After two years of tinkering with the Crossflow heads, trying to get one to fit a US 200, we had nearly given up. We had sawed, welded, machined, and wrecked many 200 blocks in an effort to duplicate the geometry of the Crossflow deck. 
Today, I stopped by to pick up a head and we were looking again at some of the carnage when suddenly it hit us! :idea: We had been approaching this thing incorrectly the whole time! :duh: Our ideas had revolved around cutting and welding sections to the block to make the deck face end up looking like the Aussie block. It takes a lot of heat and a lot of (expensive) 99% nickel rod to make that work. We had actually roasted our last block in a charcoal fire to preheat it! Almost 7 hours of welding and machining ensued.
But then it occurs to us, why bother? Let's just add enough to provide pushrod clearance and head gasket support. There's no pressurized oil or water in that area, so no need for any great integrity. An hour later, viola, we have a prototype system!
Here's the kicker.....NO WELDING! If this thing works the way we expect it to, it's a bolt on. You'll need a drill, a grinder, some common hardware, a little steel, and some patience. A few holes need to be tapped and filled, some need to be drilled open. But this is a mod anyone should be able to do in the garage with handtools. there are a couple of head mosd to do as well, but again, no welding.
More this weekend as I take pics and put up a page on this. I think this will work! 200/250 cid US Crossflow conversions may be a reality!
Today, I stopped by to pick up a head and we were looking again at some of the carnage when suddenly it hit us! :idea: We had been approaching this thing incorrectly the whole time! :duh: Our ideas had revolved around cutting and welding sections to the block to make the deck face end up looking like the Aussie block. It takes a lot of heat and a lot of (expensive) 99% nickel rod to make that work. We had actually roasted our last block in a charcoal fire to preheat it! Almost 7 hours of welding and machining ensued.
But then it occurs to us, why bother?
Let's just add enough to provide pushrod clearance and head gasket support. There's no pressurized oil or water in that area, so no need for any great integrity. An hour later, viola, we have a prototype system! Here's the kicker.....NO WELDING! If this thing works the way we expect it to, it's a bolt on. You'll need a drill, a grinder, some common hardware, a little steel, and some patience. A few holes need to be tapped and filled, some need to be drilled open. But this is a mod anyone should be able to do in the garage with handtools. there are a couple of head mosd to do as well, but again, no welding.
More this weekend as I take pics and put up a page on this. I think this will work! 200/250 cid US Crossflow conversions may be a reality!
