bare block what do I do now?

[72dart318]

What should I do now that I have the bare block?

[dwc43]

HAve it cleaned and measured first. The bore, line bore as needed. Install new freweze plugs and bearings. Then you need to start buying parts.

[23T]

Originally Posted by dwc43

HAve it cleaned and measured first. The bore, line bore as needed. Install new freweze plugs and bearings. Then you need to start buying parts.

Also have it checked for cracks and if a over bore have it sonic'd

[dwc43]

Thanks, forgot to mention those. LOL!!

[Fast_Eddie]

First and foremost, take it to a reputable machine shop in your area and have it sonic tested and magnufluxed.

Then you'll know if you've got a good block or not and how far you can go with your overbore.

If it's in good shape, then have the shop hot tank it, bore and hone (both bores and mains (if needed), install cam bearings and freeze plugs.

Then you'll be all set to start assembling.

Have fun, learn, and enjoy.

[23T]

Originally Posted by dwc43

Thanks, forgot to mention those. LOL!!

No problem we all know what to do but sometimes forget to tell it all and some times I forget to do it LMAO. Just wanted to put my thought in because of the ? in the original post

[creative1]

what fast eddie said...
DO have new cam bearings installed. at about $19 for the parts and $10 to install them (in a bare block), they are insurance that you wont get the engine back together and have oil pressure issues. it is possible that the machine shop wont even charge to install them if you buy all your parts and get any machine work you need done from them.

[dwc43]

Originally Posted by 23T

No problem we all know what to do but sometimes forget to tell it all and some times I forget to do it LMAO. Just wanted to put my thought in because of the ? in the original post

Yeah, I think I have left a step or two out a couple times myself. Signs of getting older are loss of hearing, and I forgot the other one ... LOL!!

[72dart318]

should I get the rods done or should I buy a set of the eagle SIR rods. also should I get the pistons zero decked. Would keith blacks be a good choice for a piston.

[dwc43]

KB's are a great choice. For what your doing, stock rods, resized and tbe whole thing balanced will be good enough. Use ARP rod bolts too. 0 deck will also be fine.

[rumblefish360]

After hot tanking the block, you will allways need new cam bearings and the little plug in the oil galley that everone forgets about.
Without this plug that goes in at the rear of the engine block, there will be no oil pressure. This plug blocks the oil passage for the oil filter.
Mopar sells a kit or package of parts for this rebuilding stuff.
It's called the small parts package.
Stock rods are excellent. They are fordged parts. Have them cleaned, magna fluxed for cracks and resized if need be. That should be good for now. Polishing and deburring them is a great thing to do, but really only needed for pushing higher levels of HP. (Very high)

Once you know where you stand with these things first, (Block and rods) then from there you can start making choices on what is going in the engine.
Zero deck pistons are fine. KB's are fine. But don't get them yet. Wait untill you know about the block. I can not stress this enuff. I have seen many times people do this (Get zero deck pistons first) and have to sell them because the block needed to get decked to much for there use.

[72dart318]

If the block is good. Is there a good performance engine rebuild kit I can buy?

[rumblefish360]

Sure there are. Summit and PAW offer such things.
However, I like to peice together my own needs.
Example;
1 KB pistons and rings
2 77 bearings
3 new oil pump.
4 Fel-Pro gasket set or MP set whatever fits the bill for whatever I'm doing.
(So on and so forth.)
I buy'em and stack'em in the closet till I get all the parts.

[robboski]

looks like these guys have given you some good advice have the block thoroughly cleaned and checked before you buy any parts. Don't forget to replace the tower shaft bushing along with the cam bearings and block plugs, it's also cheap insurance against timing float in the distributor. ARP rod bolts are also great advice. If you want extra added strength in the bottom end, pre '72 318's had forged steel cranks (interally balanced though, correct balancer must be used along with a static balance tc or flywheel if standard) I didn't catch the actual use for this engine but, on one I built I used a '78 block with stock compression (8:1 flat top pistons) topped with 302 casting heads from an 87 passenger car. This combo rendered a compression ratio of 10.2:1 and with the chamber design of the heads I was able to run 87 octane without spark knock. with a mild split dur. split lift cam my '80 half ton got 20mpg and would incinerate the rear tires. However these heads won't pull high rpm's. 6 grand is about max with stock size valves and a good street porting. Edelbrock perf rpm heads on the other hand, have 2.02's and 1.6's with the same chamber config and take alot more cam without all the mods.

