Thread: Engine rebuild
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Old 05-16-2013, 07:16 AM   #27
BigBlocksRule
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Lubbock, TX
Posts: 2,047
Re: Engine rebuild

First, I wouldn't consider a stock rebuild as long as he's buying a crank, no reason not to stroke it. So we're in agreement on that. As I've said, I have no problem with a Scat cast stroker crank. Their rods are fine, too. Read my post again, I said they're fine. All Chinese stuff ain't the same - ProComp ain't Scat. Scat has proven itself over the years and is the go-to budget crank and rods for my builds, small and big block.
Speed Pro coated pistons. I'd probably go with some Vortec heads, buy a good used set from your machine shop and have 'em machined for higher lift and clean up the ports. No need for pins or screw-in studs, they won't move. I'm not arguing that aluminum heads will let you run more compression than iron. What I will argue is the notion that they make more power. Engines make power through heat, aluminum dissipates it faster than iron. I've seen many back-to-back tests that says they'll make the same power. There are two good reasons to step up to aluminum. First is obviously weight. Second is repairability. If I drop a valve in my Brodix head, I can have it welded back up and reshaped to make it good as new. I wonder how those Chinese castings are when it comes to welding on 'em? That ain't high quality aluminum they're made of. Many sets of 'em I've personally seen have spots where it looks like somebody touched up exposed porous spots with JB Chemweld. If they're that porous on top, they're Swiss cheese inside.
Harland Sharp are good rockers but not needed at this point, optional. Intake would be a dual plane with a 650 or 750 carb, your choice of mechanical or vacuum secondaries. I didn't know we were doing converters or gears, don't know enough about what he wants to do with it.

You're throwing Chad's name and recommendations around like he's here to defend his choices. I can promise you, he doesn't care for that - no engine builder wants anyone putting words in his mouth or making recommendations based on something he recommended for someone else. He'll be the head guy on the 507 I'm building with a custom Chris Straub cam.
Again, fix your links. You said Chad uses Profilers. He uses another offshore casting, too, but they ain't ProComp. The heads you linked aren't ProFilers, either, they're "nearly identical to ProComp". More off-brand Chinese castings. At less than $150 to your door, my $ says that's a ProComp crank. A Scat cast stroker is $200+ shipped.
Heads and cranks aren't cheap when you have to spend a lot of money just to make 'em workable. I sent every other crank back to Eagle when I first started, none of their journals were round, many were tapered. No problem with Scat, but ProComp is worse than Eagle. That $148 crank just turned into $275 after you pay your machine shop to turn and true it.
Reher Morrison is a good engine building company, no doubt. I base part of my experience on spending a lot of time in a machine shop that's sold more big-inch engines and won more races and championships across the nation for the past several years than Reher Morrison. And the guy that I get cylinder head advise from actually designed half of the big block heads now made by Brodix.
Haul those junk offshore castings into Reher-Morrison and see what they have to say about them.
I have a 404 ready to assemble in the shop. Parts list:
Block: "509" casting, decked to put the pistons .005 in the hole, torque plate honed. Mains checked, no need for align hone, it's fine.
Scat cast crank, Scat 3/8" capscrew bushed 5.7" rods
SRP reverse dome forged pistons, 9.7:1 compression
Bowtie Vortec heads, 225cc runners, cleaned up with a bowl blend
Edelbrock single plane intake, Holley 750DP
Cam is hydraulic roller, 23X/23X, .575 lift both sides.

I've been building engines for several years, have 3 on stands in my shop right now.
How about you, Lynn Jr.? Are you an engine builder or just someone who repeats what he's heard or read on the internet?

OP: Regardless of what parts you want, there is one point that hasn't been stressed here: there's absolutely no substitute for spot-on machine work. My blocks are bored on a Rottler CNC machine, honed on a Sunnen CNC hone. Seat and valve work on a Serdi. All done by people who understand engines and how much their work means to a powerful engine that will live a long life, whether in a daily driver on the road or a fire breathing 1000+hp race engine. They're all built with the same attention to detail. Find a good machine shop with good tools and the knowledge and experience it takes to build stuff right. If the floor isn't clean enough to eat off of, find another shop. Details are what separate good builders from bad.
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