AJ's '72 Cruiser Crawler Build

[AJs72K5]

Your settings may be a good starting point, but yeah, was gonna have the smart guys help tune it. I was talking more along the lines of where/how to run the fuel return line, etc.

[Burt4x4]

Cool man, I'll be here

[AJs72K5]

Stayed home from work today because I wasn't feeling good....until Mr. Brown showed up with my new heads, a few sets of ARP bolts, and the new brake prop valve.



My wife told me to "get my Christmas morning on". So, I had to open one of them up.

[Burt4x4]

SEX-E!!!!!!!!!!

[vtblazer]

Hey the title changed or sumthin'


Sweet new parts brother!

[BLUE THUNDER]

dude, love the parts and the direction of the build. good luck.

[Chevy1TonFun]

Great build man. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[AJs72K5]

UPDATE 09/07/09 - Engine building: Labor day, and man, I labored. I learned a ton from my engine builder buddy....he made sure to point out all the different ways things can get jacked up as we went. My brain definately feels heavier now. We completed the long block today.

The first hour or so of the day was cleaning and prepping parts. Here's the rotating assembly all laid out on the bench.



Clean block with the main studs installed



Main caps, main bearings, and crank installed



Fitting rings and putting in rod bearings



Pistons installed. Rotating assembly and short block complete. Tightening down the oil pump.



Edelbrock heads installed and torqued down....long block complete. The intake is just sitting there to keep the engine closed up. Same applies to the pan and timing cover



Wrapped up until next weekend



I'm definately happy with what we got done today. Once the cam and lifter set comes in, we'll put the cam in and degree it. Then put on the intake, and button up the timing cover and oil pan.

[vtblazer]

Drool!


There's absolutely nothing like building your own motor!


How much more HP do you think you'll have over the last one?

[AJs72K5]

The last one couldn't even chirp the tires. It had too many internal issues. According to CamQuest, this one should make 520HP @ 5000 and 580TQ @ 4000. It's obviously gonna be a much better built motor....cuz I did it

[Burt4x4]

Hold on Hold on! Drapes in a man space window?? Man o man, I know your wife made you doit right!

heheheh Just messin

Thanks for sharing! I'm lovin it!

[AJs72K5]

Time out!!!! That's my buddy's man space. In pic #2, those are all motorcycle engines on the shelf....and under the table...that's what's left of the blown nitro engine for his top fuel drag bike.

[Burt4x4]

hahaha well tell him they look nice

Coffee drivin harrasment I suppose
Keep us posted

[AJs72K5]

No progress these past two weeks. Work had me traveling the past week. Pretty much as soon as I got back, I left for the weekend to go dove hunting...Dad and I did pretty well considering the drought in South Texas this summer.

Cam and hydraulic roller lifters arrived this week. I'm hoping to get them in the engine and button up the engine next weekend.





I still need headers and am on the fence as to what to do about my gas tank....more to come.

[Burt4x4]

Yummy! very close to the Comp cam I used, I didn't go roller though. Sometimes I wonder what the difference would be on that? I drove my K5 around the 'hood' this weekend. Fun stuff thease 454s
Good Times even if I am just picking up dinner hahaha

[AJs72K5]

Originally Posted by Burt4x4

Yummy! very close to the Comp cam I used, I didn't go roller though. Sometimes I wonder what the difference would be on that? I drove my K5 around the 'hood' this weekend. Fun stuff thease 454s
Good Times even if I am just picking up dinner hahaha

Roller equals more power due to less friction on the tappets. And with less friction, it'll be far less likely to go flat on me. I also have a better chance of reusing the rollers if I ever change cams. Getting closer....

[Arizonak5]

one day when i have $$ i will build the same thing :::::::::::::::sigh:::::::::::::: being broke sucks!

[jojo]

That motor's lookin real good!

[AJs72K5]

UPDATE 9/27/09: Bottom end complete. Put the new cam in today. Degreed it with the new timing chain, which is cool btw because the timing is spot on with the grind sheet. The cam ended up advanced 3*. Dropped in the new lifters, and closed up the bottom end. Oil pan is bolted down as is the timing cover. We woulda finished the motor, but my friend forgot the adjustable pushrod to measure with...so no pushrods yet. Loaded it up on a trailer and took it back to the shop.

The adjustable timing chain. It's also got a bearing built into the back side so's it won't eat up the block like the last one did


Roller lifters. SEXY!


This was supposed to be the picture of the engine loaded up on the trailer to head back to the shop...but I forgot. So, imagine it looking just like this, but with a motor on a stand and strapped down.

[BLUE THUNDER]

I can see it now.

[Bentblazer]

You must have painted it camo

[Yukon Jack]

Sweet progress!

[Jtrux]

Nice updates AJ but there's one thing I noticed. I think the computer program you inputed your data into may be a little bit off. It seems to me you're trying to go for a bit of a hotrod and I think you would of benefited from a larger cam. The one you've chosen is just a step above stock, an RV cam if you will. The heads and intake combo you have is great and all but I don't think you'll really be reaping the benefits of them with that cam. You will make good torque (~400tq) but I think the hp will be lacking and not quite what you're looking for (~325HP OR SO). I'm not an expert by any means but I worked at a machine shop several years ago for a while and i've had my hands on quite a few other engine builds so I do have an idea. I really like the Comp Cams Extreme Energy series and I think if you go went with one of those cams you would get some of the performance I think you're after. The only reason i'm making this suggestion is because I don't want you to get this thing together and installed and realize you shoulda gone bigger. Hope you don't feel i'm stepping on your toes, just trying to offer some pointers.

[AJs72K5]

Originally Posted by Jtrux

Nice updates AJ but there's one thing I noticed. I think the computer program you inputed your data into may be a little bit off. It seems to me you're trying to go for a bit of a hotrod and I think you would of benefited from a larger cam. The one you've chosen is just a step above stock, an RV cam if you will. The heads and intake combo you have is great and all but I don't think you'll really be reaping the benefits of them with that cam. You will make good torque (~400tq) but I think the hp will be lacking and not quite what you're looking for (~325HP OR SO). I'm not an expert by any means but I worked at a machine shop several years ago for a while and i've had my hands on quite a few other engine builds so I do have an idea. I really like the Comp Cams Extreme Energy series and I think if you go went with one of those cams you would get some of the performance I think you're after. The only reason i'm making this suggestion is because I don't want you to get this thing together and installed and realize you shoulda gone bigger. Hope you don't feel i'm stepping on your toes, just trying to offer some pointers.

No harm done. Nothing has been inputed wrong into the CamQuest app. The cam I went with, while appearing somewhat mild, is also EFI friendly, which is important. A bigger EFI friendly cam would've required me to go with a Lunati that was a bit too big in my opinion. We'll see how it turns out.

[72Levi]

520hp and 580tq? What compression are you running with the EFI? Are you going to get it dynoed in SA when you are finished?