Blown Injected 540 BBC build

[obnoxious001]

I am nearing completion on a 540 cubic inch BBC being built to run with a 10-71 blower and mechanical fuel injection. I will be uploading photos and details of the build in the next couple of days, but thought I would ask up front if anyone has anything special they would like to see answered or covered. I actually just adjusted the valves tonight, will be bolting on the intake tomorrow and the customer (who will remain un-named until he steps forward)will be able to pick it up since he plans to bolt on the blower and injection himself.

He brought me a really nice used LA Industries "Kryptonite" 4.250" crank to base the build around. I provided an equally nice set of used Crower 6.800" billet connecting rods, and all of the other parts will be all brand new.

Basic parts list is as follows:

Dart 10.200" tall deck Big M block
LA Industries 4.250" Kryptonite crankshaft
Crower 6.800" billet rods
JE dished blower pistons
Dart Pro 1 aluminum heads
Custom "Obnoxious" solid roller cam
Crower "Hippo" pressure fed solid roller lifters
T&D shaft rockers


More details to follow with photos.

 

[Mondorally]

-What's it going in?

-What kind of pumps does it take to run the mechanical fuel injection - belt drive? Electric?

-Any recommendations on starters? I need to get a new one for the 22'.

For those who don't know - Barry just re-built the 468 blower motor in my 22' Schiada. It has ran flawless to date.

-Justin

 

[obnoxious001]

Justin

This should be a fun one, as far as I know it will go on a dyno for break in and tuning. As you can see by the time of my post I was up pretty late finishing the long block last night. I need to edit photos and start posting them.

It will go into a 21' cruiser. The customer will bolt on the 10-71 blower himself. Fuel pump will be belt driven I believe, I set up the standard Magnaflow cam driven water pump to control camshaft endplay.

I had a "custom" high torque starter built from a GM core for my turbo race engine, lasted the entire time I had my Schiada, 7 or 8 years. Nowdays you can buy inexpensive gear reduction starters rated at 3 hp and so, but I have no experience with those.

You might be just as well off finding a good shop and having yours rebuilt?

 

[Mondorally]

Rebuilt is an option. Might put new solenoid in it and see if that fixes it..... if not, then I'll pull it and go from there.

Can't wait to see pics of the build!

 

[FLATMVN]

Justin

This should be a fun one, as far as I know it will go on a dyno for break in and tuning. As you can see by the time of my post I was up pretty late finishing the long block last night. I need to edit photos and start posting them.

It will go into a 21' cruiser. The customer will bolt on the 10-71 blower himself. Fuel pump will be belt driven I believe, I set up the standard Magnaflow cam driven water pump to control camshaft endplay.

I had a "custom" high torque starter built from a GM core for my turbo race engine, lasted the entire time I had my Schiada, 7 or 8 years. Nowdays you can buy inexpensive gear reduction starters rated at 3 hp and so, but I have no experience with those.

You might be just as well off finding a good shop and having yours rebuilt?

Barry I am ashamed that you actually called my boat a 21' cruiser. J/K

For those that don't know, a RUSH Performance hull is only 20' long and it is a proven and tested GN Hull, not a cruiser.

I also don't think that with the horsepower we are going to be making with the new power plant that there will be much cruising anyway.:thumbsup

A few stats on the Hull.

20' GN Race Hull
Hull weight 750lbs Bare
10* Casale with 29% over drive (for now)
11 1/4 x 15 three blade prop.

I would like to thank Barry for his professionalism in keeping my project under raps until it neared completion. I was originally going to keep this under raps until it was completed and running in the boat, but during a V-drive get together at Echo Lodge in September I exploded the engine that was in the boat. So the "cat" got out of the bag there now that the engine is done Barry asked if it would be alright to start a thread on it . I said OK. He is going to post picks of the engine build that he took and as I do the finish up and install in the boat I will try to keep pics and info coming. We will also try to provide specs and info when asked for also we will post the DYNO results when it is done. This should be interesting.

Thanks Again Barry.

 

[FLATMVN]

-What's it going in?

-What kind of pumps does it take to run the mechanical fuel injection - belt drive? Electric?

-Any recommendations on starters? I need to get a new one for the 22'.

For those who don't know - Barry just re-built the 468 blower motor in my 22' Schiada. It has ran flawless to date.

