No info on their site about the LS1 heads but worth keeping an eye on it. They list a complete head kit for the BB Chev and it's $10,760 so I cant imagine the LS1 kit is cheap.
Cheers
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Mike Murphy
Melbourne Australia
So, take a light compact engine with excellent heads out of the box and turn it into a giant, heavy engine with probably better heads but how much better?
The LSx can kick out some wicked power without the hemi heads, other than looking the part whats the point?
after knowing Nick for so many years, he is really probably planning on cutting one half off the LS , putting the hemi head on it and running it in a Midget
Thanks Guys, the original LSx has not changed much since I started playing with my Morris 1100 and 186 HT Holden years ago!! The hemi is a totally different arrangement however, (hence the cost no doubt)!
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Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans...JWL
The Hemi head design has been around for a long time. I think Chrysler produced it's first Hemi Head V8 in the 1951.
Hemi is short for Hemispherical meaning a domed shaped combustion chamber with a central plug and valves on either side of the chamber canted towards each other. The idea was to allow the fitment of larger valves and to promote flow into the chamber. They really need a matching domed top piston to make them work.
The standard LS1 head design is what's known as a Wedge design. The combustion chamber is sloped up towards the spark plug. This design has become very efficient over the years. The wedge shaped combustion chamber has good squish meaning as the piston rises to TDC the wedge shape of the chamber forces the mixture up around the spark plug.
The Valves in line actually produce swirl which aids cylinder filling. The intake charge flows in and is then deflected off the side of cylinder wall and swirls in and down as the piston drops. You can kind of see this effect when filling a bucket with a hose. directing the hose straight at the side of the bucket cause a lot of the water to splash back out of the bucket but directing it to one side at an angle makes the water swirl in keeping more of the water in the bucket. This swirl effect continues on the power stroke as the piston goes down giving a more complete burn. As the piston comes back up the swirl continues helping the exhaust gas exit the cylinder. Think of it as how water swirls down the plug hole in the bath.
That's the theory as I understand it.
The Wedge head has taken over as the design of choice for push rod engines because it's simpler to manufacture, and more compact. It allows the use of flat top pistons and produces great results for everyday driving. The Hemi head really only comes into it's own at high RPM where the greater flow from the larger valves helps.
Cheers
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Mike Murphy
Melbourne Australia
Nice explanation there Mike....... did you say you had some for me to try on the Dragster??? Space is not a problem
I was thinking the same thing. I'm slowly collecting parts for a Front Engine Dragster. I reckon a set of those heads would look awesome on it.
I don't reckon you need them. Gave tells me you ran a 9.36 1/4 the other day. Congratulations!
I picked up a set of front wheels for the FED project the other day. I think they are the same Cragar Supertricks as you have on your rail.
These wheels were first produced in about 1971 so they should still fit in with the nostalgia style. They have been powder coated red but I'll strip it back and polish them.
Cheers
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Mike Murphy
Melbourne Australia
Just found this little Vid of Bobby in his first proper comp in the new LS1 powered dragster. He won the meet too with an 80,000KM+ 2nd hand LS1 motor with a cam in it. How good does that motor sound! Way to go Bobby!
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Mike Murphy
Melbourne Australia
Last edited by Aussie Mike; 11-21-2009 at 09:18 PM..