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Thread: James Diedrich Hallum, 5/18/32 - 7/19/16

  1. #91
    Team Member OldRJexSea's Avatar
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    Default Hallum's Ram’s Horn -B- Anzani pipes photo & other odd items.

    My previous posts referred to the rather unique different exhaust pipe systems for the Anzani -A- & -B- engines produced by Jim Hallum during the early 1960's. I did not have photos of those unusual pipe systems, still do not unfortunately, but have found some following a BRF thread lead web link.
    Much thanks to the photo website, www.outboardracing.com in Puyallup, WA (near Tacoma). It tells that the photos shown were mostly from Bob Carver or Hugh Entrop stored images.

    Walin’s trailer box usually carried the latest version of their original A & B Anzani for normal competition. Those engines also ran the higher-nitro fuel for the early Kilo record runs. In rather few years the set of power heads, tuned pipes, tower housings, and various geared lower units might at times fill the trailer box. The whole set of engine equipment available was always in flux with the maintenance, repairs, endless modifications, and limited time for it all.

    One year that Walin’s trailer carried all of the early specialty motors & pipe systems was for the 1966 APBA Nationals at DePue, IL and the week later NOA Nationals in Midland, MI. Midland also included Kilo trials so Gerry’s trailer carried the straightaway hull and the full special setup for that in A & B. The standard course competition engines were also in the trailer box. (Small photo, BRF_encyclopedia_ James Hallum_ p-3, in a Milwaukee motel parking lot).

    Included was the -A- “straightaway” Anzani with the diverter valved twin-pipe per cylinder system and the -B- “course race” Anzani with the newer “Ram’s Horn” expansion chamber pipes. The “mile/kilo record hull” is seen on the trailer waiting for the Midland-NOA speed traps.

    No photo of the 4-pipe -A- Anzani but here is a good photo of the original “Ram’s Horn” -B- Anzani first use in late 1965 or early 1966. Hallum rechecking the timing. These first-use -B-expansion chambers running normal course 25-30% nitro fuel produced power equal to or more than the same motor with std. megaphones & 45% nitro fuel used only for Kilo trials. The extremely steep power curve rise when the ‘bounce-pipes’ tuned in put excess stress on crankshaft & rods which was not produced by the high-nitro w/megaphone combination or the normal fuel w/megaphone pipes. Hallum was pleased with the Ram’s Horn pipes for dyno & course racing power but not happy with the resulting crank & rod issues. Too often twisted -B- cranks, some broken. Megaphones were used for Kilo records by needing the unrestricted low rpm power to haul the large props from planing to operating speed.

    Original Ram’s Horn -B- Anzani photo. Second photo is Lee Sutter in a later year use with the troublesome magneto removed.
    JH Rams B.jpg
    Sutter Rams Horn.jpg
    ===
    Now for a final surprise photos, a unique old motor setup that I added to those initial strange pipe building years of the early 1960’s Seattle scene. I did not remember that the photo’s existed, that anyone still alive had ever seen the motor, or that anyone remembered, so no chance of my mention of it. An old friend did remember seeing it so the best estimate of the build year was 1962 over winter. This was after the first Hallum valved twin-pipe test Tohatsu 50cc motorcycle use and maybe during the initial building of the -A- Anzani diverter valve 4 pipe system (which was a long process). It was a bit of a shock to see this old 55-H beast again. Set on a runabout for the photo shoot I guess. Time & money ran out for me & the motor after one test on my hydro. (Added photo of the Hallum Tohatsu 50cc moto later set up for 1/4 mile drag w/Jim Dunn riding).
    Russ Rotzler
    ===
    RR-55H-1.jpg
    RR-55H-2.jpg
    JD-3.jpg
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  2. #92
    Team Member OldRJexSea's Avatar
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    Default Sutters Gold

    Master Oil Team.
    Some quite wild happenings in those early 1960's Seattle years and they continued as many slightly later outboard racers know.

