@@J.R.in_WVand Zora outdid himself with the small block chevy and made the flathead inferior...the sbc has won more races than any other engine worldwide spanning 40+ years and powered more cars than any other engine...a legendary masterpiece
I never realized how complicated these conversions were. Thanks for the lesson! Not that I will ever be able to make use of it. LOL! Always great content! 👍
Ron and Laura are such down to earth people it sparks a little hope for mankind after all the stuff we’ve endured the past year and a half. I have watched some of their videos and have enjoyed every second of it. Thanks Matt for this pit stop. Most enjoyable.
So much knowledge so many stories. I grew up un the 50s and 60s and thought i knew a lot about cars. I KNEW NOTHING when you listen to these guys. Thanks for sharing and saving these stories.
Absolutely awesome! This is nearly wizard lore folklore. An awesome video series. Thanks for the entertainment. Finding original parts to running, can’t wait to hear and see your car running. Thanks Matt and Mike
Thanks for posting this video. I have seen photos and videos of the heads for many years but never such a thorough explanation of how they work. Great work.
Hello Richard, how are you doing. I hope you are safe and in good health. Looking for a new friend and i saw your pic here. I hope you don't mind thank you.
The nostalgia of this set up is the only thing that makes me dig it. My sensible side says, just use a later OHV engine from the era or leave it as a flatty. But man when they are together and running it just screams cool, I guess that’s the point.
Thanks for sharing this update on all the old gold Matt found at the engine builders shop a true legend of engine building from what I could tell awesomeness!!!!!!
I still remember the first Ardun conversion I saw as a young fella. I thought that they were the absolute sexiest-looking engine I'd ever seen and I still do. Between the Ardun and the 426 Street Hemi I could look at or work on 'em all day. Like the fella said, "Looks about like my shop." That's the truth in my case, too. When my wife gets near it she throws up her hands in despair. I guess she doesn't appreciate beauty....sigh..... As I watched this upload I was surprised how very simple the Ardun heads are to put on the flathead block; about all a guy needs is the torque specs.
Hey Matt, I first saw an ARDUN engine when I was about 12 years old. When I was told what it was I could not get over the fact that it could be built from a flat head. I got to hear the engine run as it made a pass on the 1/4 mile track at Colton, Calif. 60 years later I still feel the excitment when I see an ARDUN engine. Thank you for the great video.
I remember them Arduns quite well.Back in the day they weren't over the top expensive and you could get some serious horsepower gains if you knew what you were doing.But today they're crazy expensive and when you put them on top of the flathead Ford you won't get the power a decent OHV makes all on it's own.But the "cool factor" is second to none!I respect and even envy anyone who has one of those things,pure awesomeness!!!
I'm very familiar with the Ardun set up. A friend of mine bought up a lot of Flat Head speed parts in the 60's and 70's, including several Ardun head set ups. He also has vintage period correct blower set ups, multi carb set ups etc etc etc. Now that he's retired he periodically will put something up for sale, usually on EBay, and watches the bids go up.
I'm in Massachusetts and have some customers/friends regularly do restorations for and they probably own at least 20-25 early Ford Model T's and A's including a VERY rare 1913 Speedster that was in a movie many years ago now. These people have $$ and have zero problem buying up everything old and Ford that they come across and I'm willing to bet they'd buy everything he has assuming the price isn't Insanity.
Awesome! I'd never heard of Ardun heads before you guys scored those. Don't imagine any made it to Australia. Fascinating to hear Ron's explanation of what mods are needed to make a 100k mile engine, with that oil feed and the clearances for the pushrods etc. Matt, you are gonna have a Killer engine when you get it back! So cool (and hot!).
In my next life I will pay more attention to detail in high school metal shop. I only read about Ardun set-ups in 1960s hot rod magazines and never actually seeing one I figured it was a matter of buying the kits and dropping it in place. Oops! Fantastic video--50 years too late for me but a gold mine of information.
Ronnie needs a friend with a water jet machine. Cuts dead soft copper like butter with no distortion or burrs. Have helped make many copper head gaskets for vintage motorcycles using this method.
This is really neat from a historical perspective, but I hope he’s only building these for museums. Converting a flathead to overhead valve to actually run in a car is the silliest thing I can imagine!
