Hi all,
Is anybody on here running an Aquaplane alloy head and twin SU set-up or does anybody have any photographs or information they could share? From what i gather they were an early 850 tuning accessory in the early 60's - just wondering what other engine modifications others have made when using them? I have the alloy head and inlet manifold and am considering an engine build using them so pointers on cam choice, overbore and so on would be very much appreciated. There seems to be very little info online about them.
Cheers,
Martin.
Aquaplane set up
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dinglem
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Aquaplane set up
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tjw89
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dinglem
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Re: Aquaplane set up
Hi mate - yes the manifold is great! Thank you. I've only seen photo's of it so far as i'm currently away from home working. Looks good now attached to the head anyway. Just trying to gather a little more info but drawing a blank it seems....tjw89 wrote:Glad the manifold is Ok.
60 Austin Seven
69 'ImpWerks' Van RVP 530G
70 Sunbeam Stiletto FDH 44H
83 Ultra Burner
83 Birmingham WHEELS Expert
84 Birmingham WHEELS Cruiser
84 Ammaco Freestyle Pro
84 SuperTUFF Burner
00 Lotus Elise Sport160
69 'ImpWerks' Van RVP 530G
70 Sunbeam Stiletto FDH 44H
83 Ultra Burner
83 Birmingham WHEELS Expert
84 Birmingham WHEELS Cruiser
84 Ammaco Freestyle Pro
84 SuperTUFF Burner
00 Lotus Elise Sport160
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dinglem
- Basic 850
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Re: Aquaplane set up
Thanks for that Smiffy - that site is pretty much the only information i have come across. The combustion chamber shape on my Aquaplane head is more like the 'heart-shaped' ones noted further down on the Ford unit on the above page. I wonder whether they did more than one spec?
On mine, the inlet valves appear to be 31mm and exhaust 25mm or thereabouts.
60 Austin Seven
69 'ImpWerks' Van RVP 530G
70 Sunbeam Stiletto FDH 44H
83 Ultra Burner
83 Birmingham WHEELS Expert
84 Birmingham WHEELS Cruiser
84 Ammaco Freestyle Pro
84 SuperTUFF Burner
00 Lotus Elise Sport160
69 'ImpWerks' Van RVP 530G
70 Sunbeam Stiletto FDH 44H
83 Ultra Burner
83 Birmingham WHEELS Expert
84 Birmingham WHEELS Cruiser
84 Ammaco Freestyle Pro
84 SuperTUFF Burner
00 Lotus Elise Sport160
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mk1
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Re: Aquaplane set up
Both the Aquaplane Manifold & head require a lot of work to make them work anything like well. The original combustion chamber shape was horrible & simply didn't work. The manifolds were often of the log type.
The above having been said, they can be modified to work acceptably well. But the ports, chambers & manifold all need extensive surgery, preferably by someone who knows what they are doing.
a cut off standard exhaust manifold or small tubular one works well with a MK1 sprite silencer. Avoid high lift cams, a set of 1.5 : 1 rockers is possibly a good bet but can cause problems with the lack of cam bearings. Something like an old fashioned 255 or at the most a 265 type cam will work well. This will give a good reliable increase in performance without effecting reliability.
Please remember that a lot of this tuning stuff dates from an era when manufacturers could make any claims for their products & it was just a case of buyer beware.
M
The above having been said, they can be modified to work acceptably well. But the ports, chambers & manifold all need extensive surgery, preferably by someone who knows what they are doing.
a cut off standard exhaust manifold or small tubular one works well with a MK1 sprite silencer. Avoid high lift cams, a set of 1.5 : 1 rockers is possibly a good bet but can cause problems with the lack of cam bearings. Something like an old fashioned 255 or at the most a 265 type cam will work well. This will give a good reliable increase in performance without effecting reliability.
Please remember that a lot of this tuning stuff dates from an era when manufacturers could make any claims for their products & it was just a case of buyer beware.
M