Roof 101 Cyclone Four Port OHV

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THE RE-CREATION OF THE 1929

THE BLOG HISTORY 1-28-09 to 3-8-10

Latest first down to the oldest - Starts at bottom of page

3-8-10: Today we shipped all paid for Roof heads. Manifolds and gaskets will follow is a few days to a couple weeks. Distributor risers, long riser shafts, "A" size side plates and a a few other odd ball parts will ship as soon as they are completed. There are a few heads left for sale.

2-22-2010:Today we begin the assembly process to be followed by packing. Heads will be assembled and shipped by serial number. Not all parts are ready to ship, like head gaskets, intake manifolds, distributor risers and side plates. These will be shipped as soon as completed. Cylinder head box will contain the head, gaskets, and a small parts box with things like, rocker arms, push rods, studs, nuts and bolts etc.

Be sure to inspect the shipment for damage and completeness. You have 30 days from receipt to make a claim with Yapp Studios, Inc. and actual damage claims must also be made with UPS. We will replace , repair or exchange as needed. All damaged parts must be returned. Call me before any return shipping.

Shipping these heavy boxes with UPS has been 99% successful. While the carton may be banged up and alarming at times, the content's security has been very good. There will be a "PARTS LIST" in the box. Use it to compare what you should have received.

The INSTRUCTION BOOKLET is still in progress and will mailed to you as soon as it is printed. If you choose to begin installation before the booklet arrives call me. I strongly recommend that you wait for the booklet for tips and procedures before you jump in head long. If you you choose to install as is out of the box there really isn't any problems.

My best, Charlie Yapp (513) 724-0700

2-12-2010: Assembly of the the Roof is a bit behind. I have rescheduled the assembly for Wednesday February 17, 2010. That day will be a training day for us to develop procedures and set up machinery. I have purchased a new motorized valve grinding system from the Neway Company. All the parts are in except for the brass valve covers, which could throw a wrench in the project's finish date.

The brass valve covers look great and were designed to use a common "O" ring as a gasket but the rubber ring simply slid off after getting oily. So, we had to add a machine job ($$) to each of these parts (a small groove) to hold the "O" ring in place.

The intake valve is angled at 12 degrees in one direction and about 4 degrees in another. Our goal has been to create a combustion chamber surface that is square and parallel to the valve so that a fairly even amount of metal is cut away for the valve seat. this has been difficult at best, but Merv has finally found the right numbers ($$) and we are on the spot and ready to machine the valve guide holes in all the rocker boxes.

Jim Roof will join me on Wednesday along with Matt Strayer to begin the work. I' guessing this will take about 2 weeks to get done.

I ordered the special shipping boxes today and will have to get the plywood bases cut to size next week.

The Dream Comes True! Above: Chief Designer, Jim Roof (left), and Producer, Charlie Yapp (right), enjoying the sights and sounds of the New Roof 101 Cyclone Four Port OHV. Check out the new "Y" header system pumping a deep mellow snarly tone out through a "Smithy Muffler".

1-29-2010: Plans to begin assembly are underway. I have high hopes of beginning the work about the 2nd week of Feb. All depends on the machine shop. If all goes well shipping will be someway around Feb 26 through March 5th to those fully paid up. Testing of engine has been without incident. The Front timing cover prototype is almost completed and will tested on the same engine. The iron Lion heads should be done in a couple weeks and the aluminum Lion IV will be up next. A fresh batch of "Equalizer" intake manifold is ready to be machined also. C. Yapp

November 23, 2009: It RUNS . . .It's ALIVE! HERE IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE Thanks Jon!

Yesterday 11-19-09, Jim Roof and I worked all day on roller rocker set up and geometry of the valve train. We think we got it, but there might a be a touch of room to improve it. The engine stand is self supporting and mobile. I been working day in and day out to get all the elements assembled and ready for Jim's visit. I just couldn't get it all done, but we had fun and learned more than we ever expected.

