Several years ago XF (Ford-Mercury L-head V8 -- flathead) record holders were polled to see if the newly released flathead blocks from the French military should be allowed to run in XF classes. There is nothing architectually different or revolutionary from domestic blocks, although they benefit a little from evolved casting technology, '50s vs. '80s, and they are new which means they are not weakened from erosion of the water jacketing. It's really like going back in time to the '40s and '50s when new blocks could be purchased from Ford dealers.
Many of the record holders were in favor or homologating the French blocks if for no other reason than to keep expensive internal pieces from being destroyed when a tired, raced-out old block failed (as happened to our team in '98 when a cylinder collapsed and grenaded the motor and turned a lot of pricey and carefully prepped pieces to scrap metal).
In the meantime, the availability of French blocks became iffy in spite of what looked to be a good start. No matter the reasons, the intial marketers failed to deliver long term and the blocks and associated hardware -- which is considerble and includes complete engines as well -- reverted back to the original importer.
Fast forward to today when the entire inventory is finally in the hands of flathead-savvy folks, all the hardware gathered together, catalogued, and priced with incredible fairness and affordability. The inventory includes 300 new blocks, 150 complete engines, 200 sets of connecting rods, a couple hundred new crankshafts, timing gear sets, valves, springs, bearings, etc., etc. The point here is that flathead LSR racers have ready access to abundant and affordable new blocks and related hardware.
My question is: Should the new French blocks be homologated to run in existing XF-engine classes, or should a new engine class be added to the SCTA-BNI Rules & Records book? To many of us hard-core flatheaders it doesn't matter all that much, just so long as the block be allowed to run for records in a recognized engine class. Trust me when I say that French-block motors wouldn't suddenly shatter all the records set using domestic blocks; homolgation would amount to "business as usual." If the SCTA-BNI were to recognize French-block flatheads as a new engine class, perhaps designated FXF, however, there would be about 40 new open records up for grabs in popular vintage and traditional classes!
I'm hoping that it's just a matter of time -- and not much of it -- before the SCTA-BNI take one or the other courses as regards the French flathead blocks. In addition to the record motor we're building for our '53 Ford F-100 XF/PP (Production Pickup) for '07, we're building an identical French-block motor (3-3/8 x 4-1/8 -- 296 cid) to run after we've secured a new record or destroyed the record motor in the attempt. We're not expecting any significant performance differences between the two motors -- just looking forward to an exercise in hot-rod empiricsm.
So, what do you think?
Mike
