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TR6 TR6 New Aloy Head

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vettedog72

Jedi Knight
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A few months ago a bit was reported about a new aloy head with cross flow design was being developed. Any progress reports on the new head?
 
I've been waiting to hear more about that but nothing so far from what I've seen.
 
The one I remember seeing was not a cross flow. I think it would be hard to make a cross flow for the 6 because of the position of the lifters/push rods and how close they are together.
 
The alloy head that Canley Classics is producing is not crossflow. I have not heard dates or prices yet but expect the $$$ to be outrageous.
 
Hi,

Hmmmm. I've never heard of a cross flow head for any TR.

For the 4-cylinder TRs, an aluminum head has been available for some time ($3200!), but isn't cross flow. Perhaps one reason this was brought about was the popularity of upgrading all the earlier models to the last TR4A head for best performance. With a shortage of spares and enough demand, a cast iron version eventually was made, making it fairly simple to develop an aluminum version, as well.

The Canley head (non-cross flow) in development is the only alu head I've heard of for TR6.

There *are* cross flow heads for Sprite/Midget and MGA/MGB, some (all?) of which are aluminum.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
i swapped a couple of emails with the canley guy a few months back. i wanted to try one, but they were still in the development stage then. he reckoned the price was going to be in line with that of the 4-cyl. its not x-flow and weight seems to be the main advantage. it *might* flow better, but i'd want to see the #s. i stayed with the stock head and had it flowed.

if anyone has a spare 3k i'd still like to see the flow numbers.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi,

Hmmmm. I've never heard of a cross flow head for any TR.



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TR8 - they've got TWO of them! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif

Mickey
 
I had my stock head reworked to increase the cr to 9.5:1, new valves, springs, guides and had it ported and polished and the head flowed with the intake. Along with the other improvements I already had (trips, etc.) I spent way, way under a grand, including shipping, to achieve what I feel is close to the PI unit in performance. I added the GP2 cam and custom-length chrome-moly push rods and tuning it is a charm.

Al head would add major bucks to this and not achieve much more in the way of performance, except to lose about 40 lbs.
(and that is not British lbs.)


Bill
 
Bill - I totally agree with you.

3k gets you wiseco pistons, carillo rods and a custom grind cam. until i see the #s that seems like a better deal...
 
As there seems to be quite a bit of good competition in a few different UK race series, with plenty of TR6's, GT6's, 2000 and 2500 Saloons, that spending the coin to get that last bit of advantage could still be feasible. Shaving 2/3's the weight of the head, using an alloy water pump housing and pump etc... could translate to a slight power to weight ratio and lowered roll center for handling. Plus, aluminum can take higher levels of compression easier than cast iron. Gets into the 'luxury item' range for a street car though.

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Interesting, while viewing a plethera of MGC's at the Portland show, I noticed the head on that 6 is crossflow. Whose block did the folks at MG land use on that engine?
Don
 
Other than lowering weight, the big advantage with aluminum heads comes when you get to higher compression ratios. Seems you get less pre-detonation.
 
The MGC used a 6 cylinder 2912cc engine similar to the Healey 3000. I believe the cylnder spacing was different. Closer together to shorten the overall length. Someone else may know more, or remember more that I do. I've only seen a handfull of these cars. I don't recall ever seeing one with a cross flow head.
 
Bob- It was godly hot that day, maybe I didn't see correctly.
Don
 
Don,
That's OK. I'm sticking my neck out by trusting my memory from 30 years ago. Particularly about the cylinder spacing. Tony Barnhart on the MG forum would know about these. I believe he has one in his collection. Did you know that the MGC had an optional automatic transmission?
On the subject of Healeys and alloy heads there is a company in Australia that makes an alloy head for the big Healey. I also read recently about an alloy block they are perfecting. IMMDFM (If my memory doesn't fail me)The number of big Healeys produced was slightly higher than the number of TR6s, but I think the Healey boys and girls have a bit more cash to throw at their rides with the expectation of a decent return if they decide to sell.
"The mind is a terrible thing"
 
Cross flow cant be done on the TR-6s because the the lifters/push rods are all spaced too close together--no room for the ports. I dont know about the Tr 4cyl. but on the MG heads there is a space between each set of lifter/push rods with room for the cross flow port. As it has been mentioned--a TR aluminum non cross flow head is only good for the weight savings or if you are running super high compression.
 
If someone really wanted to do a crossflow head it could be done. But it would have to evolve into a twin overhead cam unit with the cams being driven off of a jack shaft. Similar to how the Ford Kent engine was made into a crossflow design and those twin cams are legendary. It could be done, but would it be worth the cost and the engineering aggravation. We are in a whole different time than when the Ford/Lotus 'twink' was developed. However, the thought of a miniature Jaguar XK/Aston Martin DB type of engine under the bonnet would certainly be fun!

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