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Bob Glidden Motor

rmccallrmccallMember
I have the chance to buy a X-Glidden "Pro Stock"short block out of a friend's '60 Falcon pro street car.I have seen the bottom end apart and it is a work of art!It has a 4.135" bore and a 3.150 stroke,aluminum rods,JE pistons(13.4:1 w/closed chamber heads),.700 lift solid roller,billit main caps and a steel crank.My friend says it will turn 8500 RPM all day and I tend to believe him.I am thinking of adding a set of fresh open chamber heads to lower the compression to around 11.5:1 or so(I guess this is right?)and installing it in my Pantera with my "Active" single plane intake.Does anyone have any thoughts on this?I think a bullitproof,high RPM screamer would be a lot of fun in a Pantera.Imagine it at 8000 RPM in 5th gear!LOL I'm sure the maintainance would go up considerably(200# seat pressure valve springs and such) but do you guys think it would be worth it.As far as the aluminum rods go,the motor was just put together(less than 200 miles and 0 1/4 mile passes)and the rods checked out (less than .001 longer than they were new and the big ends perfectly round)and have been checked three times in the past 8 years or so with no changes after quite a few 1/4 mile passes.
Thanks,
Ron
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bosswrenchbosswrenchMember
Glidden was one of the few that found a combination that worked in a 351-C, partly because it was so machine-shop-intensive. The bore came from a block that was bored clear into the water jackets, then a set of sleeves furnace-brazed into the block. This meant that, due to the brazing heat, every single machined surface in the block had to be remachined. A billet crank and extra length rods completed the assembly. The Glidden heads were even more exotic, with posting, welding, etc, etc. Thats a piece of history there, but I'm not sure how useful it will be as a street engine. A race engine- maybe, in a historical drag series, but utterly irreplaceable without a great deal of money if it blows, as drag engines usually do. I personally wouldn't trust aluminum rods beyond six 1/4-mile runs from brand new, no matter who x-rayed or blessed them. When (not 'if') they let go at big rpms, you'll have an irreplaceable multi-piece cast-iron puzzle. They belong on a display shelf somewhere, or on E-Bay, replaced by the best steel Carillos money can buy. If you can get this at a low price, and use it like a toy, fine. Just don't depend on it being cheap fun.
bosswrenchbosswrenchMember
I forgot a few things. To make that big-bore block even more irreplaceable, Glidden started with rare "X" series thickwalled race blocks, not an over-the-counter 351C. I've never seen one but they're supposed to be similar to thickwalled Aussie blocks with no weight-saving sculpturing in the main supports nor pan rails. Duplicating the good stuff in a regular 351-C block is almost guaranteed to break the stock block in two horizontally at the weak spots near the main supports, from block flex. If possible, you might check to see what the casting numbers are on the block & heads.
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