Author Topic: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head  (Read 4653 times)

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Offline PackardV8

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I can remember seeing a couple of threads about this but must not be doing the correct search.  Those who have successfully done it, we'd appreciate links, pointers, what to do and not do.

jack vines

Offline RichFox

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2016, 02:15:27 PM »
I only know that Bob has solid heads and block. He says he never goes above 900 degrees EGT. Plenty of boost. Don't know what if anything that is done special for his deal.

Offline RichFox

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2016, 04:15:53 PM »
I know I ran the Plymouth with a billet head. But it was a flathead without exhaust ports. I imagine the shorter the exhaust ports are in the head, the better. If you can move the mainafold face closer to the valve and start the header sooner, I would think there will be less heat exchange. 

Offline Jack Gifford

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2016, 02:38:53 AM »
Although the aluminum M/T heads on my blown-alky hemi are cast with coolant passages, I've always run with no coolant. Tractor pulling doesn't have the duration of land speed, but depending on the track, we could be at full power for about 20 seconds. I've safely made 3 runs in about a 10 minute period when necessary (full-pull near end of the class, then a couple of pull-off runs). The hemi I''m building for the lakester will definitely have coolant, but I don't foresee much demand on the cooling system. For mile events I might even get away without circulating the coolant.
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Offline PackardV8

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2016, 03:09:31 PM »
Thanks, all.  This project would be a flathead 6-cyl Studebaker Champion.  The Salt2Salt team built a complex two-piece steel head to get coolant passages.  Since it's possible to run alky without coolant, that would make a billet aluminum head much easier to fabricate.  It would also make two spark plugs per cylinder very easy to do.  Now, if one can just find a '68-up H-D KR head to borrow long enough to CNC probe the combustion chamber, it would be cake.

jack vines
« Last Edit: March 12, 2016, 03:20:59 PM by PackardV8 »

Offline RichFox

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2016, 07:14:01 PM »
I ran my plymouth solid head on gas for years. Salt and dirt as well as a few nostalgia drags. No turbo. No trouble. I took water out of the block at the exhaust valves through the head. i took a long look at a '50 Ford head when I was cutting this thing out. But i mostly just cut off anything that didn't look like I thought it should look and ran it. No CMM or CNC involved here.
« Last Edit: March 12, 2016, 07:16:28 PM by RichFox »

Offline Jack Gifford

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2016, 03:07:05 AM »
... Now, if one can just find a '68-up H-D KR head to borrow long enough to CNC probe the combustion chamber...
Kevin Cameron wrote some good in-depth articles about Harley's (Dick O'Brien's?) combustion chamber breakthroughs on the KR, if you could find them. I don't have any of Kevin's books- don't know if the KR stuff is in a book. I just remember the articles that ran in Cycle magazine.
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Offline WOODY@DDLLC

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2016, 05:33:49 PM »
PM: 38flattie
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Offline hoffman900

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Re: Running alcohol fuel with no coolant in a solid aluminum head
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2016, 10:15:34 PM »
http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php?topic=6173.0

http://www.enfieldracing.com/page_18.html I've seen these in person, and they're nice pieces. Maybe email him.