67/68/69 cuda dilemma

[moparmat2000]

Temps finally dropping to reasonable amount, and rain. We will be getting rain for 6 days. Of course this has to occur as I go back on shift at my job for 8 days straight starting this coming tuesday. So, i may install the main floorpan, and console mounting brackets this weekend while the temps are in the 80s. It's all drilled to fit. I just have to pin it, zap it, and grind it.

 

[moparmat2000]

Stopped by the machine shop, and got a wonderful surprise. My rotating assembly is balanced. Finally got its parole from machine shop jail. It's been a bit over 1 year. To be fair though, this guy is a good friend of mine, works by himself, is the best machinest in town which is why his shop is over flowing with work. Plus this car isnt ready for the engine to be dropped in yet anyways. The complete job along with the block work, and an align hone of the crank end of the block ran me $1100. I felt that was waaay more than fair, so I didnt pester the guy, and patiently waited. This is gonna make a nice hot 318. I have a 68 340 cam, and will be using a set of reconditioned 302 heads.

Heres the rundown
Hot tank block
Align bore
Install core plugs
Install cam bearings
Install distributor drive bushing
Torqueplate bore and hone cylinders
Shave the deck to square it up
Final cleaning of block
Balance rotating assembly
Polish crank journals.

All that's left is the torque plate final hone job, decking, cleaning, cam bearing and core plug install. He prefers to install core plugs before final honing with torqueplate to make the block "stressed" the way it will be when assembled.

The forged 340 crank needed a lot drilled and removed from both ends to get it to balance. He said my Eagle rods were right on the money as far as weight and balance and needed nothing removed from them. Ditto for the KB167 pistons

 

[moparmat2000]

BTW, I am not a woodworker by any means, but I also made some crank storage blocks out of some wood 2x4 cast offs , and a jig saw. Still in the low 100s in the afternoons. Come on fall , come on fall. Cant wait till it's in the 70s.

 

[barbee6043]

Well yea! IT will cool down in Tx. about Nov.!!!! OK up North where you are maybe Oct. 20 or so!
Wish the machinist would work for that down here!

 

[moparmat2000]

Well yea! IT will cool down in Tx. about Nov.!!!! OK up North where you are maybe Oct. 20 or so!
Wish the machinist would work for that down here!

Normally that would be a $2200 job minimum. The dude is a very good friend, plus I dont bug him about it like everybody else does with their junque. It took a long time, but he knew the car isnt ready anyways, so no rush.

 

[DartOS]

Matt, I'd be careful storing a crankshaft laying down for any length of time. Unless it's in a controlled environment. Temperature fluctuations can cause havoc.

 

[moparmat2000]

Matt, I'd be careful storing a crankshaft laying down for any length of time. Unless it's in a controlled environment. Temperature fluctuations can cause havoc.

Hi DartoS thanks for the heads up. I normally store em standing up, but have been told that's an old wifes tale. I have a nice balanced forged SBM stroker crank from Ohio Crankshaft that's been sitting that way laying down in its shipping box for years. I will contact my machinest and ask his advice on this, and report back.

 

[moparmat2000]

One of the things I have been stop and go on this project is the smaller parts that cannot be replaced with new repops. The center console ash tray bezel is one such item. I think a number of pages back I showed that I sandblasted it and filled the pits with aluminum JB weld. I finally took the time to get it sanded smooth, and primered with epoxy primer. I will likely just paint it a dull aluminum color. However there was an issue with the spring clip for the ashtray being loose. This was bothering me because I had to figure out a way to permanently fix this problem. Follow along as I show how I fixed it.

For starters I measured where its pressed together, to see if I had enough room for my fix.

Then I carefully filed off the press rivet to remove the spring clip, leaving just enough of a ring in the pot metal sticking up to locate the clip.

I used a #40 drill or .098" drill and drilled the center offset slightly outboard to not drill into the side of the casting.

I used a #3 monel steel button head aircraft rivet, and stainless steel washer, along with JB weld to glue it back together.

You can see in the final pic, I came very close to coming through the side of the casting.

 

[moparmat2000]

DartoS, I finally got a reply from my machinest on laying crankshaft down or standing em up for storage, and if they bend lying them down. As I figured its an old wives tale. Machine shops stand them up for storage to take up less space. My machinest has been doing this type of work for 40 years. He said if you have a crank that's bent from laying it down, then it's a junk casting or forging from the get go and should be scrapped. He has never, ever had any bent cranks from them being layed on their sides. Even ones that have been stored on their sides for years are just fine.

 

[moparmat2000]

Also the failing lifter issues that's been happening a lot lately, there is only 1 solution to this with flat tappets. That is to only use Hylift Johnson lifters. Only way to get them is through Isky Cams. They have partnered with Johnson on these. The Isky small block mopar PN: 3912AHY quiet power lifter is made by Johnson in Muskegon Mich. Summit sells these $235 set of 16. These are the ONLY U.S. made lifters you can buy anymore. My machinest was able to get me a set of these the other day.

 

[moparmat2000]

Well I didnt get around to the final sandblast work. Weather changed pretty fast, and the good weather days didnt line up well with my off days. I am doing my block 4 corner mock up. Then some oiling mods, gun brush the oiling holes, and it's back to the machine shop for the final decking. We are looking to have .003"-.004" below TDC.

