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TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:01 am
by minorv8
Out of curiosity, how many TA or Wildcat heads do you guys know of ?
I have a pair of Wildcats on my engine, my mate Timo has too (OK they are being repaired at the moment). Mgbloke has a pair of TA heads.
Any others ?
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:56 pm
by Coops
im running TA heads and rockers
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:09 pm
by Blown v8
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2022 3:05 pm
by bigaldart
We have Wildcats for the dragster.
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2022 11:20 am
by minorv8
My current engine with Wildcats.
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 1:54 am
by gp56
I am new to the forum! I have some stage one Wildcat heads taken out of mothballs that I am going to build for a hydroplane project on a 3.9 girdled block. I have the roller rockers, heads and old style valve covers along with JE pistons and a pair of injection intakes. I may need some assistance on purchasing the correct valves, seats and springs for these heads. The heads are machined but bare. Anyone out there able to help? I have reached out to a few of the suppliers but have not been able to get any response. I am in Northeast US. thanks
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 7:24 pm
by scudderfish
gp56 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 07, 2022 1:54 am
I am new to the forum! I have some stage one Wildcat heads taken out of mothballs that I am going to build for a hydroplane project on a 3.9 girdled block. I have the roller rockers, heads and old style valve covers along with JE pistons and a pair of injection intakes. I may need some assistance on purchasing the correct valves, seats and springs for these heads. The heads are machined but bare. Anyone out there able to help? I have reached out to a few of the suppliers but have not been able to get any response. I am in Northeast US. thanks
You can't say 'hydroplane' and not post photos!
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 1:45 am
by gp56
Here is a few of my hydros. All vintage. The blue is a Buick 215 with Inglese Webers just before the ignition upgrade. the red one has a vintage hillborn mech injection with a dry sump system and extensive head work done. That engine will probably be swapped with a Rover/ Wildcat
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 8:03 pm
by scudderfish
Are you taking the drive from the front of the engine? It looks as if it is facing backwards.
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 8:30 pm
by gp56
Yes on these boats we have a chain coupler off the front crank eliminating the damper. When you start the engine you are already turning the prop. Our larger GP boats have Casale Z Drive boxes off the flywheel that have a disconnect feature.
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 8:15 pm
by ChrisJC
Interesting that you do away with the crankshaft damper.
Does that not cause any side effects? like broken crankshafts?
Chris.
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 10:47 pm
by gp56
You would think it could but no. There is a heavy shaft and prop coupled to the front crank. You need to make sure your crank and shaft are in perfect alignment. Also the engine needs to have a solid mount to the stringers.
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2022 10:31 am
by minorv8
I am assuming that your Wildcat heads are original from Ian Richardson´s time ? It does not really matter since they all used SBC valve train components.
I uploaded some pages of a book "How to power tune Rover V8 engines" by Des Hammill to Google Drive. Here´s a link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
Hope they give you some ideas what to look for. My heads are newer ones made by ACR who bought the right to Wildcats. I have 1,94" / 1,6" valves, 7/16" stud mounted 1.60:1 roller rockers, beehive springs, retainers and locks, all Comp Cams stuff.
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 12:01 am
by gp56
Mine are early Ian Stage 1 heads. the valves appear to be sized as yours. I have the old valve covers as well. That info really helped. I was deciding should I sell or finish these heads but after researching them they appear to provide great performance. Probably going forward with final machining and build up. Thanks for the info!!
Re: TA / Wildcat heads
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2022 12:04 am
by gp56
Here are my heads