Projects rebuilding after the crash

Today's fun. The engine was decked a few thousands to make the deck flat again. Everything moves around a little with these blocks. Its not uncommon for the sleeves to settle a little. The top of the sleeves have a receiver groove for the o ring on the head. Decking the block reduces the groove depth. I needed to restore the depth. There are two options. I could put the block in a mill and index each cylinder then cut them. Or I could get out my trusty iskyderian groove-omatic cutter. This cutter centers in the bore. The center bolt spreads out the four aluminum blocks. The blocks pins rest on the deck. Greasing the bore before installation helps as its a tight fit for good results. The actual cutters depth is adjustable. I use a magnifying glass to make sure the cutter is exactly in the right spot. the tool has two handles to rotate it. you keep making chips until it bottoms out. I clean the chips off the tool after each cylinder is done. As crude as this tool is it does a remarkable job. Isky sells this tool. It can be returned for a partial refund when your done. Seeing its 3 degrees outside I chose to do the work in my family room.

 

Pretty neat for sure but the mill cut will hàve (somewhat) less chatter.

 

Wish I knew about that before building my early hemi fixture for the BHJ groove cutter.
It works perfectly, but obviously a tremendous amount of work comparatively.

 

The mill will for sure get a smoother cut. Its really not that important as the groove just provides a place for the gasket to go. I couldn't justify a 8 hr round trip to do this job. The pre existing grooves provide a perfect guide making the job easy.

 

I picked up a new Velasco crank. I sent it to Dons in Kenosha WI to check the balance. It was 50 grams heavy so it was balanced. Its time to put a nitro hemi together. The crank went in perfect. The thrust is .012 there are no tight spots and it turns easily by hand. Arp fastener lube was used on the fasteners. The lube provides the proper and consistent friction during the torqing process.

 

Just an observation, are the head studs just run in lose, that looks like a lot of exposed tread. Bob

 

They are bottomed out. Set with a light torque using a stud installer. They don't make a stud with less course threads.

 

So your crank turned out to not be fixable?


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It is fixable. The cracks turned out to be surface fractures. A .005 cut removed them. I was able to get a killer deal on another crank so I grabbed it. I wanted to start building the engine now. The crank that is being repaired won't be ready for a few more weeks. It will become a perfect spare ready to use. Now I have a complete extra rotating assembly. These parts are all custom made. When things go bad I could be out of action for weeks waiting for parts. I have been working some crazy over time so I can build up my spares. I have had only two weekends off since labor day. I spent one of those going to Iowa to work on the engine. Work hard play hard.

 

Thanks, it's a real treat to follow along.

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Is that the crank i picked up from Rogers a few weeks ago? There is a good story behind that one, glad it worked out for ya.

Tony

 

Why yes. Yes it is.

 

i just noticed i hit a half million views. wow. thanks everyone for following along. its been a fun ride so far.

 

Who says a contemporary mindset doesn't have a place on the HAMB, I'm patiently waiting for the next chapter of Brians' "And they said it couldn't be done"!

 

I heard alot of that in the beginning. Its tapered off alot. Some still don't believe I'm doing it. I just refer them to this thread.

 

Brian
I should have also mentioned that you are quite the ambassador for real grassroots style drag/hotrodding.

 

Racing with nitromethane is traditional.

Signed,

- Vic Edelbrock, Bobby Meeks, and Fran Hernandez

 

Do not believe driving a real street car with a blown hemi & dual fuel system, one being nitro is “traditional” or “grassroots”... More like record setting & big jump in “raising the bar”... awesome is what I call it

 

The man and his machine are one of a kind, one is beautiful on the outside, the other in. One is a brutish force ready to unleash an explosion that brings a reflection of terror to one’s appearance, the other looks, well slightly less threatening I suppose.


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I'm going to explain degreeing a cam using a gear drive. A blown car has to have a fixed idler gear drive. The double floating style won't work. There isn't a chain out there that can handle a serious blown engine.

Its easy to set up a chain do to the dots on the two gears.

A gear drive has no dots so were do you start?

The crank gear needs to go on first. Placings in on the stove getting it hot helps it go on easier. The same is true with the crank hub. The hub for the cam gear goes on the cam. The gear doesn't bolt directly to the cam. This way the cam can be rotated for timing. Then the gear goes on locking the three gears together.

I first find TDC with a piece of aluminum across the deck. This is used as a positive stop. My pistons go above the deck making contact stopping the rotation. If yours don't a bolt in the center that can be moved up and down works to. With the degree wheel in place I rotate the engine clock wise until it stops. Then counter clock wise until it stops. Readings are taken at the wheel both times. Splitting the two is TDC. A pointer made out of a coat hanger ground to a point is set at TDC on the wheel.
With the crank at TDC I rotate the cam to split over lap. This is done with a pair of lifters in the number one bores. With the pair even across I rotate the cam so the intake lifter comes up about .020.
The cam gear has holes that are drilled with a spacing thats uneven. The gear is placed on the cam in the way that the holes line up. I put a few bolts in snug.