Today (Friday, 11-20-09), I finished the wiring and installed the ignition. Oil lines had to be made and installed . . . . I was going to use an FS Ignition's "Zipper" but the unit comes with a "popout" cable and I didn't have time to modify it. So I used an FS electronic Model B unit and it worked fine. At 3:05 pm I went home for a bit to eat and check on Donna. At 3:00 pm Merv (our most capable engineer) stopped by to see what was happening. All that was left to do was time it, gas and water the beast. Merv says, "let's get going" and I said "these thing take time". I got water can and Merv fueled her up. Everything was double checked and I hit the push button on the solenoid at 3: 45 pm. It started like the sweetest kindest motor you have ever heard and when we stepped on it she roared belching burning paint and oils. The Rockers barely clicked . . . It was alive and I am so relieved. Every part worked as planned, with no surprises. The low Model "A" oil pressure proved to be more than enough. The manifold was set up with one 1941-53 Ford-Holley (six banger) single throat carburetor for starters. Works like a dream! A lot is riding on this OHV and many people are tuned in (you guys blew my website bandwidth with unprecedented "hits" of over 10,000 hits last month and again this month . . . Thousands of people are watching us - NEAT!). It has to run and it has to be spectacular. . . it does and it is! We have successfully reproduced Robert Roof's 1929 Cyclone OHV, assumed to be the very first OHV on the market for Ford Model A's. It looks almost the same, but we made it a four port and used modern valve train. The volumetric efficiency is about the best you'll ever get with an "F" head. It is designed to be an easy installation suitable for beginners as well as seasoned experts.

Gentlemen . . . It is beyond my wildest dreams. We have engineering here that will set a bench mark for years to come, with eye candy to thrill you and your friends.

We did it! Now, we will fine tune the engine, double check everything and prepare a complete "out of the box" kit for dyno testing. There have been a few design improvements and changes to the finish and parts package. I will detail these in a few days. One last VERY IMPORTANT comment . . . I want express my undying gratitude to the first 54 buyers (investors). You men not only will have one of the most creative and well designed cylinder heads ever made for a vintage car, you have also received one hell of a bargain. Thank you for your positive support, it could never have been done without you! We are looking forward to assembly, packing and shipping in February. Final billing will come January 1st. Four-tiude and best wishes, Charlie Yapp

October 26, 2009 Men . . . we have a head . . . we have two heads . . .YaHooo!

Project coordinator Charlie Yapp and "Chief Designer" Jim Roof pose by the brand new Roof 101 Cyclone OHV cylinder head for Model A and B Fords. Yes, we are beyond thrilled! On Tuesday, October 26, the Roof 101 cylinder head was assembled at Charlie's shop. I'm sure that all of you that have been following this project are aware that it just might be, that no other cylinder head has been made the way the Roof operates. It's new, its different and it is so cool..

Test fitting some components. The distributor fits!

Jim is reviewing some of the tricky workmanship. One thing that needs to be discussed is paint color for the cast iron portion (I'm leaning toward RED). We do not want you take this head apart. It can be disassembled quite easily, but the valve job is integral with the two parts (rocker box and cast head). If the parts are taken out, then a new valve grind or minor touch up will be required, as it might be impossible to get all the boxes back to the same exact spot. So we feel the cast iron should be painted at the assembly point. On the other hand, many of you will want to have the rocker boxes polished and that would require a disassembly. So, be prepared to reassemble and do a light valve spin-in with valve compound to make sure the valves seat properly. It is our estimation that reassembly will be 99.8 repeatable, which make this really feaseable.

This will be a dependable and strong engine component. It's not complicated. The Cyclone is very easy to drop on your block.

The circular rings are rubber O-ring seals. There three sizes: the 4 large one seals the intake throat (metal to metal); The 4 medium seals the pushrod holes (metal to metal); and the small single seal O-ring seals the oil entrance hole (hard to see). No paint or sealers are allowed on these machined surfaces.

The roller rocker is install on our custom made rocker stud. Springs, guides, retainers, lockers fit perfectly. Those 2 little split lockers are difficult to install but we figured a way to do it. Between the three of us we designed at least three tools to help with assembly: A valve guide driver, a pin driver and an extra long polylock nut socket wrench.

I said these things before and I really do not want to wear the words out, But the job done by all parties goes beyond my wildest dreams. Merv Humphries (ABE-TEC MFG Inc. 513-724-6000, Batavia, OH) took his time on a very difficult set of numbers. The two parts, head and rocker box, had to match/fit at 100% to make this design work. He did it on the first official try. We ended up with 2 good run-able heads.

I will continue to assemble the remaining parts and get the heads on our test stand ASAP. That will be the next hurdle . . Stay tuned . . . Will it really run? You bet it will!