[Fast_Eddie]

Take a look at some of the kits Hughes Engines has to offer as well.

I have had nothing but good results with there stuff.

[72dart318]

Brought the block to northern cylinder head in andover tonight. I'am just going to get it bored and honed, new freeze plugs, bearings, all that little stuff. Then bring the rods in later to be resized and fitted with arp rod bolts. Would I need to get it balanced with keith blacks and resized rods I want to get away with the least amount of machining and balancing as possible for my application. My car is going to be used street/strip with nitrous-oxide.

[dwc43]

If it's going to use all that, then don't skimp. Balance the whole assembly and resize all the rods and have then shot peened and magnufluxed to check for cracks. KB's wont stand up to nitro, you need good forged pistons for that stuff or you will be rebuilding it again real soon. Better to lay off the gas and use the KB's for money savings and reliability.

[cutting torch]

You might consider Eagle SIR rods, $239 from Mancini racing. After all of the machine shop costs and ARP bolts, they are very competively priced, and since they are closely weight matched, they may save you money on balancing. Plus, they are new, not 20 or so years old.

torch

[eckertt@epri.co]

When you have the local shop "vat" the block, does this usually do a good job of cleaning all the junk out of the water jackets?

Or is it necessary to go into the passages thru the freeze plug holes with a coat hanger and dig junk out?

What are the best ways to get those water passages really clean for maximum cooling?

Tim
72 Cuda
360/904

[MoparMarcIdaho]

Since the EPA got seroius about protecting us from ourselves they dont hot tank them any longer but put them in a spinning cage with pressure jets with hot soapy water.If the soft plugs are out it should do a good job.If you want to make sure just stick a pressure washer in the holes and see if its clean that way.There is also a sonic vibrator setup you can clamp on a 55 gallon drum full of solvent that loosens paint and dirt extremly well.

[dwc43]

Originally Posted by eckertt@epri.co

When you have the local shop "vat" the block, does this usually do a good job of cleaning all the junk out of the water jackets?

Or is it necessary to go into the passages thru the freeze plug holes with a coat hanger and dig junk out?

What are the best ways to get those water passages really clean for maximum cooling?

Tim
72 Cuda
360/904

It does a pretty good job, but you should always run bottle brushes through your blocks and bottoming taps as well just to make sure. It can never be to clean. Once had a teacher tell me to clean it at least 3 times and when I thought it was perfectly spotless, clean it 3 more times just to make sure. Guess what, you[ll always get something else out of it no matter how many times you clean it.

[72dart318]

Are most likely just get the block done for now. Then bring the eagle rods, and pistons, crank back later to get balanced.

[MoparMarcIdaho]

You will need to purchase pistons first so they can bore to match them.Until then just tap out the cam inserts and throw it outside for some seasoning.Ive heard that cummins actually buries their blocks in sand for 6 monthes or so before machining them.

[cutting torch]

Kieth Black used to put stacks of a dozen or so 426 Hemi blocks outside to weather for about a year before machining and building them.

torch

[MoparMarcIdaho]

The way it was explained to me is rust helps strenghten the cast by making a chemical reaction with molecules imbedded in the mix.

[cutting torch]

I think it works to surface harden the metal. Have you ever used a disk sander to de-rust a piece of steel for welding, and it seems to polish the rust instead of removing it?

torch

[MoparMarcIdaho]

Kinda like hard facing it even

[cutting torch]

I wonder if any machine shops rag about rusty parts because it's hard on thier tooling?

torch

[eckertt@epri.co]

I had thought that block weathering outside was not so much about rust doing something good to harden the surface...

But was about the thermal cycling of the iron heating up and cooling down many times (nocturnal cycle) with the day and night and seasons.

But I am not sure.

Tim Eckert

[eckertt@epri.co]

forgot to add, the thermal cycling would help in relieving residual stresses in the casting.

When large steel pipes are welded together (at least in the nuke industry), the weld area is "stress relieved" by placing electrical heater blankets around the pipe weld for several days at some high temp. I am guessing it is a similar thing to weathering the block.

Tim