A year and a half was spent locating, purchasing and bringing back to the plant over 100 core engines. The freight alone on this endevor was substantial.

The majoriy of these core engines have been tore down and graded with only the best parts available to become a ThunderV12. 

As shown in the photos to the right, ThunderV12, LLC has manufactured adapters for attaching Chevy transmissions. This setup also allows the use of modern hi-performance aftermarket Chevy flywheels and permanent magnet gear reduction starters. These modern starters are a real benefit to the 702.

Two different cylinder heads were produced for the V12. A ThunderV12 comes only with the industrial casting that was not offered in fire or over the road trucks. Besides the better water flow of these heads, they also feature an internal PCV system that negates the six-hole valvecover and external hoses of its truck  version. All heads are pressure tested for cracks.

Also shown are the dual custom holley style carbs that have been dyno verified to work with our custom cut Hotrod Cam profiles and higher compression ratio. This cam, carb and compression combination change the nature of the engine from a slow revving industrial engine to a free revving hotrod engine providing a peak torque curve between 2,000 and 3,000 rpm and peak horsepower at a very usable 4,200 rpm.

Valvetrain modifications are required anytime an engines RPM range is doubled and lift is increased. The heads on a ThunderV12 engine have custom valve springs, retainers and locks to assure trouble free operation.

ThunderV12, LLC has contracted with ARP for custom fasteners to allow these big engines to survive at the RPM's a hot-rodder expects. Rods are resized and checked for straightness and dimension.

A custom oil system bumps oil pressure from 35psi at 2,400 rpm stock to 60-70psi at 4,500 rpm.  

The photos also show the stock V12 distributor has been tossed in favor of a modern crank triggered/coil pack ignition setup. The stock distributor becomes a huge firewall interferance issue for most installation. This DIS unit provides dials for timing adjustments as well as a dial rev limiter. We have used the services of a dyno to verify carb tuning and to nail down the ignition timing requirements. Our dyno runs were made up to 5,000 rpm and we consider that speed an absolute redline.

Endless custom bracketry and machining has been tackled to make all these parts work together in harmony. Small touches are easy to overlook when they simply look "right". 

For an example, in 1960, this engine would have had a generator sitting on a bracket low and well off to the side of the engine. When the generators failed they were eventually replaced with alternators. Usually brackets were cobbled together to fit the alternator where the generator was. In a hotrod, this would be about where the front tire is.:)  We have custom made a bracket that not only places the alternator in line with the valve cover (like a modern engine), but is also adjustable to allow for a variety of alternator pulley offsets. This is just an example of a detail that would be easily overlooked when walking around one of our engines simply because it looks "right".

Other custom items include the mandrel drive for the oil system, beefy and adjustable pump brackets, aluminum mount for ignition pickup, ignition trigger wheel, balancer machining for trigger wheel,  oilpan supply taps, oil return plates, coil brackets, twin carb throttle linkage, higher compression and the custom distributor hole plug which is critical to prevent rear cam lobe failure. 

Machining of the engines for rebuilding produces its own challenges. Crankshafts and camshafts that are over 4 feet long and monster V12 blocks cannot be machined with standard "automotive" equipment. This leaves a challenge locating shops and equipment able to do the quality work required. We ship parts from Oklahoma to North Carolina to get the level of quality machine and balance work we require. For crankshaft grinding we sent 4 cranks each to 3 different regrinders. Upon return of the cranks we evaluated each company on quality and selected the one that does the best work. This is a process that a person rebuilding 1 or 2 V12's simply cannot do. They are stuck with what they get. This is the kind of stuff that makes the ThunderV12 the best.

 Although not a full list of what had to be done to bring these engines to market, we hope you can see the level of commitment and dedication.