    I have tried to be careful in sorting my old memories but it has been tough to be certain. I hope that any discrepancies are small enough to not effect the larger story. The photo of Sutter under tow in his Ram's Horn piped Anzani is an example. If you examine the two photos of those curled pipes you will see that the pipe segment just downstream of the rope plate on Hallum's original has several weld beads which were where wedge shaped cutouts are used to shrink the tube to a smaller end diameter and to adjust the bend radius. On Sutter's pipes that segment is without several of those welds so that pipe set was built a little later. I probably should not have labeled the motor as a -B- Anzani since it could just as easily be an -A- and there is also a pretty good chance that Ron Anderson may have built that pipe set. Hallum and the Anderson brothers were busy (prolific) builders of good equipment and collaborated extensively. The record books and titles tell that story.
    R.R.

  3. #93
    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    Russ, you've really brought this thread to life with your stories from the day. I know how much you miss Jim at times, me too, but at least we know he would have got a charge out of reading it all. Also know that Jim's family very much appreciates this as a tribute to him.

    (EDIT} (1-20-18) Earlier in this thread, some were asking who else ran Anzanis, and we came up with a few names. But recently "Racingfan1" has been posting old newsletters with race reports from the '50s and early '60s, and if wou want to look through them there are quite a few Anzani racers mentioned, names we didn't recall. So FWIW, and if you haven't already seen them, here are two threads in the Outboard History section:

    http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forum...Racing-History

    http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forum...azine-articles
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  4. #94
    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    I'm wondering about an old project of Jim's. Russ, this would have been after your time, but maybe Mark D or some other insider from those days will know about it.

    After the loop-scavenged engines had completely obsoleted the cross-flow Mercs in most of the alky classes, APBA made a good rule, the deflector step-down rule, that allowed owners of those old Mercs to run them in the next smaller displacement class. They still wouldn't generally be competitive with the modern engines, but would have a better chance. At this time, Jim, a career OMC mechanic, took what I think was an old 18hp Evinrude, anyway the 20 cubic inch version, and started carving on it to make something that could be used to play around in A Hydro. It wasn't any kind of serious project, more something to do for fun and to see what the old Evinrude could do. Dual reedblocks and dual alky/nitro carbs, full porting, more compression and squish, a light flywheel, different ignition, megaphones. I have an idea that this project was set aside before it was ever finished. Does anybody know about this thing, and who ended up with the box of parts?

  5. #95
    Team Member OldRJexSea's Avatar
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    Default Full mod OMC small twin.

    Well Smitty, “after my time” sure did cover an extensive amount of Hallum’s continuing good work. Sorry to have missed most of it except a few races scattered over decades.

    Jim & I did talk a little about standard modifying potential of the smaller OMC deflector motors in the early 1960’s. The problem generally was the displacements didn’t fit racing classes. Oversize or gave away too much displacement. I am unfamiliar with the later “step down” rule by APBA you noted but it seems reasonable so folks could keep racing within their same budget.

    There is a very vague memory of the young Losfar boys running a small ‘sport runabout’ from the dock of the Mukilteo Marina/Boathouse using a ported & compression modified, open exhaust, Evinrude ... maybe a 25 HP. They might have run some of the local saltwater “wildcat” sport hull race events too. Only utility gear cases and no short tower housings from OMC in those days though.

    My guess about an extensively modified Evinrude that you described to fit into -A- class might have been in-work during that period when Hallum was doing the full mod’s on the 3-cyl OMC Loop motor that Bob Rhodes ran with some success over time. I sure do not know the history of that effort but I think I saw it run one time at Lake Lawrence early in its development. Might have been about 1979 or then a decade later.
    Carry on,
    RR

  6. #96
    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    Sounds like roughly the right time period, Russ. If so, by that point Class B had become 350cc, which would include 22" engines. But maybe this project was no more than a playmotor. All I saw was powerhead parts in a box, set aside.

    Hey Russ, I have a thread going up in the Technical section, entitled "Mild hop-up of a Merc 350?" Take a look at the photos and link to photos that were just contributed. Other guys than Hallum have been radically modifying some "unlikely" engines, very nice work.

  7. #97
    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    Part of the current sad news about losing good old boys from the ranks concerns Steve Litzell, who was just the sort of smart, enthusiastic gear-head that Jim Hallum would have enjoyed knowing.

  8. #98
    Team Member Master Oil Racing Team's Avatar
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    So true Smitty.



  9. #99
    Team Member OldRJexSea's Avatar
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    Default A short addition.