 

[moparmat2000]

I cleaned the living snot out of that crank before setting it in place for the mock up. Wiped the bearings down with paper towel and MEK. before putting 30W on them to assemble and mock this thing up. I am so dejected right now its unbelievable. Brand new Mahle Clevite bearings and theres score marks on them. I can get the edge of my fingernail to catch on them. First 2 are rod bearings, second 2 are mains.

The thrust bearing had some small specks embedded in it. I cleaned the snot out of this thing before setting it. Now I'm wondering if I need to just order new bearings, or when assembly time comes just clean it all and send it bearings and all. 4th pic they are more like tiny pin pick marks that I enlarged on my phone. This just pissed me off.

I deal with bouts of depression, however I was getting pretty excited to get to where I can put this thing together. I had not felt this way about this stuff in a long while. Now I am feeling like I want to just say **** it and just tap out all over again.

 

[JDMopar]

I kind of skimmed back over the posts but didn't see that the crank had been turned. If I missed it, and it was turned, check around the oil holes in the journals to see if they were chamfered or not. That could be a possibility of something that would dig into your bearings. Hang in there, you'll get it straightened out.

 

[Super-Cuda]

Matt,

Not sure if you know but there are dozens of us following your build and are simply amazed with your skills.

**** happens to everyone , even the best machinists in the world. Talk your friend who did the crank for you. I'm betting he will be more than sympathetic and help you out. That's what friends do..

In the meantime, walk away from it for a bit, clear your head and think out a solution to the problem the way you do it for everything else you have done on this project.

It will come to you.

As JD Mopar said, hang in there, your attention to detail is remarkable and we are all waiting to see the result of your mind-blowing build.

Cheers!!

 

[moparmat2000]

Not sure who all is following, but it's been pretty hard mentally to get into the swing of things lately. Then something like this happens it gets upsetting, and just easier to close the door to the shop and leave it for another 6 months.

Crank was prev cut, and chamfered. All he did was polish the journals. As stated everything was cleaned with MEK and paper towels, and blown out. At this point I'm wondering if I should just use the bearings and go with it.

 

[4spdragtop]

I had same thing happen to me with my build. 1 bearing only. It happens Matt. Your attn to detail is incredible, so do you really think we believe you when you say to just "run it"?
Like mentioned get the machinist to dbl check the crank and bearings.

 

[moparmat2000]

If its minor, and wont hurt anything, I'd run it. Just need to know if that's acceptable for a mild street engine.

 

[B-i-n-g-o]

Don't blame you for being aggravated. When I joined, this is one of threads I read through, especially impressed where you took hack parts and made them RIGHT ON! Hang tough, you'll do it with this, too.

 

[moparmat2000]

This isnt the machinists fault. I blew out the oil holes and wiped it with MEK then assembled it. I was only doing a mock up. Figured it would be ok for this. I should have gun brushed the holes. This was all my fault. Now I'm kicking my own *** over it. Think I'm gonna white scotch brite it, and assemble it and send it when it gets back from decking. After I clean the ever loving snot out of all the oil passages. It all rides on a thin film of pressurized oil. Should be ok.

 

[JDMopar]

If you're going to use a 90-degree oil filter adapter, be sure to take the pipe plug out of the end of it and brush thru there too. I soaked the piss out of mine and just knew I had it clean. Looking at that plug got the best of me and I took it out to look. You shoulda seen the crap that was caked in that passage!

 

[moparmat2000]

I have an aluminum 90° one from a fifth ave. I will try to get that steel plug out. If I cannot I will see if my machinest friend can heat it up and extract it. Then I will put a stainless steel plug back in.

 

[moparmat2000]

Sonny drew this one.

 

[Stephen Hotz]

Sorry to hear about the bearings but little by little it gets done. Keep up the good work.

 

[moparmat2000]

Ok well I went back out there today for a few minutes and since nothing is run in and developed wear patterns, the mains are going to stay. There isnt a whole lot of stress on those like there is on connecting rods.I cleaned the 4 sets of rod bearing surfaces and swapped 2 bearing halves around.

Almost for sure I might want to buy 1 pair of rod bearings. The rest the defects on the others are so minor and almost non existant I cannot get a finger nail in them. I have 4 new pairs that are still in boxes since I only mocked up the 4 corners. I will show these worst 2 to my machinest tomorrow morning. I have a pair in rock auto shopping cart, along with shocks for my pickup. So if I need to swap the one pair out, I will get a pair, and then these get mounted on the wall as a reminder of what NOT to do.

 

[moparmat2000]

I went ahead and gun brushed out all the oil passages after doing 3 minor oiling mods my machinest friend recommended to do with the oil filter feed area, and on the rear main cap where the oil pump meets. I used some MEK and my brushes. I scrubbed and dipped the brushes to rinse them until the MEK got dirty, then dumped it, and refilled the bucket, and I'd gun brush the same holes and dip and rinse the brush until I could do this and get nothing but clean liquid in the bucket. It's going back to the machinest for decking, and the cam bearing install. He said he is going to gun brush and blow out all the oil holes again after he is done. I will still do it again when it returns home for final assembly. I also removed and smoothed out some more areas of casting flash on the outside of the block. Second 2 last pic was a spot before I cleaned the casting up.