-Justin

Justin

The engine is going in my 20' Rush GN hull.

The pump that is running the Mech Fuel Inj is a 80A-1 Enderle, It is Belt Driven of the crank because I am using the Magnaflow water pump on the cam drive.

As for the starter I was using it was just a stock permanent magnet gear reduction of a a chevy pickup 1994-1996. They are small and light weight and just bolt on nothing special. Started my Blown 468 every time for 5 years until I blew the engine.

 

[obnoxious001]

Barry I am ashamed that you actually called my boat a 21' cruiser. J/K

For those that don't know, a RUSH Performance hull is only 20' long and it is a proven and tested GN Hull, not a cruiser.

A 21' cruiser sounded a lot more common, purposely keeping the thing anonymous until I talked to you.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, yes, it will be an interesting deal to see what kind of power it will make. As much careful work as I put into an engine, I always seem to ask myself afterwards what could have been done to make more power. The biggest thing I see on yours is that we might have spent a little money on having some head porting done, but we did discuss that several times and figured you would probably already have enough power to get you down the river in that light boat.

Louis, as my part in gathering the parts and assembling your long block for this project draws to close, I do want to thank you for putting your trust in me. I can't wait to see the final result, not only on the dyno but in the boat.

Barry

PS........Photos and story to follow shortly.

 

[obnoxious001]

I didn't photograph every step of this build, between having hands too oily or dirty to pick up my camera, or just needing both hands to do the work, I didn't shoot as many as I might have liked to on Louis' engine.

After the new tall deck Dart block was honed on a Rottler performance machine, I spent some time deburring the block and removing sharp edges, inside and out. I tapered the 4 oil return slots in the valley knowing that valley screens would be installed, trying to allow the oil to drain back as quickly and easily as possible. Then the block is carefully washed in several steps with proper brushes to scrub all oil passages, lifter bores and cylinders. The cylinders get oiled immediately as each cylinder is blown dry, to help prevent rust on the freshly honed bores. After the block is allowed to dry, I mask the top, bolt on a timing cover and oil pan that I use only for painting blocks, and put pipe plugs in all the openings to keep paint out of the theads. I tend to use Duplicolor engine paint, it has some ceramic stuff in it that is very tough and durable, and maintains a good gloss once it dries. You can't let the stuff dry for more than an hour if you want to apply additional coats, or it will wrinkle, but the stuff gives me good results.

The screens are used to help prevent any broken lifter or other top end parts from making it down into the crankcase and doing further damage. Hopefully nothing up top ever breaks, but if so, the screens may save some big bucks. The screens look quick and easy to install, but even though I have installed a bunch of them, they still take some work once the package is opened. I trim them to closely fit the openings, and then use my fingers to depress them into the openings to get them to fit better. The next trick is to get the screens to stay put while the epoxy is applied. Once I have them weighted in place, and the epoxy applied, I cover the block and let it sit overnight to cure.

 

[obnoxious001]

Fast forward a bit, the epoxy has set up, the coated cam bearings that come with the Dart billet cap blocks have been carefully installed in the block. That's something that I always do myself. It allows me to make sure they are positioned properly, both so the cam turns freely, but perhaps more importantly, so the oil holes line up properly with the oil passages in the block. Also, I think it's extremely important to have the block washed, and "assembly clean" prior to installing the cam bearings that may trap any dirt or material in the oil passages.

I didn't photograph how I measure bearing clearances for Louis' engine, I have shown that before on the "other" boat site, but for those who have not seen that, I carefully measure all the crankshaft journals with a micrometer, down to .0001". Those measurements are recorded on paper, and the brand new Clevite H bearings are torqued into their respective housings (main caps and connecting rods). At that point, I calibrate my dial bore gauge to the micrometer which is set at the correct size for the respective journal on the crank. The dial bore gauge is inserted into the bearing, and rotated to find any tight spots, or to make sure the bearing (and housing) is round. The dial bore gauge will read out the bearing clearance, which is also recorded on the paper. I strive to keep clearances similar, at least within .0005" across all the mains or rods. Louis' clearances fell into place without having to mix different sets of bearings. The mains varied between .0028" and .0032", and the rods between .0022" and .0024". The crank is a really nice used Kryptonite crank, made by LA Industries, but no longer available. This one was standard on the mains, but the rod journals had been turned .010", but apparently by a high end shop since they were so consistant. Lucky for me, since the selection of over and undersize bearings is very good for the .010 undersize crank.

