It’s now official in that a Y will not be in the chosen first thirty participants in the EMC competition.  I received a letter from the EMC committee and it simply states that the Y engine that I proposed will be alternate #15 which puts it far enough down the list that it’s very unlikely to be in the competition.  It’s definitely a hard call at this point to go forward with an EMC specific Y engine for the challenge but I will go ahead and start doing the machine work on the 312 combination towards that end.  The compression ratio and the camshaft are really the only items that make this engine an EMC specific combination in that it’s just a tad roudy for a street engine and just too tame for a race engine.  The 10½:1 compression makes it a bit tempermental for everyday use on pump gas with the camshaft I had in mind but that can be ultimately changed out if necessary.  And if the engine doesn’t make it to the competition, then a decision will have to be made on what to actually do with the engine as there will be healthy investment in it at that point.

I can only guess at the number of reasons a Y wasn’t selected.  Being non-main stream would be at the top of the list but I also have to think that there would be some concerns on EMC’s end about actually connecting a Y engine to the dynometer without a flywheel and bellhousing as will be done with the main stream engines.  Another reason for not selecting it could potentially be their lack of confidence in a Y engine not making respectable numbers or on the flip side, actually showing better than expected numbers considering how old a design it really is.  Hard to guess at the reasons for not being selected as their letter to me did not go into the selection criteria.

With all that said, I will respond to their letter and let the EMC committee know of my intent to put together a combination for the EMC Challenge.

Maybe when you send back the papers you should send some of your Dyno results! Do the rules change much year to year? If not maybe you could try again next year with the same engine? If not maybe a raffle with $100 or higher if needed tickets. Figure out how many tickets you would have to sell. I would think there are enough of us Y-nuts out here to take a chance on it. Barely streetable, sounds like the 60's to me! Chuck in NH

                                            Thx Bill

Great idea,seriously...

I'd bet my "you know whats " that you could build a Y-Block to out run any " 283 scrub motor  from the mid fifties " .We don't need any engine challange to prove how good a Y -Block is ???I'd like to see a "scrub lover " bore out a stock sbc .080 or .100 and use stock heads ,and see how long it would last ?? Those cheating SOB's wouldn't know a good motor if it hit them ?? Just how afraid are they ??? You don't have to prove anything ,I've seen how good a Y block runs at Columbus . Thanks for the effort .

Regards Lon

What do you mean by alternate #15? is that if the original 15 blows up then you get a chance??

As mentioned in an earlier post there is a company WWW.wilcap.com that produces a steel flywheel for the Y. you need to supply the ring gear.

Lon,

The machinist who did my work, who is basically a scrub guy (he wouldn't have any bussiness otherwise) I had him install hardened seats in a set of G's for me, informed me that he could not put hardened seats in 327 scrub heads because they are so thin it cuts into the water jackets.

I rest my case ??? That doesn't surprise me at all .

Lon

Alternate #15 means basically I’m number 45 at this point in time.  If for whatever reason, fifteen of the original thirty do not follow through with the entry payment and the other required criteria prior to the actual competition, then I’ll be #30 and in the field.  Or, if just one of the original thirty drops out and all the alternates ahead of me are no shows, then I'm also in the field.  I've basically got to move up fifteen spots on the ladder to be in the competition.  In prior competitions, the field has not been full for either no shows, broken engines, rules infractions, etc. which is why there is now an alternate field.  If I’m at alternate #5 or thereabouts by the time the event actually rolls around, there’s a remote chance to actually get into the competition at that point.

I’ve talked to Wilcap about their flywheels and they are not SFI approved.  But I’ve had discussions with another vendor that can potentially supply the required flywheel with SFI certification so I’m not too concerned other than I have to purchase an event specific flywheel that I normally would not need.  And it’s also another item that cannot be ordered just prior to the event due to the lead times involved so this will need to be done in the near future.

Here’s the link to the alternate competitors list.  At least the Y-Block entry is not at the bottom but still far enough down to question if a Y will make it into the final competition.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/enginemasters/challenge/2007/0705em_alternate_participant/

I have a set of C2AE rods that I started to prep.  They have been magnafluxed and polished.  I think I have ARP bolts for them too.  Let me know if you can use'em.

Gary.  Thanks for the contact info regarding potential sourcing for the LYB steel stands.  I contacted Chuck last week and spoke to him regarding the parts I needed.  He knows the whereabouts of two plus sets but has to verify that they are the steel units and not the aluminum pieces.  I'm just waiting for him to get back to me at this point.  Thanks again.

Charlie.  Check your email and/or private messages.  Thanks, Ted.

Gary.  Chuck at Chuck's Trucks responded back quite quickly and although He did locate several NOS rocker stands at other locations, they were just priced too high for what I need them for.  For the quoted prices, I can build them from steel stock and come out ahead including my time.  I'll continue to use the used steel stands as I come across them as they serve the purpose just as well as new ones.  Thanks for hooking me up with Chuck just the same though.

Can you explain to my feeble brain why it makes a difference what the stands are made of?  My thinking is that it is the bolts that keep the rocker shafts in proper position regardless of the material of the stands.  Thanks.

John

They'd be cast iron.

There's another big money making project for you.  Make Lincoln cast iron stands, with instructions to install them one way on the Lincoln and the other way on the Y Block.  You might sell 15-20 sets, and the tooling to cast them and the machining would probably only cost you a couple hundred bucks a set.  But the cost of casting them would be really cheap after the tooling is paid for.  Look what that would do for your bank account!

John

            I actually have a matchplate for the Y stands now. Never thought about Iron.

I was just being silly, didn't know you had worked on them.  Are Y stands that hard to find, or does John just want to be able to supply new ones with rocker assemblies?  Does Dove make stands to go with his arms?

John

John.  Dove only supplies the aluminum 1.6:1 roller tipped rocker arms for a Y as well as a spacer kit to eliminate the springs.  It's up to the end user to come up with shafts and stands when using the Dove rockers.

Give Jim Barillaro a call 865 609 1217 (Tennessee) He was using 7 rocker stands per head on his Y Blocks.

Cheers

Trevor

                                                               Frank