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I always hear about adding an 848 cylinder head, but not much else. Are there any interchangable piston sets from a newer engine? I would imagine quite a few of these motors need to be bored over because they're rusted out when first purchased to start a project. What would it take to slap some higher compression internals inside these things? Maybe licoln or someone has an answer for me? I know enough to be dangerous, but that's all. I've read a little about the older 216-261 inliners. From what I've read, they're a low compression, low rpm boat anchor. I'm not saying they're not cool. I dig the o.e. stuff. I'm just curious why there's no turbo build threads, or anything but a different head added to these motors? Maybe there is no way to hop these things up?

"adding an 848 cylinder head"

That "different" high compression 848 head would only be different on the 2 years of high-pressure 235 engines that had the lower compression head. The "848" head was standard equipment from 1956 onwards.

Lincoln has recently described the possibilities and limitations.

I've read his post about cam swaps and how the head flow limits the potential of any gains. That's why I was curious about the possibility of a piston swap for more compression, or keep the stock lower compression of 6.6-7:1 and run a turbo possibly. Even stock boost of about 8-11psi would help. There's plenty of room under the hood. If the head won't free flow, force it.

There is lots of hop up info on the Inliners International bulletin board.

Here's a huge HP mod.

http://www.vortec4200.com/

Jerry (Hotrod Lincoln) is dealing with his dad being close to 'the end'. I had lunch with him yesterday for the first time. What a great guy to talk to. He has stories from yesterday that I could listen to for hours. His depth of knowledge on these old trucks and other cars is bottomless. He should be back in the saddle soon. If you get a chance, wish him the best.
Beltfed

Once again (or maybe "still") your lack of knowledge of how the stovebolt engine is designed and built is making you jump to some very wrong conclusions. Manifold pressure boost, whether by mechanical means or turbo, will pack more combustible gases into a cylinder, resulting in an effectively higher "compression". In the case of a stovebolt cylinder head, it would have the same effect as repeatedly putting a cattle prod to a sprinter with a sprained ankle in hopes of improving his 100 yard dash times. Any increase in effort would do nothing more than cause injuries, probably permanent ones.

A bad cylinder head design that's prone to detonation isn't going to improve just because we create better conditions for the detonation to get started. High compression, high RPM, and camshaft designs that kill low-end torque will do far more harm than good where an old Chevy inline engine is concerned. Much more benefit would be realized by stuffing in a late model 292 with some go-fast goodies in it if the intent is to have a long, skinny hotrod mill under the hood!

Thanks for the kind words! Dad is resting comfortably for now, with the able assistance of some very caring hospice nurses. I doubt if he will make his 90th. birthday in February, but he's still mentally alert as his body slowly fails him. He and Mom celebrated their 71st. wedding anniversary two weeks ago, and her 90th. birthday a week later. He's the last surviving member of the crew of the B-17 he piloted. I will be handling the arrangements for my fellow Patriot Guard Riders members to stand a flag line at his funeral, and American Legion Post 88 in Donelson Tennessee where I'm a member will provide an honor guard and full military honors. We will miss him terribly, I'm sure!

I'm back home now, with an appointment tomorrow morning with the orthopedic surgeon in Nashville coming up tomorrow to evaluate the healing process on my bike-damaged ankle.
Jerry

Good luck and best wishes to your Dad and you, Jerry.

My Dad died last year at the age of 89.

He was also a young B-17 pilot, and the last of his crew.

Good luck with your ankle.

Thank you - for the good services provided by you and your fellow Patriot Guard Riders

The doc did a double-take at me walking with just a cane, and declared that I'm way ahead of schedule with my recovery! No more physical therapy, and I'm discharged for "normal" activities. He says I should be back to 100% normal by springtime, with only a 1/4" thick orthotic insert needed in my right shoe to compensate for them stretching the left leg a little during the repair. Much better than an artificial foot or a long term lease on 6 feet of real estate!
Jerry

Glad you are getting better Jerry. My Dad flew in them B-17's but he passed a long time ago. I hope for the very best for your Dad. I was talking to one of the "Old Guys" in the car club. They had a "hill climb" it was a stop watch type affair. Sounded like fun. The rules were simple. Inline or Flathead motors only. Can you get 160 HP from a Flathead V8? Maybe. Can you get 160 HP from an inline 6? Maybe. Keeps things close. And reminds us, there were limits to what the hot Rod guys could do back in the day. And why Wayne built a 12 port head. No one goes to that much trouble if there is an easy way.

Jerry,

Glad to hear that you are doing better. We will all keep praying for Dad for no suffering. Remind him that those of us still serving look up to guys like him and all that they have done for our country. My unit sends guys out to link up with the honor flights when they fly into DC. It is amazing to meet true american heroes and listen to the amazing stories.

Chris

One of Dad's postwar claims to fame was building some of the hottest flathead Ford V8's in middle Tennessee. The family race car was a 34 Ford 3 window coupe that ran on the local dirt tracks. The engines were bored 1/4" oversized, stroked 3/16", 11:1 compression, and ran on an alcohol/hydrogen peroxide mix. He also modified Lincoln Zephyr V-12 distributors to run on the flathead V-8 engines for a much hotter spark. When one finally came unglued at high speed, it looked like a hand grenade had gone off inside the crankcase!
Jerry

Jerry, know its been a while, but are any of those flathead V8's still sitting around in you or your Dad's old shop? They are pretty hard to come by over here?

I scavenged up a whole bunch of leftover flathead go-fast stuff, Dad's and a few other oldtime racers, back in the early 1960's when I built my 47 Mercury convertible. It was a fairly conservative build, .080 oversize, 4" stroke Mercury crankshaft, steel tubing headers, dual exhausts, and a set of Offenhauser finned aluminum heads. That one was pretty hot, and I kept the car for 13 years. A nasty divorce and a desire to keep on eating occasionally finally made me sell it out in central California. I haven't built up another one since then. Good engines, though!
Jerry

As a die hard Chevrolet man, I still cannot help but get excited when I see a well presented flathead V8 sitting in the engine bay of an old truck. I am often asked to move along for the excessive slobber and all.
Carl

Hollow65,

I am just now starting a hop up project for my Apache. It is going to be a .040 over 261 with a McCullough Supercharger, mild cam, and an 848 head. I am going to use my current EFI setup modified for a 2 bar map sensor. You can follow the build here if you are interested.

https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=437492&page=1