    Quote Originally Posted by smittythewelder View Post
    Part of the current sad news about losing good old boys from the ranks concerns Steve Litzell, who was just the sort of smart, enthusiastic gear-head that Jim Hallum would have enjoyed knowing.
    ---
    Smitty:
    The BRF feature of sending "heads up" emails for any current forum action in a Thread is probably very OK. The only downside is that I checked the link provided and find that I have Zero knowledge that relates. So, this particular time I poured another "realxer", grabbed the peanut jar and went fumbling through the Forum to get a better understanding of the scope for those BRF regulars who seem to connect on various topics with Smitty.
    First notable item is that you guys have been BUSY, for years yet! I am not sure of any significance of the strongly ongoing commentary but here is a little detail which you all may find interesting.

    Several years before Jim Hallum died I read a description of the effort made by, (I think it was a British fellow with 'resources') who had somehow acquired remnants and Engineering data of the Honda Moto GP 250 cc 4-stroke, 6 cylinder factory racing machine which was just barely able to exceed the capabilities of the various other Japanese GP 2-stroke machines. (I am, today, not completely sure of that motor size,...might have been 500 cc's but that doesn't seem correct).

    The reason behind saying this is that in those GP circuit road racing championships for Factory honors since 1960, (maybe earlier), the 2-stroke motor was vastly dominant in the 50cc to 250 cc classes. During that period, Honda attempted to produce Factory GP racing motorcycles of 4-stroke engine designs which would be competitive. To do this, Honda found that they needed to add one cylinder per GP motor size to match other 2-stroke horsepower. So, a champion single cylinder 50cc Suzuki of one season required a 2 cylinder Honda of the next season to be competitive. And if Suzuki, or any other Factory went to water cooled cylinders the Honda, (or any other 4 stroke), was still at a disadvantage. The Honda advantage was fortunately aided by the very superb handling characteristics of their racing frames and funds to hire top dollar GP riders. Those Factory riders in that era were paid at rates above the Formula-1 auto-GP driver, amazing as that may seem.

    So, after some decades, the specific details of the restoration/rebuild of the Honda GP 6-cyl 250cc 4-stroke motor was published. I sent the detailed article to Hallum immediately because we had been so intently curious about those Moto GP years where the Yamaha RD-56, 250 cc had been dominant. Honda had built a 3 cyl and then 6 cylinder 250 cc GP motors to be competitive with the 2 cylinder 2-stroke motors and the later 4 cyl, 250 cc, 2-stroke motors for the other serious GP Factory teams. Vague memory of Honda eventually needing a 3 cyl. 50cc, a 4 or 5 cyl. 125cc, and the 6 cyl. 250cc to run with the top 2-stroke machines.

    For Hallum, being able to finally read the details of what Honda had to do to produce a 6 cylinder, 250 cc, 4-stroke Factory GP motor which would surpass the other Factory 4-cyl (or less), 2-stroke motor designs was a bit of engineering relief for his senses. The engineering potential advantage of the 2-cycle motor remained a foremost thought in his mind for his later lifetime.

    In that earlier era, the humorous comment was that Honda had shorted the Japanese watchmaker industry by hiring so many to build the valve train for their 6-cyl, 4 or 5 valves per cyl. 250 cc GP racing machine. That machine did well. The modern lesson for learning should be that extraordinary efforts and (invariably) costs are the perceived solution for any predicament discerned. Never mind that in modern times "discernment" has become a very foolishly discredited concept.

    Hallum found a sort-of 'closure' in the better understanding provided by the article describing the Honda 6-cyl GP motor details. That Extraordinary effort, even at Factory GP motor development level, was necessary to produce truly top level equipment against all other manufactures using 2-stroke motors.

    It was quite fun to finally talk with Jim about that article I sent when a time had me in the Seattle area long enough to make the side trip out to visit for a day. This was not long before 2016.
    Russ Rotzler

  10. #100
    Team Member DeanFHobart's Avatar
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    I remember the ‘two set of pipes motors’... one set of pipes for acceleration and one set of pipes for top end... and there was a solenoid operated valve that would switch between the two sets. Who could compete with that? Not many!!!
    Dean Hobart

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