Actually, pending funds, I will be going to Kaase P-51s. My connections can get me a set dirt cheap brand new. I'm going to hog the chambers out from 72 to somewhere in the 80s I found a build sheet we have at the school that a 534 made 770hp at 6300 and 10:5 compression. Same internals except a...

Okay so today was short and the objective was simple. Smooth oiling. I cleaned up the filter entry and exit passages as well as radius the short turn after the pump.Here I've cleaned up the drain back/vent flash and make them all smooth. As well as clean up the rear drain backs.Finally in...

For me, it's not just a hobby. It's my profession. For all the knowledge and experience you get, the $30,000 is worth it to take the block and head classes. Judson, the owner, founder, and teacher of the block class has so much knowledge about engines it's ridiculous. His class was never boring...

Next on the list is to de-burr the block. This will simply remove all the sharp or rough edges for a clean professional looking block. Simply rounding the machined edges or casting edges.Also I took this as an opportunity to perform the distributor gear oil mod. A small, easy modification...

Okay! So Friday I got off my butt and got the block on the surfacer. This machine is very simple. All that needs to be done is to make sure the bar the block sits on is straight and level. Using a dial gauge. It is absolutely critical that this done or else the deck will be crooked. So after...

Due to some lack of motivation and the machine being used all week, I haven't surfaced it yet. However today I started filing rings. Mahle recommended .0045 for every inch of bore for the top ring and .0055 for the second. So I'm going for .020 and .024. I started today but didn't take any...

Just wait til I deck it. Whole new look.

So before decking, you have to check your deck for straightness and also see how far in or out of the hole your pistons are. This only needs to be done for the 4 corner pistons. The middle 4 aren't irrelevant, but there isn't much you can do about their orientation.So we start by getting our...

Well the standard rule is .005" for every inch of bore. So probably around .025-.030" or so. Factory is like .017-.023" or something to that nature.

Finished honing! All cylinders look good!Here's a close up of one of the cylinders.It's a nice cross hatch and finish. I'm happy with it. So we'll move on to getting ready for surfacing the deck tomorrow.

Okay. Today I was able to finish one side.I started by honing all the cylinders out to .003 smaller than my finish of 4.390. Then I bolted on the torque plate on with my spacers and honed to .001 at a slower head speed. This got the crosshatch up in the cylinders. I allowed them to cool after...

Started the honing process today. The torque plate we have isn't thick enough for my studs so I put all the short ones one side and made spacers so it could be torqued down.I began honing but ran out of time. I'll be finishing up tomorrow. Don't have a picture of the spacers, but I'll take...

And we're temporarily back! Picked up my head studs today. Now this isn't some 5 minute job that you can do. You need to properly chase the threads for the head studs. Especially if you have your block blasted when it is cleaned. Media can cause the studs not to thread in all the way. Got all...

You're absolutely right. I'm not planning on making an all out race motor. So the welds will remain how they are.On a side note, I've hit a financial snag and will be putting this off until I can save up enough to continue the build.

A typical rebuild wouldn't be this complex. Factory tolerances are much more broad than a performance tolerance. More precise. There's so many little things you can do to make just a few more horses. A typical rebuild will, if the engine was running when disassembled, be as simple as take it...

Okay! So after a long weekend, I got back to the shop. Added some weight to the side of the counterweight via weld. Spun it up once again, and voila! Right on the money. Here you can see where the weld was added. When balancing an aftermarket crank it can be very interesting to see how off they...

So today wasn't very good either. I installed the weights and welded them in.Spun it up and unfortunately, still light on the rear side. In a different spot though. This is somewhat typical. We ran out of gas for the welder so I won't be able to fix that til Tuesday next week(small holiday)...

The journals are round. I've ready checked them. The balance is way off though. I'm assuming that's why my kit was cheaper than some if the others. Not balanced.SAM has been an awesome experience so far. I'm on the last stretch of the block program. I'll be going into head class at the...

There is an unspoken rule here. Never count on anything to be perfect. Maybe this will help give an idea of the kind of work and headaches you get into when building an engine. Engine builders don't get enough credit.So I put the crank on the balancer.Made my bob weights by weighing a rod...

Got the bearings back today! They look great.As you can see, the coating was applied properly and evenly.Time to check those clearances again.Bearings installed, rods torqued, dial bore gauge set.They all checked out! 2.4-2.7 thousandths clearance. Right about perfect. I won't be...

I was informed that my bearings are done and I will be picking them up tomorrow. But that doesn't mean I've been up to nothing. Today I dropped the crank in to check the end play. Now you generally want to have about .005-.006 end play. You should hear a light clunking as you move it back and...

Another small update. I managed the hone the housing bores closer to the high side. This isn't the best way to go, but it is the cheapest. Now I have .003 clearance on all the main bearings. Should get the rod bearings back Monday from PolyDyn. So hopefully that's all good to go and I can begin...

Small update. Been waiting for a paycheck. Decided to get my rod bearings coated. Coatings can add a small thickness of .0003 on up to about .0005. That should tighten my clearance up a bit on those. Crank still needs to be turned and should hopefully do that next week.

I will be decking the block. Just to straighten it out. Same for the heads. Not really to loose a lot of material though. I need to keep my compression down to run on pump gas.

So today I got all my parts up to the shop and started to check bearing clearances. To do this, firstly, you must install the bearing and torque down the main cap. There we go. Now we measure the main journal on the crank and set a dial bore gauge to that amount. We then check the bearings. In...

Now for the bearings.Rod bearings. 8 sets.Main bearings.Now on to the piston box.Mahle ringsMahle pins and retainersAnd finally, the Mahle PowerPak pistonsI have to say that this is one beautiful piston. Forged aluminium.3cc valve relief.Now the main attraction. The...

Update time. I got to use the align hone and honed them all out to spec. 3.1922 is the low side and that's what you want to shoot for. Here it is in the hone. Just finished it.Now for some more interesting news. The rotating assembly has arrived. Que celebratory music.And as we open the...

No update today. Didn't get to use the align hone. Tomorrow I should be able to. I should be taking delivery of my rotating assembly as well.

Now, part 2 of the mains. Here I've out the caps in the grinder and ground the sides flat. This is to ensure we're working with a true square surface. We just need to make sure there are three points of flatness to the sides so it stays square when we cut the bottoms. (A note, I flat sanded the...

I suppose some backstory is necessary here. I'm a student at the School of Automotive Machinists in Houston, Tx. I've been trained by some of the best in the country to machine and assemble racing engines. As a student, I get to use the machines for free. I also recover a nice discount on most...