. For that matter, it's a shame to cover up the frame and running gear with a body! :) :)
Don
Don & Steve,
Thanks, there a lot of advantages to putting all this stuff in the frame. Just keeping it away from all the elements and crap, besides not seeing all that stuff. Of course this is just my opinion. :)
I'm hijacking my own thread but I thought I would share this. I'm still thinking about the Ardun project so I ordered one of those plastic motors. I have used them before and it is really helpful when you are having to pull it out every other day. I called this guy on a Sat. night just to leave a message to ask questions about the replica he makes. It seems he just got back from Europe that night and stopped buy his shop on the way home. We start talking about his motor and he start telling me this story. He asked me what I was going to use for an intake, and I said I wasn't sure yet but would probably build fuel injection for it, something along the lines of the old Algon style, (spelling). He asked me if I watched Nascar, I said yes. He asked me if I knew who Zora Arkas Duntov was, yes, did you know he also was instrumental in working on the small block Chevy, yes, he said I'm going to send you a manifold that Nascar uses today. I said O.K.
Well the plastic motor shows up and the manifold, I bolt it together and guess what, the manifold is so close to fitting perfectly, with some small messaging it would work. I'm not going to put a 4 barrel carburetor on a V12 but the coincidence is pretty strange.
Ken