The core is from Crazy Ray's junk yard. It was only yesterday
that it was a full LT1 engine. Today it is a bare block.
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ARP and Milodon main studs and stock main caps.
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Another view of the block
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Grinding dust everywhere. I clearanced the block in areas
where the rods may hit.
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Directly out of the box..here is the 3.875" stroke crankshaft
from Howard's Cams.
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Wiped up a little bit with brakeclean and oil.
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I measured all the mains and rods prior to sending to the balance
shop.
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5.85" H-beam rods arrived. Here we weigh things to call
to the balance shop.
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All pistons are within 1 gram. (But the rods are from 631 to
633 grams and so I'll buff off some weight on the rods to make them
all 631).
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I weigh things individually and also as a group just as a double
check.
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More work on the motor...here is a broad view of the 399 Race Shop.
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Block is now painted black with POR15
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Crankshaft set in place.
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Various size bearings.
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JE-SRP pistons.
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5.85" SCAT H-beam rod and SRP piston.
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Spiro-locks
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All rod-pistons assembled.
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Rod bearing clearance...(0.0025")
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Crank/rod/piston in place in order to see if my block clearancing
was good enough...it was not. I checked every cylinder and I
have to clearance more in all of them. But that is the process
with a 396 stroker...lots of clearancing.
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And a major snafu...the crankshaft counterweight hits the bottom of
the piston.
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I replaced the Howard's crankshaft with a Callies Magnum crankshaft
and the counterweights clear. This is because the
counterweights were shaved. You can see that in this photo.
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There is a mile of clearance here with
the Callies crank. No wonder the Callies cost so much....they
are always perfect....perfect journals, perfect crank cam
counterweight profile.
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Crankshaft is almost ready for pickup but in the meantime I finish
up on the block. Here is the thread tapping of the front oil
holes.
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More block clearancing.
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Oil galleries.
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Ready to file the piston rings.
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Top, (1st), ring at .022"
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2nd ring at .025"
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I have always been curious as to how many grams are shaved off a
ring. Here is a freshly filed ring = 15.1 gram
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And a non-filed ring = 15.3 gram, (0.2 gram difference).
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Rings are all filed and stored in the bores. Main clearance
now being checked.
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.0022, .0020, .0020, .0022, .0025" from #1 to #5
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Now the cam bearings in.
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The cam grind #MIELHAM
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Photo with cam installed.
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Photo to prove the oil gallery plug is installed.
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Callies magnum crankshaft installed. 3.875" stroke.
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Rear main torqued and end-play checked to be .008"
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Rod bearing clearance checked. (torqued to .005" stretch)
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All rods at .0025" clearance.
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Degree check of camshaft. Piston is at -.010"
deck-height.
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Intake CL = 105, Exh CL = 113, (cam card spec 106/114)
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Installing piston/rod combos. #1 and #5 bump the camshaft.
This blurry photo shows where I clearance on the rod so that it does
not bump the cam.
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A few shots of the piston.
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SRP piston with JE rings.
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#2 and #6 rods hit the camshaft too. Here is a clear photo of
#2 and where I clearanced it for the cam.
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Notice the rod bolt is clearanced too. The bolt needs to be
torqued to spec prior to milling.
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Cam clearnced on the left...no clearance on the right.
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After installing all rods/pistons I still had a few spots where the
rods bumped the block. More clearancing needed.
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Cam and crank back in after clearancing. Camshaft bolts are
ARP with locktite.
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Just enough.
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Now all rods being torqued to .005" stretch. .018"
side clearance.
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Windage tray bent up to clear #5/6 and #7/8 rods.
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Melling 10552 oil pump and pickup.
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oil pan on with no gasket to check for interference.
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#1/2 rods bump and some spots on the side at the pan rail.
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After messaging the oil pan.
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Lifters in.
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ARP head bolts cleaned and thread-sealant applied.
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Owner supplied Ai heads, rockers, pushrods. All on and fitting
well.
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Almost ready for shipping.
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ATI damper on. Final check of bottom.
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Owner's supplied oil pump gear drive has a crack on the plastic tab
but it will hold very well even with the crack.
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Wrapped up for shipping.
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