After determining that the bearing clearances will work out fine, the bearings are cleaned, set into the saddles, and lubricated with Clevite assembly lube. Also, the rear main seal is glued into place with Gasketcinch, and assembly lube put onto the seal surface. The crankshaft had been previously carefully cleaned in the solvent tank, making sure to run a brush through all passages to make certain that no abrasive compound(from polishing the crank) is left in the crankshaft to immediately destroy the new bearings. The crank can then be laid into the block. Next, the rear main cap is put into place with the bearing alredy lubricated, the other half of the rear main seal glued into place in the cap. The rear main cap bolts get oil on the theads and where the head contacts the main cap, and are run down not quite snug. At this point I attach a dial indicator to the end of the block with a magnetic base, and the idicator against the end of the crank snout. I use a large screwdriver to move the crankshaft back and forth to get an idea of how much endplay there will be, and whether adjustments need to be made to achieve the desired .005"-.007" crankshaft endplay. No problems on this one, sometimes it can take quite a bit of time using the screwdriver and a rubber mallet to make sure there is enough endplay. Only then will the remaining four main caps and bearings be put in place, paying proper attention to number and direction. GM caps have arrows pointing forward, the Dart block does not, but each cap has a block serial number on it, and the #1 front cap has beveled edges that face the front of the engine, so simply putting the remaining caps in place with the serial numbers facing the same direction as #1 insures they will be correct. The main bolts are properly torqued to spec, which is 100 ft-lbs on this block. With clean, oiled threads, it's still important to use an even pull on the torque wrench, rather than trying to "jerk" it to make it click. I take care to hold the wrench the same way, and at the same angle to my body as I torque the bolts. Then I go back immediately and check the torque on all the bolts to make sure none have been missed.

At this point I use my hands to slowly turn the crankshaft to feel for any drag in the rotation. The assembly lube makes it a little "sticky", but is necessary to protect bearings during the assembly proces, since the crank has to be turned many times to get everything right, down to the valve adjustment once the heads are bolted in place. With motor oil only, the crank would spin easily, but the key with the assembly lube is a consistant feel as the crank turns the entire 360 degrees.

 

[obnoxious001]

Next, the new JE 4.500" blower pistons and Crower 6.800"billet rods will be fitted with the Howards rings and installed into the block.

Unfortunately I did not shoot photos of measuring and filing the ring gap for this engine, but using Howards rings and following their spec, I set the ring gaps at .025" and .029" for top and 2nd rings respectively. All parts get washed in the solvent tank (yes, I know they are all new, but there can be metal and dirt left in them that the new engine would not like. I line up the pistons and rods in order on the bench, actually reverse order, even bank in the rear, 8-6-4-2, and the odd bank in the front of the bench since I install them first, 7-5-3-1. I follow the same procedure for every engine I assembly, perhaps it makes it easier not to make mistakes. Once all the rods, rod caps, pistons, wrist pins and bearings are laid out in their proper locations, it's time to put the spiral locks into the pistons, then I oil the pin boss in the piston and the pin bushing in the rod, as well as spreading a light film of oil on wrist pin with my fingers. The JE blower pistons were measured before they went to the balance shop in order to get the block honed to the correct diameter, in this case 4.5015", allowing an extra 1 1/2 thousanths piston to wall clearance for the blown marine application. Making sure that the rods are facing the correct direction in relation to the piston, the wrist pins are slipped into place, and the remaining two spiral locks fitted into the pistons. After all eight are done, I add additonal oil to the wrist pin through the oiling holes in the pistons so they won't be dry on start up. I spend a few minutes and make sure the pistons and rods are both free on the pins, actually checking that prior to inserting the spiral locks in case something doesn't feel right. Now the rings, including the oil ring support rails are placed on the pistons. When the rings were measured and cut to the individual cylinders, I carefully numbered each one with an engraving tool, to make sure they go into the bore they were measured in, and allowing me to wash them all at once without mixing them up. That also helps keep track of which side of the ring goes up if they don't have indicator dots or other markings. Same for the rod bearings, they get numbered on the back side once I confirm that bearing clearance is to my liking.

