[DeTomaso] Detomaso SOHC heads?

Richard Greenblum richard at richardgreenblum.com
Wed Apr 19 10:59:36 EDT 2017


I wonder how he would have dealt with the longer crank pulley setup‹the hump
would be even larger than it is now, and that¹s only if the jack-shafts and
cam belt drive cleared the firewall.

Richard
Austin, TX


From:  DeTomaso <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com> on behalf of
Julian Kift <julian_kift at hotmail.com>
Date:  Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at 9:51
To:  "daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com" <daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com>, MikeDrew
<MikeLDrew at aol.com>, "detomaso at server.detomasolist.com"
<detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
Subject:  Re: [DeTomaso] Detomaso SOHC heads?

   Mike,

   From your photo it would appear that the heads could indeed be stock
   351C with the addition of a bolt on housing (rocker cover) carrying the
   camshaft, which would be the simplest way to get the overhead cam
   actuating the valves.

   Julian
     __________________________________________________________________

   From: DeTomaso <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com> on behalf of
   Mike Drew via DeTomaso <detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
   Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2017 3:06 AM
   To: detomaso at server.detomasolist.com; daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com
   Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Detomaso SOHC heads?

   In a message dated 4/18/17 23 57 10, daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com writes:
    Anyone know the story on this engine (see attached photo)?
   >>>Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, but 'yes'!
    >Detomaso   belt driven SOHC heads on a 351C block with dual plane
   intake
    manifold.   Heads and belt drive arrangement are very similar to the
      Ford 289 SOHC experimental engine but the intake (a raw casting) and
      the valve covers are unique.   Were these heads developed
   independently
   or in conjunction with Ford?
   I know Detomaso had Weslake produce some   pushrod heads that were very
   similar to the Gurney Weslake 2 valve   pushrod heads.A   Were the SOHC
   heads
   developed for the Detomaso Sports   5000 (a.k.a. P70) or some other
   racer?
   >>>Here's the story, as told to me by Don Coleman, who was an executive
   for
   Ford in the 1960s/1970s.   He was the head of the smallblock V-8
   program
   (289/302) during the Gulf GT40 years, and through his friendship with
   Claude
   Dubois, he was the fellow that arranged the sale of those engines to De
   Tomaso for the Mangusta.   When the Pantera program started ramping up,
   in 1970,
   due to his pre-existing relationship with De Tomaso, Ford sent him to
   Modena
   to be the sole American coordinating the project with De Tomaso.
   The Pantera was designed to use the standard 351C, but De Tomaso loved
   trick, exotic things, and he took it upon himself to have his engineers
   (with
   ZERO Ford input) design and construct several examples of an aluminum
   head
   SOHC conversion for the stock 351C bottom end.   While attention was
   primarily
   focused on the Pantera, in 1970 De Tomaso had also (on his own, with
   only
   minimal encouragement from Lee Iacocca) conjured up the Deauville, and
   if you
   look at the original cutaway drawing of the Deauville (see link below),
   you
   will see that it is equipped with this SOHC engine.
   [1]https://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/file/fit/730x700/media/76
   19551/De
   %20Tomaso%20Deauville%20(3).jpg
   The original configuration called for it to have four, two-barrel Weber
   carburetors, but instead of being arranged in the fashion we're most
   accustomed
   to seeing on Ford V8s like the GT40, and later Pantera race cars, these
   carbs were arranged in-line, like a Ferrari V-12, or Maserati
   Quattroporte/Kyalami/Bora.   (In fact, the whole carburetor/air cleaner
   arrangement was
   virtually identical to the Maseratis, but of course the intake manifold
   was
   different).
   De Tomaso spent a fortune developing this engine, and proudly walked
   into
   Don's office one day and announced it was complete.   They saw it run
   on a
   dyno, and while it worked, and it produced more power than a stock
   351C, the
   numbers weren't all that much better, and a stock 351C could easily
   surpass
   it by simply fitting a hotter camshaft.   The cost to produce the
   SOHC-head
   version would triple the cost of the engine, for only a marginal gain,
   so Don
   said "thanks but no thanks" and the Pantera got the standard Mustang
   engine instead.
   De Tomaso was disappointed that his Pantera would be stuck with such a
   plebian motor; he felt that the SOHC conversion would elevate the
   status of the
   whole car, and thought that Don and Ford were stupid to ignore his
   idea.
   That was one of many conflicts he had with Don, which finally resulted
   in Don
   getting fired from the Pantera project about a year after arriving in
   Modena, and transferred back to Detroit.
   (Don, BTW, is a resident of Carmel Valley and presumably will be in
   attendance at the upcoming Fun Rally; he was the guest speaker at the
   Las Vegas
   POCA Fun Rally about 10-15 years ago).
   The last time I visited De Tomaso in Modena, I happened to pass one of
   the
   prototype SOHC engines, but only shot one crappy photo (attached).
   What is
   difficult to make out in this photo is that the valve covers were cut
   away
   and fitted with clear windows, so that the engineers could see what was
   happening inside the engine while it was running on the test stand.
   Note also that this engine has a single four-barrel intake manifold as
   opposed to the quad-Weber intake.   That Weber intake may have existed
   in
   drawing form only.   While I didn't look closely at the four-barrel
   intake, the
   impression I got was that the 'hard points' on the cylinder heads
   matched
   those of the standard 351C heads, so that a conventional 351C intake
   would bolt
   up to the engine.   So if that's true, the intake is probably an
   over-the-counter Ford aluminum 351C intake (Dan would know for sure, I
   would assume).
   BTW, the photo that Dan shared is of a different engine, which
   Wilkinson
   bought from De Tomaso some years ago.   It's sitting on a stand in his
   shop; I
   just saw it there a couple of weeks ago, and meant to take photos of
   it,
   but I forgot!
   Mike

