Well plans have changed. To build this engine is going to cost me more than what I really wanna spend. I have had a zero deck 355 waiting to be built. It was given to me by a member here and it is a great plat form to build on. it has probe pistons , arp rod bolts . Last winter member 67cutlassfreak ported a set of cylinder heads for me. With the heads and the deck being at zero I will in @ 10.25 to 1 compression. I have a howards cam lying around that will suit the build , I have a nice double roller timing chain that was on the 355 I got for free . I just ordered all the parts and next weekend all my parts go to borowski race engines . the rotating assembly needs to be balance and the crank needs to be polished . Stay tuned for specs. Once assembly starts I will measure everything up and post all clearances. All in all Im going to have about 1200 into this engine. There is probably well over 1500 into the heads but im squaring up the body work on 67cutlassfreak's 67 cutlass so that was horse trading. Im selling the 350 short block and #4 heads and edelbrock intake that where going to be the original build and that's ging towards this build. som arp head bolts would be nice . still a low buck build but its a bit unrealistic as I seem to have the knack for scoring good deals , freebies and trading for stuff. In reality the engine im building would probably run north of 4500.

 

You have had that one a long time. Wasn't the bottom end toast? Make sure to check your clearance with those 2618 forgings while it is apart.

 

I never had a bottom end that was toast. This 355 I'm starting with is mint. My current 355 the cam ate the bearings but that was fixed and its up and running again. Like always I mesure everything out . I had a 350 where I had 4 cracked skirts after 2 seasons of hard use, then there is my current 355 which was used one season the the head gaskets pooped out which then I found the cam issue but everything else was in spec just like new so it was cleaned I put new cam bearings and a new cam and reassembled it all together.

 

Alright I promise to not jump builds lol. Tommorow my stuff goes to the machine shop. I got the last of my parts today . Im having the rotating assembly balanced since I don't have the balancer or flex plate that was with the short block, im having them install the cam bearings , hone and fit the piston pins because they are a bit too tight for my liking , Im also going to have them hone for the new rings along with just polishing the crank. The only parts I don't have are the pushrods which I have to measure. I also have to cut down the valve guide for lift clearance but I bought the tool and will be doing that my self along with file fitting the rings.

 

Nice!

 

Well i got the call from the machine shop and my stuff is done. The good., everything was good to where they did everything i wanted and there was no hiccups . The bad total was 930 bucks . Which in reality is not bad and this was a high end machine shop very reputable knowledgeable and they also happened to be the same machine shop who did the work previously . My plans for cam are still up in the air somewhat but i plan on buying the last bit of parts for my build sometime soon. Im going full roller rockers from scorpion , arp head bolts . This went from low buck to F**k it i got good parts to start with why not bank on it. Hopefully next week i will be picking up my parts and i can slowly start building and posting up specs as i go.

 

930 seems steep but that is a lot of work you had done. Did they balance the crank with the flexplate? This is going to be one tight engine.

 

Yes i had it blanaced with the balancer and flex plate. If a shop says they can do it with out you better run outta there lol.

 

Lol, good to know.
'Bout tired of this sub-zero weather, aren't you?

 

Yeah it sucks . Lucky I been working on my trans in the basement shop and doing other things to keep busy. Longest trans build ever lol . Trainwreck of a core to start with . Just wanna wrap it up so I can have no distractions while I start assembly of this build. Need warm weather to drive the 72 and finish the header install on my dads pontiac.

 

You are learning!
It is difficult to do both; use quality parts and machine work on a shoestring. Yes, you can re-ring and bearing, cheap valve job, beat the snot out of it and have fun. But, to do it correctly with good parts simply costs a certain amount of money, it just does. Hopefully yours will stay together for many years!

 

Well i got some work done on the cylinder heads. I cut all the guides down to have enough clearance for lift. The heads are good up to 550 lift. thats with clearance of .090 ( lunati) While a few other sources say .060 is enough clearance between the retainer and the valve guide. My cam is a 512 lift cam so i have more than enough clearance. I still have to set up spring heights on one cylinder head ( need shims ) and i have to do a final clean up to make sure there is no shrapnel left from cutting the guides. It took me 3 hours to cut the guides . I decided to use a drill with the cutter i got from comp. I did a few with a speed wrench but after doing a few i was confident to use the drill at slow speed.


