Hemi project, Junk Parts & Leftovers

[Flatdad]

I was wrong about the valvesprings, they're actually P3690933 only rated up to .500 lift or .510 depending on the source. I reckon I'd better just bite the bullet and buy the right valvesprings for the cam I have. My other Hemi is currently rocking a set of Comp beehives & I might just go with those again since they worked so well.

My replacement intake pushrod came in the mail & thankfully was the right length.

[Flatdad]

I was mocking up some parts & got a little carried away, lol! Seeing it looking like a complete engine keeps me motivated though...

[JS29]

A fram filter! 

[Brads70]

A fram filter! 

It already took the crank out! 

[JS29]

A fram filter! 

It already took the crank out! 

@Brads71 It sure did!!!!! 

[Flatdad]

Take a look at the box juuuust above the offending filter in the first pitcher, and you'll find the replacement. 

Seriously though, if they were truly prone to failing in a way that killed engines, they'd be out of business by now. I used to use them exclusively & never had problem. I've never met someone who actually killed an engine from using one either. Cheap junk inside, yet functionally adequate.

[Scooter]

Drop it in just as it looks now... no fresh paint with more colors than the Mexican flag! 

[JS29]

If the drops it in as it looks now, He can't install the fan belt! 

[Flatdad]

Drop it in just as it looks now... no fresh paint with more colors than the Mexican flag! 

You should see the green $100 valve covers that are going on it too!

Seriously though, the repop covers in the picture are actually gonna get cannibalized to fix up a set of thick, factory '70-71 covers that someone ground off the tabs & fogged green. 

[Flatdad]

I've had this project on the back-burner, because the Challenger needs to be 'done' first.

One thing has nagged at me though, I didn't know the cc's of the dome on my mystery pistons.

Yesterday I sat down with a few measuring instruments, a piston, and a CAD program. Painstakingly, I modeled the dome & valve reliefs as accurately as possible & then used the software to calculate the volume.

Mission accomplished, here's what I came up with:

Compression Height = 1.765"
Dome Height = .515"
Dome Volume = 85.4cc +/- .9cc
Pin Bore = 1.094"
Rings = 1/16", 1/16", 3/16"

I had guessed it would be about 80... we're gonna need a bigger head gasket...

[Flatdad]

Measured a rod yesterday at 6.8605". So far, as long as the crank is accurate, the specs are currently:

4.15" stroke, but not checked yet
4.31" bore
6.8605" rod
1.765" compression height
85.4 cc dome
169 cc combustion chambers, but I haven't cc'd the milled heads yet.
10.6395" deck height, it needs cleaned up .010" or .020" though.

I can make .122" worth of gasket thickness with my spacer (.059") & 3 steel shims (.021) stacked 2 on one side and one on the other. Or.... blow the budget on some .140" Cometics...

10.63" deck with .122" gasket = 11.2:1
10.62" deck with .122" gasket = 11.5:1

10.63" with .140" cometic = 10.8:1
10.62" with .140" cometic = 11:1

...Or have the local laser jet place make some thick deck spacers.

[Flatdad]

Last night I carefully mocked up the crank in the block with one rod & piston to see how accurate my measurements have been + check the crank throw.

I must have done something right, because I should have seen seen a theoretical .576" of piston out the hole & the actual measurement was .574"!

It appears the the 4.15" crank & stock Hemi rods are going to clear everything in the crank case as well. 

[Chryco Psycho]

Good news . it pays to check everything carefully !

[Flatdad]

Short Version: Stripped the block bare, sent it to be machined, messed with a cylinder head.

Long version:

Over vacation...

I stripped down the block including oil galley plugs & core plugs. The core plugs were a royal PITA to get out! Even though they were fairly new steel plugs, I wanted brass.

I also took a wire wheel to the sides of the block to investigate the blown up skirts. As suspected, I was greeted by two huge lumps of Bondo where the motor mount pad should have been. On a positive note, the damaged skirt areas had been fully welded. It appears all the Bondo was used to seal up pin holes, thinking I can do a better job. Last, I installed my first Helicoil, renewing a damaged head bolt hole.

Last week 'til now...

I hauled the block to the local machine shop with a list of items to take care of:

Clean the paint off, mostly the flaky red glycol in the interior. I wish people wouldn't paint that stuff in their blocks.
Parallel deck & finish for MLS head gaskets.
Bore & Hone with a torque plate 4.315", finish for plasma moly faced rings.
Line hone, because #1 main cap was replaced.

Last night, I worked on the ebay cylinder head a bit. All the valves are tight in the guides, but some are too tight & will need some adjustment. Turns out, my mismatched intake valves have different stem diameters. 6 measure .310" & 2 measure .309" Not a big deal, but you can feel it.

One intake bolt hole will need drilled out & Helicoiled, some gorilla twisted a bolt off in the hole. All but two rocker stand dowels are missing & they need replaced anyway. Other than that, I used a tap set to lightly clean up all the threaded holes.