John,

        how your doing on completeing the Yblock book you have mentioned on your site. I know you've been focusing on the heads and also more recently the new intake. Just wondered on that.

Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

Wellllllllllll,the truth is the book has been 90% finished for about 6 years. The problem is I've been through 4 computers and 3 operating systems since I started. It was started in Win95, which is theoretically compatible with Win98 and XP. Well to a certain extent this is true but not 100%. Every time I transfer it to a new OS it changes. It takes up more space, more pages, pictures get moved around and it needs more editing to put it back to right.

Unfortunately I can no longer work on it. I've read it so many times it puts me to sleep, literally. Also things have changed a great deal since it was started. The original format was a number of engine builds and info of well know current racers. But I found that most of the engine builds were almost the same. The power output was nearly identical in spite of engine size, compression and cam. 330-365HP despite widely varying specs. Of course this lead to the realization that we needed better intake manifolds and heads. You know the rest of that story.

With the hugh influx of new Y-Block fans the questions being asked have changed. Interchangability of parts is now the most common question. In 2000 most of the people that owned Y-Blocks had been around them for years and knew what would fit. Today a lot of people are buying old Fords and have never seen a Y-Block or are building a hotrod and come up with an old truck engine. They don't know what other parts are availble that might make the job easier such as a car bellhousing, T-Bird oil pan, different T-stat housing.

To cut to the chase, I need to consolidate the engine builds and add more interchangeability to make it more useful.

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico

Thanks so much for the update John, I kind of wondered. I can relate to the computer programs changing and there for changing everything else around. We go through that at work quite often. I hope you get some time someday, I know it takes a heck of a lot of time.

                          

Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

I have to commend you for taking on a project like that in the first place (and then announcing it on your website before it's finished). I have been waiting for your book to be finished from at least 2001? when I believe I first found your web site. But I'm a patient person...



As for your computer problems, buy a MacIntosh, the Y-Block of Computers... By the way, All Mac's have a duel core so they can run both Mac OSX and Windows now but IMHO Mac OSX is by far superior.




BOB

Bob, I was never sure that a Mac would really be better, but if it the Y-Block of computers all doubt is removed.

I wonder why they don't call the best health care plans "Y-Block Health Plans". Imagine what the taxes would be on those.

http://ford-y-block.com 

20 miles east of San Diego, 20 miles north of Mexico

A better analogy would be that Microsoft/PC is the "small block scrub" of operating systems. Cheaply designed, unreliable, and inscrutably, very popular.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Having never owned a Mac, I can't say much about them.

I've never had a problem with Windows. One thing Windows and the associated systems do a lot better is to support more games and I like games. Now that Mac uses Intel processors and as a result I suspect the platform is essentially the same, more games may work but I still can't validate spending almost twice that of an equally spec'd PC. I just can't believe a Mac is that much better.


Lawrenceville, GA

While I am certainly no expert, my impression is that Windows is popular with bean counters & nerds (more business based software/technical complexity), and Apple has cornered the creative/artistic market. I started with a PC, and found computers extremely frustrating (could really empathize with Ted Kasinski), and thought the problem was ME. When I got my first Mac, I realized the intuitive OS/quality hardware/corporate attitude was well worth the extra $. Apple is THE greatest American company!

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

IMO, one reason there are many Mac's in use in the creative community is that Apple's marketing strategy put computers in the classroom (either free or at a greatly reduced price) for many years. The use of a Mac vs a PC is sort of like comparing a Y-Block to a Small Block. Both will perform basically the same function, but go about it somewhat differently. Again, IMO, it boils down to personal preference. I personally use a PC to capture and edit video footage in order to produce TV commercials. I've produced several hundred spots over the past 10 years. Mac's break down and have problems just like PC's do, maybe not as frustrating as the PC can be, but they are not perfect as my staff used them when I had my newspaper publishing business (they were used to them so I acquiesced).

Gerald Ingram aka "Gritsngumbo"
Monroe, LA
LITTLE RED: 64 Ford F100 Short Bed Styleside
BIG RED: 63 Ford F100 Long Bed Unibody
BBW RED: 61 Ford F100 BBW Long Bed Custom Cab Unibody
BIG “UN: 63 F250 Longbed Flareside
CREW CAB: 63 F100 "Stageway" Crew Cab w/Long "Wrong" Bed

Daniel, Now that is too dang funny, but right on... lol! When is the last time you had to worry about a virus on your Mac.



The thing I like about Mac's is the OS is so much more (for lack of a better word) stable. And if I choose I can effortlessly switch from the Apple OS to Windows though for the life of me I can not imagine why I would want to switch over to windows. But the option is there.



And for a bit (or is it Byte) of info that means nothing to anybody but me, I still have my ORIGINAL Mac+ I bought in 1986, 9" B&W screen, NO hard drive, runs on 800k or 1.2k floppies, 4 MB RAM. Still starts up with the Happy Mac (only Mac guys will know that).



John, sorry, just trying to help you out. Didn't mean to stir the pot (altho it is fun once in a while).




BOB