Morning Matt & Mike, I definitely understand your interest, my interest is in something very similar, maybe not quite as rare, the Boss 429 Ford engines, you can bolt these heads on a stock 429-460 block, but you have to do the rocker shaft oiling very similar to the Ardun oiling system is done....great & interesting video!! As I mentioned before, your Ardun project is in very capable hands!!!! God Bless!!!!
Never seen an Ardun OHV Head . Think l have heard of them . How Good were they back in the day. Exotic. It would Awesome to have the right hotrod 2 drop one of these old ⏰'ers in2 something super special. Thx 4 sharing guys .
@@marydesmond9595 yes he was a great engineer. Split window 63 vett and that 30-30 Duntov cam that we all went out and ordered as soon as it was available from Chevy! Fun times.
Yes Awesome video, loved seeing the ARDUN parts off and on to show the interfaces and mechanical design involved. Wonderful. From a Flat head to a Hemi in one feel swoop. God I would love have and build such an engine. SO rare and so Hot Rod Engineered. Thank You very much for posting, I may have to get back on your list now. Dennis
I will always just dream of owning or even driving an Arden flathead to late now but still can dream right lol 😆 it been a dream of my for many years came close a couple of times but cancer and cercomstance has made skip past me maybe for the last time love ya brother keep doing what you do that's why your a legion among builder's be well God bless
R & C published a three-part series by Tom Senter in 1971, entitled "Ardun White Paper." Tom chronicled the birth and development of the Ardun head kit and some of the successes of the few racers fortunate enough to own them.
An amazingly educational video. I'm not even a flathead guy, but I found this very informative. Ronnie and his wife seem like very nice folks, too. I wonder what a complete set up with Ardun heads would've cost back in '47?
Though those engines going an eighth over, my more modern engines struggle sometimes at 030 over. The evolution of engines,, look at all that iron with the block and integral bellhousing compared with the SBC or Ford Windsor. I can remember watching a friends dad building a V12 Lincoln thinking it archaic,, which it was. This early 80s. And currently I am building a Clevo which is probably older than that V12 was then!!
Curious Bit Of Trivia: The "Ardun" cylinder head conversion was invented by Zora Arkus-Dutov -- the same man who created the Corvette. He thought it up while racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The "Ardun" name is a combination of ARkus and DUNtov. His birth name was Zachary Arkus. His mother divorced and later remarried a man named Duntov, so he took both last names and hyphenated them. "Arkus & Duntov" was the name of the Ardun Mechanical Corporation in New York, which he and his brothers ran during the 1940s. The heads were designed by George Kudasch, as a cure for overheating in flat-head Ford V-8s.
Considering those hemi heads are the pistons generally changed out for dome pistons and I apologize if you said this in the video I missed it and I’ve watched twice it’s fascinating seeing old school Hot Rod parts and how similar it is to production Hot Rod that came later it’s almost like Chrysler straight up stole the Arden head design
I can be wrong, but I think flathead "flat tops" were actually a little bit domed. Not really flat on top. Not sure that qualifies them as domed pistons though. But that hemi thing....ya. Mercedes and Duesenberg argued over who invented the hemispherical heads way back in the 30s or 40s. Losers. Ford already had it huh! Wow this is an awesome video.
Fantastic! Wonder what happened to the FE out of the dragster. I have FE parts like he has Ardun parts (even an FE powered Pinto). I love this stuff, keep it up,
It's nice to watch Ron explain what he does to make these Arduns work.
Zora Arkus Duntov made OHV flatheads work…Ron is just making them work a little better.
@@J.R.in_WVand Zora outdid himself with the small block chevy and made the flathead inferior...the sbc has won more races than any other engine worldwide spanning 40+ years and powered more cars than any other engine...a legendary masterpiece
I never realized how complicated these conversions were.
Thanks for the lesson! Not that I will ever be able to make use of it. LOL!
Always great content! 👍
True but I took mental notes anyway, the more obscure and un needed the more you retain. !
Gee that kind of sounds like a law of something or other.
Ron and Laura are such down to earth people it sparks a little hope for mankind after all the stuff we’ve endured the past year and a half. I have watched some of their videos and have enjoyed every second of it. Thanks Matt for this pit stop. Most enjoyable.
Thank you!!
