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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Waynesboro, Virginia
Posts: 67
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Hi All,
Greetings from the snowy Shenandoah Valley. My first post here, so please forgive my question if it is very basic. I have a 1931 Roadster that came from a family friend's estate. It is in unrestored but driveable condition. It was told to me that the family had a Model B engine installed 60 years ago. I don't know enough to verify whether this is correct. Can you help distinguish the Model A engine from the Model B engine? If it indeed does have a Model B engine, is that a good thing, or not? I usually am in favor of all things original, but I don't plan on restoring this roadster, we enjoy it just like it is. Many thanks! Jeff p.s. I'd post pictures of the car/engine but have it stored for winter in a hangar at the local airport, so I won't be there for a few days |
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#2 |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: stratford,ct
Posts: 5,971
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"B" engines have a fuel pump. "A" is gravity feed to carb. ken ct.
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Waynesboro, Virginia
Posts: 67
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#4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: San Antonio, TX
Posts: 821
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The pump may have been removed a a blanking plate put in. Look under the carb and see if there is a plate on the block. IF it has a B head, the water pump configuration is different also. It will only have three bolts instead of 4.
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Brian SATX |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Brum...
Posts: 51
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It could've been blocked off and your engine could be running gravity feed, enough though a B.
Is there a pipe running from the left hand side if the tappet cover diagonally down to the sump, behind the carb & header? If so, it is an A. |
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#6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Eastern Tennessee
Posts: 11,513
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#7 | ||
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Waynesboro, Virginia
Posts: 67
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Quote:
There is a small plate with two bolts on the right hand side of the block, near the front. There is no pipe running down the side of the block. However, I replaced the water pump several years ago with one of the newer pumps with seals. I'm sure it is a Model A pump as I would have remembered having to find a Model B pump. It never crossed my mind at the time. So it sounds like I've got a Model B block with a Model A head? Many thanks for the help. Jeff |
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#8 | |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Waynesboro, Virginia
Posts: 67
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Brent, That makes sense to me and fortunately this engine seems sound. Incidentally, there is an oil pressure gauge mounted inside the car- it maxs out at 5 pounds per square inch! (Well, it is on a scale from one to five and I assume it is pounds per square inch). My engine carries about 4 pounds of pressure it seems. Thanks for the guidance. Jeff Last edited by Fairview; 12-26-2010 at 02:08 PM. Reason: left something out |
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#9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Ridgefield, Ct
Posts: 3,441
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Welcome to the Forum! I put a B engine in Dad's '31 Roadster over 30 years ago, it is a good move IMO.
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#10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Mpls, MN
Posts: 27,582
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If you have a B block with an A head, then you have less horsepower than a straight B engine would have. This would be a good time to install a high compression head for a considerable power gain.
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#11 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Eastern Tennessee
Posts: 11,513
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#12 | |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: stratford,ct
Posts: 5,971
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#13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Quincy, CA.
Posts: 1,708
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Brent,
I have an article that was writtem by George Riley shortly after he developed the 4 Port. He states in the article " if you want to port and relieve your block, then use an A block as they have much more meat in them in comparison to a B block ". Ron |
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#14 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bellingham, Washington
Posts: 362
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![]() Sounds like a sweet find. What color is it? |
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#15 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Eastern Tennessee
Posts: 11,513
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Back in that day, most Model A's I was exposed to were using worn cams or poorly reground cams so most of them were not even producing a true 40 horses ....but when someone opened their hood and showed a 50 horsepowered Model B engine, that was 25% more horsepower over their counterparts. Then if someone had a Model C engine in their car, OHHH they had the Holy Grail of engines because of the counterweighted crankshaft! It seems funny to me now but 40-45 years ago as a kid walking around at swap meets, I was taught to turn over every Model A head to check for a heart shaped combustion chamber indicating a higher compression ratio over stock (i.e.: 5 or 5¼:1). It was such a big deal when we found one, --and such a sneaky deal when Dad had one on one of his cars!! Now when I drive a Model A that has a stock 4¾ compression ratio head, it seems like a slug, --and even the "Police Head" is considered by most as a "has been" ![]() Now, fast forwarding to today's world we have commercially-available, stock-appearing cylinder heads in 7:1 (or more) compression ratios, new camshafts with much superior performance over the Model B, new counterweighted crankshafts for the Model A, new commercially-available oversized valves along with good R&D data to know what mods work in the port areas. Couple that to a few other tricks and a builder can make a stock appearing L head engine double its original horsepower rating and produce extended reliability results too. The venerable Model B (--or even the 'C' as some ole timers incorrectly called it) engine's performance has now been surpassed and its once-upon-a-time advantage has kinda dwindled. . |
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