AEA / RPG [1948-1952 Delux Generation 1 release for UE4]

Thank You, @Sillyworld, for your interest in American Eagle Automotive’s Engines. I am Oliver Redhawk, head of Redhawk Performance Group, and the lead designer of all AEA’s engines. We would be glad to provide Meliora Automotive with an engine for the 1965 - 1969 muscle car! Let’s take a quick walk around AEA Headquarters.

For 1965 we have two new V8 engine families. The Big Block Cleveland family [BB - 455C V8] which started production in 1963, and the Small Block Windsor family [Windsor V8] which started production in 1964. The big block family is primarily used in our El Govnor sedans and heavy duty trucks, and our small block family is the standard engine in just about all our other cars.

The BB - 455C family ranges from 353ci to over 440ci in size. This engine comes in torque and high performance variants. The Windsor V8 ranges from 283ci to 333ci. It is our primary engine in our lineup.

The Windsor V8 was featured in our 1969 Barracuda FSX in the Big Fruinian Muscle Cars Cup.
That particular 333ci variation was created in 1969 for the Fruinian market.

And if you need a smaller V8, we can supply you with our Gen 1 SB V8. The latest variant was seen in the 1963 El Govnor LX as the standard engine. This car appeared in the Top Gear Challenge.

With these in mind, and don’t worry about the little I4 sitting in the corner, step into my office and we can discuss specifics (PM).

#American Eagle Automotive History [1956-1960]
##The 1956 Delux D-100


A 1956 D-100

When American Eagle Automotive started production the second generation of their Delux series, one variant stayed behind. The Delux D-100. The all-purpose truck Oliver Redhawk insisted AEA needed to produce. It wasn’t much of a seller when 1953 came around, but then again, trucks didn’t go out of style as quickly as cars did. The old chassis D-100 was kept in production in 1953 and 1954. But, by 1954 Oliver Redhawk realized it was looking rather dated. He needed to update the D-100 into the second generation chassis, but time was not on his side. He had some designers look into what it would take to get the new D-100 ready for the 1955 facelift.

"It’s too much to do in too little time!" The designers yelled.

So the D-100 chassis update was pushed back to the 1956 year, and even with the deadline pushed it was a rushed job!

To fit the truck on the second generation chassis the team of engineers at American Eagle Automotive shrunk the front doors of the LS (4-door) trim. But then they ran into a huge problem. The roof relied on the back of the cab connecting to the rear quarter panels just before the rear wheels! So the team, along with Oliver Redhawk, tried moving the rear cab pillars up as close to the door as they could with the tools they had. On top of that, the design team wanted to keep the flared fenders, and those required the structural integrity of the rear doors on the LS, or the rear pillars on the roof in the LX.

"We have to put something here! Otherwise all our trucks will literally fall apart upon loading the bed!" The engineers shouted at the design team.

A compromise was made in the design of the truck, as time was running out. There would be extra cab space behind the bench seat to make the rear fender flairs structurally sound. Space that had no real purpose in the design of the truck. This extra cab space behind the bench seat would stump the marketing team for the entire production of the truck. Sometimes called a space for junk, other times for a tool box or lunch box. It was once advertised as extra head room! (If only the engineering guys would have talked with the marketing team about seating… That space would have been great if only the truck would have came with adjustable bucket seats!)

But what they did get right is the “truck” part of truck! This truck could haul more in its bed than any competitor! It also was very good for off-road use as well. The D-100, however, was by no means the jack of all trucks. It was not the best in towing, as the engine used was a simple 255ci V8 with only 220ft-lbs of torque and 140hp. However, clever folks could special order the truck with the 273ci 2x2bbl engine that produced 260 ft-lbs of torque and 180hp. And yes, 40 ft-lbs of torque and 40hp made quite a difference.

It did not sell as well as AEA had hoped. They sold slightly more per year than the previous generation, but that meant sales dropped gradually and the D-100 was last produced in 1959, in part because the new flagship sedan was slated to replace the Delux series in 1960.
But, as time went on, little did AEA know, they had created a classic truck that would be reveled by many as on of the most iconic and beautiful designs of the 1950s.

##1957 Delux LS and LX Facelift
In 1957 American Eagle Automotive made a bold change to the grills of the LS and the LX. This was the change the general public was waiting for.


LX Trim

A Big, Bold new grill! Filled with Chrome! The people loved it! American Eagle Automotive was finally big enough to become an American Icon! When people talked cars, they talked about AEA’s new Big, Bold Chrome Grill Design! Sales shot up! This prompted a celebration, as AEA had finally broken the 250,000 mark in total year sales!*

Of course this was also the year American Eagle Automotive introduced their first Luxury Sport Convertible, which would become a staple in the lineup for years to come…
##The 1957 Delux Limited



1957 Delux Limited

Luxurious leather bucket seats, a state-of-the-art Phonograph, Leather-wrapped Dash, Wood Accents throughout the cabin, Advanced Safety Features…

And it comes on a finely-tuned suspension that corners like a sports car, but feels like a cloud. It also comes equipped with the exclusive 273ci Special V8 mated to a 4-speed manual transmission.

