Speedex Heads

[geoffharrison]

I have just retrieved from the loft my 1931 edition of Ricardo's The High Speed Internal-Combustion Engine . This was required reading
as an apprentice in the engine design and development section of a group of engineering companies.
In the chapter ' Influence of Form of  Combustion Chamber ' Ricardo's Shock Absorber ' head is described in detail . This is similar to the combustion chamber form in the aluminium heads currently available.
The '37 A7 head has the Ricardo ' Turbulent Head' an earlier and much simpler design and similarly described in detail , with the comment
'licenses have been granted to engine manufacturers' . 
Its still quite an informative read for anyone with an interest in I/C engines and strangely nothing is really new !
As an aside , I found my Whatmough aluminium head complete with patent plate at a subsidiary company some time later. 
Geoff