Part One of Three Parts
Hi folks, about two years ago Elmo's son Greg kindly put me in touch
with him, offering help with my Ardun. I didn't know it then, but I
soon found out that Elmo is one of the Masters of Ardun lore in this
world. So began a long series of enjoyable phone conversations, up to
the present, which I hope will continue for many years to come.
Eighteen months or so Elmo allowed me to interview him for publication,
and reviewed, corrected and approved the result, so that it would be
accurate. What follows is supposed to be published in print out West
sometime, but I can't tell when, hence two days ago I obtained Elmo's
permission to present it to this List, for your enjoyment, and the
perpetuation of solid Ardun lore.
Even eighteen months ago I did not fully realize Elmo's standing in the
West Coast hot rod and Bonneville scene, and he certainly didn't mention
it, but since then I have learned from others that ELMO IS ONE OF THE
ALL-TIME GREATS. A fixture at Bonneville and the Dry Lakes since the
late '40s, six-times President of SCTA, several times Director of the
Bonneville Speed Week Meet. Highly successful with the Lattin-Gillette
team; check out the Bonneville Records held with fuel and gas Arduns in
several classes of XXF cars. To top it off, always a warm and friendly
man to all, even his competitors at a Bonneville meet!
AN INTERVIEW WITH ELMO GILLETTE
By Bill Hoddinott
Introduction. Elmo Gillette has been involved in Dry Lakes and
Bonneville racing since 1946. Lattin-Gillette has long been known as
one of the premier Ardun-Ford racing teams.
Most speed trials enthusiasts are well aware of the legendary Ardun.
Designed in the late '40s as a hemispherical OHV conversion for the
24-stud Ford-Merc flathead V-8 by Zora Arkus-Duntov, later well-known as
the Father of the Corvette, about 300 sets were made in the years around
1950. Introduced at Bonneville in '51 by C.T. Automotive, it remains a
favorite to this day.
In this interview, Elmo reveals all the secrets of building a
record-breaking Ardun...
Bill: Elmo, I'm grateful to your son Greg for putting me in touch with
you, because I have a new Ardun HiBoy Roadster for speed trials, and
I've been looking for advice on various challenges that come with
mechanical fuel injection and other aspects of these cars. You and your
family, with Jim Lattin, hold the Bonneville unblown Ardun gas and fuel
streamliner records at 213 and 220 respectively, among many others.
Elmo: Sure, Bill, I told Greg to have you call me 'cause I love to talk
to fellows with Arduns about the things we've learned with ours.
Everybody has their own experiences, of course.
B: What are the fundamentals of your engine setup?
E: The same basic short block for a gas or fuel engine. We use a stock
4" Mercury crank, stock rods, Ross Ardun pistons with a 12.6 ratio in a
bore usually not over 3-5/16". This gives about 275 cubic inches, not a
really big motor, but plenty big enough. A smallish motor retains more
structural strength in the block. Nowadays the existing Ford and Merc
blocks have suffered some from rust in the water jackets so we don't
want big bores. Even with 3-5/16 we sometimes fill the jackets halfway
up with the block rock type of epoxy to strengthen the cylinder walls,
and this seems to have no adverse effect on water-cooling for Long
Course motors. We use ordinary cast iron piston rings, and change them
often. Especially with alcohol-base fuels the rings wear pretty fast
and then lose their seal, due I suppose to the wet fuel mixtures washing
the oil off the cylinder walls. We use .010" skirt clearance on the
pistons, and get good service from them. Ross is good to work with.
B: What rod and main bearing clearances do you like to use?
E: .003" on the rods and .004/.005" on the mains. We use Torco 50 oil
on a gas motor and Torco 70 on a fuel motor. We use a preheater pad on
the oil to get it good and hot before startup. We use both wet and
dry-sump systems for the oil, and with the wet-sump we use a fresh stock
Ford oil pump with the relief valve spring stretched, and see 80 psi oil
pressure during a run.
People say there is a good deal of flex in both the cranks and the
blocks with racing flatheads, maybe as much as 1/4". With all that, you
need a good deal of clearance in the bearings, and the heavy racing
oils, or the bearings just won't last. So we have found out anyway. We
rev our motors to 5600 at Bonneville, and 6000 at a Dry Lakes meet where
you don't run as far, and they hold together pretty well for us.
End of Part One of Three Parts. Remainder to follow.
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