New L88?

[Bruce]

Just within the last hour I got to look closely at some AL LT1 heads.
>From the actual casting to port design, there is dam little to improve upon.
You can clean em up some, but for a production street car head they did good
things with em.
For all the effort that went into the DOHC vette, I fail (along with lots of
other folks) to see what they really gained.

Refining can be alot better then redesigning in many aspects.    There have
been lots of kewl ideas, that were long term failures.

To say GM is sleeping is to ignore their ecms / pcms, and programming.  The
new stuff is just beyond words in my book.
Bruce







----- Original Message -----
From: "Shannen Durphey" <shannen at grolen.com>
To: <gmecm at diy-efi.org>
Sent: Monday, June 18, 2001 7:30 PM
Subject: Re: New L88?


> GM said almost 8 years ago that they would stick with pushrod technology,
and
> prove that multiple cams/valves/whizzymadoodads aren't necessary to make a
good
> engine.
>
> There have been plenty of multiple valve heads and multiple cam engines
produced
> from GM castings in the quest for more power.  If you're embarrassed by
60's
> technology, you'll absolutely die when you remember that petroleum burning
> internal combustion engines were used to power road vehicles before the
turn of
> the century.  If you want something really new, switch to solar power, or
> electric cars, or maybe
> something even more extravagant.
>
> Hmm.. did we stumble across another meaning for 'fossil fuel'? : )
>
> GM's _production_ cylinder heads (vortec) for the smallblock are among the
best
> parts
> available in the aftermarket.  Look to see who's got aluminum look alikes.
Not
> GM...  Good sign that a part of the company is innovative.
>
> And when you think of GM, and say they are this and they aren't that,
remember
> that it's a company that employs enough people to need it's own newspaper.
And
> that's just at one location!
>
> Before you look to the "good old days" of GM innovation, you should
remember
> that most of the 70's and early 80's there was little innovation coming
out of
> GM.  Try to pick a race with a stock 80 Vette.  You'd win if you were
riding a
> bicycle!  Innovation, hmmph!  Chevrolet is the company that in the late
20's
> decided to offer their cars with an ignition switch instead of a key, and
to
> sell them in only one color.  Ya, seems innovative there. "So, Martha,
which
> green Chevy is ours?"   How 'bout seatbelts.  Who was first big US
carmaker to
> offer them?  Ford, in 1955.  GM played it cool and hung back while
thousands of
> Americans suddenly decided that Fords must be unsafe because they needed
these
> newfangled belts.  Doesn't sound very innovative to me.  How about in the
'50s.
> The all new smallblock v-8 was such a weak piece of scrap iron that the
new
> "factory sponsored" race effort couldn't finish a race without a
crankshaft or
> bottom end failing.  The innovation came when Smokey Yunick started
demanding
> better parts.
>
> Think Innovation.  Think Tucker.
>
> For those of us who like the "I can do more with less" approach, Chevy is
on the
> right track.
> I love GM. I just thought it might be good to put some perspective on
things.
>
> Shannen
>
>
> Gonyou, Jeremy (.) wrote:
> >
> > Ok, I see your point.  And I can fully symphathize with the fact that
DOHC motors take up space (I currently have a 3.4 DOHC crowding the bay of a
cavalier).  However, low-tech solutions from the 60's *are* embarassing
because they show zero engineering novelty.  Although Ford may be lacking
with their DOHC engines, the imports have shown time and time again that
they can get more for less.  The LS6 may be the king of the hill right now,
but it's only a matter of time before some honda V8 blows it out of the
water (new NSX?).
> >
> > So, I will continue to attack GM for using pushrods, because it shows
that they are no longer the innovative company that they were in the past.
In a somewhat inderect way, GM represents the engineering prowess of our
country.  The LS6 says that we haven't learned a DAMN thing since Ed Cole
first designed the small block.  So *that* is why I'm shamefaced when I
admit to people that I drive a Pontiac with a pushrod motor.  I'm American,
I recognize sound engineering when I see it, and I should know better.
> >
> > I don't mean to speak for ECMnut, but this is why GM is embarrassing...
> >
> > Jeremy
> >
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