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Classic Mopar Tech, Nascar!

polyjohn

polyjohn

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Location
Island of Sheeps.
Hi B-Bods,

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.
What to do with my ex-Weslake Eng ex Nascar engine?

In a year of lockdown isolation due to health problems I've watched a lot of PooTube.
But the one shining light has been Nick's Garage!

Over here in 'cold wet' England was a 'place of worship', we called WESLAKE.
They were given the task of 'bettering the hemi' back in its Hay day of 60's Nascar!
Most of the info attained at that time is unfortunately lost and forgotten.

But a one remaining engine does still survive here in Kent UK.
 
back again,

No its not a HEMI but instead a 440ci based engine.
Most probably a DYNO mule for the advancement of a NON hemi Nascar 426ci engine...

So the infamous Hemi was very disliked by NON Mopar peeps and a BAN was always 'on the horizon'.
Mother Mopar always new this, so along with Hemi head work at Weslake a 'non hemi' head was being trialled.
As we all know the short motor is the short motor, its what's on top that matters!

The 413/426 heads had been downgraded from the Max wedge days of 1964 to an 'all round' ONE size fits all, kinda casting.
This is where Weslake comes in...

Make a better head for the 440ci aka 426ci wedge engine, for Nascar!
What did they come up with???
 
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back again,

This is IT, a W2 Bigblock head x2...:wtf:

440 ovalports.jpg D-port exhaust Weslake D5ish.jpg
 
back again,

And this is what SITS on top, Edelbrock STR-14 with ovalport mods.

STR manifold.jpg Street tunnel manifold for the Weslake 440.jpg Str next to W2 gasket.jpg
 
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Reportedly made 600hp on the Weslake dyno...

Pretty close to the hemi engines of that era...:fool:

I still have the original 'porting plate' from Weslake Eng. to compare with a W2 intake gasket.

Apparently the STR had many teething troubles that were also 'ironed out' on the Weslake Dyno.

440 WESLAKE V W2 Smallblock.jpg STR DAM DETAILS.jpg
 
Oh yes I nearly forgot about the Nick's Garage idea.

Saving up funds to send the whole kit and Kaboodle to our lovely Mopar GURU 'Nick' and see what's WHAT!

50 years on and lets just do a POOTube video of the infamous Weslake, mystery Mopar engine, on HIS DINO...

The reputation of us Brits is 'on the line' did 'LUCKY all my LIFE' Harry, ( no Meghan) really know what he was doing???:rofl:
 
Nick's garage doesn't do any machining whatsoever.... none... nada... zilch.....
and in fact....
they wouldn't know HOW to "check"... let be change a Valve Guide ? nor even START a Rod Machine(let be size a rod) if they were standing right in front of one ?

Just say'in....
don't fall for pooptube hollywood crap with something like that ?
If you are going to send it somewhere to be resurrected.... then send it to an Engine BUILDER.... the very definition of which is someone who can not only "assemble" an Engine... which ANY nitwit can do ?
but rather someone fully conversant with all aspects of Machining/Blueprinting, and HOW it's done !

Last time I spoke with Nick... NO offense, but he didn't even know what a 4032 Alloy Forged Piston was ? and he was "building" a Nitrous engine for someone.. and he was going to "check into that" when I told him ?
YIKES!
and that was only 3 months ago !
 
Hey! What An Amazing Find!!
Yes , it Needs to be brought back to life !!
Can you imagine the R&D Potential That WESTLAKE Setup
Could Have For The Mopar Maniacs Worldwide!!
Nicks Garage Is A Great Idea !!
FYI ... Back In 2014 The 50th
Anniversary of the Hemi was celebrated at “The Strip “ in Vegas... that’s the racetrack...
Just like you Limeys Call SantaPod yours .....smile will ya!
Haha ...
Anyway , of note “ Tom Hoover”
Chrysler Engineer & Godfather of The Hemi Was There & in addition to the awards presented & autographs he held R&D Seminars & Slide Presentations From The Early Days of Momma
Mopar Development of The Hemi
He mentioned Going to England
For Additional Research... Remember Back in WWII Experimental Hemi Designs Were
Used in Aircraft... Fascinating...
Back to point ... Mopar Collectors
Guide Magazine Did Some Recording Of The Hoover Chronicles.... if you will !
They used to sell a DVD set of the Mopar Hall of Fame I believe.
You may want to contact them & inquire about getting a set ...
I attended the Hoover Seminar At the Mopars At The Strip & It was standing room only !!!
As a Gearhead I was blessed to have been there , it was crazy busy ... and Tom has gone on to his eternal reward . May we always honor “The Greatest Generation “....
History!
Hope this helps !
Keep up the good work!
PS
Rob Wolf Is the Editor of MCG
Magazine , Ask him if he wants to do an article on this , I’ll bet it would be a great read !
Thanks again for keeping the fire lit!
Mopar2ya!!!
John
 
Nice reply John.

You can always trust a John to come up with a good idea!
It may surprise you to know that I have been to many 'Mopars at the Strip' lol.
Went every year in the later 2000's and it was the thrill of my Mopar life!
Also one year at the 'Spring Fling' in Van Nuys, Rob W was staying in out hotel so we spoke to him there too.
Due to financial reasons I haven't been back for many years, but have met some of the greats.

Yes the Hemi was given to Harry Weslake for development, D5 and all that stuff.
When the Weslake factory shut down, there was a 'sell-off' and the contents spread far and wide.
An old friend of mine managed to get some pieces, but very little hemi stuff.

The 'Weslake Engine' as 'we call it', is/was a 440ci 'dyno mule' for the progress of the Wedge head for Nascar!
As with most things from that are, NOT a lot is still known about the process.