Prior to putting the pistons into the block, it's necessary to clean the bores very carefully, removing all the oil that was wiped on the bores after washing to help prevent rusting. I use aerosol carb cleaner on white paper towels so I can easily see when the towel comes out clean. It takes several passes and towels, and I toss them out before the start to fall apart in the bore. I had the occasion years ago to see how many cloth rag fibers ended up in an Oberg oil fiter on the dyno immediately after an engine break in, and stopped using shop rags on any "clean" engine parts at that point. Once the bore is clean enough(IE, no more color on the white paper towel), then a very light coating of clean oil is put on the bore. I also squirt a little bit of clean oil on the rod journals of the crank as well.

I use tapered piston installation tools that match the bore size, none of the adjustable metal band type that are so often frustrating. I use the Clevite bearing lube on the rod bearings, making certain they get installed properly in "upper" and "lower" positions, which was previously verified when checking clearance. I wipe a little clean oil around the inside of the tapered piston ring installer, and a little bit around the piston and rings, including a few drops in the oil ring grooves, then I orient the piston ring gaps and slip the assembly into the tool, then line the tool and assembly up on the top of the block and tap the piston into the bore with the handle of a dead blow hammer that I keep clean only for installing pistons. The crank is positioned with the rod journal away from the top of the block to allow easy placement of the rod cap after the piston and rod and knocked down into position onto the crank, and the rod bolts are lubricated prior to bolting the cap to the rod. After all 8 pistons are in place, the bolts are carefully torqued and rechecked. Then rod side play is checked with a feeler gauge. Louis' engine checks out with "perfect" .022" rod side play on all four pairs.

 

[obnoxious001]

Next step was to install the custom "Obnoxious" blower cam that I had ground especially for Louis, to compliment the Dart Pro 1 345cc runner heads we are using, along with the 10-71 blower and mechanical fuel injection. The cam was degreed using the cam card, checking all four events against the written specs, intake open, intake close, exhaust open and exhaust closing. After consulting with the cam grinder and checking the lobe centerline with a degree wheel and dial indiator gauge that goes directly into the lifter bore, I put the cam in 2 degrees advanced to allow for the timing chain stretch. Satisfied that the cam is installed correctly, the timing cover and water pump are mocked up onto the front of the block, and the water pump drive that bolts onto the front of the cam was shimmed to limit camshaft endplay to .007". Louis volunteered to make a couple of custom shims that fit behind the drive, worked out very well actually. The three bolts that go thru the pump drive and hold the cam gear in place on the cam were torqued with red loctite. At this point the front cover is bolted onto the block after applying Gasketcinch to the timing cover gasket, and I pulled the water pump apart so the impeller would not be turned in a dry water pump. Good thing I looked, even though the water pump had been only used a few months, as per Louis, three of the impeller vanes were already broken off. Also at this point, now the that cam has been degreed, I was able to set a cylinder head on the block with a pair of "soft springs" on two valves. This was to check valve to piston clearance even though we have dished blower pistons, the valve lift is over .700", so need to make sure we wouldn't have parts hitting each other. Using a dial indicator on the valve spring retainer, it was simple to rotate the engine and use my finger to move the rocker. JE had done their job on the pistons, about .180" clearance at the tightest spot. This was also when I was able to measure to determine pushrod length, using adjustable length pushrods made for that purpose. I had followed the instructions that come with the T&D shaft rockers and set up the heigth of the rocker stands, determining that they required .040" of shim under them to square the rocker with the valves.

In this bottom photo, you can see the damaged water pump impeller, and the new BDS degree ring that goes behind the blower pulley on the crankshaft. With the head off the block, using yet another dial indicator in a "bridge" type fixture that spans across the cylinder, I was able to determine a zero mark on the timing cover, and used my engraving tool to mark TDC on the ring, as well as the 32 degree mark. The degree ring is pretty cool, but BDS is pretty proud of that little piece of metal, $61

 

[Mondorally]

Justin

The engine is going in my 20' Rush GN hull.

The pump that is running the Mech Fuel Inj is a 80A-1 Enderle, It is Belt Driven of the crank because I am using the Magnaflow water pump on the cam drive.

