British Anzani A & B Stock & Alky Racing Engines

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The following pictures show the only 350CC British Anzani cast iron engine block known that Bill Tenney prepared for B Alky racing (where Anzani was restricted to 322CC) but it is doubtfull it was ever run as like the pistons the finished bore was finish honed but there is no sign the engine block was ever started and run. Just smoked a bit from the garage fire.

The difference in bore size from 322CC to the full 350CC would be likened to having a large glass of wine was the 322CC with the full bottle being the 350CC which. The full 350CC was commonly used in UK as the B Stock Gas class engine. There is a story of some sort why Anzani was restricted to 322CC and not the full 350CC for North American B Alky but I have never heard it. With little doubt the engine going more over square with the large 350CC bore would have been something worse to contend with than the already remarkable 322CC bore B Alky engines used. The 322CC's track record in the late 1950s and early 1960s was very impressive for the loop technology it introduced into outboard racing starting the Loop Charged outboard racing engine revolution.

This engine pictured is fitted with "West Coast" (center of head supported with struts putting the load in the middle of the block) type pipes used in Washington, Oregon, Montana States in the USA as well as in Alberta, Canada. Some in the later years termed them "Pacman" pipes due exhaust systems overall shape. The fuel induction system is longer ram using a Walboro Alky conversion self pumping carb with velocity stack. The tiny flywheel is minimal for just a rope plate and having a crankshaft to magneto timing gear platform relying on engine torque being stored on the heavy main section of the crankshaft that weighs in nearly the same as a stock Anzani chromed flywheel would, normally a very heavy assembly.

Enjoy the pictures.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The following pictures depict the overall North West (Can & USA) generic setup for exhausts and intake on a single carb Anzani in particular setup like that used by Roger Wendt (Montana) as his number 2 engine during the 1970s.

The exhausts are flanged to the exhaust port and supported with struts to a bolt up support anchored to the center head bolts of the Anzani's removeable alluminum head. This setup is unique to the Pacific North West. Engine blocks still suffered flange cracking at their bases none the less which were skillfully welded by welders competent in cast iron welding and re-used.

Instead of a pressure feed to tank with a float metered Vacturi A0-500 carb, the cork float was removed and a spill over return to tank return line system was installed using a shock mounted OMC generic fuel pump with enlarged orfices, fittings and lines to draw from the fuel tank and deliver the high volume flows required in methanol & nitromethane mixed racing fuels use. This same fuel system uptake and delivery was later extended to 2, then 4 and more carb versions that brought the engine speeds over 100+ miles per hour.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The following British Anzani class B Alky class powerhead is ready to go or show as soon as she is mated to her tower, clamps and gearcase setup. This powerhead looks the way the North Western USA and Alberta, Canadians would normally see. Horsepower on methanol with a mild 10% nitromethane and lubricated with racing caster would as a 322cc engine would produce about 65 horsepower. At this particular engines larger 350cc displacement estimated horsepower could be in the 70+ horsepower range. In either 322cc or 350cc bore widths the additional nitro over the 10% Bill Tenney writes about in his technical papers to 15 or 20% the horsepower and torque would increase similarly over previous specs.

Enjoy the pictures.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Remaining finished powerhead pictures, Anzani class B Alky.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

The following pictures is of an Anzani class A racing crankcase. The standard rotary valve window which fed through to the carb opening through a similar tunnel in the cast iron block was a rather tortuous "S" shape. In this case the rotary valve transfer tunnel was blocked off leaving the primary carb (Vacturi A0-500) feeding the 2 piston ports beneath it. Jim Hallum in the many trials he conducted found that the rotary valve could be blocked off totally with little change in engine performance. In the North West they added 1 Tillotson HL over top Mculloch reed valve bodies to each crankcase side in a mehod pf placement like its cousin the Harrison (HRP) engines mounting 2 carbs this way for a total of 3 and where the rotary valve tunnel was retained there were 3 carbs.

