Read this guys ad and the answer to question

[hammerdown7]

GM did come out with a heavy-duty block because of the problems with the stock block. It had a number of changes to strengthen the block. I believe they only produced 50 of these HD blocks. Bob Higman, a well known USAC midget builder from the 60's through the 80's, maybe the 90's, did a lot of work with the HD block, peaking power at 288HP @ 8500RPM's. A friend of mine bought one of Higman's cars in the late 80's and eventually dyno'ed 300HP. One of his later idea's was to lighten the crankshaft and when it wasn't balanced correctly, ended up cracking the block above the mains. I loaned him my autocross block which was a sleeved stock piece. Knowing it might not live at 9k RPM's, he decided to stroke it since the rules at that time allowed it and he thought the lower rev's might save the block. Stroking kept the RPM's down because of the higher torque. Leading the feature race with two laps to go, it came apart, see the pictures below after we brought the car back home.

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[dindin]

Wow..Cool story..

I wonder if stroking it makes it vibrate more.

Al

[hammerdown7]

Wow..Cool story..

I wonder if stroking it makes it vibrate more.

Al

Yes, that is true, more vibration with the longer stroke but the added torque makes quite a difference in everyday driving.

Dick

[Monza Harry]

So Dick you do "KNOW" where that line is, with proof! That was not a happy day and mighty EXPEN$$$!VE We stopped racing midgets in the early mid '80's as the US exchange rate added another 20% to our already "Lean" racing team. I never met Bob but my Dad did talk of him, [I think dad did know(ish) him] we ran AMRA and had a couple races a year with/at USAC events. Yes a BIG name in Midget race cars. thanx for sharing. Harry

[hammerdown7]

My friend raced in the ARCA Midwest midget series with an occasional USAC race, as car owner he won the 1992 ARCA Championship with Cosworth Vega power, Brad Hulings driving. After splitting the block and not being able to find another HD block, he made 1/4 aluminum plates mounted externally that held the stock blocks together. That worked great for the balance of the season. Below is a shot of the right side brace and one small one below the water pump. The second shot is how the car ran when the rules allowed you to lay the engine over 90 degrees. That ended in '91.

MyersMidget 005 copy.jpg

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