John and Dewayne ('fenders) make some good points but I'm with RC. Many engines need to have the basics right before bolt-ons make sense. Zero-deck, grinder work around the valve seats, clever valve grinds, indexing the pushrods, degreeing the cam, and tuning the distributor curve and the carburetor all yield big, cheap torque gains.

The only 'bolt-on' that I'd use right away is to replace points ignition with a Pertronix, or better yet, a Pertronix II. The Pertronix II changes spark intensity with load and speed.

I think a lot of torque is lost because the valves are not done completely. The exhaust valve needs to have the outer edge 'broken', the intake needs the inner edge 'broken', any edges in the port also need breaking.

Recently, David Vizard did an article on port velocity, reversion, and porting. It was a real eye-opener for me. I have to finish up some Y-block heads for my wife's 55 Vicky and I'll be using that information to do the job.

Oh, and I think that too may people go overboard with their exhaust systems - pipes too big. Bigger is not better. Better is better; matching the pipe size to the engine size/RPM.

Best regards,

 

I agree 100% on the exhaust pipe size. Most people have no clue about proper backpressure. Of course, on a turbo, no restriction is the way to go. I've got too many damn irons in the fire. Trailer first. Bike second. Turbo the truck last. Well, technically, there is never a last!

 

It seems like this is the only forum where you can dare mention bottom end prep. If you say anything anywhere else you get immediately and ingraciously bombarded with snooty comments regarding some resident experts opinion about some C*AE head casting or Brand X piston, cam, etc. with little regard to the basic foundation they are bolting this into/onto. Everyone recommends porting/ port matching ( unless you have a single plane manifold and can see the port alignment by looking down the runner you are probably doing more harm than good ). Those so called precious and valuable heads are that way for one primary reason: they are sought after by NHRA Stock and Super Stock racers looking for VIRGIN heads to be competitive in class racing with very stringent rules. These are the guys who will pay a mint price for a set of heads. If the heads have been ground in the ports, or have had one too many dirt floor garage $20 valve jobs, they become worthless to them and good for only someone looking for a set for a restoration project. Not many people seem to think there is any power in proper block/ bottom end prep, but when you can send a client a well prepared bare block and they put all their existing parts in/on it and pickup .35 seconds in a VERY competitive class, I'd have to argue differently. Rod prep is almost entirely ignored with the exception of installing rod bolts. The prep on the big end is far more important than those magic rod bolts. I AM a Ford fan, but as a machinist, I realize that on most of their designs, the oiling system is poorly designed ( the exception being the Windsor family and, God forbid, the Y-Block ), so without some modification they don't live very well at high rpm. The Cleveland, for example, doesn't have any prioriity oiling of the mains, instead, they seemed to be more interested in getting the oil to the lifters and top end ( BTW this isn't the only make designed this way Pontiac and Olds are the same way ). Several have large diameter/ narrow crank journals exactly the opposite of what is needed for high rpm. The large diameter increased the surface speed at the bearing and the narrow width decreases the load bearing area, which all contribute to icreased friction. I worked for a man who raced a '64 Galaxie in SS/OA with a 352 FE. He actually turned this thing 9100 rpm through the lights, but not without a lot of prep and also tearing it down about every 35 runs or so for a rebuild. Again I must say I AM a Ford fan, but I just felt this stuff needed to be said. Excuse me for venting.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 07-Oct-02 AT 11:01 PM (EST)]I agree with you on rod prep. most people however, when preping rods, seem to think that they have to look good. they polish the rod beams right up to the small end when in actuality this weakens the rod. How often when an engine blows due to rod failure do you see the rod break on the small end or even in the middle. Probably 90% of rod failure occurs at the big end and this is where we must focus our attention on preping. Now for those of you that don't believe in bottom end prep the example that 54 5Star mentions with his friend with the 352 spinning 9100 rpm is a good example of how bottom end prep can greatly increase an engine's ability. These engines are not one in a million either, they are quite common, but often are not looked at because they don't have the big dollar parts in them. A lot people seem to think that they need expensive after market cranks and rods , but really the stock stuff is quite reliable when preped properly. Imagine a street engine with this kind of prep. It would virtually be industructalbe. Magazines and performance shows often over look these engines and this is done for a reason. Do you think that parts manufactures would advertise in a mag or on a show that constantly showed positve tests on stock components. This would be saying indirectly don't buy performance parts. When was the last time you seen a article in a magazine on a car raced in stock or super stock. They are few and far between. The media is a great contributing factor to the misconceptions about engine building. And before I get hammered on for being against aftermarket parts let me say that there are limitations to production parts, but the limitations are far lower than what the aftermarket industry would have you beleive.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 10-Oct-02 AT 03:38 PM (EST)]RC, this hits a 'hot button' for me. I agree that magazines seem to pander to their advertisers. I think some of the stuff being hawked is snake oil. Example; K&N air filters.

But to get back to your point, I agree totally; get the basics right and that means maximizing what the factory started with. Some aftermarket stuff is called for in the basic build-up, things like good fasteners and windage trays, but most of the money spent is going to be on machine work, not fancy parts.

And when it comes time to start replacing parts, many OEM manufacturers already have some pretty stout pieces, everything from steel cranks and stout rods, to good heads and intakes.

I have some hot rod magazines from the 50's and the stuff they write about is wild. They had no problem swapping hemi engines into Fords or souping up straight 6 engines or swapping Studebaker transmissions into a Ford. Funny thing, they never mention trucks except as a source of parts .

 

Warning! Slightly off original topic

I refuse to read the newer hot rod magazine after watching a program on hot rod television. They took that SVO 351 that produces 385 horsepower and put it against the equivelant chevy crate engine. They put both on the dyno and the chevy blew away the ford and mentioned after that they had to upgrade the cam and lifters on the chevy. If they would have compared apples to apples they would have found that ford actually produces more horsepower, but hot rod (in my opinion) seems to be pro camaro and pro chevy, so to appeal to the majority of their readers they made the chevy win. that big guy on that show also makes me mad. He's always cutting down that other guy for liking fords and does the other guy cut down chevy? Never, he would probably lose his job if he did.

As for K&N filters, I will never purchase one again. I purchased one of those K&N kits that replaces the intake tube and disgards the factory airbox. What a piece of *&5$, I do alot of gravel roads and the thing constantly leaked dust. I even siliconed all the connections with no improvement. So I took it back and put the factory stuff back in. There were no real improvements anyway, except for that sound that sounds like a mini jet engine taking off under the hood.

 

Warning! Off topic
Hot Rod, Jegs, Summit.....They're all pro chevy! I think most engine builders would agree with me when I say "chevy engines are cheaper to build", I think this is due to the huge selection of aftermarket parts available for them. Try to find a FORGED 460 crank shaft for under 1200 bucks, if I weren't a Ford guy I would go with Chevy just for the parts availability and cost savings.
I am however finishing up a "budget" 460 stroker motor(514) that will put chevy to shame, kept my costs down with used Dove block ('72), iron heads with hardened seats,huge valves,ported them myself, eagle rotating assy. I'd put it up against any BB chevy with the same mods in both cost and performance!