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AutoNotes #5, 11/01/92 copr. 1992, Dave Williams
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BIX: 'dave2' CIS: 72571,3542 [email protected]
The Courts of Chaos BBS, (501)985-0059
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Interested in current developments in Japan? Japan Autotech Report
will send you a 30-page summary twice a month for only $520 per year,
plus $30 for postage and handling. Bank drafts only, to AI Publishing,
3-4-2-202 Akatsutsumi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156, Japan. Frankly, it
sounds grossly overpriced to me.
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Ford's DOHC variant of its SOHC 4.6 V8 gets an aluminum block instead
of the iron block. It's a Y-block design with four bolt mains with two
extra cross-bolts (for a total of six bolts) like the old 427 Hipo,
nodular iron crank, powder metal rods (Porsche uses those too),
distributorless ignition. The block uses pressed-in cast iron liners
instead of that nasty high-silicon aluminum bore lots of manufacturers
are trying. The intake cams have different lobes for the two intake
valves, with one closing 16 degrees later than the other. This promotes
swirl in the chamber. Exhaust lobes are all the same. The only
transmission available is the new 4R70W electronically controlled four
speed auto. It's supposed to be a heavier-duty version of the AODE box
which came out in the '92 Lincoln Town Car.
Power output is 280hp @ 5500 (short-cammed, ain't it?) and 285 ft-lb @ 4500. *But* it makes 272 ft-lb @ 2000, so this thing ought to have tons of low-end grunt. If you could get the electronics taken care of, this'd be a nice street machine motor.
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Chrysler's new 3.5 V6 also uses cross-bolt mains. It also uses floating
piston pins, a rarity in the automotive world.
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Cadillac's "Road Sensing Suspension" automatically adjusted damping
was developed by Saginaw for pickup trucks. Evidently GM felt it was
more useful on baby buggies than haulers.
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K&N gets this issue's Bunghole Award for asinine marketing. Some of
their new ads either don't list a phone number at all, or list a 900
number at $1.40 for the first minute, $0.75 per minute thereafter.
Runner-up goes to Hedman Manufacturing (Hedman Hedders) with a 900 info number, but at least they give you a regular number too.
Boycott 900 numbers!
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Orbital's engineers allowed journalists to drive a Ford Fiesta
converted to the Orbital two stroke. After the engineers' claims the
engine was as smooth as a six and developed more power and torque than
the original motor, the journalists found the car vibrated and had
flat spots. Orbital's engineers hadn't bothered to change the motor
mounts from the ones for the original Ford motor and evidently hadn't
bothered with matching gear ratios.
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The name that won't die: Yes, the Cobra is back. Remember the
Shelby Cobra? Then the Mustang Cobras, which went from all-out racers
to a mere trim package in a few years. The name was also stuck on the
Torino Cobra in the US and the Falcon Cobra in Australia before being
allowed to die, then was resurrected as a truly horrible decal package
for the wimpy Mustang II. The Mustang III saw a similar decal package
for a year or two, then the whole thing quietly faded away.
Ford SVT (not SVO) has reintroduced the Cobra name yet again. This time they've added a little more than just a decal package. The new car uses the retrofit "GT40" heads (which is what Ford called the original 351W-to-302 head swap kit in '69, BTW), roller rockers, and a chip change. There're the usual claims for stronger driveshaft and rear end, altered spring and shock rates, retuned bushings, and that stuff. Let me tell you a secret known mainly to parts counter men - it's almost always a lie. The part numbers are usually the same throughout the range, other than springs and sway bars. Oh, and the new Cobra gets its own grille, spoiler, wheels, and decals. Whoopee.
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Oh, that reminds me. The BOSS is back. Going all-out for any shred of
name recognition, Ford has dug up the short-lived BOSS 351 name and
attached it to their tweaked 351 Windsor. They use the "GT40" heads,
which are actually the old '69-'72 351 Windsor heads before they were
downsized for emissions, and what appears to be a high-rise variant of
Ford's crummy EFI intake manifold. 240hp @ 4200, 340 ft-lb @ 3200.
I just gotta quote Automotive Industries' article here:
"Known as GT40 Heads, their configuration is virtually identical to those of the famed endurance racing V8 heads. Actually, these heads were developed from the Boss 302 Mustang heads, which themselves had been developed from a set of flowed 1968-spec GT40 race car heads. Big valves and ports are their calling card."
I don't know if Ford's PR people are snorting new and improved drugs, or if the editor at AE garbled things with memories of old Ford engines, but that's the most abject drivel I've seen in years. To set the record straight, the small block GT40s used 289 HiPo heads, ported to within an inch of their life by various engine builders. When the 351W came out in late '68 Ford claimed the 351 heads were derived from the GT40 heads. Well, the ports and valves were substantially larger than the 289 HiPo, but the claim was just ad hype. The BOSS 302 was developed by Mercury division of FoMoCo purely as a homologation special for TransAm racing. The BOSS 302 used an entirely different cylinder head with canted valves. Except for the fact it would bolt into the same place as the standard 289 HiPo head, there was no similarity - the intake and exhaust manifold bolt patterns are different (and the exhaust is cut at a different angle as well!), the rocker ratios are different, and the valves are canted instead of parallel. Mercury also developed the 351 Cleveland, an entirely different short block than the Windsor, topped with slightly modified (water jacket mod) BOSS 302 heads. Later, there was a BOSS 351 variant of the Cleveland.
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The new '93 Volvo 850 uses a brand new, patented rear suspension. It's
a trailing arm layout they call "Delta Link." Unfortunately, it's a minor
variant on a much older system. You can patent anything if the Patent
Office doesn't catch it, and there's a bucketload of stuff out there.
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The new Range Rover has dynamically adjustable suspension height. It
uses compressed air instead of the hyraulics used by the equivalent
Citroen and Mercedes schemes. Rover really went all out with the
adjustability - the "high speed" mode lowers the truck 0.8 inches to
reduce frontal area. For four wheeling, you can jack the whole shebang
up a whopping 1.6 inches to avoid high centers. Gimme a break! Oh,
and there's a third "access mode" in case Granny has trouble getting
from her walker to the front seat. When the transmission is in Park,
all doors are shut, and the engine is running, the vehicle lowers itself
2.4 inches for easier access. What happens when Granny opens the door
is anyone's guess. Maybe she's supposed to climb through the window.
Rover has finally opened up the old Buick V8 again. The original increase was an overbore from 3.5 to 3.9 liters. Now they've stroked it 6.28mm to 4.2 liters. Along with a new cam, it produces 200hp @ 4850, 250 ft-lb @ 3250.
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Isuzu's new V6, found in the '93 Trooper, joins the odd-angle brigade.
The proper angles for a V6 are 60, 120, or 180 degrees. In practice,
90 degrees is often used. The shakies and gollywobbles are kept in check
by offsetting the rod throws and using lots of rubber in the mounts.
The 90 degree angle is used to allow the V6s to be machined on 90 degree
V8 tooling. The new Isuzu uses 75 degrees, probably for packaging reasons.
A 60 degree engine tends to be tall. Ferrari played with a 120 engine
many years ago, but 120s tend to be wide. Porsche and the old Corvair
used a 180.
Isuzu, BTW, is in serious financial trouble. They're not going to be making the GEO Storm for GM any more, and the rumor is they may withdraw from the automotive market entirely sometime next year. Interesting, considering Isuzu is a GM subsidiary, like Vauxhall, Opel, and Holden.
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