View Full Version : wood Wickens Whirlwind flatty!!!!
nopostduece
08-11-2008, 01:55 AM
im sure some of you folks saw this boat for sale in Pacifica CA a few months ago... well i liked it so much i drove from Dallas TX to pick it up. i had been looking for a wooden flatty for awhile and it fit the bill as a project i could handle. i had the boat repainted, and then i rigged it with a .030 over ford FE 390 with a small street/strip cam, holley single plane intake, a 650 vac sec holley carb and all the nicsons hardware that came with it. the boat cleaned up great and its a blast at the lake, in just the cool old school way i thought it would be!!! i have bought a 427 side oiler block and crank from a friend for a winter build. also i would like to see if anyone has info or history on the boat and i would like to know what make the v drive is. it has no markings on it... :D :D
[img=http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/9812/dscn2098nb8.th.jpg] (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn2098nb8.jpg)
[img=http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/737/dscn2100yi5.th.jpg] (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn2100yi5.jpg)
CampbellCarl
08-11-2008, 02:17 AM
Never seen anything like it! So the deck is glass? VERY cool!
CC
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/156champ/dscn2102yo1.jpg
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/156champ/dscn2100yi5.jpg
nopostduece
08-11-2008, 02:30 AM
Never seen anything like it! So the deck is glass? VERY cool!
CC
the whole boat is wood. no glass anywhere. someone painted the bow over the years. i would love to strip it and refinish the bow someday.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/156champ/dscn2098nb8-1.jpg
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/156champ/dscn2105ih1.jpg
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/156champ/0702rc_16_zantique_race_boat_regatt.jpgthis ones really old
nopostduece
08-11-2008, 03:02 AM
i have no idea what year it is. i didn't get a tittle witch is a bummer. i would love to have solid documents on the boat. it was a pain in the A$$ getting an assigned HIN and TX numbers to get it on the water. i told the TPWD (texas parks and wildlife) it was made in 1966 never tittled just raced. the guy i bought it for got it in 1977 on trade and never put it together. i was hopping to get a tittle that said 1966 but the dumb brad tittled it as a home made 1977. i have heard that only few of Fred Wickens "whirlwinds" were all wood as the demand got to high he couldn't keep up so he went to a glass boat with a wood deck to cut down on time. the boat made its maiden voyage yesterday and i have the sunburn to prov it. she ran strong alittle over proped but great for cruising, sipped gas i only used about 6 gallons in 6 hours and did alot of high speed passes. she also faired very well in rough water at speed... that pic of the screamin meenie is my defalt screen saver.. OH also any idea why my boat stears on the right? its the only one i have seen like that.
the plate on it looks like a hydro set up-is it adjustable? your boat might be late 50's screemin meamie is a 57
nopostduece
08-11-2008, 03:22 AM
the plate on it looks like a hydro set up-is it adjustable? your boat might be late 50's screemin meamie is a 57
i though the same thing! yes the cav plate does adj i have a locking handle. the boat was made for that plate as it is flush on the bottom about 8 inches past the leading edge. i would like to get another prop but it seams finding one the is right hand rotation is a shot in the dark and i have had my prop off and it has no markings. i need alittle less pich my 390 just is not making the power the last motor that was in the boat was.:o
boatpoor
08-11-2008, 03:26 AM
Must of been the European model with the hydro plates and circle style drive setup. Is pretty cool all wood. Great find, enjoy it, it will be a attention getter for sure.
nopostduece
08-11-2008, 03:42 AM
Must of been the European model with the hydro plates and circle style drive setup. Is pretty cool all wood. Great find, enjoy it, it will be a attention getter for sure.
meaning driving off the crank snout? and if it was a circle boat why would it stear on the right? European model???? :cool:
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/156champ/6-27-0720frankafter20you201091.jpg
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee81/156champ/6-27-0720Dfrankafter20you201211.jpg
boatpoor
08-11-2008, 04:10 AM
156, where did you find that. That is way cool. With a hemi too.
it was for sale on ebay a while back -its a velton craft guy wanted a ton of $$$ for it 1959
hm66Howard
08-11-2008, 05:23 AM
OH also any idea why my boat stears on the right? its the only one i have seen like that.Cool find! FE's are cool! That Hemi is bitchin' too! I thought the right hand drivers seat was to use the drivers weight to help keep the boat flatter in a left hand turn. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
boatpoor
08-11-2008, 05:26 AM
Where is Harlin?
nopostduece
08-11-2008, 05:38 AM
Cool find! FE's are cool! That Hemi is bitchin' too! I thought the right hand drivers seat was to use the drivers weight to help keep the boat flatter in a left hand turn. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
never thought about... with a LTO car you off set to the inside or left side for the weight offset. iv been jumping around the board for a few hours you guys have some real nice boats!
