Hot 340/418 street/strip build

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Mean416

Mean416

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I really need to get this put together. The finished block has been sitting under my workbench for.... probably a year and a half now.

Anyway, finally getting some time to work on it. It's a 340 block, 0.40 over. So that makes for a pretty big bore size of 4.080. This was originally planned as a NA build and since I have all the parts and pieces for it, I'm going to keep it NA. I'll gap the rings suitably in case I decide it needs some spray.

Key points:

4" scat crank and scat I beams
Icon flat tops
I have a pretty stout FT solid cam I'll probably use.
I have ootb Edelbrock heads that really need @pittsburghracer to work over. We'll see if I can scrape budget for that.
I have all the other stuff that guys tend to run.
Have a very sweet set of hedman hussler headers to go with it.
Current converter is a 4200, may need to have it reworked a bit for the combo.

Anyway, hopefully I can get some momentum on this because I'd really like to have a driving Mopar again.

PXL_20240519_195216552.MP~3.jpg
 
That will make a nice build with those components. Heads make a big difference just some bowl and port work goes a long way. 65'
 
Mean416 said:
I really need to get this put together. The finished block has been sitting under my workbench for.... probably a year and a half now.

Anyway, finally getting some time to work on it. It's a 340 block, 0.40 over. So that makes for a pretty big bore size of 4.080. This was originally planned as a NA build and since I have all the parts and pieces for it, I'm going to keep it NA. I'll gap the rings suitably in case I decide it needs some spray.

Key points:

4" scat crank and scat I beams
Icon flat tops
I have a pretty stout FT solid cam I'll probably use.
I have ootb Edelbrock heads that really need @pittsburghracer to work over. We'll see if I can scrape budget for that.
I have all the other stuff that guys tend to run.
Have a very sweet set of hedman hussler headers to go with it.
Current converter is a 4200, may need to have it reworked a bit for the combo.

Anyway, hopefully I can get some momentum on this because I'd really like to have a driving Mopar again.

View attachment 1716254010
Click to expand...

I appreciate the confidence in me but after I finish up the two customers sets of heads I have to do and an intake or two I’m going to concentrate on my backlog. I may take on some intake work next winter but that’s probably about it. Total burnout right now.
 
pittsburghracer said:
I appreciate the confidence in me but after I finish up the two customers sets of heads I have to do and an intake or two I’m going to concentrate on my backlog. I may take on some intake work next winter but that’s probably about it. Total burnout right now.
Click to expand...
Yeah I have been keeping up. I figured as much. Maybe you getting rested up will coincide with my budget opening up.
 
That's going to be a nice piece! What are the cam specs of your solid flat tappet and what are you intending on putting it into?
 
pittsburghracer said:
I appreciate the confidence in me but after I finish up the two customers sets of heads I have to do and an intake or two I’m going to concentrate on my backlog. I may take on some intake work next winter but that’s probably about it. Total burnout right now.
Click to expand...
You need to go buy you a ho. Or two.
 
Mean416 said:
I really need to get this put together. The finished block has been sitting under my workbench for.... probably a year and a half now.

Anyway, finally getting some time to work on it. It's a 340 block, 0.40 over. So that makes for a pretty big bore size of 4.080. This was originally planned as a NA build and since I have all the parts and pieces for it, I'm going to keep it NA. I'll gap the rings suitably in case I decide it needs some spray.

Key points:

4" scat crank and scat I beams
Icon flat tops
I have a pretty stout FT solid cam I'll probably use.
I have ootb Edelbrock heads that really need @pittsburghracer to work over. We'll see if I can scrape budget for that.
I have all the other stuff that guys tend to run.
Have a very sweet set of hedman hussler headers to go with it.
Current converter is a 4200, may need to have it reworked a bit for the combo.

Anyway, hopefully I can get some momentum on this because I'd really like to have a driving Mopar again.

View attachment 1716254010
Click to expand...
Sounds like a stout build. Whatchya puttin it in?
 
TT5.9mag said:
I’m in for this one. What do you expect out of it?
Click to expand...
Would be ideal if it can drive. That's my goal right now :rofl:

With the heads being the basically stock I'm definitely airflow limited. But that plus spray should still be plenty fast.
 
Plymouth 65 said:
That will make a nice build with those components. Heads make a big difference just some bowl and port work goes a long way. 65'
Click to expand...
Yeah I know. It's basically... do I want to have another 100 HP or a couple grand less in the bank account. Right now the money is needed so the hundo will have to wait.
 
Still should make decent power, aren't people getting 450-475 hp out of ootb eddies with the right parts.
 
