Projects rebuilding after the crash

The rods have a serrated parting line,,,,this keeps the cap from wondering around .
Here are some pics of some stuff I have for an example.
The rods are old Mickeys,,,and the pistons are Venolia.
It has a slight domed surface,,,

Tommy

 

Squirrel is correct. The rods are machined out of billet plates. I have had very good luck with grp.
The engine is 498 ci. I use a 4.5 stroke crank. This combination is a normal NHRA legal setup for pro cars. This allows me to use off the shelf parts. The other huge benefit that most don't think about is sleeve thickness. My engine had 4.50 sleeves by going to 4.187 they will flex less and provide a better ring seal. The 4.187 is a horsepower making sleeve. They are noticeably heavier but worth it.

 

Years ago most T/F engines were 4.250 x 4.375, running a 5/8” stroker with the standard Hemi bore, but when they went to the 3/4” stroke they had to reduce the bore to keep under the 500 cu. in. limit. The 3/4 stroker “loads” the engine harder and it burns more fuel making more power.

 

Brian is right on the money .
The longer stroke does produces more torque,,,but the big benefit is from the sleeve .
The thicker sleeve will swell less,,,and hold more cylinder pressure.
Who would ever think that a cylinder could swell during the combustion process and let pressure escape,,,,,but they do,,,especially at the insane pressures created from Fuel !
And it might be that they vibrate and cause pressure to escape,,,either way,,,it does .
Racers on gas have been pouring their blocks for decades,,,,two fold,,,it helps keep the iron cylinders from splitting,,,and to reinforce them to create power from the pressure .

No matter,,,,this engine here is a bad dude,,,no way around it !
And it’s in an old hot rod to boot !

Tommy

 

I've never been around a disassembled blown hemi and I greatly appreciate your taking the time to put up these pics Brian.
Those button type wrist pin retainers are rarely seen nowadays, at least in the gas burning ones most of us are around when they are apart. Only ones I've encountered were back in the flathead days I bought an engine that had powered a "shine car". Had been replaced by a Caddy.. It was a 3/8X3/8 and the pistons were either Jahns or JE, can't remember which, but it used button retainers.
But I digress, the effort that you put into that car, and the great pictorals you post on HAMB are unbelieveable and appreciated by all of us.

 

I try to keep it interesting. I figured not many guys see this stuff so I hit the pause button and took some pics.

 

Neat stuff for sure.
More importantly Brian, we sure are glad you have a good paying job so we can ride along!

 

Are those rod "caps" cut off the rod by wire EDM or are they two components that are cut in that wave pattern then bolted together then bored? Very cool, can't say I've seen rods like that but then again I dont build engines.

 

The caps are radially grooved. This makes them unable to move in any direction when fit together.

 

I'm not sure how they are made. Manufacturers have different ways they make them. Some are forged mine are machined from billet plate. When the caps are torqued the parting line can't be seen. The rods have a serial number machined into them. That way I can reorder new sets made exactly like the ones being replaced. This years rods are .100 longer so the bottom of the piston clears the counter weight along with the small end of the rod. This will raise the compression to 7.5 which is getting kind of high. I will replace my .040 head gaskets with a pair that's. 080 this will drop it down to 7.1 so its safer. The engine on the street will like the additional compression. Some nitro teams have been successful with lower percentage high compression combinations. They seem popular in vintage racing with rules on pump size. I think the added compression is hard on the rotating assembly. For drag week I don't have time to pull the crank.

 

Tommy posted pics of his vintage m/t rods. If you look closely at the the cap and rod the machined grooves are straight. They do nothing to help prevent the cap from moving side to side. I took a pic of a used cap so the oil makes the curved grooves stand out. This newer way of making the rod holds the cap firmly in place. It can't move in any direction

 

Oh Brian,,,,,that is cool ,,,,,I bet it does help stabilize the cap .
Yeah ,,,you’re right,,,my rods are several years old,,,,,about 25 or so,,,LoL.
Mine are forged,,,the new billet ones are much better .

Tommy

 

I took a pic of a late model nitro pin and a 392 pin. Most of the big players that are running nostalgia nitro use a 426 style rod. You can now see why. The pressure on the piston is directly transferred to the pin. Even with these monster pins its advisable to check the pins to see if they are bent. They make a special tool to aid in View attachment 4608265 the process. There is alot of violence going on in a nitro combustion chamber.

