First, the company (CHI) that was making our cylinder heads, was sold. Unfortunately, the owner failed to notify us, or give us any advance warning what-so-ever. I won't go into all the details, or the problems, but I will tell you it was quite a surprise...... to say the least. At the time, I didn't even know where the core boxes were, or if I was going to be able to get my hands on them. Fortunately a good friend in AU tracked them down for me. When I contacted the new owners of CHI, they quoted a price which was more than double what the old owner was charging. Either they are delusional, or they simply don't want to mess with them, due to the low quantity. I'm assuming it's the latter.....
Over the next few months, I looked at numerous alternatives. I spoke with several machine shops in AU, as well as a few here in the USA. I also talked with the foundry that had done the casting up to that point, and with a couple here in the USA. In the end, I decided to have the core boxes shipped to the USA.
The foundry that makes our alloy valve covers and intake manifolds, will now be producing our cylinder heads as well. Not only are they one of the largest foundries in the USA, and one of the best, they also have a full machine shop in house. I'm very confident the quality will be just as good, if not better, as they currently produce cylinder heads for several well known companies. I'm also happy that I can now say "Proudly made in the USA".
While we were waiting for the core boxes to arrive from Australia, I shipped two cylinder heads to the foundry for digitizing. One of the heads had basic street porting, while the other was a fully ported race head. This gives us the option of offering CNC heads, which would flow up to 230 CFM right out of the box. We wanted to do that when we were having them made in AU, however CHI didn't have a mill big enough to handle the length. The new foundry does.....
When the core boxes arrived in LA (two weeks ago), the owner of the foundry met with my pattern maker. The main concern was to see if the core boxes need to be modified to run on their production line. Fortunately everything was fine, so no modifications (or delays) were required. The foundry is now in the process of producing a couple sample heads, and if all goes well, we hope to have some heads in stock around the middle or end of March.
I've also hired my pattern maker to look into the possibilities of making alternate core boxes, which would allow us to add material to the area under the valve cover. This would let us install longer valves, so we can use high lift cams, up to 600 lift. It also allows us to open up the intake ports for increased flow. According to my head porter, the modification could get us up in the 260 CFM range, possibly more. However it will be several months before they are ready. Not only do we have to make the alternate core boxes, we also have to modify the programming, order custom length valves, and do some testing.
Other News: We are currently looking into producing our own line of rocker arms, in cast and CNC. Our goal is to offer rocker arm kits in several different ratios (1.5, 1.6, 1.65, 1.7, and 1.75), with or without roller tips, at an affordable price. The kits will include new shafts, springs, and rocker arms (choice of ratio and style). Assembly (either by the buyer or Classic Inlines) will require using the old pedestals and hardware.
Over the next few months, I looked at numerous alternatives. I spoke with several machine shops in AU, as well as a few here in the USA. I also talked with the foundry that had done the casting up to that point, and with a couple here in the USA. In the end, I decided to have the core boxes shipped to the USA.
The foundry that makes our alloy valve covers and intake manifolds, will now be producing our cylinder heads as well. Not only are they one of the largest foundries in the USA, and one of the best, they also have a full machine shop in house. I'm very confident the quality will be just as good, if not better, as they currently produce cylinder heads for several well known companies. I'm also happy that I can now say "Proudly made in the USA".
While we were waiting for the core boxes to arrive from Australia, I shipped two cylinder heads to the foundry for digitizing. One of the heads had basic street porting, while the other was a fully ported race head. This gives us the option of offering CNC heads, which would flow up to 230 CFM right out of the box. We wanted to do that when we were having them made in AU, however CHI didn't have a mill big enough to handle the length. The new foundry does.....
When the core boxes arrived in LA (two weeks ago), the owner of the foundry met with my pattern maker. The main concern was to see if the core boxes need to be modified to run on their production line. Fortunately everything was fine, so no modifications (or delays) were required. The foundry is now in the process of producing a couple sample heads, and if all goes well, we hope to have some heads in stock around the middle or end of March.
I've also hired my pattern maker to look into the possibilities of making alternate core boxes, which would allow us to add material to the area under the valve cover. This would let us install longer valves, so we can use high lift cams, up to 600 lift. It also allows us to open up the intake ports for increased flow. According to my head porter, the modification could get us up in the 260 CFM range, possibly more. However it will be several months before they are ready. Not only do we have to make the alternate core boxes, we also have to modify the programming, order custom length valves, and do some testing.
Other News: We are currently looking into producing our own line of rocker arms, in cast and CNC. Our goal is to offer rocker arm kits in several different ratios (1.5, 1.6, 1.65, 1.7, and 1.75), with or without roller tips, at an affordable price. The kits will include new shafts, springs, and rocker arms (choice of ratio and style). Assembly (either by the buyer or Classic Inlines) will require using the old pedestals and hardware.