I can vouch that the ootb edelbrock heads with a good valve job work very well with a four inch stroke. I could see the aforementioned bowl blend helping out, though!
 
Garrett Ellison said:
I can vouch that the ootb edelbrock heads with a good valve job work very well with a four inch stroke. I could see the aforementioned bowl blend helping out, though!
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I just worry about messing things up. Honestly ootb the bowls looked well blended. I don't want to play with material removal as it's just not a science I'm familiar with. And I know for sure it's something I could easily make less power from.
 
And like you said main goal is get the car running again, can always go down the more power rabbit hole later.
 
So my next order of business is to prep the block for assembly. My current plan is this:

1. I need to get out the dial bore gauges and double check piston bore clearances. Same for mains.
2. I'll debur and smooth the oil drain backs.
3. I'll test install the cam just to make sure it spins freely. New cam bearings were installed by the machine shop but it does appear that they were reamed so hopefully that nightmare won't play out.
4. From there, I'll break out the solvent sprayer and cleanup the block with minimal spirits. Then mask everything up and paint the external surfaces. I have single stage acrylic urethane in a gray color, I sourced from summit. Going with gray so I can easily see any leaks in the future. Plus just wanna do something a little different.
5. Still on the fence as to whether or not I'll paint the valve covers and heads.

What are you guys using for internal engine paint? Would be nice to paint it with something that makes the oil drain back more quickly.
 
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Mean416 said:
So my next order of business is to prep the block for assembly. My current plan is this:

1. I need to get out the dial bore gauges and double check piston bore clearances. Same for mains.
2. I'll debur and smooth the oil drain backs.
3. I'll test install the cam just to make sure it spins freely. New cam bearings were installed by the machine shop but it does appear that they were reamed so hopefully that nightmare won't play out.
4. From there, I'll break out the solvent sprayer and cleanup the block with minimal spirits. Then mask everything up and paint the external surfaces. I have single stage acrylic urethane in a gray color, I sourced from summit. Going with gray so I can easily see any leaks in the future. Plus just wanna do something a little different.
5. Still on the fence as to whether or not I'll paint the valve covers and heads.

What are you guys using for internal engine paint? Would be nice to paint it with something that makes the oil drain back more quickly.
Click to expand...

Do you already have micrometers? I’ve seen his use calipers to set a bore gauge but I’ve never been in any machine shop (automotive or general machine shop) that would allow that much inaccuracy in measuring.

As for painting blocks I’ve never done it.

I did grind and polish my TA block to a mirror finish but I’d paint one before I did that nonsense again.

The upshot is I’ve never been able to prove (or disprove) that all that polishing or painting does anything but lighten you wallet and cover you with grinding ****.

I’ve asked a couple of tribologists I trust about it and they both said when the block is wet with oil any oil returning to the pan is moving over the oil already on the surface so there is not much friction there.

You can and probably should paint it IF it makes you feel better. I don’t know what a quart of glyptal costs today or if a quart would do a lifter valley and all the other exposed surfaces.

Another thing to consider is windage in the engine. It’s not just in the crank case. It’s moving all around the entire engine.

I would think any time, money and effort spent would be worth it to reduce and/or control windage.
 
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Newbomb Turk said:
Do you already have micrometers? I’ve seen his use calipers to set a bore gauge but I’ve never been in any machine shop (automotive or general machine shop) that would allow that much inaccuracy in measuring.
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With what machine shops charge for machine work I would like to think that I don't have to double check their work. With all of the machine work I had done in the past there was only one time that I didn't trust the work and that was caused by them balancing the rods by grinding on the rod bolts instead of the balance pad. I brought it to their attention and they wouldn't do anything about it so I made sure that I told everyone that I could I thought that was the best thing to do as word of mouth advertising can make or break a business.
 
Dan the man said:
With what machine shops charge for machine work I would like to think that I don't have to double check their work. With all of the machine work I had done in the past there was only one time that I didn't trust the work and that was caused by them balancing the rods by grinding on the rod bolts instead of the balance pad. I brought it to their attention and they wouldn't do anything about it so I made sure that I told everyone that I could I thought that was the best thing to do as word of mouth advertising can make or break a business.
Click to expand...

Machinists are human. We make mistakes.

If you want to assemble engines you better damn well know how to correctly measure things to verify it is what it should be.

For example, let’s say I have a crank and I want .0023 clearance. But I check it myself and I get .0039!

Do you let it go even though that’s almost DOUBLE the clearance you thought you wanted? Thats HUGE.

Or do I stop and start going through the process of validating the tools and methods used?

One way or the other the end builder is responsible for knowing what’s going together and how.

You measure EVERYTHING.
 
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