Engine build is finally underway

[Musicman]

Yup, that 300-LB shop ornament that has been hanging off an engine stand in my shop since March of 2007, has finally made it to the machine shop. I dropped it off yesterday morning for the initial cleaning and pressure testing. After that the fun begins... we'll keep ya posted as things progress.

[BigBlockSam]

good luck . what are the specs gonna be

[tan top]

good luck . what are the specs gonna be

  ....................

[firefighter3931]

Bet you're excited to get going on this build huh 

Looking forward to the progress reports & pics 



Ron

[Musicman]

good luck . what are the specs gonna be

Well, for now lets just say that it will be a 30 over, 4.25, 6-Pak stroker designed to perform in the 3000 to 5000 RPM range... We'll get into the details and projections later as the build progresses.

Bet you're excited to get going on this build huh 

Dam right... it's been a long time coming. Several months in design, and over a year of collecting parts. I can't waite to get moving on this thing.

[Musicman]

Just updating the post here...

I called the shop yesterday morning... They've still got a heavy back log of work, so they haven't had a chance to stick my block in the oven yet... maybe in a couple of days.

[BigBlockSam]

bitches !

[Musicman]

UPDATE...

I called the shop this morning... The block has been oven cleaned and will be going into the tumbler this afternoon. Tomorrow it will be Mag tested and Pressure tested. I will be going up there on Wed. to get some progress shots. Chances are it will still be sitting on the pressure test station at that time so it will probably be a little dirty from the tests. Still has a number of steps to go before the cleaning process is complete anyway. At any rate... we will be discussing the next phase of the build when I get up there.

Mike

[Challenger340]

 

[Musicman]

Sorry guys... I really thought that today was Wed.... Honest! I must be getting old 

Okay, I drove out to the machine shop today and got a few pic's of the semi-cleaned block. As I said earlier, the block was oven cleaned and then put into a tumbler. After that it was Mag tested and Pressure Tested. The shots of the block below were taken after the pressure testing was complete, so the block still has a film of oil on it. Even at that it's still amazing just how clean the block is at this point, and there are still a number of cleaning stages yet to go before it's complete. It will look like a shiny new nickle when it's done. At this point however, we are going to start maching the block rather than finish cleaning it. No point in having to do it twice, right.
Next up will be a line hone, followed by cylinder boring and honing.... we will also be enlarging the oil pickup to 1/2". I'll try to get W.I.P. shots of that work if possible.

[Musicman]

The shop has to enlarge the threads in my block for the oil pickup tube from the factory 3/8" NPS to 1/2". Of course when you purchase replacement tubes, you can never really be certain of the thread type that they will come with... NPS or NPT. I ordered my 1/2" oil pickup tube from 440source.com, and it came with a 1/2" NPT thread. I dropped it off at the shop this morning, along with the new 7 qt pan and windage tray. Having all the parts on hand allows the shop to work everything up and get it tweaked in there just right.
I also spoke to the machinist about getting some W.I.P. shots, and he said sure no problem. In fact he is going to take the pictures himself... That way I won't have to keep taking time out of my day to drive 30+ miles out there just to take a picture.

[oldschool]

wow,tumbling the block really cleans it up nice!

[BigBlockSam]

yea , that looks great . this is getting me excited to do my new 440 during the winter. Rene

[Musicman]

wow,tumbling the block really cleans it up nice!

If you think it's clean now... just wait, it's still got a long way to go before it's truely clean 

[firefighter3931]

Nice improvement from the greasy hunk of metal in your first pic. 



Ron