The 273ci Special V8 is rated at 220hp @4500. It requires Super Leaded fuel for the triple 2bbl carburetors feeding this beast. And comes standard with forged H-beam connecting rods and forged pistons helping it achieve a 10.0:1 compression ratio.

Only available in the standard color of “Pearl White” or optional “Tuxedo Black”, this car was built with the best technology AEA had researched in. And as such a prestigious car as it was, it was only produced in limited numbers.

##1958-1960
As the decade came to a close, Andrew Eagleson was already getting his company geared up to produce the next flagship sedan, and this time, he wanted to knock the competition not just flat off their feet, but also down the hill and into the pond! It was time for AEA to break out of its cocoon and become the butterfly it had always wanted to be! It was time to design the In-Your-Face-But-Modestly sedan Andrew Eagleson had always had his ambitions set for!

It was time to design and produce…
###The El Govnor
Code named Black Suit, the El Govnor was to be the pinnacle of Eagleson’s styling and expression of his company. A formal black suit that was high-end, but subtly so. A middle finger to “class” because we just reinvented it.

The Design for Black Suit was started as early as 1956, but little progress was made until the 1957 facelift for the Delux series was complete. Black Suit reportedly went through only 5 redesigns, of which only 2 actually changed a significant portion of the original design, by the end of 1958. Then Black Suit was slated to begin production for the 1960 model year. Because of that, the current Delux never got a face lift in 1959 like it was originally planned to. But delays and problems struck in late 1959. The dies and stamps for the sheet metal for Black Suit needed reworking! So the Delux line got to live another year, as workers simply changed some vins to make what left-over 1959 models they had into 1960 models. Thus the Delux Production numbers for 1960 are extremely low compared to previous years.

###With 1960 already on their doorstep, American Eagle Automotive geared up to make history with the release of their 1961 model El Govnor sedan line.

#####*Just for reference: Total 1957 model year sales for Ford was 1,522,406. That included all 21 models sold (in the US I assume). That’s about 72,496 cars for each model. Multiply by 3 for my models ( the LS, LX, and count the D-100 with the Limited as they both had lower production numbers) and the result is 217,487 cars. So my 250,000 is a good year by that standard.

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#Retro Rides
This is a Special Presentation for showcasing AEA vehicles in the present day (2000s and beyond).




And today we are presenting…
##Restomod 1956 D-100

The owner of this 1956 D-100 has taken a little liberty with the bodywork. It was found in a barn in 2003 by some executive in AEA. This person had the restomod completed in 2005. What really makes it stand out is the slight modifications to the turn signal lights and front grill. Instead of the factory round lights all around, the owner has tastefully crafted in rectangular signal lights throughout. And the front grill is a custom job designed like one of the concept drawings for the Delux series from that era.


The original rear light array was simplified with some slight adjustments including removing the reverse lights. While up front the headlights have been replaced with some fancy aftermarket ones. And as the original 255ci V8 was tired, and in need of a rebuild, the owner instead had an experimental engine from AEA put into it (because there are a few experimental engines just floating around the AEA and Redhawk Performance Group buildings). The only known facts about this engine are that it’s a 327ci V8 with SOHC 3v heads with VVT and a dyno sheet to prove it makes 300hp.

To help make this truck a rear cruiser, the interior was completely reworked to include a leather bench seat with a nice SatNav system that looks factory installed! Round that off with a 4spd w/overdrive automatic trans, viscus LSDs all around, huge disk brakes complimented by 18" Torque Thrust rims, and this is one well sorted cruiser.

2 Likes

I like how you kept a more simple 4 speed transmission instead of a modern 5 or 6, that gives a more authentic retro feel :grin: Awesome grill work, I can’t tell which I like more, the original or the restomod version .

Same here, as that grill was in consideration when designing the second gen Delux series.

About that 4spd though, I think it’s actually a 4+1: 4 speeds + overdrive speed. That’s not uncommon though for the time, as the viper started leading the way with the T56 (6-speed) at the turn of the century and it seemed everyone started swapping 5 and 6 speed overdrive trans into restomods.

#Archive Articles
A section dedicated to preserving the historic articles that cover AEA and RPG.
###RPG Opens Shop for “Special Performance Packages”
New York Times, February 1982.

Today Redhawk Performance Group, the racing division of American Eagle Automotive, released a statement basically stating they were “Open for Buisness” to car companies outside of their parent company, AEA.

“Today we want to open our doors to all manufacturers interested in limited run special performance packages. With over 25 years of experience in building high performance engines and automobiles, we are now extending our services beyond American Eagle Automotive.”

With this official press release, Redhawk Performance Group has finally broken free, it seems, from being just an AEA exclusive. To further prove their expertise, RPG has undertaken the unfinished contract AEA had to produce aluminum-bodied Eagle sports cars from the 1950s. But, there’s a slight twist, as the original Eagle was produced with a solid live-axle rear end. RPG’s Eagle will be produced with an Independent Rear Suspension instead, as they claim it will be sportier and safer to drive.

Will this prove to be the correct corse for Redhawk Performance Group? Only time will tell.


###Historian’s Note:
This signaled RPG’s start at breaking away from AEA, but only in 2008 did RPG finally become completely independent from AEA.

This was RPG taking on the roll of Shelby or Saleen and modifying stock production vehicles to make them faster, corner better, or even just sticking American V8s in them.

