Yep, you can count the Threads per Inch on those dings

Pretty slack job of Fettling that casting! Lots of dags to remove. ( I paid my way through my engineering studies by working in a foundry doing lots of Fettling.)

Are you going to get some fine steel shot and shot peen the crank after you clean it up to stress relieve it and get it ready for all those ponies the new build will crank out?

 

Give him a call and ask, I have 40 over and I believe he goes up to 60 over.

 

Brad - I'm seriously considering shot-peening both the crank and the rods. I want to "fettle" both and then peen them before taking all the kit to be balanced. And, I think I'll go with ARP fasteners so have to install them as well.

Chris - I hope to call him tomorrow. If he does and if this block will go 50 and clean up I might do that and just put Dad's back. Dunno. Anyway, thanks.

 

Just wrap the journals with Mylar tape before you shot peen

ARP fasteners are the ducks guts, nice choice.

 

Can you shot peen with a sandblast rig or are you going to have it done somewhere?

I cant recommend Lucitos Machine where my rotating assembly is. They apparently wont work on it if I don't harass them. I have heard from plenty of people they do great work, even Weingartner swears by them, but block should be out of there by now. They apparently build a lot of dirt track motors and that is probably their bread and butter on the automotive side, but they need to use some kind of order to their work.

Are just going ARP for the rod bolts or are you going to do all of them?

 

I'm hoping to shot peen in my blast cabinet. Going to have to read up on that though. And I'm going to call RK Machine in Ripley, the place we talked about at the GTG. Supposedly they do really good work. Maybe they also shot peen?

As for Lucitos, you do know what's been going on in T-Town re dirt track racing, right? The Chili Bowl is the née plus ultra and they might have had a few rush jobs to do. Anyway, I'll call them to get pricing, but will take your advice.

Not sure about how far to go with ARP's. Need to find out what is required for head bolts on aluminum heads, but I'm sure they require special washers and that might mean ARP's. Any suggestions?

 

Did some calling today. Talked to Lucitos and Stanley Morton/STK Specialties. Called TMI three times but can't, yet, catch Tim. And I haven't called RK yet, although last time I talked to them he said something about not having set prices, so that worries me. Anyway, here are some notes from the calls:

• Lucitos:
  • They are pretty busy right now, but they don't really get the dirt track work so the Chili Bowl didn't impact them.
  • They don't have a deck plate through which to hone the 400 so I'd have to send the block out to Stanley Morton. So the cost shown isn't honing through a deck plate.
  • Their $295 charge for vatting, boring, and installing the freeze plugs and cam bearings doesn't include the cost of the cam bearings as I supply them
  • They'll also send the crank to Stanley Morton
  • Overall time is about 3 weeks
• Stanley Morton:
  • They do have the deck plate for a 400
  • He furnishes the cam bearings and freeze plugs for $75
  • They'll put any ARP bolts in for me, like on the rods, and he thinks its a good idea given the heads and cam as it should be well over 500 lb-ft
  • Agrees taking the flashing off the crank and rods is a good idea. Just bring the rods and pistons by and he'll press the pistons off so I can work on the rods.
  • He doesn't have a way to shot peen but agrees it would be a nice step if I can do it, although not as needed on Ford rods as on others
  • He thinks the best block to use is Dad's unmolested original. But don't buy the pistons until he checks the block out since .020 might not clean the block up enough.
  • Should be a real hot rod as the 400's are good.

Ok, and here's my spreadsheet to compare the options. I've just realized that the cost for Lucitos should be higher as there are no cam bearings nor freeze plugs included. So, while there is $152 delta between them and Stanley the difference if more like $75 with those parts included. I like Stanley better since I'll be getting everything done under one roof and the block will be deck-plate honed.

Then there's the TMI approach. That column is done using Stanley for the block prep and then buying a kit from Tim that includes a crank, rods, pistons, rings, balancer, flywheel, and bearings. And it is balanced. So there are no prep or machining costs for the rotating assembly in that column, just the block. It is ~$500 more expensive as shown, and I've guestimated the shipping at $100 which might be low.

Given all of that I like the Stanley Morton approach using what I have in the way of crank and rods. It gives me someone only 35 miles away to work with, which is needed since he has to check the block to see what pistons are needed and then I order them. And, he'll push the piston pins out so's I can work the rods. That makes local better than RK since they are 80 miles away.

So, what I have I missed? What's wrong with my spreadsheet? Surely I've missed something or miscalculated, so please give me your thoughts. I'd like to make an educated decision, but need correct facts with which to do it.

 

Shot peening can be done with sandblasting gear, you just need to control the media feed and possibly choke down the nozzle. Due to the weight of the shot you may need to gravity feed it and control the feed through a gate valve followed by a ball valve to shut the flow off. You can buy the test strips to get your rig dialled in.

But lets not forget, you aren't doing aircraft parts here, any shot peen relieving of the stress raisers in this application is going to be beneficial.

 

STK, that's where we dropped off the block/crank/pistons & rods from the Perkins 3 cyl diesel. And sent the sick-o heads, as well as almost every other engine part that needs to be seen by a machine shop.......

TMI kit is a reasonable option, but I have to wonder why you bought a 400 donor, if considering going the TMI route......

 

Shot peening leaves the surface in compression so cracks are unlikely to begin to form.
Iron and steel have WAY less tensile strength than compression strength.
One of those Smith books outline process and control.

Have you considered having the rods done locally?
Quality Plating Company of Tulsa

 

I would want to keep all the machine work under one roof too.

Their price seems good and obviously they get the work done.

I think Gary just needed a new coffee table for the man cave.
Or more strain on the ceiling joists.

 

Let's see if I can address the questions/comments:

• Shot peening: If I can get it done locally for a reasonable price I will seriously consider it. So, I'll call them ASAP, although I'm not sure about tomorrow as we are going to see Dad.
• Donor: I bought it because I thought it would be less expensive than Tim's approach, which I was toying with since I didn't have a crank. But, now that I have a crank why not use it and save $500?
• Table: The attic is lonely 'cause someone picked up the upside-down M and is building up for Whitey Jr. Not sure who'll be done first as his machine work appears to be hung up at the wrong shop.
• STK: Looks like we have a winner. Not sure I even want to call RK since it is much further away and it would be a pain to get to a few times during this work.

 

Then, I don't think you are missing anything Gary.
(if you can find undersized bearings for that nasty gouge in the rod journal)

The $150 difference is well worth it IMO.

 

Stanley said there are undersized bearings up to .050", but he was sure that wouldn't be needed. But, I'm considering the TMI cam bearings, more of which later, so will need to find out what Tim has. Supposedly they help with the distribution of the oil on the M-blocks.

 

Big Bobby at STK did my Powerstroke work after Tudor's screwed it all up and lost a lot of my parts only to replace them with the wrong parts. Bobby did it right, fixed the Tudor screw ups, and was priced reasonable. He doesn't like KB pistons for some reason though. I should have taken this round of parts back to him, but he told me he couldn't balance rotating assemblies. Bobby was Stanley Morton's right hand guy for yrs. I guess Bobby went out on his own to make a little more money , but still does a lot of Morton's work.

Here is Bobby's cell number 918-740-4989. You might call and ask him if he is still independent from Stanley and get some pricing.

I would go ARP at least for rod bolts, Head bolts and main studs. You might price an engine kit also, but keep in mind you probably wont be using stock length head bolts. So that might make a kit less reasonable.