October 16, 2009: Here are the latest photos of the Roof. The prototype heads are machined. Jim Roof and I will get together next week (10-26-09) and assemble two heads. During this time we will double check our small parts, gaskets, etc. The fit of the parts is outstanding. All the design work, careful tooling and jig fixtures have paid off. Engine test stand is done. Now engine prep and parts assembly begins. My Speedster chassis is also ready to accept one head. . . .Still waiting for delivery of head and rocker box castings . . .should be soon.

August 28, 2009: I wanted to do a newsletter #4 but I really don't have enough to put in yet, so I will wait for a while.

Merv (machinist) informs me today that the machining of the 4 prototype cast iron cylinder heads is done. I will go over to get some photographs in a couple days (doing 11 Rileys right now). Merv is also tackling the rocker box machine program and should be doing these in a few days. Foundry should be delivering 60 + cast iron castings in a few weeks and the aluminum foundry has begun to fill our order for 120 rocker boxes and other parts. . . though these parts will come in a bit slower.

Our new portable engine stand is almost done. Basic testing and fit will be conducted on this engine. And one complete kit will go to Texas for a complete Dyno run in sometime in November or December.

A note on some minor changes: The manifold block off plates will be aluminum and not brass To save money and weight. The Port Covers will not have a name cast on them, to able to provide all "F" heads with these covers.

August 19, 2009: All buyers should have received your Newsletter #3 in the mail by now. If not please let me know. I want to encourage all buyers to queue up with your "optional" parts orders so we can plan our casting and machining requirements. I sunk a ton of money into tooling for these classy parts and I would sure like to see them used on your bangers. Optional parts: (new) Model A side plate; (new) Model B side plate; (new) Distributor Riser and (new) long drive shaft (for use with stock A distributors and manual spark advance) ; (new) Port Covers (No-name, to cover the unused intake ports) ; (new) Extra Roof Badges; (new) "Y" Exhaust header system kit; (new) Front timing cover ignition system;

Note: bridge has been removed from tooling. 2 bolt side mounts to manifold. 3 bolt side is for carburetor. 2 bolt, single throat, Ford 1941-1953 six cylinder carburetor(s) fit directly w/o adapter.. (new) Carburetor adapters; (new) Winged Distributor Speed Caps for vintage wires sized for the Roof; B fuel pump block off plate. You might also want a steel crank hi-speed pulley.

Don't forget to get yourself a Model B water pump. Used ones rebuild nicely and brand new ones are available from MAC's. You can use either the early "long" style (1932/33) or late short style (1933/34) pumps but the crank pulleys must match. My steel pulleys fit the early long style pump. All is well, but we're a bit behind schedule at this point. 95% of all parts have been spec'd and about half have arrived at the shop. All prototype castings have been made and approved. Casting orders have been place for all parts at the various foundries. Those should start stock piling in a month or so. The timing issue has been hampered by difficulty in programming the complicated curving combustion chamber shape. The head has actually been on the CNC machine for 4 weeks as Merv walks it through the process. When he gets the program written and tested we should be back up to speed.

The very special cloisonné Roof badges have arrived. Polished brass with blue porcelain back grounds. Distinctive and a pleasure to look at. These are held in place with 2 brass round head screws. The Intake manifold and the side plates have a recess for the plate and just look spectacular. The read, "Roof 101 Cyclone, Made In Cincinnati Ohio USA".

June 30, 2009

A great meeting was held on 6-30-09 and well worth the effort. The meeting centered around machining the castings in an orderly manner. We discussed the importance of appearance and ease of machining. Valve jobs will be the next hurdle.

The Intake manifold patterns (below) are done and were turned over to Dan Gaier for test casting.

We do have head and rocker box castings . . . but I keep forgetting to take a photo. Here is a cropped image from the table shot above. The Boxes are heat treated to T-6 and will have the flash and gates removed and sand blasted to get a cleaner silver color. The cast iron head is heat treated for stress relief to prevent warpage.

June 18, 2009: Less than 6 months from conception . . . We have castings. Clear, clean, beautiful cast iron castings. Four Roof 101 Cyclone cylinder heads arrived today. They are very, very, very nice. The Intake Manifold tooling should be done next week. Then off to the aluminum foundry. The "Distributor Riser" part and "Port Cover" part goes to the pattern shop next week. This and the Port Cover pattern will actually be the same as used on the Riley, with a name change. The riser is used to get the manual spark advance lever up over the rocker boxes. The Port Covers are to cover the unused intake ports on and "F" head like the Roof and Rileys. The cloisonné Name Plates: a contract has been given to have these made and we should see them in about 45 days. The Ford blue color is inside polished brass lettering and edges. A brass 10-32 screw attaches the plates to the Intake Manifold, Side Plates and for use as a radiator badge.

