Jan I think this is why hes getting opinions from the board. I have his 482 shortblock, he already has a lifter girdle. He also knows my recommendation for his power level. gary
Here is what I know... Keep it simple, lifter bore support is insurance, nothing else. The area is stronger than it looks. I an no fan of epoxies and putties, I feel the effectiveness of those products is in question, and they don't fail because more than likely they were not needed in the first place. Oil return gets unnecessarily complex and expensive, with fittings and external lines. I think the major benefit of the TA lifter bore girdle is actually tying the front and rear of the block together, to try and limit that movement, which is the fundamental root cause of almost all block failures. That is the biggest reason I favor the TA piece. Open valve spring pressures above 600lbs is my benchmark for a lifter bore girdle.. I think I have put 3 in so far. Big solid roller cams with godzilla valve springs, in an iron block. Not many folks doing that anymore. If I build an iron block bracket motor for myself, it would certainly have a flat tappet solid lifter cam, the whole idea of staying with iron is keeping the cost down, for a day in, day out bracket engine. JW
TA Girdle. I had 2 rods let go at 6800 and they beat the snot out of everything they could. But the TA Girdle kept all the lifters in place. No lifter bores were even cracked. Around 650-700 lift.
I love solid rollers with Godzilla springs,but I will use hydraulic rollers for the mild and resto applications. I was never a fan of super-glue in the lifter valley,but I did see a very serious BBB,running 8:50’s on alcohol,with the valley done that way,and it’s living fine.
Wow!!! That is a busy lift valley! I hope there is an easier way? I got to believe you can achieve longevity, without going to the above extremes??
nickbuickgs, I have looked at the pics you posted several more times. I have a question. If you don't mind sharing? How much of the reinforcement in that lifter valley is welded in??
I made it T shaped support 1/4 with grade 8 bolts between each lifter Boss . First I cut sheet metal And Devon to hold epoxie , then ground the first layer and set the Truss in Devon . The support is cut around each lifter bore . 2 3/8 24 bolts at the ends . The heads Of the bolts on the support sit on the floor of the lifter valley between each boss . Same theory as rebar in concrete I would suppose . Block is fully filled and Girdled . Heavy !
That is very interesting. I had some of it figured out, but was way off on the rest. Thanks for sharing.