After talking to Mike (at TA performance) about roller cams and getting the answers I was after the conversation turned to halo girdles (then my cell phone went dead :af: ). I went into the house and called back with the house phone and he was busy with someone else. Not really wanting to go through the whole conversation again, I just placed a partal order. Has anyone just installed a halo girdle only without the full girdle? I'm thinking I am at or near the braking point of the stock block with no band aids.
When I called back a woman answered the phone (I think she said her name was "Sherry" ) after asking for Mike, I started to ask her about it. I asked her if they sold a Halo by itself without the studs and what I was wanting to do. She told me "YOU CAN NOT INSTALL A HALO GIRDLE THAT WAY." "YOU HAVE TO PUT IT ON TOP OF A BLOCK GIRDLE ONLY." One thing I learned in life, you do not fight with a woman on the phone. I was going to ask if they sold their TA_1106 in a way that does not have the studs (already have a new main stud kit). Instead, I just placed a small order.
if its not on top of the block girdle it wont sit flat because the main caps arent flat. it will just basically tie the main studs together. im pretty sure people have used it without the regular girdle but i dont know how effective it would be. Cody
Mechine work will need to be done for it to fit properly. Tom took some very good pictures in his thread (see above). My thinking (along with others) is that it will help the block not flex as much as not having anything and not spending the money on the mechening work that it takes to install full girdle. As of now, I have ARP main studs. I do not run that much boost or run the RPMs over 5000 that often, but do worry the main caps are walking around. When I do, I want things to stay together. On a side note: A girdle willl not fit my combination.
I still don't think the TA halo girdle will fit on machined main caps without the block girdle to space it up away from the crankshaft counterweights. That's the reason the one Tom used is designed differently than the TA version, which is much narrower than Tom's. Devon
After looking at the only picture I could find on TA's catalog and compairing to Tom's pictures Devon is right, they do look different. So Tom, Where did you get the one in your pictures?
I'm running a halo girdle without the main girdle, and have been doing it for awhile now, and I'm pushing over 800 horse on nitrous.. You need to machine the main caps flat, but then you do have to space up the halo to clear the crank throws. I'm pretty sure I'm using some flat steel about 3/8th thick, may be thicker...And I think you need to run 2 12 point nuts on the front main cap, this helps clear the oil pan. I'll check and see if I have any pictures. And yes this is a steel TA halo girdle. I have a set of caps machined flat sitting on my work bench, from one of my old motors.... Gary G.
I've done it twice, both engines are still running strong and it's been years. The first one I mounted on top of ARP nuts and dropped the front sump of a stock pan. The second one we milled the stock caps flat and then mounted on to of ARP nuts. I recall we had to clearance the halo on that on but only slightly. I think anything you can do to keep the caps from moving will help longevity.
Halo is made by Finishline Racing. Fits without any clearancing of the crank as it has bevels in the area of the throws. Pic with tape measure shows crank throw relationship to Halo. I had both a bashed out deepened stocker style and the Stef's Pan fitting. Tom
Will agree that you can use halo with out the other girdle. Charlie Evans was making them years ago and we had one on an engine we tested on dyno in 2004. Yes he did machine the caps. I think it will help keep the caps from walking and support the block webs also. There are more than one way to go at a problem. Just my 2 cents. Charlie is not working with Buicks any longer as he has gone wild with the BIG power he is making with his heads and the 385 series Ford. Jim N.