DSD would like to purchase a shipment of 283ci Windsor v8’s to be used in testing our NASCAR race cars

We would also like to offer RPG one off our SARATOGA cars for tuning

RPG will gladly send over some Windsor V8s, just specify the year and any special features you’d like.

We would love to test and tune the Saratoga cars!

Well we did our best with the old Windsor and have decided to pay for the rights to use your design.

We have however made some changes to suit the Griffen that will be it’s new home.

So we decided to use the stock OHV cast heads and block. Luckily there was a little bit of playing room as far as bore/stroke goes so naturally we went with the highest possible at 5452cc, we also 3/4 filled the block with engine grout to give a little more strength and the main caps are now a 6 bolt affair.

We filled the block with our own forged crankshaft with Mahle Rods and Pistons with a static compression of 9.6:1.

Then turning our attention to the heads we first raised the exhaust ports cleaned up the sharp turn radius for the exhaust valve and fitted a lightweight valve. On the intake side the intake manifold was match ported to the cylinder heads, a much larger valve was installed and we added length to the intake port (we had to weld up the old ports and start from scratch. We also modified the manifold to be a dry system with no coolant running through the manifold, also unique to the DSD version is an electric water pump. The ecu is a Holley unit and spark is now provided by a MSD crank wheel trigger coil on plug ignition system.

The camshaft is an off the shelf DSD unit (part no. 28528DSDC) and No fancy VVT was used. The only way that we could make this engine reliable and economical was to use turbocharging with units as always supplied by Precision Turbo’s. The turbo’s are tiny with large A/r ratios a small intercooler and very modest boost pressure. With the use of turbo’s DSD finally decided to invest in DI technology and the mighty Windsor is the first to benefit. What this means is an engine that develops economical effortless power while only requiring 91Oct fuel and in total we raised power by 81HP and torque by a staggering 132NM of torque while using 100% less fuel total power is 300Hp/517Nm
We will be sending some units your way.

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##Redhawk Performance Group Characters
As RPG became a separate company in 2008 (a badly timed move, but it survived), Oliver Redhawk (the second, third, fourth? not sure yet) takes on a cast of characters to help flesh out the company. Their ages range from young 20s to mid 50s.

These characters will be featured in RPG stuff post-2008 separation from AEA. This list only includes prominent characters to the story line, as there are many other within RPG. This list will be updated over time.


Oliver Redhawk (II/III?)-
CEO, Owner. The legend himself. As RPG was passed down to him in the early 2000’s, he has overseen RPG through tough times, and through the separation from AEA in 2008.

Brett-
Main overseer of RPG, head of Exterior Design (and Interior too). As Oliver’s best friend, he has been granted all executive authority under Oliver.
I should also mention he’s one of the core test drivers for RPG.

Smith-
The Lead Engine Design guy. Believes everything needs a V8, including his lawnmower.
He is a slightly pudgy guy, short at 5’ 4", and his brown hair is starting to turn silver.

Mike-
Lead welder. Turned down a six figure underwater welding job to weld performance cars instead!
Slightly tough, darker skin complexion

Jeff-
Inventory and Bookkeeping guy. Knows the mess called the warehouse better than his own home.
Slightly socially-awkward, he is a tall and lanky kid (who is older than he seems).
(He did go to college to get a degree in Accounting and other financial stuff)

John-
The Suspension Guy. It’s said he once turned a Reliant Robin into a Drift machine. (and blew up the engine right after)

Jess-
The Tom-Boy-Next-Door girl who was always working on a vehicle with her dad. She knows a thing or two about cars, and is not afraid to get her hands greasy. And she knows how to deal with men… So watch out!

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##RPG Shop Sometime in 2011
Redhawk Performance Group

DSD Thread

Note: Any spoken line without a name in front can be considered a random employee at RPG, and not one of the main characters.


[Small talk with truck driver]

Trucker: “So, whatdaya got in here today?”
“It’s the 2011 Saratoga D model.”

Trucker: “Sarawhata?”
“SARATOGA!”
Trucker: “Ok, what is it then?”

“A 4 seater coupe with an AHS Space Frame and Fiberglass bod-”
Trucker: “Fiberglass, like the corvette?”
“Precicely!”


[Talk amongst RPG crew at the warehouse]

“Some smallblocks”
“Some… which ones?”

“Some, uh, nos 1964 windsor blocks…”
“We sent over our 283ci small block? What for?”

“I think he said tunning for NASCAR”
“Um, ok. Was this part of a trade?”

“I dunno, maybe we’ll get something back?”


[At the loaded truck]

“yea, ok, so with this Saratoga… We tuning it or what?”
“Yeah, it was sent over to tuning when we sent over the windsors.”

“Any specifications on what needed tuning?”
“Nope, just sent it over when we sent them our small blocks.”

“So, DSD never actually specified what they wanted with the D model…”
“The Saratoga?”
“Yes, the Saratoga. It’s the D model.”
“‘D’ for dick.” snicker
“More like dickface!” laughter
Oliver: “Ok, cut the crap.”

“You know, for being a fiberglass body, this thing is sorta light!”
“Whataya mean?”
“The shipping weight states its 2919 lbs.”

“That’s lighter than a Corvette!”
“But this is smaller than a Corvette too!”

