Gurney Weslake for real!

[David Briggs]

For those of you who have never seen one up close, take a look, this one needs to dusted off but is otherwise ready to rock and roll!
Note, there is no manifold, carbs bolt directl to the heads, talk about eliminating the middleman!
Dave

[Martin Weigold]

Does anybody know what the Guerney Weslake engine's put out in terms of BHP and torque?

[HILLY]

Very nice Dave.
What is the bottom end set-up ie. block, crank, cam etc.??

[Jac Mac]

Originally Posted by Martin Weigold

Does anybody know what the Guerney Weslake engine's put out in terms of BHP and torque?

Early versions @325 cu in -448 hp(2v)
------------- @320 cu in -560 hp on alky & slide injectors[580 w/nitro added](2v)
------------- @344 cu in -606 hp@8500 on alky[3v-slide injection -exh in Vee ]
( Alloy block-3.25"stroke,4.110" bore- there is nothing new in the world is there-this was in 1968/69- It has taken 20 plus years for the aftermarket to come to the party!!)

Sorry no torque figures given.

Jac Mac

[David Briggs]

I don't know anything about the internals of this engine, I do know that there was a 4 bolt version of the 289 block available back then and that may be the basis for this motor, probably similar to the Boss 302 shortblock
I will defer to Jac Mac , he probably has better information.
Dave

[John Fitzpatrick]

Those valve covers are certainly shallow- what sort of rockers did they use?

[Bill D]

GW heads use a shaft mounted rocker system

[Bill D]

Here is some interesting reading

Gurney-Weslake V8

Enjoy
Bill D

[Jac Mac]

The info I gave was random quotes from tech in an article on the engines & a little difficult to put in context. I see now that the 448hp was actually what they managed to pull out of the FORD 289 heads @325ci prior to going with the first GW heads where they managed over 500hp on 305ci according to the article Bill D posted.
First evolution heads were cast with rocker shaft towers integral to head-later version had bolt on rocker pedestals for the shaft. Also a version for 4bbl manifold made which was cast less the Weber mount stubs.Later MkIV version had revised combustion chamber which has some similarities to the better SBF heads on the market today.
3V Head had twin rocker shafts with forked rockers with articulated adjusting screws at the INTAKE valve end for valve lash-Ex inboard in Vee, Intake outboard with slide injection.

Jac Mac

[Martin Weigold]

They are incredible figures for a SBF in 1968!

[John]

GW heads for sale, new.

Gurney Eagle Parts

They also have 255 ci DOHC Indy engines for sale.

[Ron Earp]

Originally Posted by Martin Weigold

They are incredible figures for a SBF in 1968!

I've always wondered - we're talking gross numbers here for these years, correct? Not SAE numbers? Or does the gross/SAE designation not have an effect for an engine dyno during that period?

It definitely had an effect for many of the "Muscle Cars" of the period that were claimed to put out some fairly lofty hp figures which in some cases were not backed up with real world performance numbers.

[Colin Artus]

Most versions of the G-W head hold the carbs at an angle (as pic in this thread) and utilise either a manifold (4v intake) or individual mounts ( 48 ida, see black bits under the carbs); I believe this was part of Weslake's contribution to the project.
RE the dyno figures: for a race engine gross output can be pretty close to net as the vehicle installation does not compromise the power (aircon,pas,crap exhaust etc)and it should not be subject to the vagaries of production line assembly.

[David Briggs]

You gotta love this forum! Where else can an ignorant savage like myself post a picture and get in return such a great response from so many knowledgeable people.
Thanks, Dave

[Mike Drew]

Hey guys,

Apropos of this thread, this ad appears in the latest issue of Octane magazine:




Cheers!