 

Hey Bran,
What is the pin size you use,,,,426,,,,440,,,,or larger ?
Also,,,I like that bottle of assembly lube you use,,,,I’ve got one just like it !
It’s kind of hard to find in a local parts store,,,,but it sure is slick !

Tommy

 

1.160 od. The 392 in .990 I agree on the assembly lube. My local parts store is owned by a pro mod racer. He carries alot of stuff for all the local racers.

 

Deck height with alum rods*,no matter what,needs to be bigger then you think. We used some alum rods a few times in stock car racing running 9000rpm in SBC 383, we were told first time to be sure to have extra .012 of deck from what we used with steelrods=hit anyway when hot in race{motor blow. Next time we used extra .020 an she lived. But that goes away when running at temp.

 

I figured they were larger,,,,,stock 426 is 1.031,,,and 440 is 1.094 .
Nitro takes a serious toll on every part that is touches !

Tommy

 

The wall thickness is about 3-4 times thicker. There is a suggested amount of clearance on aluminum rods. For my application I think its around .060 minimum. I'm no where near that with my low compression. My pistons are almost below deck height.

 

I found a way to keep a distance from people. I went out to the shop and put the rods and pistons in. I should have it ready for start up soon.

 

Beautiful,,,Beautiful,,,Beautiful,,,!!!

Tommy

 

I received a care package from lenco so I found a way to keep my social distancing going. I was exposed to a patient that tested positive so they wouldn't let me go to work out out caution. I'm not experiencing symptoms so im looking at it like a paid vacation. I changed out all the seals and o rings. The sprags looked good but i changed them out for new ones along with the bolts. I changed out one clutch pack with steels. The shift pressure was shimmed to 35-38 lbs. Two case bolt holes were weak so they were fixed. Two and a half quarts of 30wt and it's ready for service. The parts that were replaced will make good spares. You can't ever have too many spares.

 

Looks great Brian ,
It would be cool to see a few pics of the inside next time,,,for people that have never seen one before,,to understand how they work .
An I assume you meant sprag in your post,,(,it even corrected my typing just now,,,lol .)
These crazy electronic gizmos,,,,LoL .

Lencos are awesome and ( almost),,,bulletproof .

Tommy

 

Look through the thread pages 8,9,10. I covered the subject in detail then. Lots of pics.

 

Lol,,,sorry man,,,I should have known you had already took care of that .
And that was so many pages ago,,I guess I forgot,,,LoL .

Tommy

 

How much does that Lenco weigh?

 

Lot's of shim's there Brian, guessing that was just a pick through not a stack up.

 

The weight depends on how many speeds it is. If you look at my pic there are two large cases bolted together and one smaller one. This shows it's a three speed with a reverse. To add another gear a large case is bolted on.
The other variable is the parts inside. The newer parts are lighter weight.
Then there is the difference between a cs1 and a cs2. The cs2 is lighter than the cs1. Alchohol cars are going to the cs2 for reduced rotating weight. The cs1 is stronger so it's the go to trans for nitro.
All that being said I have a lighter weight cs1. I think it weights about 100lbs.

 

The pressure needs to be set on the clutch pack. There is a special lever that's used with a fish scale. The lever fits in a shift tower. Its screwed into the case. When it touches the shift fork its unscrewed two turns. The scale is attached to the lever while in neutral. The scale is pulled until the lever shifts into gear. The amount of lbs it takes to shift is recorded. Lenco has a chart with the specs needed. A nitro funny car will need more pressure than a pro stock for example. Shims are used behind the pressure plate to arrive at the required setting. A typical starting point would be a .030 and a .015 to start. The case is put together and a pull made. If more pressure is needed shims are added. A shim of .010 makes a difference. The trans can be damaged just as fast not having enough pressure or having too much. A air shifted trans like mine is not as touchy as a manually shifted trans. The air shift pod will keep pushing down as far as it can go.

 

Brian, best of luck to you after being exposed to the patient that tested positive. Same thing happened to a friend of ours that is an x-ray tech. It was about 1 1/2 weeks ago and so far so good for him.
That Lenco is awesome.

 

Brian you've already been exposed to worse shit than that virus. Your fine. LOL. Lippy