With a push rod in the number one intake a indicator is set on the deck with the tip in the push rod cup. The magnetic base has to be on the steel sleeve to work with a aluminum block.

The engine is rotated in a clock wise direction. A reading is taken on the degree wheel at .050 before and after max lift. The two numbers are added together then divided by two. This gives you the lobe center. Compare this to your cam card. You should be close within 10-15 degrees.
If your off unbolt the cam bolts and either advance or retard the cam accordingly. The gear is then set up in the same manner. Repeat to get another centerline reading. Fine adjustments are needed to dial it in.
Most nitro cams run around a 112 center line. By advancing it to 110 it creates more cylinder pressure. This makes the exhaust valve opens later. On a nitro engine the fuel burns slow. The exhaust valve acts like a pressure release valve with the ever expanding gasses. A later opening will make more power.
With the nitro still burning thats one of the reasons for the flames and loud noise. The exhaust valves are severe duty inconel to handle the heat. They are opening up right into the flames. A regular valve would melt.
The cylinder pressure is at its max at this point. Now the exhaust valve needs to force its way open againt this high pressure. Thats why extreme duty exhaust rockers are a must. Regulars won't survive. After a run I rotate the engine counter clock wise to clear any nitro in the chambers. I also do it to help straighten the exhaust valves as they can warp they are so hot. The high spring pressure pulls them straight again as the engine is rotated. I do this before the car is pulled back to the pits while the valves are still hot.

A new crank hub with a degree wheel was needed because I changed the crank. The key ways are never in the same spots. Having two timing patterns gets confusing. This needs to have timing marks filed into it. I find TDC and file a mark. Then I file one at 40 degrees and 50 degrees btdc. I run my ignition timing in this range. Then I file three more at 90 degree intervals from TDC. I use these marks for setting the valve lash.
It should be noted with my efi a crank trigger is used. A reference angle is set at 50 degrees btdc. This is what tells the computer where the crank is. With the crank at 50 btdc the trigger wheel magnet has to line up with the pickup. Do not use the pointer in the timing cover. These are two vary different things. The pointer and pick up dont match up.

I run a strip of paper through the gears to check the lash. The paper should leave a slight impression. If the paper is torn there is not enough lash. The cover needs to be repositioned to fix that problem. The dowel holes need to be enlarged.

It should be noted that there are several crank gears sizes available. If the engine gets aligned bored the crank moves up in the block. A new smaller gear is needed. If your buying a used set up check the crank gear for size. A new gear is around 125 dollars so figure that into the cost of a used set up if its not the correct sized gear for your engine.

The fuel pump drive has hardened washers and a bearing that go on the end of it. The hardened washers come in a pack of different sizes. This sets the cam end play. Once set the cover can go on

So boys and girls I hope this takes the mystery out of setting up a gear drive. This is how I do it and it works. There are other ways that can achieve the same goal. Setting the cam using the cam cards opening values is another easy way to do it. There are always some variations on timing from lobe to lobe. Repeating the process on the number 6 cylinder is a good way to check things out. If its way off some teams split the difference. I tried to keep it simple. Milodon has a pdf file of their directions for more detailed info that can be downloaded for free. Have fun.

 

i just got great news. the converter i shipped back to coan for servicing just showed up. i thought it was loss. i shipped it last December. a three day delivery ended up being three months. Because of this i have found other delivery options. the price tag on some of these custom parts is crazy. i dont need any more stress in my life having to worry about if they arrived safely. i didnt know that usps was having big problems when i shipped it. a word to the wise should be sufficient.

 

she's gonna look real perty!

 

Brian
Not wanting to turn this into a rant but..........................
I usually stick up for the USPS but this just got serious!
My wifes' mother paid$$$ for guarranteed two day delivery to send a box of her homemade fudge from Madison to Portland, it took three weeks and it was so dried out you couldn't eat it.
I now have a real nice chocolate doorstop!

 

Oh, by the way, usps is having problems. UPS and FedEx are still working fine for me

 

DDDenny that is serious. something needs to be done. next time she makes it give me a heads up. i will pick it up. it wont go to waste. plus she wont be out the shipping. keep following this thread for more money saving tips.

 

im going to do my part to help usps catch up on their delayed shipments by not using them any more.

 

This pic doesn’t do a service to any readers who joined in late. Skewed by goofy camera one doesn’t realize these are in fact the enlarged 3” butterflies you installed for the big show bullet.
Possibly the fireplace and canine are huge throwing everything off.


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Here we go again. Pistons are in. Cam is degreed. I'm trying a new cam timing. The last few years it was set straight up at 112. This year its in at 110. This will delay the opening of the exhaust valve. The nitro will have a little more time to burn creating more power. It will also drive better on the street. It goes together fast now. I have a rare day off emergency call on Sunday. I hope to get it in the chassis.

 

What kind of quench do you run with this combo?

 

When you get your block decked and heads shaved, do you have to alter you intake, or will gaskets do it for you?

Tony