I went with a little more cam, a custom grind Comp made with 274/280 dur & 505/519 lift on a 110. The engine could really take more, but this one works very good with tons of low-end torque and pulls all the way up. The dyno showed some stall on HP at the top, possibly heads holding us back (along with the mild cam).
Gwiz...thanks for the detailed info on your build. Sounds like its fun to drive. Thats what I'm looking for. My chally has 3.23 gears, PB, and 5200 foot elevation. I was going to try my mild cam, then add 1.6 rockers to it and see what happens. IF still too small I may switch to solid cam. I dream of a roller cam too, and the experimenting with cheaper flat tappet stuff I hope will help dial in the best combo for my setup.
AHH....so you had to cut the crank counterweights down too.
Gwiz...how much clearance between top of carb and hood underside with the RPM intake? I assume RT hood.
More 432 build:
I added more info and pic on last post for timing gear bolt install and ring end gap positioning on piston.
As you know for all aspects of engine build Everything must be clean…real clean. I was asked once how clean…I say clean enough to eat off of. A fresh engine-stand rebuild should be spotless; a quicky rebuild in the vehicle is a compromise.
Now for pistons/rods installed in their cylinders.
Pistons are all numbered as are their connecting rods. Piston ‘forward’ direction should match rod ‘inboard/outboard’ direction. The piston valve notches should be correct for that cylinder and all this should have been checked at the machine shop when the pistons were installed on the rods.
Rod bearing shells numbered and labeled cap or rod; then installed on correct rod. Remember the rod bearings had to be chamfered to clear the crank journal fillet radii. Rings laid out in sets for the cylinder the ring gap was fitted to; I place them on numbered locations on paper towels.
Cylinder bores wiped down several times with brake clean. Wipe each cylinder down round and round several times; for me each time with a fresh paper towel folded over twice and sprayed with cleaner. I know we cleaned the cylinders before installing the crankshaft, but were doing it again. Do all 8 cylinders. Then wipe each cylinder several more times with brake clean and more fresh towels.
The cylinders need to be spotless, NO grease, no lint…nothing but clean. Earlier I should have emphasized clean when preparing and installing the crank main bearings/crankshaft. Spotless. Cleaning every inch of each part provides the opportunity to thoroughly inspect the part. It is amazing what people don’t see when fixing vehicles. For example pushrods bent or with big deep gashes in them from rocker arms going bad…and they don’t see it, put it together and break it again. A good cleaning/inspection can show up a lot of problems. Run your fingers over all surfaces of every part.
Next spray a light amount of WD40 on paper towel and wipe onto each cylinder. ATF is also an acceptable lubricant. They say you want a lubricant that is not so thick that it prevents the piston rings from sealing quickly. I’m sure there are many opinions of what lubricant to use, or if any is used at all on the cylinders. To each their own. I’m always open to new better ideas….progress & technology moves on.
Then a little more WD40 on fresh paper towel and lightly wipe piston skirts before clamping on ring compressor. With rod bearings installed on rod and rod cap, wipe the bearing surfaces down with your clean finger one last time then lube the bearing shells with assembly lube. Each wipe with clean finger is followed by cleaning off finger on fresh paper towel or such, then apply lube.
First photo shows ring compressor on piston, rod bearing lubricated and Clevite rod bolt protectors installed to prevent the rod bolt threads from damaging the crankshaft journal during piston install. The blue Clevite protectors can be rotated as shown so they support the rod bearing. Doing this prevents the rod bearing from coming loose as piston is pushed into cylinder. Note that the ring compressor is tightened fairly tight to compress the rings into the piston ring grooves. Note the piston skirts stick out below the ring compressor, and it is parallel to piston top, not cocked at any amount of angle.
Rotate crankshaft so the rod journal is facing away from the piston/cylinder your working on. Start piston into cylinder with piston skirts slipped onto cylinder. Double check the piston is facing ‘forward’. I pre-label the top of all the pistons so ‘front’ is easy to ID. For next step I use a rubber hammer filled with lead shot. With piston just started into cylinder next verify the ring compressor lays flat against the head gasket surface of the engine block. Using the hammer tap the compressor tool down against the engine block deck surface just to be sure its flush with the block. Then drive the piston into cylinder with the handle end of the hammer; 3 or 4 firm smacks with the handle will knock the piston into the cylinder. Too weak a force can leave the piston part way into cylinder and have one of the rings catch on the engine block deck surface. Then if you don’t spot this mistake the next smack will damage the ring. Ask me how I know this.
Second photo shows piston just into cylinder bore. Then looking up from oil pan side of engine, make sure the rod bolt protectors straddle the crank journal. Then rotate the protectors a little as the piston is further pushed down into the cylinder. Rotating the protectors allows the piston rod assembly to move on past the crankshaft rod journal.
Third photo shows rod bolt protectors rotated, the rod is moving onto the crank journal. Then finish tapping piston down into cylinder until rod bearing seats onto crank journal as shown in the next photo.
Fourth photo shows ARP assembly lube being placed onto rod bolts. Wipe the rod bolt threads clean one last time before applying the ARP lube. I apply the lube after rod cap is slipped into place over rod bolts.
Fifth photo is a reminder that all crank main and rod bearing shells have locator tangs that face each other when the main cap/rod cap is installed correctly. This means they go on the same side of the crank journal.
Next photo is a visual check that the rod cap is installed properly as the pair of rod #’s stamped onto the rods should be seen together on same side of the assembled rod. Then lightly tighten the rod nuts. Final torque is after all rods are in place.
Last photo shows all pistons/rods installed. Then torque the rod nuts to final spec. Feeler gauges can be placed between the rod pairs to help prevent twisting of the rod when the nuts are torqued. I torque all the rod nuts, then come back and loosen then one by one and retorque, then mark each rod with a yellow grease crayon when done. Note the main caps have been marked also. Just a visual double check.
New rod bolts/nuts need to be cycled several times to pre-stretch the bolts. If I remember right ARP says cycle 5or6 times WITH assembly lube on clean rod bolt/nut threads. So prior to installing the rod on the piston assemble the rod&cap, then tighten the rod nuts to spec, then loosen to finger tight and repeat.
When all the rods are on the crankshaft, check final clearance between rod pairs by placing two feeler gauges between the rods, one each side of the crank journal. There should be a measurable clearance between the rod pairs. There are many opinions on what is an acceptable maximum clearance.
The crank should rotate smoothly with all pistons installed. It will be somewhat stiff to turn due to piston ring friction and grease on the bearings rather than engine oil.
Rod bolt stretch gauges can be used in place of a torque wrench. These gauges are more accurate than torque wrenches. I don’t have one. For my street/strip use a quality, calibrated torque wrench is sufficient IMHO. Never had any problems; and I’ve had some customers really abuse fresh engine overhauls (ex: logger up in the mountains). In the past at one of the Direct Connection seminars someone asked about engine break-in; they told us to make 2or3 mid-RPM passes down the track, then go for it…full throttle runs…front wheels off the ground