I hope the links to the pics work let me know if they dont let me know

 

I didn't know you could cut down the guides. How much do you think you took off? Was that 3 hours for one head or both?
Nice work, Copper!

 

That was for both. I cut .150 off all the guides max. It too 3 hrs. Because I have to keep checking each one as I go to make sure I don't cut too much. You gotta take each valve off etc etc.

 

Yeah, too bad you couldn't make some kind of depth gauge or fashion something with a drill-stop. Not sure I'd trust it with my head though.

 

I had nothing going on so saving time was not the goal. The way the cutter cuts you really can't have a stop otherwise you risk jamming up the cutter. On a drill press it would be easy . Just adjust the table so that max. Travlewould stop where you need it.

 

That's true. Most drill presses have a depth stop mechanism. As long as the table is 100% square with the cutter.

 

Ok today was a big day. I picked up my stuff from Borowski race engines . I got a tour of the shop and they even had a wicked little ford on the dyno. They have some really great equipment and as i got showed around the shop i got to see what machines they used and was told what they do . Pretty cool stuff . Now down to buisness on what they did to my engine part. I could not be happier with the quality of their work they went above and beyond what i expected. They balanced my rotating assembly (200) they polished the crank shaft (60) they re fit the pins on the pistons ( 50 ) They also cleaned all 8 pistons and bead blasted the piston head and skirts ( not the ring land area ) that was (80) They also r7r my cam bearings that was (60) The checked the align hone that was (40) they also checked the rods that was another (40) to R&R the pistons was (80)
installing all new freeze plugs including the plugs was ( 50) . I realy wish i did that becasue i had freezeplugs and that was 50 bucks i could have saved but im not gonna complain. Then they honed the block with a TQ. plate (180) and they also did a final cleaning of the block and painted it the correct gold for (80) .

Overall i paid 920 dollars for the machine shop services and couldnt be happier. I honestly have to say i was treated really well , kept up to date , I was greeted at the door and was called by my first name once i told them i was there to pick up my 355 olds I was introduced to all the guys in the shop . Great customer service and the quality of their work from what i see so far looks great ! I got to stand by the dyno cell as they did an 8100 rpm pull on a customers sbf which he was also there .,really cool to watch. For now they parts are sitting at my dad's work. I plan to wrap up my trans build this week and im going to clean and prep my work shop for the build. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN no dust etc etc. The build will be a little slow paced but its becasue i wanna use some parts that will cost some coin but as long as my current 355 holds together for the season i should be able to take my time and buy more parts that will just add to the quality. My current 355 is good but it has had its issues and im not as comfortable as i once was about it., although there is no indications of anything going wrong anymore its in the back of my head. Im taking what i learned with my previous 2 builds and applying it all to this build . The reason for spending money on good parts is i feel more comfortable with my abilities with engines and i dont feel like i will screw up expensive parts and i want this one to last . With that being said who ever is still following along stay tuned in the next few weeks i will start assembly and be posting specs as i go.

 

Exciting news, man. I can't wait to see pics and progress. Good idea to have them paint it as well. This weather wouldn't allow for a decent home paint job and that would have held you up. Let me know if any of my old crap laying around can help you out.

 

Hey, did yo get my PMs? I sent the studs today

 

Yes i did mac sorry i didnt respond i read the pm on the run on my phone and forgot to respond. As for the paint i would have painted it in the basement nice and warm in there. I do my engine and trans work down there as i have cellar doors and just dolly the stuff out lol.

 

Yeah, we've all seen your creepy engine dungeon
You must have some uber ventilation down there if you can spray paint.
no worries about the PMs. I just thought maybe you were full-up, lol.

 

I don't mind the smell of spray paint but I use a blower fan on a window to clear it out.

