401 Build Continued..

Discussion in ''Da Nailhead' started by Bigpig455, Mar 17, 2019.

  1. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    back at work on the 401 this weekend...

    Got the front cover on (with new seal), oil pump hung, balancer on and torqued...

    All we're waiting on is the right gasket for the oil filter housing (WTF felpro?), Oil pan baffle fab and the heads...2 years later, its starting to actually look like an engine again!

    The it's off to the dyno, maybe early April?

    upload_2019-3-17_8-47-5.jpeg
     
  2. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    After you bolted in the oil pump have you checked to make sure it's not binding & it rotates freely????
     
  3. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    yep, thanks Tommy. I didnt rotate it much cause its packed with Vasoline...
     
  4. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    Bottom end buttoned up....

    upload_2019-3-30_21-57-2.jpeg
     
  5. TrunkMonkey

    TrunkMonkey Well-Known Member

    So, it's an Australian Nailhead? o_O
     
    Houmark likes this.
  6. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    yeah, but the oil seems to stack up in the heads?
     
    TrunkMonkey likes this.
  7. gs66

    gs66 Silver Level contributor

    We’re going to watch you run in MI.
     
  8. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    Come on down to the pits and say hi! I'll give you the tour!
     
  9. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    Rhett,

    That pan is kinda low. I would install some kind of a skid plate to help protect it. I know you will be careful, but all it takes is once!!!!

    Tom T.
     
  10. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    well If I estimated right, it's even with the crossmember and still got the exhaust below it. If I guessed wrong, then it's gonna make a hell of a mess!
     
  11. Thumper (aka greatscat)

    Thumper (aka greatscat) Well-Known Member

    Could you use new rockers, or adjustable pushrods, or new valve springs?
     
  12. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    I wouldn’t turn them down....I’ll PM you...
     
  13. Looking good, I am at about the same place in my Build after a 1-1/2 year break. My heads are back on but not my timing cover or remaining Valve train parts. Good Job !
     
  14. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    Thanks, just found out my heads are ready so this weekend we will be checking valve to piston clearances and final assembly. With all sorts of lucky breaks, maybe on the dyno by the 11th, in the car by the 18th and racing on Memorial Day weekend? I can dream anyway.
     
    Starc Traxler, 1972Mach1 and gs66 like this.
  15. gs66

    gs66 Silver Level contributor

    Good luck with that timing!
     
  16. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    Thanks! I probably cursed myself by putting it in writing..
     
  17. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    Got to spend an afternoon on the engine yesterday: Heads finally came in, and I was able to measure up valve clearances, etc...

    Have to give it to Tom, he spec'd out great valve releafs in his pistons.. generous enough to accommodate as much cam, valve or timing you could throw at it, yet maintains target compression with overall dome volume. I had .100 radial clearance on the intakes, much more on the exhaust (no worries about shrouding there). With the Pistons .009 in the hole, Toms roller rockers (which give an average of .495 lift on the Intake, and .506 on the exhaust) and .044 composite head gaskets, I had .390 clearance on the exhaust at 10 BTDC, .375 on the Intake at 10 ATDC.

    I was also able to mock up all combo's of valvetrain : Stock Rockers, Tom's Rollers, Hydraulic lifters and solids and measure what length pushrods I needed (if I wanted to use solid pushrods, I'm initially using adjustables)

    Then I torqued the heads down using NOS'66 Felpro composites i picked up on ebay - they are the same part number as the current Felpro Blues, but these are all silver and look like asbestos. According to Joe (GSGTX) these torque down to .037, which combined with the .009 pistons give me a quench of .046, right in the target zone.

    Going to dyno this engine with hydraulics and stock rockers, so I set that all up with .025 preload. And thats as far as I got.This thing is starting to look like an engine again!

    upload_2019-5-5_10-1-34.jpeg
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2019
  18. Bigpig455

    Bigpig455 Fastest of the slow....

    Got the motor back home and fully dressed -hopefully tomorrow Ill be breaking in the cam..If I was going to make Memorial Day . If I was going to make Memorial Day at LVD, I had to skip the dyno session.
     

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  19. gsgtx

    gsgtx Silver Level contributor

    like to see you put it on the dyno. you can always get track times.
     
  20. wkillgs

    wkillgs Gold Level Contributor

    Wow, that's great. I've tried cams that had so little valve-piston clearance (stock pistons) that they wouldn't even turn all the way over!
     

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