Some of my off the wall ideas are a result of growing up around a race engine shop in the early 1950's where doing things like offset-grinding crankshafts and relocating cylinder bore centers was just a matter of course. That must have made a lasting impression on me. The old flathead Ford V8 could be bored 1/4" oversize by someone who knew what he was doing, and a 1/2" increase in stroke length was done routinely. A 239 cubic inch engine could go to 300 or so without a great deal of effort. Welding or brazing material into the combustion chambers could get the compression up into the 11:1 range, and methanol plus some oxidizers was the fuel of choice. The lobes on an Iskenderian "404" camshaft looked almost square, with a big flat area at the top, and they used a special radiused bottom lifter that required block modifications to keep them from rotating. No, those engines didn't last long, but the ran like they had a demon chasing them! They also did all that on only three main bearings!
Jerry
