For those who like to be at the epicenter of controversy, try this the next time you're bench racing with your buddies. Causally ask what is the most significant engine in the history of hot rodding, then stand back and listen. Presumably, there are a number of responses that could be reasonably well defended to such an open ended question, but odds are that most would argue in favor of the flathead Ford, or the small-block Chevy, or perhaps the Chrysler Hemi. But consider this: If any, or even all those engines combined comprise the foundation of the hobby, the cornerstone was the four-cylinder Ford. Even before the heyday of the venerable V-8, four-cylinder powered race cars were slinging dirt on tracks coast to coast and making clouds of dust on the dry lakes of SoCal.
Although a variety of engines were used when bangers reigned supreme, the overwhelming majority of racers ran Fords. Of course, then, just as today, engine builders had all sorts of tricks to make engines produce more power and live doing it, such as modified and counterweighted cranks, higher compression, stronger connecting rods, wilder cams, better ignitions, and improved carburetion. But what comes as a surprise to most contemporary rodders is the number of aftermarket performance parts, particularly heads, that were available. Then, as now, those early engine builders knew that breathing was the key to performance. Like its sibling, the V-8, the four-cylinder Ford's ability to breathe was hampered by the valve in block, or L-head, valve configuration. Couple that with 4.5:1 compression, and 40 hp from 200.5 cubic inches was the result. So, as you might guess, there was a real gain to be made with improved heads that addressed both these shortcomings. These aftermarket heads were made in all configurations: stock L-head with both valves in the block; F-heads with valves in the head (normally the intake) and stock exhaust valves in the block; and I-heads with all the valves in the head.
Although we've never found anyone who knew for sure how aftermarket heads were built for four-cylinder Fords, surely one of the largest collections ever assembled belonged to the late, legendary Wes Cooper. A hot rodder all his life, Cooper began racing on the dry lakes of Southern California in the mid-'30s. Some 50 years later, while watching yet another of his beloved bangers propel a race car into the record books, he passed away. Wes was truly a hot rodder all his life.
While doing research for his book, Hot Rod History, Book II (available from the Hot Rod Library) Tom Medley photographed this unique collection, but the planned interview never took place due to Coopers untimely death. So, in his absence, Medley asked Bruce Johnston, a close friend of Cooper's, to describe them all. A veteran racer and race car builder, few had the historical perspective Johnston could provide (unfortunately, Bruce was killed in a lakester at Muroc a few years ago).
Cooper's collection was indeed eclectic as it included a variety of aftermarket flatheads with familiar names such as Winfield, Evans, and Ford, along with less recognizable monikers such as Acme, RayDay, Simmons, Coisson, Roose, and others. Also part of the collection were overhead conversions in a variety of configurations, including F-heads such as the two-port Riley, I-heads such as the four-port Riley, Miller-Schofield, Cragar, and even a few ultra-rare overhead cam designs such as McDowell and Howell heads.
If you're even remotely interested in four-cylinder engines, you have to check out The Secrets Of Speed Society. According to its founder, Charlie Yapp, it's the largest speed and sport special interest club in the world that is dedicated to celebrating the people, history, technology, and equipment of high performance Model A, B, and T four-cylinder Fords; "We started with 35 guys as pen pals. Today it turns out there are thousands of us." Membership includes Secrets, The Ford Speed & Sport Magazine, published quarterly.
Along with putting out a first rate publication, another of Yapp's claims to fame is his speed equipment. Currently, he produces the Lion Speed head (a high compression flathead), all kinds of intake manifolds and aluminum finned side plates, steel crankshaft pulleys, and even a water inlet that also holds the water temperature gauge sender. But, the real jewel in Yapp's crown is his new Riley two-port head.
Although the new head is patterned after the original Riley, there have been substantial improvements. These heads run cooler and are more reliable than the originals, plus they look better. But the astonishing part is that dyno testing indicates that as much as 105 hp is possible at the rear wheels with bags of torque! Now that will make a nostalgia car scoot.
While the new Riley two-port heads are in production, there are 13 castings and about 100 parts in all, so it takes three to four months to complete a casting and machining run. As a result, if you're interested in one of these heads, it's advisable to get your name on the list, as they go fast (no pun intended).
Another great parts and services source for anyone into bangers is H&H Antique Ford Engine Rebuilding, which is run by Max Herman and son, Max Jr. They can supply an array of speed equipment and aftermarket heads, including their new Ardun built in collaboration with the guru of all specialty machinists, Norm Frick.
Services offered by H&H include complete machine work as well as full pressure oiling modifications, insert bearing conversions, counterbalanced cranks, and that's just the beginning. While they build everything from stone stock restored engines to killer Bonneville motors, H&H is probably best known for their touring engines. These are bangers built to run in the fast lane and live to do it over and over again.
Granted, they're not for everyone, but if you were looking to build something different, a vintage four-cylinder powered rod would sure fit that bill. They're certainly an alternative to the small-block sameness that everyone grouses about. Besides, they're a great way to start a conversation about hot rod history.
