Catching up a bit.

So it’s been a while since I updated my blog and I wanted to bring it up to date.

When I left off I was just about to test the oiling system on my VVT prototype. Not sure why I stopped updating the blog at that point but most likely it was lack of free time.

So the good news is the VVT system works. I have over 7500 miles on my head and it’s doing great. The VVT is cool but the complexity of it plus the additional costs involved makes it at the far end of what I would recommend doing. There is a lot more bang for the buck you can get and the KN20 makes a ton of power on it’s own.

I have sold a total of ten heads. Unfortunately outside of mine only 3 of them have been completed and are on running motors. Not the fault of the heads but the realities of how long it can take to build performance engines. SN005 is on the road and has over 10K miles on it. SN010 is on a Z Car Garage build. It’s on the road but I’m not sure what kind of miles are on it.

So that is where things stand at the moment. Like a lot of things the pandemic has slowed/stopped momentum on sales but I’m seeing movement again. I’m in production on 5 more heads and 3 of those are already sold so I can’t really complain about that. I’m making some interesting changes to the head and the process so I will try and keep things current going forward. 

Thanks,

Derek

6 thoughts on “Catching up a bit.

  1. Hello Derek, long time not chat, I trust all is well. I can’t stress enough – a Himalayan undertaking, you should be proud. I just caught the Datsun Garage YT vid and that really has the wheels turning [no pun intended]. I just so happen to live near King Motorsports, long time Honda tuners, know one of the proprietors, and am considering taking a head to them to work their magic. A full race build would be a site to behold. There’s no reason you couldn’t run !4:1 compression too.

    That said, please forgive me if this is a ridiculous question, but I have to ask. Are there any plans to produce these with the intake/exhaust reversed? An E36/46 Bimmer layout comes to mind. Stock mounts could be used and this would also aide intake & exhaust packaging.

    • Hi Phillip

      Yea it has been quite the adventure hasn’t it.
      Theoretically it could be reversed but wouldn’t that put a lot of heat near the starter? Or am I confused.

      • True, the starter may be a concern, and the Bimmers do have it on the intake side of the bellhousing, but the Chevy small block comes to mind. Worst case scenario it could be relocated , the Hoke VQ adapter plate comes to mind.

        • I assume you want to mirror the head to increase intake runner length. That is why Z Car Garage and others tilt their motors opposite from stock. Expense wise it is probably cheaper in the long run to tilt the motor. I make a CD009 bell housing that works with the opposite tilt and I’m in the early stages of designing an oil pan with a separate rear sump that you orient according to what tilt the motor is.

          • Yes, it would free up intake options but for me it’s mainly exhaust related. SCCA GT rules allow for the #1 spark plug to be inline with the front axle. The only way to achieve this is via a crossover header currently. Doable, but time intensive and nothing on the market one could potentially adapt. And yes this head would not be GT legal, but most clubs will have an SPO/SPU regional only class for similarly prepped cars with alternative powerplants.

  2. Well the reality is I could easily mirror the head because it’s digitalThe cam cores are the same for the intake and exhaust. The intake castings can probably work pretty easily with machining. It would be more money since it’s custom but not a ton.

    Email me at kick@datsunworks.com if you want to drill down a little deeper on this.

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