(TM)

Name and design Copyright Yapp Studios, Inc 2009. The test engine has arrived and the Machine Shop is making a neat engine stand so we can move it around and take it to shows. Jim Roof and I will be at the Model T Speedster Meet in western Indiana from Saturday noon through the early evening. We will have the raw Roof 101 castings with us. Gentlemen we are getting close. A hearty thanks to our team of professionals. My best, Charlie Yapp

June 12, 2009: All introduction priced Roof sales will close August 30, 2009. We only made enough parts for 60 heads and we are approaching the cut off.

Optional parts - Parts are flowing in. Test Castings are coming off the line. Here is a list:

Roof 101 cast iron head casting was attempted last Tuesday. First casting did not shake out clean. So the foundry is redesigning their gating. This is normal and a second try was done yesterday, but I have not heard the news yet. This usually takes several tries before the foundry settles in on the correct gates and vents.

Rocker box cast aluminum 356-T6 samples in. Perfect, no issues. . . . Really, very, very cool !!

Rocker Box Covers, cast brass in. Look good but need a minor change to gating. When polished they will look like gold.

Manifold cover plates, cast brass & aluminum in. Look good. Brass weighs 1 pound and aluminum is 6 ounces. Brass has a more sandy look and feel. Aluminum is clear, clean & cheaper. May change to Aluminum on these parts.

Push Rod Guides, Hardened, are in. Perfect, no issues. Custom made. The very best.

Head studs (grade 8) are in. Perfect, no issues. The very best.

Rocker Studs are in. Perfect, no issues. Drilled for oil, rolled threads, heat treated to 180,000 to 200,000 psi. . .The very best.

Roller tipped Rocker arms (1.5:1), balls, and poly-lock nuts are in. Perfect, no issues.

Side Valve Cover patterns (Model A and B) were received at the Iowa foundry on Thursday.

Test engine was shipped from Bob Bouldin's New York shop to mine this week.

June 1, 2009: Cast iron head portion of patterns are done.

Roof 101 Rocker Box being machined on a CNC machine. This part was set up on the machine table and took about 36 hour to run through the program carving the pattern out of a solid block of red board. This is really a dream come true! The patterns will be slightly modified by the foundry for gating (where the metal flows into) and for the venting (where the gases escape) before actual casting can take place. We are right on schedule. The other patterns will be coming off the line this week and next. They will be shipped to the three foundries we have chosen and test castings will be done and shipped back to my shop for quality control and then off to the machine shop here in my home town. Later, Charlie Yapp

hese are the talented creative and professional good men that developed the computer modeling and tooling from Jim Roof's hand drawn prints. From the left: GeoTech's President, John Leadford did the Modeling, John's Father and founder of GeoTech Pattern, Dan Leadford, made sure nobody was sleeping on the job and Shop Superintendent Frank Schilling converted the modeling to CNC programming for precision machining of the "red board" (red urethane plastic). Several others sanded the final patterns to a high luster and made ready for the foundry. The parts shown are the water jacket core box halves.

May 28, 2009: Pattern maker informs me that the ROOF 101 head pattern will ship to foundry on Monday. Rocker box pattern will follow that next week. Side plates and brass covers will ship about the same time. I'm going to look at all the tooling tomorrow. I"m looking into "Cloisonné" (color enamel and brass) name plates for the intake, side covers and as a radiator badge. Charlie Yapp

May 1, 2009: Roof 101 Cyclone cast iron Head, cast aluminum Rocker Boxes and Intake Manifold modeling is done and machining of the tooling has begun. Modeling work has started on the Model A and Model B Side Plates and the special downdraft Ford 81-97-94-92 Carburetor Adapter. We have found an off the shelf adapter that will work with Rochesters, Webers, and even the modern small 350cfm Holley 2 barrel carbs. The port size is: intake ports are 1.5" diameter and the center to center bolt hole mounts are 2-11/16". Look for carburetors that will fit this size or an adapter will have to be fabricated for smaller updraft carbs like the Model B Zenith or Winfields.

