The Ford Barn

Ralph Moore · 11-15-2011, 09:38 PM

Anyone used the N.O.S. French rods for a late flathead? Are they any good?
Say what you will about the French, but I've flown around in a French helicopter for the last 8 years and I'm still alive :^).

ventilo · 11-16-2011, 10:01 AM

I'm running a complete French flathead engine in my '37, no worries so far with the rods. However their Zenith carbs, SEV dizzys and poor quality casting intakes are junk and should be swapped.

Ford Flathead · 11-16-2011, 10:11 AM

I use many of them and have not had a problem.

rotorwrench · 11-16-2011, 10:21 AM

The Simca folks made two different length rod for their military engines. They made 7 inch rods for the 239 and 6 7/8" rods for the 255. This allows the use of a standard Ford type piston in a 4 inch Mercury type application. The shorty rods are a little more expensive though unless you buy a complete 255 CID engine. I haven't heard of any problems with their connecting rods.

I can't say the same about the French helicopters though. They have plenty of problems but all manufacturers have had their share. My favorite French helicopters were the old ones like the Llama and the Gazelle. That was back when all the manufactureres made heavy duty stuff and Sud Aviation was the name instead of the generic Eurocopter. The newer ones are all composite and plastic.

Kerby

Karl Wolf · 11-16-2011, 11:54 AM

I have a lot of 29A cores, and the bearings to go with them... After trying to find a set (8) that would balance fairly well, I bought French rods that were new, correct size and within just a few (2-3) grams in weight...
Karl

Ralph Moore · 11-16-2011, 10:53 PM

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We used to fly in an A star, pretty amazing helo. I prefer it over the Bell 206, and when we have bad days I have to fly in a Hughes 500 or an R44. You get bounced around alot on a windy day.

So I just ordered a set of the French Rods from Vern Tardel. Definitely cheaper than having my old ones refurbished. That's why I thought about using my 29A set, because they were already finished.

Tim Ayers · 11-16-2011, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Moore

We used to fly in an A star, pretty amazing helo. I prefer it over the Bell 206, and when we have bad days I have to fly in a Hughes 500 or an R44. You get bounced around alot on a windy day.

So I just ordered a set of the French Rods from Vern Tardel. Definitely cheaper than having my old ones refurbished. That's why I thought about using my 29A set, because they were already finished.

Did the same and plan to use them in my build as well.

rotorwrench · 11-17-2011, 10:30 AM

Ralph

If you like the A-Star you would have loved the Gazelle. The damn things could fly at 165 MPH with no problem although most cruised about 145. You could throttle them back to idle, put on the rotor brake, and leave the engine running to keep you warm in the cold months. I miss the damn things but they just got too expensive to operate. The technology was late 50s early 60s so the French engineers wanted to forge ahead with the latest plastic stuff. They wanted nothing to do with the old "wonderful" heavy duty low tech stuff.

Kerby

11-15-2011, 09:38 PM	#1
Ralph Moore Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: North Pole, Alaska Posts: 1,470	French Connecting Rods Anyone used the N.O.S. French rods for a late flathead? Are they any good? Say what you will about the French, but I've flown around in a French helicopter for the last 8 years and I'm still alive :^).

11-16-2011, 10:01 AM	#2
ventilo Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Cologne/Germany Posts: 74	Re: French Connecting Rods I'm running a complete French flathead engine in my '37, no worries so far with the rods. However their Zenith carbs, SEV dizzys and poor quality casting intakes are junk and should be swapped.

11-16-2011, 10:11 AM	#3
Ford Flathead Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: La Crescenta, CA Posts: 92	Re: French Connecting Rods I use many of them and have not had a problem.

11-16-2011, 10:21 AM	#4
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,440	Re: French Connecting Rods The Simca folks made two different length rod for their military engines. They made 7 inch rods for the 239 and 6 7/8" rods for the 255. This allows the use of a standard Ford type piston in a 4 inch Mercury type application. The shorty rods are a little more expensive though unless you buy a complete 255 CID engine. I haven't heard of any problems with their connecting rods. I can't say the same about the French helicopters though. They have plenty of problems but all manufacturers have had their share. My favorite French helicopters were the old ones like the Llama and the Gazelle. That was back when all the manufactureres made heavy duty stuff and Sud Aviation was the name instead of the generic Eurocopter. The newer ones are all composite and plastic. Kerby

11-16-2011, 11:54 AM	#5
Karl Wolf Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mill Valley,Ca. Posts: 1,509	Re: French Connecting Rods I have a lot of 29A cores, and the bearings to go with them... After trying to find a set (8) that would balance fairly well, I bought French rods that were new, correct size and within just a few (2-3) grams in weight... Karl

11-16-2011, 10:53 PM	#6
Ralph Moore Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: North Pole, Alaska Posts: 1,470	Re: French Connecting Rods Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) We used to fly in an A star, pretty amazing helo. I prefer it over the Bell 206, and when we have bad days I have to fly in a Hughes 500 or an R44. You get bounced around alot on a windy day. So I just ordered a set of the French Rods from Vern Tardel. Definitely cheaper than having my old ones refurbished. That's why I thought about using my 29A set, because they were already finished.

11-17-2011, 10:30 AM	#8
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,440	Re: French Connecting Rods Ralph If you like the A-Star you would have loved the Gazelle. The damn things could fly at 165 MPH with no problem although most cruised about 145. You could throttle them back to idle, put on the rotor brake, and leave the engine running to keep you warm in the cold months. I miss the damn things but they just got too expensive to operate. The technology was late 50s early 60s so the French engineers wanted to forge ahead with the latest plastic stuff. They wanted nothing to do with the old "wonderful" heavy duty low tech stuff. Kerby