Dellow Technical Bits

Many Dellows sport various engine modifications from twin carburretters to superchargers and most of the competition winners with a few notable exceptions have Ford OHV Kent engines fitted in place of the standard sidevalve.

The most sought after tuning goodie for the sidevalve is the OHIV ( Overhead Inlet Valve ) cylinder head conversion. These were made predominately for the 100E although the E93A engine was also provided for. More about these conversions later but for now, here is a data sheet with the source of the major parts for these heads identified. Your help is sought to complete the list and make corrections where I have got it wrong. These data are published in good faith but I can't guarantee that there are no errors.

FORD O.H.I.V. CYLINDER HEAD CONVERSIONS DATA SHEET

HEAD MAKE	LRG	ELVA	WILLMENT
ENGINE TYPE	E93A	100E	100E
INLET VALVES	No info	TRANCO 2808	Ford 1500cc Classic Capri inlet valves fit with slight increase in guide bores original was a jaguar part
SPRINGS	No info	1275 MARINA ?	Jaguar as above
GUIDES	No info	No info	No info
PUSHRODS	LRG	'B' SERIES (see note 1)	TRIUMPH 1200 (see note 2)
ROCKERS	No info	ROVER 12hp /80 (see note 3)	WILLMENT
TAPPETS	LRG	FORD (WITH THE ADJUSTERS) (REMOVED see note 1)	FORD ( WITH SPECIAL ADJUSTERS)
SPECIFIED PLUGS	LODGE HBLN	No info	LODGE HL 10 / HEL 10
ALTERNATIVES (see note 5)	CHAMPION N-5	CHAMPION G-61 or G-63 NGK CR6HS (see note 5)	CHAMPION G-61 or G-63 (equiv. NGK C8E) (see note 5)
VALVE GAP (INLET)	no info	.004"	.006" to .008"
BOLT TORQUES	no info	no info	no info
IGNITION ADVANCE	no info	no info	As Ford 100E settings
GASKET	7W-6051-ELVA (Smallford Spares)	100E-6051-ELVA (Smallford Spares)	See note 4
EXHAUST VALVE	JAMES XB1381 TRANCO 1127 (EX FORD 22HP) note this fitment needs considerable work to valve head and stem diameters	STANDARD OR SPECIAL	STANDARD OR SPECIAL
EXHAUST SPRING	TERRY VS 318	TERRY VS 483	TERRY VS 483
PISTONS	HEP RSW10165	HEPOLITE 13555	HEPOLITE 13555

NOTE 1. At the lower end, the diameter needs to be ground down to the diameter of the pushrod shaft so that they fit in the tappet with the adjusting screw removed. The pushrods I bought at autojumble labelled as MGB/I800 are identical in all other features as my genuine ELVA parts.

NOTE 2. The pushrods I bought at autojumble labelled Triumph 1200 are identical to the WILLMENT part except for being 0.125 inch shorter in length. This can easily be adjusted by putting a 1/8 inch spacer under the tappet screw or if the screws are lost they can be remanufactured 1/8 inch longer. This also makes a more robust screw.

NOTE 3. Two different sources have informed me of the source of these rockers, both having actual knowledge. I am not sure which is correct, Rover 12hp or Rover 80. Perhaps they are both correct and as with other manufacturers Rover kept some parts going over a number of different models and years.

NOTE 4. The shape of the Willment combustion chamber is slightly different to the Elva and although the Elva gasket fits the bolt pattern and waterways in the head and block, it will not be suitable for the Willment head. However I use a solid copper gasket which I have fettled to suit both heads. This cannot be done with the composite copper/asbestos type of gaskets.

NOTE 5. The 10mm plugs for the Elva and Willment heads are not easy to come by, my Willment head had Champion racing plugs in it when purchased second hand. These were 10RL49 and were of racing pattern; I did some research and came up with the Champion G-61 which seems to work perfectly well although I am having oiling problems and have now changed to G-63 which seem better. I am told that the NGK CR6HS works well with a supercharged Elva engine, however this has only a 1/2"reach so may be in a modified head. It would seem that a heat value between 6 and 8 in the NGK range may be suitable. NGK spark plug symbols explained here.
The Lodge HEL10 appears to have been a special and is unlisted, I have however recently found 4 at an autojumble. If I told you the price I paid you would go green!
Hint: visit a friendly Ferrari or Honda motorcycle dealer and see what they have - many Ferraris have 10mm long reach plugs.
Better hint: contact Bruce Thorne who can do genuine new Champion G-63 racing plugs in boxes of 4 at a silly price of £6.99 +£1.25 p+p - a fraction of the list price. I've just bought a load so get in quick. his e-mail is bruce.thorne@virgin.net

This list is produced in good faith and is in part a request for information/ confirmation of the information it contains. I would be more than pleased to receive new information, corrections, criticism, hints, tips, references etc. that may extend my knowledge about these fascinating conversions.

