"Well, I say cheating is the gift man gives himself!" - C. Montgomery Burns


Sunday, February 04, 2007
A Fine Line Between Stupid And Clever


I have previously stated on this blog that the seventies were a glorious
mad time here in these United States, a time when existential malaise and
bellbottomed pants combined in some cosmic way to make everyone go a little
crazy. Evel Knievel was our patron saint, Burt Reynolds our court jester.
We all had flaming chickens tattooed on our chests, a can of Colt 45 in our
hands, and glorious mayhem in our hearts.


These days, with a few notable exceptions, I thought those heady days of
mechanical madness were behind us, suffocated underneath an institutional
pillow held down over our faces by lawyers, M.A.D.D.women, and the general
sissification of our overly-litigious, Oprah-soaked culture.

But something I have seen today gives me a brief glimmer of hope.



Mr. Iowahawk, himself a fan of automotive overexuberance, forwarded a link
from the H.A.M.B. hot rod message board. I am not ashamed to say that my
eyes welled up with tears when I saw the images contained therein.

> From the builder's own mouth:

"Just thought I'd share some before and after pictures of my Ford GAA tank
engine. All aluminum 1100 cubic inch V8 used in WWII Sherman Tanks. These
were gas burners rated at 500 HP and 1050 Ft. Lbs. of torque for military
service, but are capable of much much more using mostly stock parts. They
feature a 60 degree vee, 5.4 bore x 6.0 stroke, 180 degree factory billet
cranks, pent roof combustion chambers, shaft driven DOHC's, 4 valves per
cylinder, and dual mags. They are pretty high tech. engines, especially
considering they were built in the early 40's. I've been working on getting
one of mine going for the last couple of years, and should be cranking it
within a week or so. It's setting in my 70 Mustang right now which I plan
on taking on short cruises when finished, 24 gallons of alcohol wont go
very far. It is bolted to a heavily modified Powerglide right now. Wilcap (
Pat McGuire ) built the adapter and flexplate for me."

A DOHC tank motor in a Mustang? Madness, I tell you! Sheer, glorious
madness! I would gladly buy this magnificent bastard a beer if given the
chance. Heck, I'd buy him a freakin' BREWERY!

Does this insane chariot portend a return to the salad days? I hope so. I'm
gonna start building my custom van right now, just in case.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

 

That thing is huge!

 

The question is, how well does it do at the track?

 

My gawd over 1000# of torque. The right set of axle gears and that mustang would be fun to drive.

 

He must have had to really beef up the front suspension, as even though it is aluminum, it weighs in at around 900lbs from what I have read.
I did a search, and he is not the only one doing this. One guy I saw is putting it into an F350.

 

Looks like a over kill to me.

 

Looks like it would kill me!

 

When it comes to a big motor in a Mustang, there is no such thing as over kill sir.

 

Too much sex...

too pretty of a girl...

too much motor...

Nope, never heard of any of 'em!

 

I like this guy!

 

HA me too

 

Me 3

 

It’s an innovative and cool project!

 

Even if i heard them I cant fathom them. I have a wild imagination but not wild enough to imagine; "to much" of any of those.

 

X2. I want that car. And the girl. And...