References

   1. 
https://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/file/fit/730x700/media/7619551/De
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-------------- next part --------------
   I wonder how he would have dealt with the longer crank pulley
   setup--the hump would be even larger than it is now, and that's only if
   the jack-shafts and cam belt drive cleared the firewall.
   Richard
   Austin, TX

   From: DeTomaso <[1]detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com> on behalf
   of Julian Kift <[2]julian_kift at hotmail.com>
   Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at 9:51
   To: "[3]daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com" <[4]daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com>,
   MikeDrew <[5]MikeLDrew at aol.com>, "[6]detomaso at server.detomasolist.com"
   <[7]detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
   Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Detomaso SOHC heads?

      Mike,
      From your photo it would appear that the heads could indeed be stock
      351C with the addition of a bolt on housing (rocker cover) carrying
   the
      camshaft, which would be the simplest way to get the overhead cam
      actuating the valves.
      Julian
        __________________________________________________________________
      From: DeTomaso <[8]detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com> on
   behalf of
      Mike Drew via DeTomaso <[9]detomaso at server.detomasolist.com>
      Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2017 3:06 AM
      To: [10]detomaso at server.detomasolist.com;
   [11]daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com
      Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Detomaso SOHC heads?
      In a message dated 4/18/17 23 57 10, [12]daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com
   writes:
       Anyone know the story on this engine (see attached photo)?
      >>>Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, but 'yes'!
       >Detomaso   belt driven SOHC heads on a 351C block with dual plane
      intake
       manifold.   Heads and belt drive arrangement are very similar to
   the
         Ford 289 SOHC experimental engine but the intake (a raw casting)
   and
         the valve covers are unique.   Were these heads developed
      independently
      or in conjunction with Ford?
      I know Detomaso had Weslake produce some   pushrod heads that were
   very
      similar to the Gurney Weslake 2 valve   pushrod heads.A   Were the
   SOHC
      heads
      developed for the Detomaso Sports   5000 (a.k.a. P70) or some other
      racer?
      >>>Here's the story, as told to me by Don Coleman, who was an
   executive
      for
      Ford in the 1960s/1970s.   He was the head of the smallblock V-8
      program
      (289/302) during the Gulf GT40 years, and through his friendship
   with
      Claude
      Dubois, he was the fellow that arranged the sale of those engines to
   De
      Tomaso for the Mangusta.   When the Pantera program started ramping
   up,
      in 1970,
      due to his pre-existing relationship with De Tomaso, Ford sent him
   to
      Modena
      to be the sole American coordinating the project with De Tomaso.
      The Pantera was designed to use the standard 351C, but De Tomaso
   loved
      trick, exotic things, and he took it upon himself to have his
   engineers
      (with
      ZERO Ford input) design and construct several examples of an
   aluminum
      head
      SOHC conversion for the stock 351C bottom end.   While attention was
      primarily
      focused on the Pantera, in 1970 De Tomaso had also (on his own, with
      only
      minimal encouragement from Lee Iacocca) conjured up the Deauville,
   and
      if you
      look at the original cutaway drawing of the Deauville (see link
   below),
      you
      will see that it is equipped with this SOHC engine.