4-10-09: Down Draft set up - These next color images show the final design for the intake manifold. It has an internal hot water jacket. Down draft carburetors that fit directly are "Ford" Holley single throat models from 1941-51 six cylinder cars and trucks (Holley 847-7HA and 8HA-9510-A). 1960's Solex Jeep "F" head NEW replacement carburetor will fit AND we have two adapters to fit Ford flat head V-8 Stromberg 81 -97 and Holley 92-94 three bolt mount carbs AND modern NEW Holley dual throats, Rochesters and more. Updraft? - just turn the manifold over - carbs that fit are to be discovered. However, with a simple fabricated adapter almost any updraft carburetor ever made can be made to fit.

The polished manganese bronze rocker box covers gleam like gold. The intake and rocker boxes could be polished (by you) to a high shine. The one cover shown is a just shown for a test fit. The logo and chrome acorn fastener are not shown.

4-9-09: Today I accepted the quotes for aluminum (356-T6) and bronze (manganese bronze) foundry work. Crystyl Engineering, Inc.'s Dan Gaier will be doing this important work. Some parts will be sand cast and others will be plaster cast (smooth finish). Highest quality is the goal and his firm has the ability to make castings the car guys like.

The pattern tooling, or the "modeling" as they like to put it is coming to a close . . .The cylinder head and rocker box is done. The next to final model on the intake manifold is done and spectacular. Jim and I wanted an invisible, hidden, water tank inside the manifold . . . and now we have it (pictures soon) thanks to Jon Ledford and his skills. Next up is the rocker box cover, side plates, name plates, carburetor adaptor and carb block off plates. . . all in all, quite a package.

The "Y" pair of exhaust headers will be test cast shortly. They might actually be available very soon. In development is a new Model A & B front timing cover with a "45" degree distributor dive (similar to the 1949-53 Fords). The basic tooling, created by Dick McKee in the 1950's, is done but some more work is needed before test castings can be made. But it's coming along nicely. One of the issues is how to run the distributor drive. A prototype drive assembly has been developed and will be tested soon.Until next time, Four-Titude, Charlie Yapp

4-6-09: Today I signed off on the models for the cylinder head and the rocker box. Jim and I are excited to say the least. The actual tooling machine work begins now for these two parts. This is expected to take about 30-45 days. Then off to the foundry for test castings.Other parts are still in development: Intake Manifold, brass Rocker Box covers, brass Name Plates, and Side Valve Covers for both the Model A and B. The side covers are an OPTIONAL part. They will look like stock plates in 1/4" thick aluminum with a recessed polished brass name plate. Both covers will have a couple extra bosses for oil uses. The Intake manifold is now an OPTIONAL part for sales after 4-10-09. New images and details will follow when done. The name plates will read "Roof 101 Cyclone, Made In Cincinnati O. U.S.A."

3-30-09: We had a fabulous meeting 3-30-09 between the pattern makers (Ohio), our foundry (Michigan) and the design team of Charlie Yapp (Ohio) and Jim Roof (Indiana). We were able to have a hands on working meeting with the Roof 101 Cyclone OHV Four Port participants (machine shop could not make it). We had a great lunch (Thanks Jon), learned more about each other and our companies. . . All smart, handsome, talented men (grin).

Above is the finished and approved final model of the machined Cylinder Head and Rocker Boxes. The rocker box covers are not installed.

Solid Works 3-D modeling is being used to create the pattern models and to try to explain all its benefits would take up too much space. Let me just say that with this software Jon could slice the head in any direction and move through the model so that every slice could be be studied and measured. And yes, we found some issues. If we hadn't used this software then we would have had to commit to the pattern work, send it off for a test casting and then cut the casting up in slices and hope that we could see all that there was to see. I can tell you from experience that is not always possible or easy, but with the S.W. we could see everything. We can only image what the old timers could have done with this technology early last century. With each new rendering, with each new update, the Roof 101 Cyclone is getting better and better. When Jon is done with the modeling he will be able to generate all the computer files needed to carve a complete set of patterns and molds out on a CNC milling machine. . . And he will be able to pass along a complete set of machining operations for the CNC machine shop to finish the head. The combustion chamber looks like a jewel and each one is exactly 140.0803 CCs.