Brett: “Alrigh, Let’s open the truck to see what we’ve actually got.”

[car rolls out of the truck]


DSD Saratoga D Model

“Oh, my gawsh! What is this thing!”
“It’s a spider.”
“No it’s a bug.”
“It’s an uglyass bug!”
Some laughter

Oliver: “Hey, cut the crap!”

“Yeah, so what does it have for an engine then?”

Smith: “Looks like it should have a V8.”
Brett: “With your logic, Smith, everything should have a V8!”
Smith: “Hey!”

“Look: dual exhaust tips, but not a true duel exhaust system!”

[hood pops]

Everyone: “Oh…”
slight pause as everyone takes in the odity of a turbo charged inline 6


DSD6 Turbo

“Well that’s something you don’t see everyday!”
“Bet they stole it off a beamer!”
some laughter

Oliver: reluctantly “Alright, I’ve had enough. Stop ripping on the car and Get to work.”

The RPG crew works their way back into the shop

Mike: “Well, they did their homework with the chasis. The space frame looks well sorted. And all the welds are crisp and clean.”

Oliver: “Start her up!”

[engine spins to life]

Smith: “Well, it’s a little louder than I expected.”
“What, you think all non-V8s are quiet as a mouse?”
“I think you’re loosing your hearing, Smith.”

“How small is it then?”
Smith: “About 4.0L or 244ci”

“That’s not small for an I6, it’s actually quite big!”
“Small, our original small block V8 was larger than that!”
“Correction, the later variants were larger than it, our first two were acually smaller.”
“Ok, smartass”

Brett: “Guys, are you working on it, or trash talking it…”

The mood settles down as the RPG crew finally gets to work inspecting the car and making plans.


DSD Saratoga D Model

“Well this thing should be relatively sporty, since it has that fiberglass body.”

Smith: “Not if the engine is limiting it.”
Brett: “What’s up Smith?”
Smith: “I think the engine is tuned for fuel economy.”
Brett: “Well, do you want to dyno it then, or what?”
Smith: “Well, Yeah I do! Why was that even a question?”


Stock DSD Saratoga D Model

[engine is warmed up, fan placed in front of car, and they let it rip]

Smith: “Welp, this is dissapointing! It’s only making 250hp, and that’s at the redline, 5900 rpm! On top of that, the AF Mixture is dead lean at 15.0”
Brett: “Wow, so what else is wrong?”
Smith: “The Timing is waaayyyy far advanced as well!”

“So what do you think it gets for fuel economy?”
Brett: “The paperwork says it should get 28 Mpg mixed.”
Mike: “All that, just to get 28 mpgs?”

Smith: “Yep.”

Jess: “What has the wold come to?”

Mike: “You know, I bet Patriot Motor Force would get 1,200hp out of this thing.”
Smith: “They wouldn’t even touch it, it’s not a V8!”
Oliver: “Well, we’re not worrying about what Patriot could do, we’re worried about what RPG could do… So what can we do?”

Smith: “Get rid of the crap, and make power!”
John: “And make it turn on a dime!”
Oliver: “Sounds good guys, so let’s Get To Work!”


[Later on, after tearing into the car]

Jess: “Welp, here’s an interesting design choice.” Looking at the transmission
“What’s that?”
Jess: “The transmission dummy.”
“Well, no duh! It’s the transmission, but what’s the problem with it?”

Jess: “It’s a super close, and I mean super close, ratio transmission.”
Brett: “So, we’re gonna need to craft a new one?”
Jess: “Or use one of our own. Jeff, got any gear-sets in the back?”

Jeff: “What ones you want?”
Jess: “How about an even spaced set?”
Jeff: “Speeds?”
Jess: “Five!”
Jeff: “I know…” awkwardly beckons Jess to follow

[speed-walks right up to a perfect set in the middle of a shelf filled with unmarked gears, synchros, and trans cases.]

Jeff: “Here ya are.”
Jess: “Thanks Buddy!”



Stock

Brett: “Alright, what do you want to do about visuals then?”
Oliver: “Simple. Recolor in a darker blue, code BZ7 should do nicely. Get rid of the chrome, except the grill outline. And get rid of that funky middle set of headlights.”


Brett: “Ok, about the vents on the side. I feel like they need to be repositioned.”
Oliver: “Ehh, they need to be repositioned slightly, we should put a side marker light above them.”

Brett: “Ok, I was also thinking we need to alter the wing slightly, and tone down the chrome around the tail lights.”

Oliver: “A good call.” Walks over to Smith “Now, Smith, what are we doing with the engine?”

Smith: “Well, short of putting a LS7 in it, we should definately try for at least 350hp with this engine… Less if you don’t want excessive turbo kick.”
Oliver: “Sounds good, and we might just find a V8 to stuff in later.”
Smith: “Really!?!?” Almost starts dancing to an unheard tune


Oliver: “John, where are ya?”
John: “Over here, hey check out the sweet new mount I made! It makes the camber and toe much easier to adjust on that car of yours!”
Oliver: “You’re crafting suspension mounts for my daily car?”
John: “Yep, thought you’d like to see how to improve it.”
Oliver: “Well, you need to get to work with the Saratoga now.”
John: “The Sarawhat?”
Oliver: “SARATOGA. Car just came in to be tuned.”
John: “Sweet!” Jumps over his workbench to check out the Saratoga
Oliver: Hollering after him “See what you can do before we rebuild the engine.”


