Last week’s run of block and cylinder head identification challenges was such a big success, we went back to Custom Automotive Machine in Weymouth, Massachusetts for more material. Thankfully shop owner Dana Hard and his right hand man Jon Wall were more than willing to show us more of the cool treasures and projects they have going on at the machine shop. We’ve got enough of these bad boys to run for another week, so here’s the first one below.
In order to be a full on Jedi-master at this game you’ll need to not only name the engine make and size, but also what makes it such a special piece. Believe it or not, out of the hundreds of thousands of this particular engine that were made, the photos you see below are of a short block and cylinder heads unique to less than ten reported examples of the breed. You are looking and unobtaium in its most pure form.
Scroll down, check out the pictures and then give us your answer!
Oldsmobile DRCE
What you see here, is International Harvester’s top secret Pro Stock effort from 1968. Yes, 1968. They were just that far ahead of the curve! Development was stopped due to the soybean crash in the fall of that year. Truck sales plummeted and research on the BD345-PRO was scrapped.
Studebaker V8. Aluminum heads. R4 spec.
It might be an R3 (supercharged) instead of an R4 (dual quad). But definitely a Studebaker 304.5 CID R3 or R4.
I guess ya can’t wait until after breakfast before submitting an response.
I 2nd the Studebaker answer.
Also, I have been around a long time. I did not know of the existence of aluminum Studebaker heads!
They might be the Lionel Stone aftermarket R3 heads.
I can’t wait for the story about that bitchin mill. I hope it’s going into a Lark Daytona or something similarly cool.
I have no idea what it is, other than it appears to be SBC based and as I recall, Stude used Chevy engines with their own accessories, which might explain the weird timing cover? It seems to have awfully small bores for such a large deck and I like the valve reliefs in the deck. Them’s some big, wide openin’ valves. I’m curious about the plugs on the intake side of the heads, some cooling passage not needed for this application? Small flat tops tells me low compression, but with BIG valves, hmm, blower motor? I defer to Speedy as to it being a Stude, maybe for a supercharged Avanti application. I like Dutch’s observation, we could use a Navistar Pro Stock today, but soybeans are bad this year too.
Studebaker did not use GM V8s untl the closing of the South Bend, Indiana, plant and the shifting of production to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The Studebaker V8 predates the SBC by four years and is a more “robust” (heavier) design. Confusing the issue somewhat is that post-Studebaker Avanti IIs used GM engines and were assembled in South Bend.
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Definately R3 Studebaker. Timing cover with timing tag, wide dampener, valve notches in block, flat top pistons
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