 

Well I can think of more entertaining ways to kill brain cells than sucking on paint fumes

 

I work in a body shop. I don't think paint fumes can effect me in a mind altering way anymore lol.

 

Lol, that's the problem with building tolerances.

 

Well this week was awesome i got my 7qt oiling system from member joesw31 . Its an old Kenne Bell set up . The pump seems like it has taller gears with what looks like a spacer to allow for taller gears? . Pretty cool set up and its going on this engine. I think is wayyyyy cooler than a milodon pan. I just hope it clears going up my driveway lol.

 

Very cool. Is that a stabilizer bar on the pickup?

 

Gettting very close to buying the last of the parts i need. i found some head gaskets by SCE that will yeild me 10 to 1 compression. IM re using the camshaft that ate my cam bearings on my last 355. I know what everyone is thinking WHY ? well while researching why this issue came about i learned cams get bent about 3 times during the mfg. process. I sent the cam to howards and they fixed it and i did install it on an engine and it turned freely. The specs on that cam are 512/512 lift 227/234 @ .050. Im going with crane roller rockers for 3/8 studs . I think im going to stick with reusing a good set of stock head bolts.

Now as a side question There is a significant price diffrence between an SBF (ford) rocker and an olds application about 100 bucks. I was considering using ford rockers. Are the diffrences in geometry enough to be worried about with my cam specs. At what point does it become an issue. I have realized the roller tips many of us use are a ford/amc/olds application .

 

I have ford 1.65 ratio rockers, they give me .517 at the valve. I used a pushrod checking tool and got pretty nice geometry across the valve stem

 

Supposedly over .540" lift, isn't it the push rod cup angle the problem? I plan on running 1.72 ratio SBF Scorpion rockers.

 

Guys this build is still going on lol. Got busy with side work , doing body work to member 67cutlassfreak's 67 cutlass , house projects . I have not even gotten the 72 out yet for a nice drive just quick romps around the industrial areas by pop's shop. But any how This build is still going on i have been focusing my efforts to saving some money . Current 355 thats in the 72 is running real strong so there is no real rush to finish this engine up.

 

We're patient. But hurry the "____" up!

 

Ok so tonight i got a nice surprise. I was helping my friend rebuild the diff for his c-10 and we where talkin about selling his 302 parts for a 347 build on ebay . He mentioned he had roller rockers and i said i wanted to check em out. i said i would buy them and he thought about it and just let me have them. They are 302 3/8 1.6 ratio stainless full roller rockers. They are mystery ebay brand but they where free and look nice. Hopefully they work out. i plan on starting on the assembly here soon now that i have enough parts to get the ball rolling. I have to file fit the rings and thats an all day affair pretty much . After that its countless hours of measuring , then final clean and prep then assembly and all that fun stuff.

 

Cool keep us posted on your progress.

 

well today was the day i got motivated and set up shop in the garage to start the build. I measured my main bearing clearances and piston to skirt , spent 3 hours on that lol. So here goes.

Mains on the vertical
#1 .0025
#2.0035
#3.0035
#4.0035
#5.0035

Piston to wall

#1 .005
#2 .005
#3 .005
#4 .005
#5 .005
#6 .005
#7 .005
#8 .0045

So far so good. Looks like the machine shop did a good job . Next step is to measure rod bearing clearances , and thrust surface clearance , . Then i get to file fit the rings. Its a paint stakingly time consuming process but i think if i can do a few sets a night i should have it done over a few days. Im in no rush to finish this build i have been at it for 3 years almost and its finally coming together.

 

They do?. I didn't know that, could you point me to where I can learn about this please?.

Roger.

 

Well I had Howards cams tell me that, then Rocket racing who installed my cam bearings also told me that its true, then I belive cutlassefi also agreed that the cams get bent during the grinding process.

 

Sounds like good authority to me.
Can someone point me to a website with more information. I may be none the wiser but I will be better informed.

Roger.

 

dont know about a specific website but im also on yellowbullet .com and its been mentioned and bent cams could be repaird at home with v blocks. although i have access to a lathe so before i install the cam i will be checking it for run out.