[Later in the week]

Oliver: “How’s the Saratoga been going?”
Brett: “Oh, it’s been going alright. We took the car around the ATT a few times before we took it apart. Best time was a 2:21.32. Then John got ahold of it. With the stock engine it went around the track in 2:20.83, mainly by reducing camber and putting in better springs and shocks.”
Oliver: “That’s good. How’s the engine going?”
Brett: “Smith’s had that thing blue-printed and built three more already! He seems overly excited, did you tell him we were putting a V8 in the thing?”
Oliver: “I may have. It wasn’t the original plan, but the I6 proved ‘hard to work with’ due to ‘design flaws’.”
Brett: “And those were Smith’s words?”
Oliver: “Precicely.”
Brett: “Well, what’s your plan with the V8 now?”
Oliver: “The Stage 3 build.”
Brett: “So… Does that also include a drift build?”
Oliver: “No.”
Brett rolls his eyes sarcastically.
Brett: “You never give me any fun do you?”
Oliver: “Maybe nextime…”
They share a Chuckle

[UPDATE]

Brett: “So, what’s Smith planning for the inline 6?”
Oliver: “Hm, let’s see his notes. He has to make two versions with a significant difference in performance.”

Both walk up to the main office where Oliver has the notes Smith submitted for approval.

Oliver: “Here they are.”

[Smith’s chicken-scratch writing]

Stage 1: 300hp
remedy bottom-end design flaws
Steel Ibeam conrods

resulting dimentions are +.010 bore, -.040 stroke.
same displace.

raise redline 7000, less cam around 44 - more durable
keep vvt on intake only

Bigger turbo (55-60mm), 8psi boost, less ar ratio (.85 orso)

keep mp efi, make single - tpc not needed - cheaper
performance air filter
14.7 fuel mix, 48 degrees ignition
use our efi system - run on 91ron

smaller exhaust 3" better bends, reverse flow muffler cuz its too lou8d!

Oliver: “I think smith just hates the sound of an I6. That exhaust would have been fine, but as usuall, I’ll put our tuned mufflers on.”
Brett: “Yeah, he dislikes anything that’s not a V8, but at least his work is good.”

[More of Smith’s chicken-scratch writing]

Stage 2: 365hp
Same bottom-end, w/ Lighweight Forged pistons instead, domed for compression
comp, increase from 8 to around 8.5:1
Performance cam, around 50
Head shaved, port and polish
same turbos, higher ar (0.90ish?) 11psi boost
better wastegate & plumbing
14.2 fuel mix, 54 degrees timing
our efi again - 91 ron

Note: 6900 rpm limit. anything more is wasted rpms

3.25" exhaust, rest same as before.

Note: Both versions can be run on higher octane gas and only boost increased for huge gains.
Note2: stage 1 has deficencies if running more than 11psi. (Can run 11psi on 91ron gas)

At this point Brett had left, having to tend to something else
Oliver takes a look at the second sheet of paper containing the V8 specs

[Smith’s writing, neater and crisper.]

RPG Modern OHV LS7-based V8

Stage 3:
CLS V8 7.0L - 485hp rated
4.126" bore, 4.00" stroke
Forged crank, IBeam steel, LF Pistons
9.6 comp, muscle cam, custom RPG heads
N/A MP-EFI single w/perf filter
14.0 fuel mix, 56 deg. timing 7200rpm redline, on 91ron
Custom Tubular headers, dual exhaust 2.75" 3-way cat, RPG Baffled to Reverse Flow mufflers high quality exhaust for a TRUE MUSCLE V8 SOUND!

Engine 2153 dyno’d 455 ft-lbs @4000, 506 hp @ 6600

CLS V8 7.0L - 555hp rated
Bullet-proof bottom end
cuz not like many will order it anyway
11.1 comp, slightly more aggressive cam, head port and polish
N/A MP-EFI TPC, perf filter
13.2 fuel mix, 59 deg, ignition, 7400rpm redline
Custom long tube headers, dual exhaust 3" High flow cat, RPG mufflers

Note: Must use unleaded 95

Engine XR1284 dyno’d 500ft-lbs @4500, 589hp @6800

[END UPDATE]


[Finishing up Production Prototype Blueprints of the RPG-Tuned Saratoga]


RPG Appearance Package on the DSD Saratoga

Oliver: “Alright, this thing is comming together great! Smith, how’s the engines looking?”
Smith: “Fantastic! See, I knew we needed to put a V8 in the thing! It’s practically pointless to do without!”
Oliver: “Nice Work.” Said slightly dismissively toward Smith’s unstopable wall of energy

Oliver: “Brett, how’s the handling?”
Brett: “As good as ever with John’s tuning hand.”
Oliver: “Excellent! How well does it do at ATT?”
Brett: “Quite Well, especially with only a -1.10 degrees of camber up front and -1.00 degrees in back”
Oliver: “Good, but what are the numbers?”

