dan0617 wrote:
I almost bought a pair of Edelbrock heads last fall for my stock bottom end. I ended up buying reworked 113 heads because I got a good deal on them and they were freshly done and done right. Had I not found them I would have bought the Edelbrock heads. I really like them, they seem to be a top quality product. I love their carbs. Ran many of them and their intakes on 302 and 351W Fords and never had a problem. It is a shame that alot of people I mention Edelbrock to, they think old and outdated and tell me there are much more modern products that will outperform them. Most of the time an "old" company is only still in business because it is flexible enough to change with the times and continue to strive to be the top dog. That is my opinion on Edelbrock, I think their parts are top notch and will continue to be as long as they change with the times, the technology and the market.

jsup wrote:
YES!!! I forgot about that. Ya know, Musi did try to get me to Edlebrock when I first walked in, as he does a ton of work for them.

I pushed for Brodix, but at the end of the day, I told him it was his call. He chose Darts. I just as easily could have wound up with Edlebrocks. They do have real good top line products, not just the cheap stuff ya know.

Maybe he made more money on Dart, IDK, but I don't need that last 50 HP. I don't care about it. I have plenty.

I wonder why I keep blocking Edlebrock out of my mind. I shouldn't do that.

I just think if you own it, you can hire, fire, and control it better. Not saying outsourcing is bad, just saying I think ownership has its advantages.

dan0617 wrote:
I almost bought a pair of Edelbrock heads last fall for my stock bottom end. I ended up buying reworked 113 heads because I got a good deal on them and they were freshly done and done right. Had I not found them I would have bought the Edelbrock heads. I really like them, they seem to be a top quality product. I love their carbs. Ran many of them and their intakes on 302 and 351W Fords and never had a problem. It is a shame that alot of people I mention Edelbrock to, they think old and outdated and tell me there are much more modern products that will outperform them. Most of the time an "old" company is only still in business because it is flexible enough to change with the times and continue to strive to be the top dog. That is my opinion on Edelbrock, I think their parts are top notch and will continue to be as long as they change with the times, the technology and the market.

jsup wrote:
Well, yeah good point Andy. We all have to realize what we are doing is basically consumer grade here. None of this stuff is "best on earth" we just aren't spending the money. On the "other" forum there was a guy who swore he had "the best 23 degree head in existence at any price.

As a hobbits community we get pretty myopic and throw terms around like "best" very loosely. There's a whole world out there way out of my financial reach that can be genuinely "the best". We just dabble.

I agree. Well said. If I ever say "I bought the best part I could buy" what I meant was "I bought the best part for my particular combo and car and intended uses that my budget would allow." I'll never be able to afford "the best." Hell, I am very lucky just to own a vette. To be running low 11's and maybe touch the 10's at the track with the new mill in a vette that looks good and takes the wifey and I out for dinner and dance and doesn't learch and buck around, I'm estatic. Truly beside myself. I just shop for the best parts within my financial reach and they make me happy. If they don't make me happy then they will be for sale next week.

bogus wrote:
Interesting video.
Ferrari does their own casting, too. All hand packed sand castings. Impressive to watch. Keep an eye on Speed Channel for "Ultimate Factories."

cuisinartvette wrote:
They are coming out with some CNCed wiz bang head, havent looked into them just yet; supposed to be pretty decent.

BrianCunningham wrote:
Well, I've worked on Ferrari's and um, they aren't exactly as good as you would think.

dan0617 wrote:
Quote:

jsup wrote:
Well, yeah good point Andy. We all have to realize what we are doing is basically consumer grade here. None of this stuff is "best on earth" we just aren't spending the money. On the "other" forum there was a guy who swore he had "the best 23 degree head in existence at any price.

As a hobbits community we get pretty myopic and throw terms around like "best" very loosely. There's a whole world out there way out of my financial reach that can be genuinely "the best". We just dabble.

I agree. Well said. If I ever say "I bought the best part I could buy" what I meant was "I bought the best part for my particular combo and car and intended uses that my budget would allow." I'll never be able to afford "the best." Hell, I am very lucky just to own a vette. To be running low 11's and maybe touch the 10's at the track with the new mill in a vette that looks good and takes the wifey and I out for dinner and dance and doesn't learch and buck around, I'm estatic. Truly beside myself. I just shop for the best parts within my financial reach and they make me happy. If they don't make me happy then they will be for sale next week.

BeachBum wrote:
Only thing I'll say about the Brodix video is that the CNC technology in that video is outdated..... Thats a Fadal 5 axes VMC utilizing the Fadal propetiary PC based CNC.... they now offer some modern technology CNC controls, but that isn't one of them.

BeachBum wrote:

The value of this, is that the machine is much more accurate, smoother and faster...... To understand more about what is happening, you have to understand that a typical 5 axes VMC utilizes your XYZ linear axes and then via a trunion tilting 2 axes rotary table (A & B axes), you have 5 axes the CNC must control in an Interpolated simultenous method.... what this means is that all 5 axes "have" to be at a constantly changing position at an "exact" specific time. To just position an independant axes is as easy as typing G01 X5.0001 F50, but to get all 5 running a high speed program simultenously on an advanced 5 axes path is a completely different animal.

There is much, much more, but I don't feel like typing all morning, but you do have to understand there is a huge difference between VMC's of just 2 years ago and the VMC's of today.... just like the desktop/laptop PC market, the technology is changing and advancing so fast its alarming. Which is a big problem with the machine they have, it is a Fadal VMC with a Fadal CNC.... the problem with this is that Fadal really isn't a CNC developer, they are a machine builder who originally developed a PC based CNC on a DOS platform, but they just haven't really been able to keep pace with the dedicated CNC manufacturers. Hence, why as of just a few years ago, now offer Fanuc and/or Siemens CNC controls on their machines..... Fanuc & Siemens are the world leaders in sales and probably technology...... thus the Fadal has improved dramatically with this new change. But, that Brodix has an old Fadal CNC on it.....


Don't get me wrong, I am not insulting the Brodix 5 axes VMC.... at least they have one and it apparently works, which is more than many can say. I also know the manufactuer well, have been to their manufacturing plant in socal many times as well as their primary competitors (Haas) and watched the battle between those two that has been dubbed the "Alley War" considering what seperated the two HUGE manufactures of CNC machines was only an alley for many years. But thats another story.

BrianCunningham wrote:
great write-up.

CNC'ing the way to go. The precision you can get now days is just spectacular.

I was looking at getting prototypes for the new Lycoming engine made. It turns out it's also the best way to produce them as well.

If there's one of these shows near you, check it out.
http://www.d2pshows.com/