But one pair of 'closed chamber' heads were returned to the Mopar Museum and the others stayed here?
Along with the short motor and the Edelbrock STR intake and dominator carb.

Back in the early 80's the motor was running around London town in a 70 GTX.
It was detuned from a 13 to 1 pistoned engine to a sixpack piston set up.
I still have the original high comp pistons ''Arias'' I believe but they have damage to them.
 
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the str 15 was for a 361 383 400 cu in motor str 14s were 413 426w 440
 
So what's the new plan?

Not send it to Nick, as he is a snow-flake?:canada:
Send it too someone who actually knows how to build a 440...

Well I'm more than capable of building a 440 myself lol...

So I have some newish 13 to 1 pistons with a modern HIPO rod.
I can rebore the block myself 'to fit them in' and a rig to fire it up too.

Once I get that far I just need to find a NON-flake to do the DYNO runs for me and see 'what's what' lol.

Where is goes after that will be a mystery, but into a Nascar clone would be rather cool!!!:thankyou::usflag::praying:
 
Someone got over zealous with the polishing mop!

STR-14, STR-15 its an easy mistake to make at my age, pensioner brain at work...:luvplace:

Found this on DC.com from 2007 a STR-15 with spacers, rare stuff.:thumbsup:

Doesn't work UNDER 3000rpm, so not quite right for London traffic JAMS...:fool:

STR 15 2007.JPG
 
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John, Bob (Challenger340) is one of the most capable engine builders as well as machinists in North America.
 
Hey polyjohn,
You've got a lot o cool stuff there!
Last Saturday, I had the honor of going to the
Petty's Garage Cruise-in down in North Carolina.
It was a great time, especially checking out all
of the cars and stuff in the museum! I was hop-ing to see Richard and "pick is head." Un-
fortunatly he wasn't there, so I can't tell you much. I do remember him running a car at
Trenton Speedway, in NJ. It was after NASCAR
had all, but "choked" the Hemis to death! The interesting thing is Richard's 426 wedge sound-ed a lot different than some of the other Mopars running that day! Rumor has it that Richard
was running a 180 degree crank! This is all theory on my part, but maybe this is where
Weslake came in! I know plenty of GP engines
over the years had/have 180 deg cranks. Could
Mr Weslake have influenced Richard and Maurice Petty?!?
Hopefully, I will be able to get to the
Mopars at Carlisle (Pa) this year, and Richard
will be there. If he is, I will be sure to pick his head and let you know.
In the meantime, I will continue to work
on my '72 Charger #43 tribute car. It's just a "shell" on the rotisserie in my garage at the moment; but "someday".........

Lunch Hour's over,
To paraphrase some people
across the "big pond",
Cheers, Rick
 
72Dodge said:
Hey polyjohn,
You've got a lot o cool stuff there!
Last Saturday, I had the honor of going to the
Petty's Garage Cruise-in down in North Carolina.
It was a great time, especially checking out all
of the cars and stuff in the museum! I was hop-ing to see Richard and "pick is head." Un-
fortunatly he wasn't there, so I can't tell you much. I do remember him running a car at
Trenton Speedway, in NJ. It was after NASCAR
had all, but "choked" the Hemis to death! The interesting thing is Richard's 426 wedge sound-ed a lot different than some of the other Mopars running that day! Rumor has it that Richard
was running a 180 degree crank! This is all theory on my part, but maybe this is where
Weslake came in! I know plenty of GP engines
over the years had/have 180 deg cranks. Could
Mr Weslake have influenced Richard and Maurice Petty?!?
Hopefully, I will be able to get to the
Mopars at Carlisle (Pa) this year, and Richard
will be there. If he is, I will be sure to pick his head and let you know.
In the meantime, I will continue to work
on my '72 Charger #43 tribute car. It's just a "shell" on the rotisserie in my garage at the moment; but "someday".........

Lunch Hour's over,
To paraphrase some people
across the "big pond",
Cheers, Rick
Click to expand...
 
Nice replies GUYS!

All that is OLD, is new again!
The 'Rover/TVR' guys in the UK had the flat plane cranks (ex Buick) revved 'em to 10,000 and over!
Harry Weslake was a clever man, but when it came to BIG engines his theories kinda fell flat.
Was always surprised to hear that mother Mopar came to England in the sixties, must have upset a lot of you guys back then?
Bob Mullins comes to mind, for me a complete genius and Keith Black etc...
But the 70's came and the world changed for lots of different reasons and this stuff was 'old hat'...

For the folks that went to Nascar in the late 60's it must have been truly awesome indeed.
I saw the end of Dodge in the 2000's and it was exciting, to say the least!

My wife says I'm still living in the 70's, beats living in the 2020's BY A LONG WAY!!!:rofl:
 
polyjohn said:
Nice replies GUYS!

All that is OLD, is new again!
The 'Rover/TVR' guys in the UK had the flat plane cranks (ex Buick) revved 'em to 10,000 and over!
Harry Weslake was a clever man, but when it came to BIG engines his theories kinda fell flat.
Was always surprised to hear that mother Mopar came to England in the sixties, must have upset a lot of you guys back then?
Bob Mullins comes to mind, for me a complete genius and Keith Black etc...
But the 70's came and the world changed for lots of different reasons and this stuff was 'old hat'...

For the folks that went to Nascar in the late 60's it must have been truly awesome indeed.
I saw the end of Dodge in the 2000's and it was exciting, to say the least!

My wife says I'm still living in the 70's, beats living in the 2020's BY A LONG WAY!!!:rofl:
Click to expand...

Spa.jpg

SPA 2017, they are still out there!!!
 
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