John: “With only the -1.10 front camber and -1.00 in back, this car can do ATT in 2:16.77 with just Stage 1 Tuning! And it still feels somewhat comfortable!”
Brett: “That’s good, we don’t want Smith wrecking his back driving this.”
John: “With Smith’s engine work, Stage 2 gets down to a 2:14.29, and with Stage 3 tuning on just the easy V8-”
Smith: “It is not ‘easy’! That V8 has over 450hp!”
John: “Ok, ok, the 450hp V8-”
Smith: “And to be precise, it’s rated at 485hp! But I assure you it may make even more!”
John: “Ok, with the Four-hundred and eighty five horse power veee eight, it does ATT in 2:11.77.”
Smith: “And I bet the optional 555hp version will chop a full second off that time, because it’s a VEEE EIGHT!” He said with excitement, as if it was the first time he had ever heard a V8 engine Growl


The 555hp variant of Smith’s LS7-based V8

Brett: "Alright, I think we got this covered, so Oliver, care to take it for a spin?
Oliver: “I already did, thank you, but I recommend you try our latest tune out on it.”
Brett: “What? Did you build a Stage 4?”
Oliver: “No, not that far, but a custom tune of the Stage 3, using Smith’s optional 555hp engine.”
Brett: With some Skeptism “All right, I’ll suit up to try it.”


[The Final Test Run]

[Brett is suited up in the car, engine idling]

Oliver: “Are you ready?”
Brett: “Are you going to tell me what you changed yet, because it feels awfully loose!”
Oliver: “No, just try not to burn through too many sets of tires.”

[And he takes off, spinning through gear 3]

John: “He’s not going to want to return that thing after this”
Oliver: “No, but hey, he does have just 3 sets of tires to burn, so he’ll have to stop eventually.”
John: “Well, at least he’s happy.”
Oliver: “As happy as a driver can be when they’re given a Drift Car!”


[A little time later}

Smith: “Oliver, we got our Windsor V8 back!”
Oliver: “We did?”
Smith: “Yeah, you should check out how much DSD was able to get out of it!”
Oliver: “Ok, get it set up on the dyno then.”

[In The Dyno Room]

Oliver: “Hmm, I don’t recall there being any direct injection casting in the block…”
Smith: “Yeah, check this out! They retrofitted the block with DI somehow, and bored and stroked it out to 333ci!”
Oliver: “Yes, I see that. You think they would be going for all out power though, with the twin turbo setup.”
Smith: “Well, do you want to run it, and see how much power they tore out of it!”
Oliver: “Sure!”

[Engine gets turned on, then they run it up to the 6 grand redline.]

Smith: Disappointed “Wow”
Oliver: “Only 300hp? There must be more to the story.”
Smith: “Only 300, what were they thinking?”
Oliver: “Hold on, did DSD send a letter with the engine?”
Smith: “Um, maybe…?”

Oliver walks back to the office to find a discarded letter from DSD
[Letter is 2 Posts Above Edit: Link]

Oliver: Chuckles “Of course, the engineers at DSD know exactly what they’re doing!”
Smith comes in
Smith: “So, what does it say? Why did they return an engine with only 300hp?”

Oliver “Smith, look at how efficient they made it! It’s marvelous! They made the old Windsor architecture relevant in the day and age of fuel economy!”

Smith: “So…”
Oliver: “Just hold you thoughts, and marvel at the accomplishment.”

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There’s a hell of a lot of text and sadly almost zero information. No info on how anything was achieved, what was changed, how it was changed, why exactly that thing was changed and most importantly the results.
All we know is “you swapped an engine”. Im fairly certain we all would like to see a list of modifications.

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Those are the shortcomings of erotic car fiction.

3 Likes

Ok. I wanted to try out a more character heavy format, but I’ll take that into account and see if I can improve it more (later though, I have a music festival to attend).

Alright, just an update to the Saratoga tuning story with lots of specs!

I really didn’t mean to leave them out when I originally wrote the story, but yet I did. So now I have included them in the updated section of the story.

##SOON

2 Likes

No, really! It’s coming soon! Like before HL3!

In all seriousness, I have the story over half way done, and have already taken the pics and uploaded them to imgur. I’ll try to finish it by this weekend

##Warning wall of text and photos incoming for the Eagle story!!!

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#[1955-1962]The Eagle Story

###1953 Oliver Redhawk’s Vacation
In 1953, Oliver Redhawk needed a vacation and decided to head over to Europe. This was suppose to be a vacation, but with Oliver’s growing obsession in speed and power, he was also in Europe for the racing and to see other engine designs. I mean, this was his well deserved vacation after the second generation of Delux automobiles had hit the road, and he was going to spend it exactly how he wanted.

So in his two week vacation in Europe, Oliver traveled around, seeing the races, talking to other companies’ engineering departments, and also doing some general site-seeing. Well, he happened to find the headquarters for AG Ltd., and got to talking with them about their small operation. Oliver Redhawk talked to AG about what it takes to mass produce vehicles, but suddenly cut off his sentence when he noticed what was on the drawing board.


AG Ltd. Hawk

“What is that sporty looking convertible?” Oliver asked.
“Oh, umm… You’re not suppose to see that, … Why do we have that up here!, Benjamin, take that down, it’s not suppose to be here!”
Oliver poked further, “You know, I could see a great partnership here. If you let me take a look at that convertible, I could work out a deal where we provide you with engines for your mass production vehicle… Seeing as you don’t have the facilities to make that happen…”
“Wait, um… Hold that there, Benjamin. Mr. Redhawk I am greatly interested in your proposition now.”
“Please, call me Oliver,” Mr. Redhawk responded.

