Four States of Separation: Getting Shafted in Arizona (Post # 68)

Camshafted, that is.  DeWayne Samuels of Samuels Speed Technologies sent the following description of engine work accomplished and on-going, along with an invoice.  Even with all this work going on, the costs associated with the camshafts, valve springs, and exhaust valves accounted for more than half the bill!

Looking to see plating and metal finishing work anytime (mostly carb parts and fasteners), cams well underway.  We are using Crower – way less money than the Italians and way faster delivery, plus I prefer their profile design with USA gasoline vs Italian design on EU gas.  Continuing on carbs, still missing some broken parts that should have been here by now. Finishing oil system prep work.  Exhaust valves are done, starting in on water pump.  Right in the middle of preparations for refinish on externals (intake manifold, covers etc.).  I have one more bid due any minute on valve springs.  Roger and I decided to rework the spring seat area in the cylinder head thus allowing .150” additional height in the spring package, making the spring development more feasible.  The Italians only think they can come up with stock pressure springs but they are too weak to start  with and I have not been able to get anyone to commit to supplying anything (I've been sourcing springs since your engine first got here). I found some Ferrari inner springs with spacers but the spring rate pressure is off - which is as important or more so than the seat pressure.  Piston valve relief area profiling is under way. When finished we will perform a static balance prior to the dynamic balance of the assembly.  

The oil sump after crack repair, etching, and
priming.  DeWayne Samuels.

Glyptol internal finish  for sump.  DeWayne Samuels.

Blued and black oxided engine fasteners.
DeWayne Samuels.

Some of  my fellow gearheads at the Car Table are skeptical that a little 4-cylinder, 2 liter engine should or could need this level of work.  The question they ask most often starts with  "Does it really need . . . ?"  I was nervous about the route the engine work was taking, but in for a penny, in for a pound.  At least things were happening!  Lurking in my memory was the eight years the engine languished in a certain shop in St. Louis while the proprietor was writing the definitive Book of Excuses (more on that later!).





On the other hand, it has slowly dawned on me that few of The Alfatross' brethren have their original engines.  Even some that have correct 1308 engines don't have their original 1308 engines.  The explanation is simple: most of these cars were raced.  Racing is the best way to wear out or blow up an engine fast.  What do you do when your engine is shot but the rest of the car is still good?  You find another engine that will fit and plug it in, of course!

Crower cams--worth their weight in unobtainium!
DeWayne Samuels.

Not that The Alfatross' engine was in great shape when I got it.  It had been rode hard and put away wet many times. Adjustable parts like valves were adjusted to their limits and beyond.  It was overdue for major work.  DeWayne's approach has been to assess the condition of all parts  from an engineering perspective, restore whenever possible and replace when restoration was not a viable option.  Fortunately, with the exception of the oil dipstick, the only parts that needed replacement were internal, and most of them were things that are routinely replaced in a race engine anyway.

The two Solex 40 PII carbs disassembled, cleaned, repaired, and refinished.  DeWayne Samuels.

One of the Solex 40 PII carbs before restoration.  

The only question at this stage is when will the engine be finished and run-tested on a dynamometer? As soon as Tim finishes the body The Alfatross will come back to Santa Fe for installation of virtually everything except the interior.  That would be the perfect time to fit the engine so that we have not only a rolling chassis, but one that is self-propelled!

After Restoration. DeWayne Samuels.