All that knowledge for back in the day
Tks Matt an Mike for sharing allways interesting history,cause without them ,it will be a sad day if it's not passed on
So much knowledge so many stories. I grew up un the 50s and 60s and thought i knew a lot about cars. I KNEW NOTHING when you listen to these guys. Thanks for sharing and saving these stories.
Kick ass awesome. I could listen to what he’s dishing out all day. He has so much info it just seems to spill out with no effort. Great two videos.
The man is such a wealth of knowledge. I could listen to him all day! Thanks for sharing this.
Absolutely awesome! This is nearly wizard lore folklore. An awesome video series. Thanks for the entertainment. Finding original parts to running, can’t wait to hear and see your car running. Thanks Matt and Mike
I'm enjoying the east coast hot rod scene! Keep it coming.
Thank you !!
I've wanted to see a detailed look into the Ardun conversion for a few decades now,, lol..
Thoroughly enjoyed this!
Ronnie is obviously THE guy!
Really interesting, always wondered how they were put together.
Awesome content Mike and Matt I really enjoy seeing these kind of places
Thanks for posting this video. I have seen photos and videos of the heads for many years but never such a thorough explanation of how they work. Great work.
Man this visit with Ron was amazing, I hope you guys do this again soon. Thank Matt , Mike and Ron this was to cool
Thanks for the video Mike, very helpful and how to the right way.
Hello Richard, how are you doing. I hope you are safe and in good health. Looking for a new friend and i saw your pic here. I hope you don't mind thank you.
The nostalgia of this set up is the only thing that makes me dig it. My sensible side says, just use a later OHV engine from the era or leave it as a flatty. But man when they are together and running it just screams cool, I guess that’s the point.
Thanks for sharing this update on all the old gold Matt found at the engine builders shop a true legend of engine building from what I could tell awesomeness!!!!!!
Ron is a wealth of knowledge and it needs to be passed on! WOW
I LOVE people like this. Best convos i have ever had
Hi Matt and Mike, can your episodes be any more exciting? Another outstanding feature!!! Your always outdoing the previous clips.
I still remember the first Ardun conversion I saw as a young fella. I thought that they were the absolute sexiest-looking engine I'd ever seen and I still do. Between the Ardun and the 426 Street Hemi I could look at or work on 'em all day. Like the fella said, "Looks about like my shop." That's the truth in my case, too. When my wife gets near it she throws up her hands in despair. I guess she doesn't appreciate beauty....sigh..... As I watched this upload I was surprised how very simple the Ardun heads are to put on the flathead block; about all a guy needs is the torque specs.
Thanks for sharing this.
All this info is invaluable and it doesn’t just apply to Arduns but to any ohv that is getting serious modifications.
More fun stuff. Thanks for the extra video.
Those Ardun heads are huge. Great video.
This series just keeps getting better! Such a wealth of gear head knowledge getting spread around. Thanx guys!!!
Wow! So, an ARDUN converts a flathead to a fathead? This is a great episode.
No, makes a flathead and overhead valve. Zora did this and also the SBC for GM in 1955.
@@scottworelds2933 actually makes a flathead into an overhead-valve hemi.
Don’t worry, Charles. I got it. 😉
I can read. I got it.
Hey Matt,
I first saw an ARDUN engine when I was about 12 years old.
When I was told what it was I could not get over the fact that it could be built from a flat head.
I got to hear the engine run as it made a pass on the 1/4 mile track at Colton, Calif.
60 years later I still feel the excitment when I see an ARDUN engine.
Thank you for the great video.
Omg that blue roadster is drop dead gorgeous
Thank you George F!!! !
THE coolest hot rod engine EVER!
Laura & Ron ......Great people.
Guys like Ron are few and far between. Ive sure enjoyed these videos with him.
Love the Aperture Science logo on the PC back there... This was a triumph. We do what we must, because we can.
Very informative, Thanks to Ron!
Awesome! You must be excited to be getting your motor to him! Can not wait to see/hear it!
I remember them Arduns quite well.Back in the day they weren't over the top expensive and you could get some serious horsepower gains if you knew what you were doing.But today they're crazy expensive and when you put them on top of the flathead Ford you won't get the power a decent OHV makes all on it's own.But the "cool factor" is second to none!I respect and even envy anyone who has one of those things,pure awesomeness!!!
