Team Grumman Tiger, Team Grumman Cheetah


I had a couple of other engine overhaulers in here but I decided I'd rather use LyCon so I deleted the others. Why? Where to start? I've heard good things about Zephyr Engines, that one near Palm Springs that I can't ever remember, and occasionally good things about Penn Yann and Matituck. I've heard a lot of bad things about all of the others.
In May 2000 when I thought I had my Citabria sold, I called them and told them I needed an engine for it. I didn't have a core either. Steve Mehalek (he retired in 2003) told me they were real busy and wouldn't be able to deliver an engine for 3 to 4 months! I explained that I needed to get the plane sold. To make a long story short, I got the engine in 6 weeks. It still takes 3 to 4 months to get an engine done. Some people don't like the long turn-around time. It is a pain-in-the-ass. But, youhave to ask yourself, "Why does it take so long?" Ken, Ken Tunnell, the owner of Lycon, has told me they have anywhere up to 150 engines in process at any one time. That tells me, I'm not the only one who likes their engines. Porting and Polishing: My talks with Steve lead to discussing the effects of porting and polishing on horsepower. Being an 'old' hot rodder myself, it all made perfect sense to me. Every engine I've had done since 2000 has been ported and polished and flow balanced for optimum efficiency (except one for a 1976 Tiger; the owner wanted to save $800. Go figure.) Porting and polishing will add about $1000 at the time of overhaul. Does porting and polishing work? I've had about 10 engines built since 2000. One of the O320's made 188 hp at 2725 rpm; not leaned. All of the O360's have made more than 200 hp. I had one engine, a roller cam O360, built from the ground up with and "O" ringed block, port-polish, and whatever magic they do that made 217 hp at 2725 rpm, leaned. 10:1 Compression Ratio: Raising the compression ratio increases its efficiency. It also raises the altitude where a 180 hp engine still makes 180 hp. Ken and I are building an engine to see if we can get it approved.

I had a couple of other engine overhaulers in here but I decided I'd rather use LyCon so I deleted the others. Why? Where to start? I've heard good things about Zephyr Engines, that one near Palm Springs that I can't ever remember, and occasionally good things about Penn Yann and Matituck. I've heard a lot of bad things about all of the others.

In May 2000 when I thought I had my Citabria sold, I called them and told them I needed an engine for it. I didn't have a core either. Steve Mehalek (he retired in 2003) told me they were real busy and wouldn't be able to deliver an engine for 3 to 4 months! I explained that I needed to get the plane sold. To make a long story short, I got the engine in 6 weeks.

It still takes 3 to 4 months to get an engine done. Some people don't like the long turn-around time. It is a pain-in-the-ass. But, youhave to ask yourself, "Why does it take so long?" Ken, Ken Tunnell, the owner of Lycon, has told me they have anywhere up to 150 engines in process at any one time. That tells me, I'm not the only one who likes their engines.

Porting and Polishing: My talks with Steve lead to discussing the effects of porting and polishing on horsepower. Being an 'old' hot rodder myself, it all made perfect sense to me. Every engine I've had done since 2000 has been ported and polished and flow balanced for optimum efficiency (except one for a 1976 Tiger; the owner wanted to save $800. Go figure.) Porting and polishing will add about $1000 at the time of overhaul.

Does porting and polishing work? I've had about 10 engines built since 2000. One of the O320's made 188 hp at 2725 rpm; not leaned. All of the O360's have made more than 200 hp. I had one engine, a roller cam O360, built from the ground up with and "O" ringed block, port-polish, and whatever magic they do that made 217 hp at 2725 rpm, leaned.

10:1 Compression Ratio: Raising the compression ratio increases its efficiency. It also raises the altitude where a 180 hp engine still makes 180 hp. Ken and I are building an engine to see if we can get it approved.