It begins...







These gasket surfaces have a little pitting and will need some lapping before final assembly.

Right now the plan is a general deburr with round file of the deck features and some other parts to eliminate snagging and add small chamfer to various holes and edges to reduce stress risers.

I also want to lap the decks* a little to make sure the surface RA is nice and low so as to give the Cometic MLS gaskets the best chance of sealing**. Machinist, without measuring, said the RA is low enough but that extra little bit can only improve things (especially if the machinist is off in their estimation). Will do the same with the heads when those are finished.

After that will be a final wash with some water n dawn, then the putting on of parts can begin!

Some big challenges that will need to be solved before completion will be:

1. Sealing the bed-plate. Not sure yet which is the best way to go;
   • Hypermax recommends the International RTV which won't foam the oil but is very thick and not designed for tight tolerance machined surfaces.
   • The machinist recommends very low viscosity Threebond 1215 RTV. Low viscosity and longer cure time are great only issue is Threebond doesn't rate it as "low foam" in their catalog.
   • 6.0, 6.4, and Dodge engines with bed-plates an anaerobic sealant like Loctite 518 is used. This is the correct product for this application, near zero clearance for close fitting machined surfaces, excess wont cure and can be wiped up, stronger than RTV. Only thing stopping me is that Hypermax and the machinist recommended RTVs, not anaerobic sealant.
2. Oil pan and oil pickup fabrication. Current plan is to cut the stock pan and weld a new flange on and relocate the dipstick adapter (Hypermax has a custom oil pan for an arm and a leg). For the oil pickup, I've seen how Hypermax does it via modifying the stock pickup... have to think on it more.
3. Mounting the S362V turbo. The big question is whether the housing and actuator bracket will play nice with the existing y-pipe that attaches to the plenums. Could be a matter of some shaving and massaging to get clearance, or it could require getting creative and fabricating a compatible y-pipe.

Here's the current parts list for context:

• ARP head studs, Cometic HG
• Stock cam
• Manton 3/8 pushrods
• CC beehive springs
• SBI nitrided intake exhaust valves
• SBI "N" seats
• Motorcraft lifters
• 180/30 Rosewood injectors
• RR stainless injector cups
• Stock fuel bowl w/four-line feed
• T800 HPOP
• Melling LPOP
• CAT remote oil filter mount
• New Ford oil cooler
• Mahle 20 thou over coated pistons, standard compression
• Total Seal gapless 2nd ring conversion
• RR welded piston cooler jets
• BC H beam rods
• ATI damper + balanced rotating assembly
• Hypermax bedplate
• Summit Racing flex plate (until the Allison is installed)
• Irate T4 pedestal/pipes
• Coated stock exhaust manifolds, ARP stainless bolts, Fel-Pro gaskets
• BW S362V VGT turbo 61.44/83.47 comp 69.5/62 turbine (will control manually until Arduino controller finished)
• RR Plenums, stock pipes and IC
• Either 6.0 or modified AIS air intake, haven't decided yet
• Horton electric fan clutch and fan
• Some bolt-on stuff like Mechman alternator, custom PS system, Racor CCV, post HPOP Parker filter
• AA with input from PHP for tunes
• probably some stuff I'm forgetting

*This video describes the proper way to lap iron deck/heads for MLS using evidence based techniques. It's extremely instructive and I highly recommend watching it if you're building engines.

**Common observation I've seen is on fresh rebuild with studs and stock graphite HG, sealing starts to get iffy as boost approaches 40PSI since gaskets aren't "seasoned" or "stuck" to the surfaces yet. Would rather have a larger margin of safety hence the MLS gaskets which don't require a seasoning period. There is also the possibility that I'll need a thicker than stock HG depending on how piston protrusion looks, and the only option for that is Cometic.


For reference here's the meandering, bloated, outdated Part 1 thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ut-needed.html

 

Admittedly, seeing that girdle is exciting.

 

Thank goodness!

 

Ssssiiiiccckkkk!!!!

Cant wait for the Allison conversion

 

What RA are you trying to achieve on the sealing surfaces? Looks are very deceiving when it comes to estimating surface roughness...due to various machining strategies. If the display on my small profilometer wasn't jacked, I'd offer it to you.

 

Cap walk? Never heard of 'em.

Indeed, and it'll vary wildly with the material (iron vs aluminum for example).

The guy in the video I linked came to the conclusion that an Ra of 10-20 would be the ideal surface for a MLS gasket via publications and a Fel-Pro rep saying that "smoother is always better" with regards to MLS and ability to seal (time code 12:44). He decided to go with a large wetstone lapping plate and sand paper because it was inexpensive, easy to do, and yielded a low Ra while maintaining/improving flatness (finish and flatness are measured in video). Cometic states a max of 50 Ra, or lower.

Your offer is very generous; I've always wanted to play around with one of those and get a feel for what finishes I commonly encounter actually end up measuring.

 

Any specific reason you have chosen to stay with a stock cam?

 

I just want to confirm why you installed and appear to have run the nuts down the studs holding the girdle without the crankshaft being in place.

Is this for line boring the girdle with the block?

But then, that bore would be skewed by the separation of the sealant?

If you torqued the studs, they would be stretched, and should be replaced to do your build justice, given everything else you are putting into it?

I love the photo op though, and your photo may very likely offer the clearest view of the Hypermax girdle currently available on the internet.

At least it is the clearest photo I have ever seen. But it is also the most unusual, appearing all buttoned down without the crank in place.

It reminds me of trying to solve how a tall mast ship got put into the bottle.

 

I have several stock cams already and a stock piston compatible aftermarket cam is around 500 dollars. Just doesn't seem worth the money to me. Do you think it'd be a good idea?

Torqued down for line bore and hone by machinist, who then fitted bearings to verify proper clearance.

The bed plate has maybe 2 thou clearance between it and the block pan rails with just the main bolts torqued. Tightening the pan rail bolts sucks it up a bit. Basically the bedplate to block sealant shouldn't effect clearances... it should just squeeze out when tightening (especially the case if I end up using the anaerobic sealant which is designed for close fitting machined surfaces).

The main studs are ARP2000 so torquing them to spec only results in elastic deformation.

 

Looking good. I was skeptical when I rebuilt my 99 Mercury 115...it's making closer to 140 now...and the book, along with my machinist, called for anaerobic sealant. This particular power plant is a blind hole engine...meaning no head...and the L4 block and crank case are split at the crankshaft. It also called to be used on the side exhaust plate. I went ahead and assembled the short block...boy was that a job by myself...with the Loctite 518 and let it sit a good day or two before proceeding to let it cure good. Several years later it's still all good...

 

That's good to hear. I think on some BMW I6 engines with bedplates they machine a small channel where the crankcase and plate meet up, and inject a very low viscosity anaerobic sealant into a port that leads to the channel. Pretty smart system.

When you applied it did you just apply a bead on the surfaces or did you use the roller to roll on a film?

@TooManyToys. Hey I see you're a member here! As said in first post your video on deck/head resurfacing is an invaluable instructional tool (as are your other videos). Thanks for putting your knowledge out there to help others 👍

 

A little of both actually...made sure to get enough around the studs and bolt holes...

 

Exciting , nice engine stand

 

List looks great. My only opinion is I don’t think you will be happy with cia choices. I have ran both in your list and I can tell there is t enough flow out of either of those with your injectors size. That said if it’s a daily driver you will be fine but if you’re towing heavy and pushing it hard you will need more air.

 

Am I the only one that sees the thread title and thinks of a movie title... lol