I'm very familiar with the Ardun set up. A friend of mine bought up a lot of Flat Head speed parts in the 60's and 70's, including several Ardun head set ups. He also has vintage period correct blower set ups, multi carb set ups etc etc etc. Now that he's retired he periodically will put something up for sale, usually on EBay, and watches the bids go up.
I'm in Massachusetts and have some customers/friends regularly do restorations for and they probably own at least 20-25 early Ford Model T's and A's including a VERY rare 1913 Speedster that was in a movie many years ago now. These people have $$ and have zero problem buying up everything old and Ford that they come across and I'm willing to bet they'd buy everything he has assuming the price isn't Insanity.
Awesome! I'd never heard of Ardun heads before you guys scored those. Don't imagine any made it to Australia. Fascinating to hear Ron's explanation of what mods are needed to make a 100k mile engine, with that oil feed and the clearances for the pushrods etc. Matt, you are gonna have a Killer engine when you get it back! So cool (and hot!).
Daniel, im in Coffs Harbour and have a set running in my 32 ford. Cheers
Thanks Matt and Mike for a very entertaining video love it
Great video.Such a nice couple.
In my next life I will pay more attention to detail in high school metal shop. I only read about Ardun set-ups in 1960s hot rod magazines and never actually seeing one I figured it was a matter of buying the kits and dropping it in place. Oops! Fantastic video--50 years too late for me but a gold mine of information.
Thanks Mike! Informative with good camera work.
Great interesting information and look around the shop. Thanks Matt and Mike for the cool extra episode. Much appreciated.
Thanks so much for the additional footage…most excellent!
Ronnie needs a friend with a water jet machine. Cuts dead soft copper like butter with no distortion or burrs. Have helped make many copper head gaskets for vintage motorcycles using this method.
Or a Plasma table
@@dieseldabz7104 good luck plasma-cutting dead soft copper with no burr or distortion
This is really neat from a historical perspective, but I hope he’s only building these for museums.
Converting a flathead to overhead valve to actually run in a car is the silliest thing I can imagine!
Fascinating ingenuity to get the job done.
Morning Matt & Mike, I definitely understand your interest, my interest is in something very similar, maybe not quite as rare, the Boss 429 Ford engines, you can bolt these heads on a stock 429-460 block, but you have to do the rocker shaft oiling very similar to the Ardun oiling system is done....great & interesting video!! As I mentioned before, your Ardun project is in very capable hands!!!!
God Bless!!!!
Wow ! Never heard of dual overhead cams on a 429. Interesting
@@eac1235 woops, my mistake!!!!
Very good video Matt. Love the that hand made Ardun intake.
gonna have to watch this several times, thanks!
Never seen an Ardun OHV Head . Think l have heard of them . How Good were they back in the day. Exotic. It would Awesome to have the right hotrod 2 drop one of these old ⏰'ers in2 something super special. Thx 4 sharing guys .
What a collection 🥰
SO COOL I NEVER SAW THEM TAKEN APART
At that time (47) we had amazing engineers, just coming off WW2 and building some of the most amazing aircraft engines. 👍
actually, the kit was designed by Zora ARkus DUNtov (ARDUN), Mr. Corvette, for Ford to help flathead powered trucks thru the western mountains.
@@marydesmond9595 yes he was a great engineer. Split window 63 vett and that 30-30 Duntov cam that we all went out and ordered as soon as it was available from Chevy! Fun times.
I did not know that those even existed! Very cool!
Yes Awesome video, loved seeing the ARDUN parts off and on to show the interfaces and mechanical design involved. Wonderful. From a Flat head to a Hemi in one feel swoop. God I would love have and build such an engine. SO rare and so Hot Rod Engineered. Thank You very much for posting, I may have to get back on your list now. Dennis
Both videos are awesome to watch. Thanks for sharing them with us👍👍❤️❤️❤️
You guys are getting better all the time!
Just can't get enough gotta keep coming back to the dream shop love it so awesome
Love the old "Flatties". Got one in my garage that I wish I had a project for.😀👍✌️🖖🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸♥️ de flat 8s‼️
Must see to believe. Someone really did a great job of engineering.
I could listen to him all day.
Still her ride is wicked,like his a well...
Thank you!
Hello, how are you doing. I hope you are safe and in good health. Looking for a new friend and i saw your pic here. I hope you don't mind thank you.
