Wills ring for Repco-Brabham V8?

[dwilliams]

I'm trying to find the dimensions of the cylinder sealing rings used in the Repco-Brabham V8s, preferable the 3-liter "620 series" with the 3.5" bore Oldsmobile block, though a 7- or 8- series seal would do. I'd also be interested in buying a new or used ring to measure myself.

The current manufacturer apparently has no interest in selling small lots to racers, but if I can get the dimensions, I may have found someone who can make replacement rings.

[ProPower engines]

Who in north america have you tried for rings.
Also what are the dimensions and material face type and coating if wanted are you looking for??

[dwilliams]

I know there are people out there still servicing Repco motors for vintage racing, but my web-fu wasn't sufficient to find their names.

If I had the dimensions, I wouldn't need a ring to measure.

[makin chips]

You might try Facebook. There's a guy on the Repco crossflow head group that wrote articles about the RB620 so he may actually have some useful information. Let me see if I can figure out who he is and get the link in case you're on Facebook and I'll edit this post to add it in. I'm guessing he's referring to the articles at primotipo.com


https://m.facebook.com/groups/182430528 ... 5843941470

I believe this is where I read that. Scanning through it, I see a link to the article I mentioned previously so you may want to try there, if anything.

[dwilliams]

Thanks for directing me back to primotipo; I just noticed what I thought was a web page is actually a blog, and it's still open for comments. I left a request there.

[ProPower engines]

I know there are people out there still servicing Repco motors for vintage racing, but my web-fu wasn't sufficient to find their names.

If I had the dimensions, I wouldn't need a ring to measure.

Not trying to be an ass but with a few simple measurements from the bore and piston if the engine is apart it would
be a very easy thing to get. Regardless of the year and type.
I do it every week on odd ball resto vintage stuff. If the engine is apart all they need is the following
Bore diameter
Ring width
Radial depth
Type of top ring material IE: plain cast ductile moly and tool steel materials
Face coating Chrome plazma moly etc
2nd reverse taper napier etc.
The oil ring 1 piece or 3 piece

I call Dawn at hastings at least 1 time per week and these are the details they need to supply rings for any engine
combo out there.

And as I am sure that you know they make and sell rings to the other ring suppliers like total seal
as well as other big name ring sellers and have done for 30 + years
Just trying to help

[CRS]

I believe dwilliams is asking about head gasket sealing rings. (Not piston rings)

I am keen for wills rings suppliers info also.

[dwilliams]

a few simple measurements from the bore and piston if the engine is apart

The Repco-Brabham V8s didn't have head gaskets. Instead, they used exotic tubular sealing rings, pressurized with some kind of gas, The rings were springy stainless steel and fit into counterbores in the top of the block. They look like shiny metal O-rings. The Ford "Indy" V8s and T-series BOSS 429s used a similar setup. They were originally known as Cooper rings, and later as Wills rings.

There's another variant of the ring which is a sort of C-section, with the open face being on the inside, facing the bore. Besides being springy, combustion gas helps pressurize the ring against the deck and head. Those are the kind I'm hoping to have made.

They were the hot setup back when head gaskets were cardboard with a metal fire ring, and slathered with Indian Head gasket sealer. For assembly or trackside maintenance you just wiped off the bits with a rag, dropped the Wills rings into their counterbores, added any rubber O-rings to seal water or oil passages, and put the heads on. But they were expensive - expensive enough even Cosworth didn't use them - and advances in gasket technology (Teflon or graphite coatings, embossed silicone water seals, wire-backed fire rings, etc) obviated the need for such things.

Repco got out of the engine business in the 1970s. The people who made the Cooper rings are... unhelpful. I don't have a Repco block to inspect, so I'm trying to find an old ring to measure.

[KnightEngines]

Garlock helicoflex.
But sit down before you get the price.

Another option is bronze fire rings.

[ProPower engines]

Forgive me but I was thinking piston rings but some guys refer to piston rings as the same.
I am familiar with these as well as sponsor of mine bought a ford powered Billy Foster indy car a few years back and we had many discussions to get the terms correct like this during work projects.

As mentioned there are suitable rings available and as mentioned boy howdy are they spendy. But necessary parts and spares are always needed.

On another note FM did have something like that at the time but we never got any but we were told by an older tech there
they used like type rings in some head gaskets. But the individual rings never came from FM in the end as it was
a longer delay then I wanted.
Garlock chamber sealing rings work fine although regular stainless fire rings were suggested as were bronze materials but
again we did not want to take it apart again as its a show car for vintage races which are few and far between given where we are geographically

[dwilliams]

I have the design manual from Trelleborg; I can spec my own rings if I need to. But since I'm using the same bore size as Repco, I'd like to leverage off the design work PE Irving did when he designed the engine. And, hey, I might be able to flog off a few spares to anyone restoring a Repco engine. There were more than four dozen of them made, the market has got to be huge...