Supercharging?

[Sid Smith, SR.]

I know it was done on Ford Flatheads......any tinkerers ever try this?

I am always interested in the way people try to get more HP out of their engines
boats/cars......

[baileyem]

Performance

I remember busting my knuckles on a lot of Ford flatheads and getting off on how much additional performance we could get out of them. They were (are) great engines. But I look at the A4 in an entirely different light. Souping it up has never even occurred to me......well almost never..... There is something just as satisfying about getting, and keeping, one running just exactly as it was designed run, and having it perform exactly the task that it was developed to perform.....And that can be just as challenging as getting the maximum out of those old Fords.

I love my little A4, but it is in a SAILboat.

Mike

[Baltimore Sailor]

I'm suddenly reminded of the sailboat race at the end of "One Crazy Summer"...

[ndutton]

If the A4 modestly pushes the boat at hull speed, souping it up won't do any better unless you can get that displacement sailing hull up on a plane. It'll just add more heat, noise, vibration, fuel consumption and probably blow your aqualift apart in the process.

[lat 64]

whoa

....not to mention: only two main bearings and soft exhaust valves.
To a man, I think we are all after DEPENDABILITY.

Spend the time and money on developing a constant-speed prop. Now that's my fantasy

russ

[Mark S]

Probably the only thing in common with the flathead Ford and the A4 is that sweet flathead sound. Never should have sold that '52 flathead . . .

[msauntry]

I'd love just a few more ponies out of the old mill. I DON'T get up to hull speed and could use just a little more oomph. I think these engines are way understressed (and very reliable because of it), but I'd like more. If there's an economical way to jump up the hp/torque curve, I'd do it.

[lat 64]

We have three choices:

dependability,
power,
reasonable cost.

Pick two

[baileyem]

I think that we have all 3, already.....as long as we don't try to stretch any one of them beyond limits. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing better than maintaining the status quo.

Mike

[Bob N]

How about more sail area?

A bigger gennie? A spinnaker? After all, we are talking about sailboats here. The A-4 is just for when the wind dies.

[SimonP]

don't turbo charge it!

A buddy of mine who works on sixties AMC cars saw the A4 and suggested it was a good candidate for a turbo. I was amused. I ran the idea by a local A4 mechanic who shuddered and said NO. The A4 has only 2 crankshaft bearings, the extra power would bend the crankshaft. It seemed like he knew what he was talking about. Any opinions?