And with that, a deal was worked out. American Eagle Automotive would provide a mass produced engine for AG, in return for adding a US-based production facility where AEA would produce the convertible roadster code named “Hawk” for the North American market.


AG Ltd. Hawk

Now, when Oliver finally got back to the States, Andrew Eagleson was understandably frustrated with him, as Oliver got AEA into an unapproved contract with another company, and to top it off, the contract required new assembly buildings be built for the “Hawk” and the new “mass production export engine” that was not even designed yet! In fact, Andrew was so furious at Oliver’s brash decision making, he nearly flipped his desk over, and mandated this “Hawk” to be properly named after himself in an act of defiance against Oliver, thus the Eagle nameplate was born.

So the work was started. Oliver had a facility built and brought a third of the AG aluminum body workers over to the US to get a head start on the Eagle’s production. But there were problems. First off, Oliver wanted to fit their V8 in the thing, but that was found to be a tight squeeze. They had to use custom bent tubular exaust headers to get it in the small frame. Further early testing showed even more weaknesses. The main one being AG’s double wishbone IRS. While sufficent for AG’s I6, the IRS was simply too weak to use with AEA’s V8 engines and their massive torque. So, on a whim, Oliver, and a few fellow engineers, took one of the live-axel rear ends AEA had lying around, shortened it to fit within the confindes of the Eagle chassis, and took the coil springs from AG to suspend it. Amazingly it worked! The home-built coil-spring live-axle could hold up to the torque. Thus the V8s could be used in the little chassis!


Early AEA Eagle Base model

But the second big problem was with AG’s I6 engine. Due to some odd regulations and exporting/importing laws, AG could not get the I6 into the US. For two straight weeks Oliver fussed over the paperwork, trying to find a loophole. There was one. The engine could be mass imported separate from the rest of the car, but then AEA had to sell the car separate from the engine! (But AEA had no trouble sending the mass production I4 to AG Ltd.)

It was a mess… until another engineer suggested using the I4 they were designing in the base model of the Eagle instead of AG’s I6.


AG Ltd. Hawk Front End

“Well, Why didn’t we come up with that earlier!” Oliver exclaimed, surprized at how simple the solution was. So the I4 was used in the North American version of the Eagle, along with the coil-sprung solid-axle rear end. The European version, being the AG Hawk, had the AG I6 and IRS. The difference between the two versions, visually, was the front grill and the rear end. The European version… Was very European in looks. But the North American version, having to deal with the V8 engine, got a totally different grill. It was opened up to allow more cooling for the engine, giving the Eagle a distinctive front end.


AEA Eagle V8 Special Front End

Now, the final problem was not with the car itself, but the contract. Feeling very confident in AEA’s abilities Oliver Redhawk had agreed to a production of at least 2,000 total AEA Eagles each year for 6 years in the North American market. Well, that was a highly ambitious goal that was realistically unattainable. When production was fully underway, AEA found they could only produce about 10 to 12 cars a day*, as long as the imported bodies didn’t get delayed. And that left the total production number at just under 500 cars a year.

###Advertising and Marketing
With the introduction of Chevrolet’s Corvette in 1953, Oliver Redhawk watched its progress and success as he worked with AG Ltd with the Eagle. If the Corvette survived until 1955, he would aggressively advertise the Eagle as a direct competitor.

And the Corvette survived into 1955, getting its own V8 as well! Oliver saw this and talked to the advertisement department about aggressively going after the Chevrolet Corvette. Within that same year, more important events happened…


AEA Eagle TR

###In 1955 Andrew Eagleson finally gave Oliver Redhawk a separate branch inside American Eagle Automotive: The Redhawk Performance Group (RPG).
Done in an attempt to keep Oliver happy and give him an outlet for his “projects”, he also gave Oliver the reigns for all of AEA’s racing teams, and factory backing. This proved to further fuel Oliver’s obsession with speed and power, but at least he had his own division to explore within.


So, in 1955 the Eagle was offered in three trims, a base trim, a track oriented trim called TR, and the V8 Special trim. Due to the pricing, the base trim was a very popular choice, with the V8 Special taking the cake over the TR trim. All trims came with a 4-speed manual, the TR getting a special Close-Ratio super competition version of the 4-speed. The Eagle was well received in the North American markets, but the I4 in the TR version was a disaster!


AEA Eagle V8 Special

There were reports of bent connecting rods and scored pistons. While the base used the same I4, it had no issues at all due to the lower power output. So with reports of weakly designed conrods and pistons, Oliver Redhawk started an aggressive search for a better solution with the engineering team. That solution came in early 1956 in the form of Forging! By using forged pistons and conrods, not only could engines take much more abuse, they could also be tuned with slightly higher compression and timing compared to equal cased components.

American Eagle Automotive also tried to keep good public relations in this, as once the flaw was fixed with the TR version of the I4 they issued a recall to replace any of the affected engines with a brand new forged I4 (with some restrictions of course). And mid-year in 1956 they called the new TR with the forged engines TR-F just to differentiate from the early non-forged TRs in 1956. That made finding a non-forged 1956 TR in modern times extremely rare, as many were brought back under the recall for the replacement forged engine.