As for the starter I was using it was just a stock permanent magnet gear reduction of a a chevy pickup 1994-1996. They are small and light weight and just bolt on nothing special. Started my Blown 468 every time for 5 years until I blew the engine.

Louis - thanks for the starter tip. Can't wait to see the finished boat!

Barry - cool build thread!

 

[obnoxious001]

Once valve to piston clearance was checked, it's time to go ahead and assemble the heads. As with all the rest of the parts, the new bare castings must be carefully cleaned. This is even more critical with heads that have been freshly polished as these were, since the polishing compound is all over the surfaces of the heads, and we definately don't want abrasive engine oil!

I chose a set of K Motion 950 valve springs, mostly because of good previous experience with K Motion springs. I normally would choose Manley Extreme Duty Inconel exhaust valves with the blown application, but they were backordered from Manley, so I picked up a set of Ferrea, nice looking part. The intakes are Manley Severe Duty. I check springs on the industry standard Rimac spring tester to verify they match the advertised spec, and determine what installed height I will set them at. I decided that these would go in at 2.00" installed height, and found that I had to use a special valve lock that would allow me an extra .050" of height, since the tightest one was 1.960" with the hardened spring cups and 10 degree chrome moly retainers and locks I had chosen for this build. One of the photos shows the valve spring micrometer verifying the 2.00" installed height with a .015" shim installed. Each valve is individually checked with the retainer and locks that will be used on that valve to insure accuracy. The photo does not show very well, but I use a felt pen to write the measurements directly on the head, then subtract the desired 2.000" to calculate what shims are required. After measuring all 16 valves I press the viton seals onto the guides and use the valve spring compressor to finish assembly of the heads.

 

[FLATMVN]

Louis - thanks for the starter tip. Can't wait to see the finished boat!

Barry - cool build thread!

You are welcome Justin. Always willing to help out.

Here is a pic of the boat with the old engine in it when it was running.

 

[500bbc]

DAMN YOU LOUIS!!!!!!:swear:swear:swear


Now what am I going to do to keep you in your place?


Will this bullet help score more lesbians?:hmm:beer


You're gonna love the hat.

 

[FLATMVN]

There is no keeping me in my place. I am out of control.

As for the lezi's this new mill might scare them staight again and that could be a good thing.

The hat is all set up and ready to go. It is just itching to flow some fuel.

 

[djunkie]

Hmmmm. That boat looks familiar. :thumbsup
________
CBF SERIES

 

[FLATMVN]

I can't imagine why!!! Have you seen it before or one just like it....

 

[djunkie]

I can't imagine why!!! Have you seen it before or one just like it....

Both. But when I saw yours it was a virgin. :thumbsup
________
ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER SPIRIT

 

[River Lynchmob]

Both. But when I saw yours it was a virgin. :thumbsup

When it was a virgin or when you were?

 

[FLATMVN]

Well it is no virgin anymore. It has been road hard.

Lets compare. The "TWINS"

Mine

Your Buddies

 

[djunkie]

When it was a virgin or when you were?

What are you talking about, I'm still a virgin. :smackhead
________
Hemp

 

[djunkie]

Well it is no virgin anymore. It has been road hard.

Lets compare. The "TWINS"




Your Buddies

Thats a damm good lookin guy in the passenger seat. :thumbsup
________
Marijuana vaporizer

 

[500bbc]

Well it is no virgin anymore. It has been road hard.

Lets compare. The "TWINS"

Mine

Your Buddies

If I remember correctly shortly after this photo we were judging her twins.:hmm:drool:beer

 

[FLATMVN]

You would be correct at that there statement, but in the spirit of not geting band from RDP I can't post that photo.

 

[Hallett]

The boat looks great Luis. do we know what kind of hp? i would think at least 950. congrats nice job Barry thanks for the build pic's, :thumbsup

 

[obnoxious001]

The boat looks great Luis. do we know what kind of hp? i would think at least 950. congrats nice job Barry thanks for the build pic's, :thumbsup

I only have the intake to clean and bolt on, but expect it will do a fair bit more than 950 unless Louis puts the pulleys on upside down!

More photos and details to follow still when I get a little more time.