   [1][13]https://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/file/fit/730x700/medi
   a/76
      19551/De
      %20Tomaso%20Deauville%20(3).jpg
      The original configuration called for it to have four, two-barrel
   Weber
      carburetors, but instead of being arranged in the fashion we're most
      accustomed
      to seeing on Ford V8s like the GT40, and later Pantera race cars,
   these
      carbs were arranged in-line, like a Ferrari V-12, or Maserati
      Quattroporte/Kyalami/Bora.   (In fact, the whole carburetor/air
   cleaner
      arrangement was
      virtually identical to the Maseratis, but of course the intake
   manifold
      was
      different).
      De Tomaso spent a fortune developing this engine, and proudly walked
      into
      Don's office one day and announced it was complete.   They saw it
   run
      on a
      dyno, and while it worked, and it produced more power than a stock
      351C, the
      numbers weren't all that much better, and a stock 351C could easily
      surpass
      it by simply fitting a hotter camshaft.   The cost to produce the
      SOHC-head
      version would triple the cost of the engine, for only a marginal
   gain,
      so Don
      said "thanks but no thanks" and the Pantera got the standard Mustang
      engine instead.
      De Tomaso was disappointed that his Pantera would be stuck with such
   a
      plebian motor; he felt that the SOHC conversion would elevate the
      status of the
      whole car, and thought that Don and Ford were stupid to ignore his
      idea.
      That was one of many conflicts he had with Don, which finally
   resulted
      in Don
      getting fired from the Pantera project about a year after arriving
   in
      Modena, and transferred back to Detroit.
      (Don, BTW, is a resident of Carmel Valley and presumably will be in
      attendance at the upcoming Fun Rally; he was the guest speaker at
   the
      Las Vegas
      POCA Fun Rally about 10-15 years ago).
      The last time I visited De Tomaso in Modena, I happened to pass one
   of
      the
      prototype SOHC engines, but only shot one crappy photo (attached).
      What is
      difficult to make out in this photo is that the valve covers were
   cut
      away
      and fitted with clear windows, so that the engineers could see what
   was
      happening inside the engine while it was running on the test stand.
      Note also that this engine has a single four-barrel intake manifold
   as
      opposed to the quad-Weber intake.   That Weber intake may have
   existed
      in
      drawing form only.   While I didn't look closely at the four-barrel
      intake, the
      impression I got was that the 'hard points' on the cylinder heads
      matched
      those of the standard 351C heads, so that a conventional 351C intake
      would bolt
      up to the engine.   So if that's true, the intake is probably an
      over-the-counter Ford aluminum 351C intake (Dan would know for sure,
   I
      would assume).
      BTW, the photo that Dan shared is of a different engine, which
      Wilkinson
      bought from De Tomaso some years ago.   It's sitting on a stand in
   his
      shop; I
      just saw it there a couple of weeks ago, and meant to take photos of
      it,
      but I forgot!
      Mike
   References
      1.
   [14]https://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/file/fit/730x700/media/7
   619551/De
   _______________________________________________
   Detomaso Email List is not managed by POCA
   Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes
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   To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.)
   use the links above.
   Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any
   message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the
   list. They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive
   or approve the archiving of list messages.

References

   1. mailto:detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com
   2. mailto:julian_kift at hotmail.com
   3. mailto:daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com
   4. mailto:daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com
   5. mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com
   6. mailto:detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
   7. mailto:detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
   8. mailto:detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com
   9. mailto:detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
  10. mailto:detomaso at server.detomasolist.com
  11. mailto:daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com
  12. mailto:daniel.c.jones2 at gmail.com
  13. https://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/file/fit/730x700/media/76
  14. https://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecache/file/fit/730x700/media/7619551/De
  15. mailto:DeTomaso at server.detomasolist.com
  16. http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso


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