The Valve Cover, side plates (optional) and Intake manifold (optional) name plates will read "ROOF 101 Cyclone, Made In Cincinnati O. U.S.A." The Rocker box is clever and original. Thanks to Robert Roof's original design, reinterpreted by Jim Roof . . . There is no cylinder head in the world that looks like or operates like the new Roof Cyclone. It is clean, simple, workable, powerful and easily modified for additional power and speed. All the parts (except one) are off the self products that your will be able to find anywhere. . . At least none of us can think of an engine with this type of set-up . . .Maybe a radial engine from WW-I.

We are completely redesigning the intake manifold. Jim had the design correct but I (and 75% of the buyers) wanted it to be heated. This required a water reservoir inside the manifold. Jim, Jon and I have finally got it figured out so that the water "tank" is invisible. New manifold photos will be posted when I get them. Scott, from the foundry, was able to help the pattern maker make better decisions concerning cores, core prints, loose pieces and possible gating and venting . . . trying to avoid clean-up and appearance issues after casting. In our meeting we discovered a small stud/bolt boss had been placed in the direct water path to the pump. We simply moved it to a more appropriate place and made the corresponding changes to the Rocker Box. No harm done and it took about 3 minutes to do. Nonetheless, the Roof cylinder head, in 60 days, is nearly a completed modeled . . . This same process took over 1-1/2 years with the Riley Two Port and 8 months for the Lion Speed Head.

3-25-09: Things are moving along really, really well. Some changes and tweaks are in the works. Monday, March 30 we are having an extended meeting between Jim and I, the foundry, pattern maker and machine shop. This will be to review the models (below) to this point and try to head off any production issues before we go to final patterns. I expect patterns to be nearly done by the end of April. This manifold is hot water jacketed and can be used up or down-draft. The four (4) rocker box caps are not shown at this time. They will be brass. The Rocker boxes are Aluminum. The head is cast iron.

Above: That horizontal hole, on the side, just by the 1st stud, is the oil entrance point. Water pump is 1932 four banger. The 2 holes on the back end are core prints. These will be supplied drilled and tapped to 1/2" NPT. Can be used for hot water heater, temp gauge or to feed the water tank in manifold. The Distributor mount is designed to accept your distributor. A tall riser can be attached for those that want to use the wing cap and manual spark control.

The 140 cc combustion chamber is done. Each are exactly the same. At full lift there is .500" clearance around 80% of the valve head, plus the spark plug groove makes it 98%. There is a .500" clearance for the exhaust valve (hard to see that). The 4" diameter "Fly Cut" over the piston is .060 deep for piston clearance and excellent squish. You can not see it here, but the top (ceiling) of the chamber has a slight twist as it travels from Intake to exhaust to add turbulence. Note below: The two small round holes under the manifold. These are water connections that will be drilled and tapped to 1/2" NPT. There 2 matching bosses on the side of the head to make the water connections.

Above: In this cut-a-way you'll see the huge water jackets and the "ram" tube intake throat. The 1.73" dia. intake valve seats at a 12 degree angle in the chamber.

3-6-09: Jon Leadford (pattern maker - GeoTech) has pretty much got the cast iron cylinder head modeled with "Solid Works". He has begun on the rocker boxes and found a couple minor conflicts with a wall thickness. So Jim and I will gather, on the 9th, with Jon to think-tank the issue and find solutions. This is not a problem just part of the process. This morning I drove out to Bren-Ko Patterns (http://www.brenkopatterns.com) to see the new wooden master for the "Y" exhaust manifold. Excellent fast workmanship. I have approved the master. Now urethane castings, (cope, drag and a core box) will be created. A test iron casting will be made locally. If that goes well then the tooling will be shipped to Detroit for production. Jim has developed a complete parts list for the 101 and I have been getting quotes for custom parts and prices for "off the shelf" parts. The project, so far, is on target with my cost estimates.