If you can help fill in any of the blank spaces in the table above or can provide any practical know-how or even just a chat, please contact me at davehaley@btinternet.com .

Gears and Ratios.

There were an amazing number of different gear sets available for the humble 3 speed gearbox fitted to Dellows and many others. The available ratios are explained below, and because it is possible to fit 100E internals, with the exception of the main shaft, to the E93A casing, those ratios are included as well.

This information has been gleaned from contemporary articles and books and is produced in good faith. If you spot a mistake, please let me know.

Don't ask me where you can obtain any of these, most of the standard parts are available from Small Ford Spares ( see Links page) but I would guess the special ratios are unobtainable.

I have now included the Small Ford Spares close ratio gear set.

Note: second & third gear references are to gearstick position. Buckler E, F, G, have indirect top with gearstick in position 2

FORD E93A AND 100E GEARBOXES - STANDARD AND SPECIAL RATIOS

10hp (E93A type) Gearboxes

100E gearboxes

FORD

BUCKLER SPECIAL GEARS

S.A.

S.F.

FORD

S.A.

BUCKLER

S.A. = Super Accessories
S.F. = Small Ford Spares

8HP

10HP

TYPE A

TYPE B

TYPE C

TYPE D

TYPE E

TYPE F

TYPE G

10HP

E93A
box

100E pre 1955

100E from 1955

100E

Type 54 D/W

Type 54 C/W

teeth on main drive gear

teeth on countershaft wheel 1

teeth on countershaft wheel 2

teeth on countershaft wheel 3

teeth on countershaft wheel 4

teeth on second gear

teeth on first gear

teeth on low/reverse gear

first gear ratio

3.403

3.071

1.906

2.090

2.294

2.522

1.588

1.450

1.324

2.522

2.424

3.403

3.665

2.522

2.294

second gear ratio

1.957

1.765

1.096

1.201

1.319

1.450

0.913

0.834

0.761

1.450

1.394

1.863

2.007

1.381

1.256

third (top) gear ratio

1.000

reverse gear ratio

4.451

4.015

2.492

2.733

3.000

3.299

2.077

1.896

1.731

3.299

3.170

4.451

4.793

3.299

3.000

mph/1000revs (5.5:1 cwp)

4.1

4.5

7.2

6.6

6.0

5.5

8.7

9.5

10.4

5.5

5.7

4.1

3.8

5.5

6.0

based on 4.50 x 17 tyre

7.1

7.8

12.6

11.5

10.5

9.5

15.1

16.6

18.2

9.5

9.9

7.4

6.9

10.0

11.0

(cwp ratio is 6 x 33)

13.8

mph/1000revs (4.7:1 cwp)

4.7

5.3

8.5

7.7

7.0

6.4

10.2

11.1

12.2

6.4

6.7

4.7

4.4

6.4

7.0

based on 4.50 x 17 tyre

8.3

9.1

14.7

13.4

12.2

11.1

17.7

19.4

21.2

11.1

11.6

8.7

8.0

11.7

12.9

(cwp ratio is 7 x 33)

16.2

mph/1000revs (5.5:1 cwp)

3.6

4.0

6.5

5.9

5.4

4.9

7.8

8.6

9.4

4.9

5.1

3.6

3.4

4.9

5.4

based on 135 x 15 tyre

6.3

7.0

11.3

10.3

9.4

8.6

13.6

14.9

16.3

8.6

8.9

6.7

6.2

9.0

9.9

12.4

mph/1000revs (4.7:1 cwp)

4.3

4.7

7.6

6.9

6.3

5.7

9.1

10.0

11.0

5.7

6.0

4.3

4.0

5.7

6.3

based on 135 x 15 tyre

7.4

8.2

13.2

12.1

11.0

10.0

15.9

17.4

19.1

10.0

10.4

7.8

7.2

10.5

11.5

14.5

S.A. = Super Accessories S.F. = Small Ford Spares

S.A. = Super Accessories
S.F. = Small Ford Spares