 

[FLATMVN]

The boat looks great Luis. do we know what kind of hp? i would think at least 950. congrats nice job Barry thanks for the build pic's, :thumbsup

Hey Bob,

Well we should have no problem with 950, should be able to tip the dyno at 1100 I am going to run somewhere between 12-18 lbs of boost on 110 race fuel. So I am hoping for somewhere between 1000 and 1100 HP with a mild tune up. We will play with it on the dyno and see what happens.

 

[obnoxious001]

With the heads assembled, it was time to bolt them onto the block. The shaft rocker stands won't go on until the heads are torqued into place, even though I did the mock up to determine that they needed to be raised .040" off the head surface. The Fel Pro 1075 MLS gaskets are finally removed from their packages and set onto the block. ARP head studs are fitted into the block, as per ARP instructions, "finger tight". The Dart block has blind holes for the head studs/bolts, so no sealer is necessary. The heads are wiped off one final time and set on the block. The washers and nuts are lubricated, I use oil rather than the moly lube, and follow the ARP instructions to torque to 85 ft lbs with oil. I run the pattern several times, first with a speed handle to barely snug, then with the torque wrench set at 50 lbs, but I stop before it clicks, then another round clicking at 50, then the next at 70 lbs, and finally at 85 lbs, then another full pass to verify that they are all at 85 lbs. The Dart block and heads are set up to use 4 extra studs, that extend into the valley and nuts are tightened from inside the valley. The studs have 7/16" studs into the head, but taper to 3/8", and therefore only get tighted to 50 ft lbs.

 

[obnoxious001]

Ok, the heads are on, getting close now finally. The Crower roller lifters with the special pressure fed pin oiling are blown clean, as they instruct not to soak in solvent. I put a little assembly lube on the roller, and oil the lifter bores and put some oil on the lifter body and drop them into place. I squirt a bunch more oil on top of the lifter and to make sure the pushrods ends will not be dry. I blow air through both ends of the pushrods, trying to make sure there are no surprises lodged inside, and set them in place. I chose a .120" wall Manley 3/8 pushrod rather than the "standard" .080" Manley that I use on many engines. The T&D shaft rockers are installed to the heads, after putting assembly lube on the ends of the valves, and in the pushrod cups of the rockers. The long rocker stands for the intake rockers must have the bolts sealed since they go into the intake runners, and the exhaust rocker stand bolts only need a little oil on their threads. The stands get torqued per the Dart specs, only 45 ft lbs into the aluminum casting. The rockers get a cleaning treatment similar to the lifters, T&D does not want the moly assembly grease removed from the roller tips. With the rockers torqued onto the stands, it's time to adjust the valves. The cam card asks for .026 lash on the intakes, and .028" on the exhaust, so we go with that setting.

 

[Hallett]

Hey Bob,

Well we should have no problem with 950, should be able to tip the dyno at 1100 I am going to run somewhere between 12-18 lbs of boost on 110 race fuel. So I am hoping for somewhere between 1000 and 1100 HP with a mild tune up. We will play with it on the dyno and see what happens.

Very nice i need to see it run when it's done should hall the mail .
love the T&D rockers can't wait to fire mine up. injection is the only
way to go. :skull

 

[Wheeler]

Very nice thread, thanks for posting this! :thumbsup:thumbsup

 

[obnoxious001]

Very nice thread, thanks for posting this! :thumbsup:thumbsup

Thanks, more to follow,, I need to wash the polishing compound out of the blower intake and valve covers and then will have a photo of the semi-finished product. I think Louis plans to bolt together the blower and injection and accessories, and it is supposed to get run on a dyno, so we should have some results from that in the foreseeable future, and I am sure photos in the boat after that.

 

[Deleted Account]

I was standing next to this baby when Bounce fired it up.

That's one loud mofo!:thumbsup

 

[rocket98]

What a great thread...........Thanks... :thumbsup

 

[djunkie]

I was standing next to this baby when Bounce fired it up.

That's one loud mofo!:thumbsup

Go for a ride in it. Its even freaken louder. I don't think I could shove ear plugs far enough in my ears to muffle it enough. But it sure is clean and hauls ass. :thumbsup
________
M156 Engine

 

[Deleted Account]

Go for a ride in it. Its even freaken louder. I don't think I could shove ear plugs far enough in my ears to muffle it enough. But it sure is clean and hauls ass. :thumbsup

I think all of their boats are like that...