RiverRacer
08-11-2008, 03:04 PM
I thought the right hand drivers seat was to use the drivers weight to help keep the boat flatter in a left hand turn. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
More weight on the right, more tendancy to roll over. I'd hate to be on that side and have the boat roll over on top of me!... That boat isn't set up for circles anyhow so it don't matter, someone just like to sit on the wrong side of the boat, just all those yuppie barges!.LOL..:D
Rattle Can Lou
08-11-2008, 03:50 PM
Your boat is probably older then 66. I have a glass Wickens with a Walnut deck that is a true 66. Yours is probably in the early 60's. As far as your v-drive Fred used to build his own. He would use a gear box from a helicopter. That's what it looks like to me. Won't find gears to regularly, but a real piece of history.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/autobody9/delete111.jpg?t=1218466195
nopostduece
08-11-2008, 05:42 PM
i have seen vid of your boat on the tube from v drive video... i see he is a member, props for lots of cool vids. your boat has a strange sound i thought it might have a 180 crank or odd fire cam 4/7 swap or ls1 timming. my good ford buddy, i got my side oiler block and crank from has a 351 clevlend with a 180 crank. i knew your boat was very much like mine after the 100 time i watched that vid...
hm66Howard
08-11-2008, 06:03 PM
i have seen vid of your boat on the tube from v drive video... i see he is a member, props for lots of cool vids. your boat has a strange sound i thought it might have a 180 crank or odd fire cam 4/7 swap or ls1 timming. my good ford buddy, i got my side oiler block and crank from has a 351 clevlend with a 180 crank. i knew your boat was very much like mine after the 100 time i watched that vid...180* headers make that sound. Ever heard a real GT-40? We need video links please Lou. :)
AquaCraft
08-11-2008, 07:03 PM
OH also any idea why my boat stears on the right? its the only one i have seen like that.
You found a great piece of v-drive history; good job finding it and good job getting it back on the water.
Regarding your steering; I will guess it had everything to do with the direction of engine rotation and resulting "torque-twist" of the original engine set-up in the boat.
If not to address torque issues; my second guess would be that this boat is just typical of boats of the era in which it was built; many "early" small speed boats were set-up with their wheels on the right side.
AzDon
08-13-2008, 02:40 AM
Right steering is a nautical thing. If you look at most production boats, they still steer from the right. In the early days of performance boats, a few folks that had boats built wanted then left drive like their car and as more folks saw these boats, they wanted to steer for the left as well.
RiverRacer
08-13-2008, 02:47 AM
Regarding your steering; I will guess it had everything to do with the direction of engine rotation and resulting "torque-twist" of the original engine set-up in the boat.
That is right, driving off the back will have prop torque to the right, that's why circle boats drive off the front to get the torque to the left!..
nopostduece
08-13-2008, 05:39 AM
That is right, driving off the back will have prop torque to the right, that's why circle boats drive off the front to get the torque to the left!..
i can see how driving off the crank snout would be a good idea to keep it pushing to the left, but i dont think it would have a thing to do with the steering wheel being on the right. i think az don hit it on the head it is a nautical thing. every boat i have ever been in steers on the right other than most smaller hot boats. i think they moved the steering to the left side when some of the boats became LTO (left turn only) race boats for the weight distribution. like RiverRacer said earlier in the thread "i would not want to be on the out side if the boat rolled over"
IUNNO just workin my brain after some of the input i have gottin...
also i want to thank all of you for the welcome to your board and for all the great info you have had to offer. i am a die hard gear head! i work in a transmission shop full time, i have ground up built more than one high 5sec 1/8mile drag car, built complete round tube rock buggies, have 4 pre 1950 Harley Davidson's and a 275HP daily driven Honda civic, some of the other things i dabble in so i would be more than happy to share my knowledge in other areas.
RiverRacer
08-13-2008, 05:57 AM
i can see how driving off the crank snout would be a good idea to keep it pushing to the left, but i dont think it would have a thing to do with the steering wheel being on the right. i think az don hit it on the head it is a nautical thing. every boat i have ever been in steers on the right other than most smaller hot boats. i think they moved the steering to the left side when some of the boats became LTO (left turn only) race boats for the weight distribution. like RiverRacer said earlier in the thread "i would not want to be on the out side if the boat rolled over"
IUNNO just workin my brain after some of the input i have gottin...
also i want to thank all of you for the welcome to your board and for all the great info you have had to offer. i am a die hard gear head! i work in a transmission shop full time, i have ground up built more than one high 5sec 1/8mile drag car, built complete round tube rock buggies, have 4 pre 1950 Harley Davidson's and a 275HP daily driven Honda civic, some of the other things i dabble in so i would be more than happy to share my knowledge in other areas.
That is right it is a nautical thing and I don't understand the theory don't make sense to me, even in a ski boat I don't want it on the right!... Weight isn't the factor, drag boats are on the left and they go straight, real boats have the steering on the left, LOL... What kind of tranny shop you work in, Aamco stuff or race type shop???..
hm66Howard
08-13-2008, 07:03 AM
I thought because a boat leans itself into the direction you're turning that having the weight on the opposite side would help counter act that. I stand corrected. I could have sworn I read that somewhere. :o The nautical carry over makes total sense.
nopostduece
08-13-2008, 06:04 PM
funny i do work at an aamco... the chain shops is where the money is at. i have worked at the bigger speed shops in town, FASTech we did LS1 only lots of vets, and Lone Star was Fords only. but the money is just not there for a day job.
RiverRacer
08-13-2008, 07:26 PM
funny i do work at an aamco... the chain shops is where the money is at. i have worked at the bigger speed shops in town, FASTech we did LS1 only lots of vets, and Lone Star was Fords only. but the money is just not there for a day job.
Yeah, speed shops never pay much in anything really!.. You come across any 4L80E cores cheap by chance???..
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