1956 AEA Eagle TR-F

But one more problem hit in 1956, Chevrolet dropped the base cost of a Corvette to only $2,900! This also hurt sales for the Eagle that year. It was a great move by Chevrolet to encourage buying a Corvette over an Eagle, but it only lasted one year (thankfully!).

In 1957 the Eagle was given a slightly bigger V8 for the V8 Special. Displacement went from 242ci to 255ci. Horsepower went up by 15 as well for 1957.


AEA Eagle V8 Special

In 1958 a new trim replaced the TR, that was the TR-200. Named due to the bump in displacement for the I4, the TR-200 was overall a bit better than the original 1955 TR. But it was missing something, as sales were not quite as strong as the original TR was.

By this time, though, the V8 Special, even with its high price, was actually selling much better than the TR or TR-200 did. The public wanted the V8 in North America. Unfortunately, the Eagle didn’t get the new-for-1957 273ci Special V8 until 1961! But while the 273ci engine was not standard, nor an option, the clever folks could Special Order anything in the catalog. Yes, someone did special order a 1957 Eagle with the 273ci Special. It was rumored to have gone racing and been very successful.


AEA Eagle V8 Special

While 1962 was the last production year for the Eagle, American Eagle Automotive had not held up their contract for 2,000 cars a year. Total production was only around 3,500 cars, including the special ordered cars. And Andrew Eagleson was done with producing the specialized Eagle, he had moved on with his El Govnor full-sized sedan, and searching for more mainstream markets to open up into, he was already planning a new midsize sedan to be sold alongside the El Govnor. On top of that, AEA needed a new Big Block engine to power the said El Govnor and midsize sedan, so letting go of Oliver’s Eagle would allow many more resources to be used for the sedans and engines.

####I’ll update this later with some performance data, but for now I need to get this posted.

Spec Sheet (not all models covered in all years)

1955 Base with 4-speed M

150ci I4 90hp @3900rpm
Top Speed 119 mph
Weight 1640 lbs
0-62 in 9.4s
50-75 in 6.6s
Quarter Mile: 17.22 @ 84 mph
Cornering (low and high speed): 0.85g and 0.82g
62-0 Braking: 134’ 8"
Marketed towards Sport Budget and Premium Budget
$11440 @30%
Notable Features:
29 mpg and 66.8 avg. reliability

1955 TR with 4-speed Close Ratio M

171ci Dual Carb Special I4 100hp @4300rpm
Top Speed 125 mph
Weight 1630 lbs
0-62 in 8.2s
50-75 in 4.9s
Quarter Mile: 16.26 @ 92 mph
62-0 Braking: 130’ 5"
Cornering (low and high speed): 0.92g and 0.88g
Marketed towards Track and Track Premium
$12320 @40%
Notable Features:
Engine is at its limits with a 36.1 reliability rating.

1955 V8 Special with 4-speed M

242ci Special V8 (180 hp est) @4000rpm
Top Speed 142 mph
Weight 1930 lbs
0-62 in 7.3s
50-75 in 3.6s
Quarter Mile: 15.18 @ 102 mph
62-0 Braking: 140’ 2"
Cornering (low and high speed): 0.89g and 0.87g
Marketed towards Sport and Muscle
$18000 @50%
Notable Features:

1957 V8 Special with 4-speed M

255ci Special V8 (195 hp est) @4200rpm
Top Speed 142 mph
Weight 1945 lbs
0-62 in 7.1s
50-75 in 3.4s
Quarter Mile: 15.06 @ 105 mph
62-0 Braking: 138’ 3"
Cornering (low and high speed): 0.90g and 0.87g
Marketed towards Sport and Muscle.
$18300 @50%
Notable Features:
Forged connecting rods and pistons

1958 TR-200 with 4-speed Close Ratio M

200ci Dual Carb Special I4 (145 hp est) @4100rpm
Top Speed 131 mph
Weight 1685 lbs
0-62 in 7.5s
50-75 in 3.8s
Quarter Mile: 15.42 @ 99 mph
62-0 Braking: 133’ 2"
Cornering (low and high speed): 0.91g and 0.88g
Marketed towards Track and Track Premium.
$11880 @35%
Notable Features:

1961 V8 Special with 4-speed M

273ci Special V8 (230 hp est) @4600rpm
Top Speed 158 mph
Weight 1970 lbs
0-62 in 6.7s
50-75 in 3.0s
Quarter Mile: 14.34 @ 110 mph
62-0 Braking: 129’ 1"
Cornering (low and high speed): 0.95g and 0.92g
Marketed towards Sport, Muscle, and Track Premium
$18750 @50%
Notable Features:
A 5,000 rpm redline. Last of the Eagles to be produced (under AEA). Better cornering than previous TR models.

######*IRL AC could only produce up to 15 cars a day for Shelby in 1963, so 10-12 is reasonable.

3 Likes

I have now introduced the official timeline for AEA/RPG on post 2. I did this to keep track of my company lore, and to get myself back into creating cars for this as well.

I remember your CSR26 entry, so why is it not here? It clearly deserves a mention…