Quote:
Originally Posted by old Tom
In 1961 I bought a set a Sharp heads from Al,s speed shop in Aurora Il. I Never used them yet I Hope they are OK now after reading this. They are for the 59A motor.
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I spent a day with Al Sharp in his garage. That guy was a master pattern maker. Really nice guy. I run his heads just because of what a decent guy he was. Sharp speed equipment set a lot of records. I think it probably some of the best parts made.
I do not like the look of the new castings, like the Edelbrock block letter heads, they look terrible. The texture of the sand they use does not leave a finish like the originals. The way they mill off the tops of the lettering turns me off. You can spot that they are repros from a long way off. The metallurgy and casting techniques have improved but I d rather have heads or an intake that Navarro, Evans, Edelbrock or Sharp once had their hands on. Its all about the history for me. I use to want to know which equipment was the best. Then I met Al Sharp and I wanted Sharp heads. Then I met Johnny Ryan of the SCTA Gophers club and I wanted Evans heads because he had worked Earl Evans casting heads. Then I became friends with Jack Calori that set the 1947 SCTA Class "C" Roadster Record. He ran a Clay Smith 272 cam. Then I wanted a Clay Smith cam, I just had two 272 cams ground by them. Certain parts when I see them remind me of these different guys. I know longer care about which intakes flow the best. Its which ones remind me of the old hot rodders I knew. I spent a couple day's with Kong Jackson. After that I had to have a Kong distributor. My ultimate flathead would be a combination of the parts associated with all these guys. A piece of them is riding along with you. I miss those guys. That really was the greatest generation.