In this Anzani crankcase getting rid of that "S" shaped rotary valve transfer tunnel to speed up the air/fuel flow charge was accomplished by re-setting the rotary valve face 180 degrees, filling and forming the crankcase tunnel ring into a straight line affair making the tract effectively straight speeding up the air/fuel transfer making the rotary valve effective transfering air/fuel into the crankcase through the center of the crankshaft again.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Readers have seen Anzani engines in the Midwestern area in the 1950s and 60s sporting one to three of these pressue sensitive fuel bowls for one thing. To provide the Vacturi A0-500 carb with float bowl, needle, seat and cork float with a psuedo gravity tank to feed that carb using crankcase pressure feed to a remote in boat fuel tank pressurizing it transferring fuel to the DelOrtos to the Vacturi upon its demand when the float dropped down. These Anzanis clearly had no fuel pump so 1 to 3 of these remote fuel bowls supplied the fuel to the hungry Anzani at racing speeds. Though simple and generally reliable Vacturi cork floats would fuel soak and sink (causing flooding) as well the needle and seat affair the cork float acted on could also jam from vibrations or gumming up so you could get starvation but it was usually flooding that occurred hampering racing performance.

Enjoy the pictures.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Almost every British Anzani crankcase I have is like the previous pictures here and stamped with an bunch of numbers with a "AR" (class A Alky racing) or "BR" (class B Alky racing) letters also stamped with the numbers. Are these NOA or APBA registrations and is there in existance a master list archived to do some owner or driver identification.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

The only time I've ever been questioned about a class letter was NOA. The class of the motor must be stamped on, but there could be other letters as well. For instance a two cylinder B Konig was FB and the four cylinder VB. I raced a VB in APBA that did not have any numbers at all and was never called on it. Also, we never had to fill out any forms with the motor number on it, so there would be no master list. It would be great if there was, but to track owners down just comes to getting a lucky break.

[Tim Chance]

Almost every British Anzani crankcase I have is like the previous pictures here and stamped with an bunch of numbers with a "AR" (class A Alky racing) or "BR" (class B Alky racing) letters also stamped with the numbers. Are these NOA or APBA registrations and is there in existance a master list archived to do some owner or driver identification.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

In the 60's Midwest Power Boat Association had a rule that you had to have the class stamped on the block.

At the time I had a real good C Mercury with a C stamped on the block. I let Loren Kaus run it in F Runabout (NOA rules one man in boat) and he won. He was inspected and passed because we had stamped an F on the opposite side of the block. He said he couldn't remember which side had a C and which side had an F and he guessed and guessed right.

On another note this photo brings back memories. That is the view I had of Dick Zivic for four heats at clear lake Iowa. He won both heats of A Hydro and both heats of A Runabout. I ran second all four times with a Konig. At the end of the day I was deaf, couldn't hear a thing and sick from about 12 miles of breathing nitro fumes.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Tim:

When I bought my first Anzani 322 Alky B from Gene Strain in Calgary AB, in 1978 after not seeing much of them since the early 1970s, how they sounded with years in between sure didn't change much. Gene (Pappy) introduced me to the full disk test / tunning wheel that Ron Anderson and Jim Hallum spec'd, made and used to tune these Alkys. Gene just used it that day for us to fire and demo the engine for me in a test barrel with a garden hose supplying the cooling water to the engine while it ran on methanol and 15% nitro before I bought it. He wanted me to see it run, he was so insistent but I think it was for him as much as it was for me! He just had one big grinn the whole time we tested it.

We had no ear protection and even that short burst left us both deaf in any case for a while. Gene's wife Flo could only shake her head with what we were doing at their cottage which was next door to the Chestmere yacht club where spectators emerged too very quickly just to see what had started and sounded so gawd awful! I truly appreciate Tim's expression of how the noise and nitro left him. I would testwheel and tune each Anzani I acquired and restored with that same test wheel leaving me the same way but I only ever used methanol/Jack Rabbit synthetic oil mix since then. That is pretty pungent all by itself. Even though the stacks go rearward testing the engine still left you deaf for a while even if you wore earplugs and headphone ear protection. The noise is just that bad from the virtually square exhaust ports these engines used.

On the numbers on crankcases, not all of the used crankcases here were ever numbered and some had their numbers and designations changed as well. That would indicate quite an active registry system back then by the sound of it. Dick Zivic was sure a noteable back then so when I saw him running up here and there was some Konigs running then as awell there is no doubt you were one of racers out there challenging away with those quieter German engines. There were sure a lot of Anzani A and Bs being raced back then.