1-28-09: Jim has done about 5+ renditions of the head in about 4 weeks or so. We have decided to change out the stamped rocker arm in favor of a forged and machined roller rocker arm. It's a nice upgrade that all of you will appreciate. These are off the shelf Chevrolet (sorry) small block rockers. We have a terrific "trick" oiling method. The oil will feed into a compression fitting on the side of the head where oil will travel to the foot of the first rocker box. From here it goes to a hidden drilled cast in tube and up the rocker studs where it is aimed at the push rod and roller tip and drains back down to the rocker ball and then on out through the push rod hole. Neat! We have removed the "push rod alignment bushing" from the print and replaced it with a "push rod guide plate". This allows lateral control of the push rod and makes ratio changes more flexible. Most importantly, it opens the oil drain to full size. Most the suppliers have been chosen. These outfits are suppliers that helped the Riley Two Port maintain such great value and dependability in the field. I will be listing them and their websites for your look-see when the list is finalized. There is a short story about the name "Roof 101" we've chosen and I will relate that interesting story next time I have some time to write . . . . My best to all and Four-Titude! . . . Charlie Yappd drawn prints. We thought that "hand drawn" prints would be a nice salute to Robert M. Roof (Jim's grandfather). Jim likes to travel down here to the Cincinnati, Ohio area so he can be, as he puts it, "be close to the parts and stuff that make things go". He is now applying the numbers to the "final" prints. These will be used by all shops in the chain and the pattern maker will have them converted to digital files and prints for computer aided machine work. Jim and I have settled on a high tech CNC machine shop in my area for the head and rocker box castings. This is helpful because I can keep close tabs on that progress. "Solid Works" software will be used for 3-D modeling by the pattern maker and those images will start appearing here.

1-20-09. Jim Roof adds these words from the

"Roof 101 Design Room"

Designer, Jim Roof, the grandson of Robert M. Roof, "Chief Designer" for Laurel Motors and R & R Manufacturing, is shown drafting the first round of prints for the new Roof 101 OHV Four Port cylinder head.

"Because of you, our buyers and investors, the Roof Cyclone head is reborn. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Your desire to own this piece of equipment, that straddles 2 centuries, is a testament to Grandfather, Charlie and me.

When Charlie approached the Roof family about reproducing the Roof Cyclone head we didn’t hesitate. In the time between his call and the SOSS picnic in August I thought about how great it would be for me to be actively involved in the project. I knew I could help and not be a mill stone to Charlie. I needed to convince him of how I could help. I interviewed for the job at the 2008 August picnic and was hired.

Friends ask where did I start on a project like this? I started with laying out all that is known about the design, head size, stud location, push rod location etc. The next step is filling in the blank spaces on the drawing which is the challenging and interesting part. I have traveled to "Scalded Dog Central" for design reviews. Many details and alternatives have been sketched, discussed and some we slept on.

Grandfather would be proud to know how we have kept the original concept of the Cyclone head. We have the advantage of 80 years of technology to improve the head. Utilizing tried and true off the shelf items will assure performance and reliability. The project is truly a marriage af old school (pencil drawings) and 21st century processes (computer aided math models).

Jim Roof

A Note From "Roof 101" Co-Designer & Producer, Charlie Yapp, 1-28-09:

I too want to extend a hardy thank you to our buyer/investors. The Roof 100 project could not, and would not, have gone any further than the drawing board if it weren't for you . . . Thank you for your trust and your desire to be part of four banger history.

Working with Jim Roof has been a wonderful rewarding learning experience. Jim is a consummate gentleman, who is a pleasure to work with. He's a highly experienced product engineer. Look for some of his drafting skills to be showcased here in the future. This head design and his workmanship is a superb way to honor Robert Roof . . . In some eyes, the most prolific and creative inventor of auto related speed equipment of his time. . . . I'm am honored!

I know that there are many of you that would like nothing better than to be on board our "101" project but the economy and circumstances have made it difficult. So I am please to announce that we will keep the $800 discount going until we have 45 orders. After that it will be impossible to add buyers and the price will be $3000 + manifold. Even still, this a pretty good price for something so neat. . . . but don't wait, we need your help.

We did not have the privilege of having an actual Roof Cyclone OHV to measure and work with. There are only about three or four known survivors. We did have many photographs from my collection, the Smith Museum and the Roof family collection.

Jim basically extrapolated the dimensions and compared these to actual prints of other Model A heads I provided. Would you believe the valves used in the Cyclone were huge and very long. Our best guess is that these valves had about a 8" stem. We discovered this when the measurements didn't allow for pushrod tubes like the original head had. Jim reworked the valve dimensions into something off the shelf and this lowered the rocker boxes to the point that we could just cast the push rod tubes. This saved parts and money. A prime goal.

Working with Jim has been like this from the beginning . . . terrific problem solving and a can do spirit

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