The Speedfoos Build Thread - New Vid - 30 August (Page 55)

[speedfoos]

OK, so I've hemmed. And I've hawwed. And I've gotten advice from about 5 different sources. And I've decided on my ring gap.

Jeff Evans (www.evans-tuning.com) recommended .006 and .009 X bore size for the top and bottom rings. That bottom seems a little high IMO.

Laskey Racing (www.laskeyracing.com) recommends .006 and .0065, but they typically build 4 cylinder drag engines with GT40s stuffing air down their throat.

JE and SRP recommend for Circle Track / Drag Racing setups a gap of .0055 and .0057, and a .005/.0055 for street moderatoe turbo.

I'm going to take it down a step and go with .005 and .0055 for top and bottom This is the setting that Wiseco recommends for moderate street turbo / nitrous. This equates to a gap of .015" on the top ring and .016" on the bottom ring. I'd rather err on the tight side, rather than the loose side.

[nineteenDC5]

Originally Posted by speedfoos

Naw. I like welding. I've got a nice little Lincoln gas-fed MIG setup waiting for me in the states when I get back. I'll probably just use that. Although I did see a couple decent TIG welders on craigslist that got my fingers itching. I do want to learn how to TIG weld.... I'm kind of a DIY sadist anyway.

Im a welder myself and you have to use the TIG machine to weld that mani. TIG welding is the hardest of them all cuz you have to use both hands and a foot. But since you are Clint you prolly already knew that

[speedfoos]

Originally Posted by nineteenEM2

But since you are Clint you prolly already knew that

I don't like the cut of your jib son.

I'm talking about using a MIG on the downpipe, not the mani. The mani is fine, it's the DP that has a 2.5" flange on it and needs a 3" flange.

Ring gap is set, didn't have to file them down at all. It's close enough for me anyway, if a little loose. Not a one of them are over .020 without gapping them. While I would prefer them to be a little tighter, this is within an acceptable range for the HP goals I want. Plus if I wanted them tighter, I would have to order new rings and I'm not going to do that at this point. This falls under the heading of "Close enough for government work".

[speedfoos]

Hmm. My help is almost an hour late. Looks like I'm doing this install by myself. As if that's anything new.

[Steven]

aw, that is beat man...kick your help in the nuts when it gets there..

[speedfoos]

Brump ba bah! Today was another good day. Two good things happened.

1. I found some sucker to buy my truck for $700. He is also going to make sure my car passes inspection next week. I'm still taking a helluva loss as it bluebook's at its lowest condition of $4100, but fuck it.

2. The rotating assembly is installed.

Take a walk with me down memory lane, kids.

Here's a nice comparison of why I'm doing this instead of just putting the stock rotating assembly back in. It's like comparing how sexy Steve is (on the left), to me (on the right). There is no comparison.





My girl is getting ready to be stuffed like a Thanksgiving Day turkey. But this is better, because it's made of metal. There is no such thing as too much metal.




Now here's a good reason to have children.




You're big enough to steal their toys and convert them to useful mechanicking appliances. This is a (new) sand bucket that I've filled with 30 weight to dip my pistons in before installing them in the block. Kids are suckers. They're so small and weak.





Don't yank my crank.




OK, it's time to install the pistons. First, get yourself a pencil or something like that to run through the wrist pin to suspend the piston in the cylinder above the rings. This way you can still get the ring compressor around the rings and still have enough skirt above the cylinder to get things square. This is the only time when you want a little skirt showing. Most times they should just be flipped up....




OK. About to seat the first piston. I'm really nervous...




Bam bam! In and done! I actually chipped the edge of the 2nd compression ring on the 1st piston, but used an old one (gap was still good) as a replacement. I'm sure it will be fine, they only had about 1500 miles on them.




Moving right along. The other two pistons went in really easy. Flippo the blocko over. I cut myself a little because the bottom of the block is really sharp. Everyone should feel sorry for me and send me chocolates and flowers.




Hahahaha! I'm sooooo kidding! That's assembly lube! You guys (and gal, because I think there is still one here who hasn't been scared off) are such suckers! I'm so smart and you are so dumb!

OK Foos. You're 32 years old. Quit it.

Anyway, the best thing I did was this little guy. I made an MS Powerpoint representation of my crankshaft, labeled which bearings go where, and put the the torque specs and tightening sequences on it. Nice, easy quick reference.





First half of the bearings are in (yes I lubed this side up later).




And the rods are torqued down. If you don't have a rod stretch gauge (like me), Crower recommends torquing and loosening them 4 times to get the proper stretch. Sequence is a two-stage of 10ft/lbs then 40 ft/lbs. Took a little while, but I'm sure it's worth it.





That being said, some torque specs are for suckas. Apparently the oil pump bolts should only be torqued to 8.7 ft/lbs. Well, I never bothered to check and thought 20 ft/lbs sounded good.

I broke 4 out of 5 of them.

Weak ass bolts.





My girl's girdle is strapped on and ready to go. I skipped photos of the plastigage because my fingers were all greasy and my garage camera's battery was dead (can't find charger). There were taken with a camera phone, and I didn't want to get it too greasy.





I will only have to extract one of the pump bolts tomorrow. The rest of them snapped, but did not separate. So here is how my baby's guts are going to sleep tonight. I just rested the oil pan over her since she's a little bashful.

Thanks for coming out!

[TransformedBG]

Wait you practiced installing pistons? LOLz

[Zack]

Cute, should be fun when it's all running.

Clint do you have the Quaife LSD?

[speedfoos]

Originally Posted by TransformedBG

Wait you practiced installing pistons? LOLz

Hell yeah I did. I have never done it before and wasn't about to fuck up my bore again and the new rings. And yes Glen, this is the same as the update on d-series, but a with a tweak or two here and there. Work smarter, not harder.

Originally Posted by Zack

Clint do you have the Quaife LSD?

Not yet Zack. That's on my wishlist, but down a little bit.

[Jza]

fuckin' cool, dude.