Tberg725

Way off topic but anyone else see that vette smack the wall in that vid? a little slower an that guy coulda smacked into ya

redpony88

yea, would have made me count my lucky stars i was faster. ouch

blk40th

yea i have that exact engine setup sitting in my garage, i called outrageous mustangs 2 see how much itd cost to get it tuned. they said about 310 or so at the wheels.

Portmaster

Some questions and advice. If you stud the mains You will have to have the block line honed and the caps machined for the girdle why use the stock pistons in an cyl that will have some wear and taper. Why not bore the block while the other machine work is done and throw some fresh slugs in there. Better ring seal=more power.

When you say "Stud the heads" are you going to stud the head bolts or the rocker arm studs? If you are putting in studs instead of bolts beware that the heads may not make it out without yanking the engine out of the car. I use the ARP necked down bolts in mine for this reason.

That 275/60/15 it a tall tire. You will bring your effective gear ratio back into the 355-373 range which will bog that 302 unless you smack it right out of the hole.

Portmaster

5.0 blocks flex and flex cause cap walk, cap walk splits the block as the main caps move around. Anything you can do to tie the caps together makes it stronger. By intalling valley girdles it also reduces flex in the block. While opinions vary on this subject amoung engine builders I'm a firm beleiver. Ford was having a problem with flex in the head of the 4.6 mod motor in the cam area. They tied the caps together and solved the problem. Just my opinion but I wouldn't build a 350hp+ sbf without it. It's the same principle as putting subframe connectors and strut tower braces on. Reduce the flex. You can't stop it but you can sure make it stronger.

Portmaster

A lot depends on how you make the power. Nitrous makes for super extreme cyl pressure and as each cyl gets that big load that load gets transfer form the pistons to the rods then the crank. As that engine fires one cyl after another that block is in a steady flexing motion and then PoP Goes the Weasel. A High power natural aspirated motor wont flex as much because it isn't making 800+ ft bls of Torque when the nitrous hits. HP is just a mathimatical figure calculated from torque and rpm.

My 347 makes around 500lbsft of torque. With a 200 hp shot of Nitrous it would have more that 1200lbsft torque if you smacked it right out of the hole. Thats what splits the block so often. The block has a weakness so you have to build around it.

Rajun_Cajun

OK...
I dont have the money for new pistons. The machine work is already done, minus the align hone. Yes, I am using head studs. I know that the 275/60 is a tall tire, I have 4.30's in right now. I had planned on using 4.10s and using that tire, but if its not enough gear for that tire, I will stick with my 4.30s. I usually leave at 5000 with slicks. When I ran it with DR's, I was leaving at 4000 if I remember correctly. I have only made 2 runs with DR's. I may just hold out a little longer and try and find a CHP stroker kit floating around the web.
I'm not woried about the machine work. My cousin builds race cars in Houston so he has many connections. This is his car and the kind of stuff he builds...so Im pretty sure he knows what he's doing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQnUU...eature=related


Primetime...
I think it will make over 310, and if it doesnt, then thats what the juice is for. I made 280 on the nose with my AFR 165's, E-cam, Edelbrock Performer Intake, and on a 160,000 mile stocker that was/is still burning oil like no other. Im sure that bigger heads, bigger cam, bigger intake, and a carb will get me to my goal. Like I said, its all how you build it. I may skip on the AFR heads bc they are about $1700 with the nitrous port. I can get some Fox Lake or TEA heads that flow more, and are only $150 more.

Portmaster

I'm just a wee bit confused here so I'd like to clear it up. You asked for suggestions and what people thought. I was trying to contribute by bringing up my concerns had I been putting together this engine. You say the machine work has been done on the block minus the line hone. So if it's still stock bore I'm assuming no machine work has been done at all. Cleaning a block and honing the cylinders isn't machining the block so obviously I'm confused.

I'm just not getting something because you show a clip of a Big Block Camaro and tell me you are not worried about the machine work? What does your cousin in Huston who builds race cars have to do with the engine you are building? How is he connected to what you are doing. I really really mean it whan I tell you I really don't understand what you are trying to say.

Now you are the one who ask for the suggestions so I'll leave you with one more. Build a strong foundation before adding to the top. You don't want to build a nice house on top of a sand dune and you don't want to build a Nitrous fed motor without some good foundation. I'd save a few dollars along the way and wait to put some good rods and pistons in it along with some good machine work before I spent the money on the heads. Thats just me though.

If you rush through this because you can't swing a set of pistons right now Id put it on hold until I could. Way to many people trash good parts as a result of being rushed to get out to the track. I had one car it took me 4 years to build. The results were worth the wait. The car I have now I set myself an 18 month goal from purchace to completion. I'm in month 11 and a little ahead. I left the car sitting, only starting it to move it around until I got the engine built, Trans ready and rearend ready to install. I only brought the car in and put it on the lift about a month ago stripping it down. My point being is my advice would be to slow down and do it right.

It's no fun to make three or four passes in your car before you slam it into the wall because the bottom end turned lose into an oil down. Like I said I was a little confused by your responce and I may be hearing it all the wrong way and if thats the case I'd like to know. Sometimes it's tough to be specific in a one dementional format and often things get misunderstood.

Rajun_Cajun

OK, I posted the video bc my cousin is helping me build the motor. More or less he is going to teach me. I just showed the video bc someone who builds cars like that, obviously knows what they are doing, and if that ASE pic in your avatar actually holds true, then I will definately listen to your advice. Didnt mean to confuse you. You are ABSOLUTLEY right about taking the time to do it right. I am a little bit ahead of myself on this. I guess Im just eager to get it back on the track. The car has been down for the last 4 months due to blown head gaskets. I was waiting till I got the bottom end done to actually tear it down. I guess I can sell the heads and use that money to get a new rotating assembly. It seems like everytime I turn around, I find something else that I didnt take into consideration. Thanks for the advice.

Portmaster

Thanks for clearing it up and that would prob be someone good to get lessons from. I was just confused as to the relation. Yes the ASE thing is true and then some. Everybody has to start somewhere and like most us we stated out overlooking critical point that didn't seem relevant and we ended up with a pile of worthless parts. It's great you have your cousin to help you along and with his help getting it done you should be fine. Best of luck with it.