@@allysonhanks7367 Sorry he is married. 🙄🤨
Incredible.I had no idea that was even possible.
Lots of cool stuff in there and a cool guy !!!
Great episode Matt! Your Arden conversion is getting exciting can hardly to see it installed, running and turning wheels.
Too cool! I just finally got my 8ba pulled apart. Dug it put of the ground %100 locked up.
That's a wild setup.
Great brain share on how to rod an Arden correctly.
Great job and video I'd love to have that for my 53 it would be awesome
It's real cool he's humble!👍👍😀😀
Such a cool design.
One of the first HEMI engines! Good video anyway!
Thanks guys now I see how it all works you know for a long time I thought it was just covers over the flathead cause I never seen one run
In New Zealand,a Company called B/C made flat head covers for just that purpose.
Loved the Sunshine Beer & Reading beer signs , must be in Reading Pa .
Beautiful engine. I still can't get past only three mains but it does make the engine shorter. You guys stole my thunder mentioning the OHV Cadillac.
I will always just dream of owning or even driving an Arden flathead to late now but still can dream right lol 😆 it been a dream of my for many years came close a couple of times but cancer and cercomstance has made skip past me maybe for the last time love ya brother keep doing what you do that's why your a legion among builder's be well God bless
R & C published a three-part series by Tom Senter in 1971, entitled "Ardun White Paper." Tom chronicled the birth and development of the Ardun head kit and some of the successes of the few racers fortunate enough to own them.
We will have to track that down!!!
I’ve read it before. Great resource! -Matt/ITG
Zora was an amazing man. 👍🏻
An amazingly educational video. I'm not even a flathead guy, but I found this very informative. Ronnie and his wife seem like very nice folks, too. I wonder what a complete set up with Ardun heads would've cost back in '47?
a full Ardun education...thanks
Awesome show. Great information.
That home made intake is so damn cool
Very interesting and enjoyable video, thanks guys
Really interesting! This seems like a nearly lost art.
Though those engines going an eighth over, my more modern engines struggle sometimes at 030 over.
The evolution of engines,, look at all that iron with the block and integral bellhousing compared with the SBC or Ford Windsor. I can remember watching a friends dad building a V12 Lincoln thinking it archaic,, which it was. This early 80s. And currently I am building a Clevo which is probably older than that V12 was then!!
Curious Bit Of Trivia:
The "Ardun" cylinder head conversion was invented by Zora Arkus-Dutov -- the same man who created the Corvette. He thought it up while racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The "Ardun" name is a combination of ARkus and DUNtov.
His birth name was Zachary Arkus. His mother divorced and later remarried a man named Duntov, so he took both last names and hyphenated them. "Arkus & Duntov" was the name of the Ardun Mechanical Corporation in New York, which he and his brothers ran during the 1940s. The heads were designed by George Kudasch, as a cure for overheating in flat-head Ford V-8s.
so more of a reliability mod than a power mod that's funny lol 😂
Duntov.......
you learn something every day
Those heads are very cool.
A brilliant video. One to keep.
Considering those hemi heads are the pistons generally changed out for dome pistons and I apologize if you said this in the video I missed it and I’ve watched twice it’s fascinating seeing old school Hot Rod parts and how similar it is to production Hot Rod that came later it’s almost like Chrysler straight up stole the Arden head design
I thought the same thing.
Chrysler copied that straight up
@@sandozman6085 everything good started on a ford V8😎
I can be wrong, but I think flathead "flat tops" were actually a little bit domed. Not really flat on top. Not sure that qualifies them as domed pistons though. But that hemi thing....ya. Mercedes and Duesenberg argued over who invented the hemispherical heads way back in the 30s or 40s. Losers. Ford already had it huh! Wow this is an awesome video.
@@JeromyBranch 🤘😎🤘
Ardun and his brother were great engineers.\
To cool 😎 he knows his stuff love the shop
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! GREAT VIDEO & EDUCATION!!! THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!
Great stuff!
He has some really nice looking roadsters.
keep the great work
Very cool! Do you ever find cams that reverse the intake and exhaust ports?
When I was seventeen, it was a very good year ..........
Fantastic! Wonder what happened to the FE out of the dragster. I have FE parts like he has Ardun parts (even an FE powered Pinto). I love this stuff, keep it up,
Very interesting stuff