 

[obnoxious001]

While the intake manifold looks fairly clean, a few swipes with a white paper towel soaked in aerosol carb cleaner shows how much dirty abrasive material is present from the polisher. I used another dozen or so towels before I was satisfied that it was going to be clean enough to go on the engine.

 

[obnoxious001]

Flipping the intake over reveals how impressive this intake looks.

 

[obnoxious001]

It's going to look great on the new engine,, but hit one little snag as I test fitted it onto the block.

If you look closely you can see how large the gap is between the intake and the cylinder head, even though the intake is sitting down on the block. Not only will it take special .120" thick gaskets instead of the standard .060" thick, but further inspection and mocking up with two gaskets taped together to check height and port alignment reveals that there is only .020" clearance between the block and intake with only two bolts in place for mock up. The manifold will need to be machined to make sure it doesn't bottom on the block and prevent proper sealing between the intake and heads.

 

[obnoxious001]

The inside of the valve covers look clean enough to bolt right on.

But,,,,,,,,,,,,, the white paper towel and carb cleaner prove otherwise, more polishing compound. The normal solvent in my solvent tank doesn't cut the polishing residue nearly as well as the carb cleaner, and I don't really want the freshly polished vavle covers getting scratched on the metal tray either.

 

[obnoxious001]

I use Rex billet valve cover breathers. Note the o-ring seal in the bottom, makes them pretty leak proof with no messy silicone or unsightly gaskets exposed. Besides the lockwasher, I go ahead a use a dab or red Loctite on each bolt to try and insure they won't fall out.

 

[obnoxious001]

Here's a preview of the finished product. It still needs a fuel pump block off plate installed, and of course all of the blower parts and injection. I will get at least one more good photo without fingerprints and such once the intake is mounted.

 

[jrork]

This is an awesome thread Barry. Thanks for posting this all up. Your attention to detail is inspiring (that means badass I think)......john

 

[obnoxious001]

Ok,, got the intake back from the machine shop. Sure would be nice to have a mill here, or even the room to put one, but they did a great job, gives me another .060" or so to make sure it won't bottom out before the gaskets have proper crush to seal.

 

[obnoxious001]

Ok,, I guess different builders use different methods and sealers, but I have been using Gasketcinch and Aviation Permatex (by Loctite now)to seal intake manifolds for many years, along with regular clear silicone for the end seals.

Perhaps I am a little redundant with the sealers, but I brush the Permatex and Gasketcinch on both the gasket and metal sufaces. Once the intake gaskets are adhered to the cylinder heads and the sealer brushed onto the top surfaces, then I carefully apply the silicone from the caulking gun. It's important to get enough to seal, but not too much to where there is a bunch hanging out the side of the joint that might end up down in the oil pump pickup, and it's nice not to have it globbed all over the outside of the engine as well. You can also see how I let it slightly overlap the gasket, tucking a little in behind the tab to try and insure no leaks.

 

[obnoxious001]

Here's a couple of shots once it has been snugged down. I always try to use a box end wrench to tighten down intake manifold bolts to try and get an even torque to them without being able to use a torque wrench in the tight quarters. The two center bolts on each side get snugged a little first, then I work outwards to the ends. The pattern is repeated several times because as the manifold is snugged down, the other bolts end up being loose. I usually go back the next day and go through the pattern one more time, and always try to suggest to the customer to do the same after the first time it's fired up, if I am not present for that.

 

[obnoxious001]

Not everything is always as easy as it should be, even using the small ARP stainless bolts, the 2nd bolt needed to have the flange ground to clear the manifold as it was threaded into the cylinder head. Also, with the Dart heads having bolt holes that open into the valley, a little thread sealer was put on each of the bolts to guard against leakage. Note also that the cool, if not a little overly expensive 6 point stainless ARP bolts were used on everything external on the engine. Even the 4 bolts for the water pump will be replace when the new impeller is put on, and the harmonic balancer bolt is also ARP. It will go on as soon as the engine is pulled outside to do a little touch up grinding on the 1/4" crank key, didn't want to attempt that until the engine was completely sealed up.

 

[FLATMVN]

Started throwing some of the junk on top of the monster today. Supercharger, Hat, Pulleys and Manifolds there are going to have to be some alterations made to several things already. Will post some other pics and details later.

 

[djunkie]

Lookin good. :thumbsup
________
Suzuki Dr200