 This banger wears a new Riley...  This banger wears a new Riley two-port head from Charlie Yapp, along with other performance parts that are readily available. Horsepower is claimed to be around 105 at the wheels. While that's not huge, fours have tons of torque and pull hard so it feels like much more (photo by Charlie Yapp). |
 This is an F-head, which means...  This is an F-head, which means the exhaust valve is in the block, and the intake valve is in the head (built by Robert Roof of Anderson, IN). Roof made stuff back in the days of the T, A, and V-8-60s--there were very few of them made. As you can see, it darn near looks like a flathead with rocker arms on top but it has the intake in the head and the exhaust in the block. This particular head has a pair of very early Winfield carburetors on it with big intake choke bodies, which acted as silencers. These are barrel valve Winfields, made very early on, before the S and the SR Winfield carburetors. |
 This head is one-of-a-kind....  This head is one-of-a-kind. Art Sparks built it for a B class car that ran at Legion Ascot raceway around 1933. It's another F-head. Hart made two heads that were very similar, one was an overhead cam, chain driven, and the other was this rocker arm version. This head has one large intake valve directly over the piston, and the exhaust is in the block, similar to a Riley--but a Riley had two intakes. |
 This is a Miller-Schofield,...  This is a Miller-Schofield, later called a Cragar. It is probably one of the most popular and common heads ever made for a Model A. It was designed by Leo Goosen, of Miller fame, who also designed all the Miller engines. After one of Millers bankruptcies, a company called Miller-Schofield came to be, and at one time they cranked these heads out. |
 This is a rare head, and though...  This is a rare head, and though I'm not real familiar with it, I believe it's called a Rucker. It was built in San Francisco, as the story goes, and there is very little known about it. The head has two intake ports and four exhaust, all on the same side so that the standard Model A manifolds would fit. I've only ever seen two of these heads. |
 This is the first of the four-port...  This is the first of the four-port intake, four-port exhaust heads. The head was originally made in about 1934 by the Morales brothers for use at Legion Ascot. It was a single overhead cam in its original form, not a rocker arm. In later years, Joe Gemsa got the pattern from Morales and renamed it the Gemsa head. He converted it to a rocker arm operation, although he did build a few overhead cam versions too. This was a nicely designed head and ran very well. |
 The Riley two-port was probably...  The Riley two-port was probably second in popularity to the Cragar or Miller-Schofield. It came out very early in 1928, and was produced in three versions. Some had the spark plugs on the left, some had the spark plugs on the right, and some had spark plugs on both sides. |
 This is the last version of...  This is the last version of the Cragar; it was the so-called improved Cragar. The intake ports are on the left instead of between the exhaust ports on the right, as on the early ones. In this picture you can see Bell Auto Parts written on the rocker cover. George White, who owned Bell Auto Parts, made this head after the Cragar company ceased to exist. There was much debate about the improved design; many felt the combustion chamber was shrouded too much. |
 Built by George White, of...  Built by George White, of Bell Auto Parts, was the Cragar Junior. It was designed to go in a small Continental block and was very similar to the improved Cragar for the Model A. This particular one was designed for midget race cars and has Riley side draft carburetors on it that George Riley made just after WWII. The carburetors were more successful than the head. |
 This is a Winfield flathead...  This is a Winfield flathead for the Model A. There were thousands of these around. There were two versions, the yellow head or the red head. The only difference was the compression ratio. One was 6:1 and I believe the other was 7:1. |
 This is a later version of...  This is a later version of the Winfield; I think they were made with reworked patterns from the early ones. The later heads say Super Winfield, but the Super script is slightly different than that of the Winfield. Also, this head was made out of aluminum and it used 14mm spark plugs instead of the larger 18mm spark plugs, as did the older heads. |
 This head says RayDay, Seattle....  This head says RayDay, Seattle. I assume it was the same company that made RayDay pistons, which were far better known than the RayDay flathead. These have a conventional combustion chamber with not very high compression. |
 Unfortunately, there is only...  Unfortunately, there is only one picture of a Pop Evans turbulence A-head. Pop Evans was an early day race driver, and became quite well known in California as the maintenance man who prepared all the tracks. He would run his old Model A race car around the tracks, stopping now and then to patch the track. Then, he'd run a few more laps. The first time I saw him he appeared to be an old man, and he didn't look any different 20 or 30 years later. The guys in the early days of racing would talk about going to Flagstaff to race. Pop had an early version of a house trailer, which was unknown then, and would tow it to Flagstaff with his race car. He was quite a character with his big handlebar mustache--a very friendly man. |
 The combustion chamber of...  The combustion chamber of the new Riley two-port from Yapp shows the characteristic "pork chop" combustion chamber with two intake valves per cylinder (the stock exhaust valve in the block for each cylinder was still used, the intakes were sealed off) (photo by Charlie Yapp). |
 Yapp can also supply the new...  Yapp can also supply the new Lion flathead for increased performance on a budget (photo by Charlie Yapp). |
 Another major player in the...  Another major player in the banger business is H&H. They offer a long list of pieces, including their new H&H/Frick Ardun head for Ford bangers. |
 H&H has a long list of parts...  H&H has a long list of parts and services for bangers, here is an A-crank that has counterweights added. |