grumpyvette

I build at least 5 big blocks for every small block I build so while I can assure you that its potentially possiable to make more power from a big block chevy engine, with its larger ports and bigger valves ,but Id need to point out that in a (Z) the differance in power between a 396 bbc engine and a 383 sbc engine is just not worth the extra installation problems UNLESS your willing to totally gut the car for race use,install a full roll cage and 4 link rear suspension, several fiberglass components and race the car, a sbc properly built can easily produce 450hp-550hp depending on combo and engine size and components used. while you could get an extra 50 hp from the big block, if your willing to spend noticably more money for parts, youll weight slightly more (50lb-100 lbs depending on component combo) and have serious installation issues due to the bbc engine being longger and wider and taller, that will tend to make the trade up in hp meaningless in a street car project heres the all iron engine weights/size Chevy small block V8350-400 W26" L28" H27" 575lbs Chevy big block V8 427,454 w28" l30 1/2" H29" 685lbs you can knock 50 lbs off the big block with aluminum heads,intake and water pump, but you can knock about 30 lbs off the sbc with the same mods

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-09/jhu-fsp090302.php http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/09/020904073045.htm http://home.coqui.net/jencinas/Steel-bm.htm http://www.centralsteel.com/struct.htm

http://www.sporttruck.com/howto/40619/ http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/77458/ http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/0304_381/index2.html http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0109gmhtp_pumpingup/ http://www.chevymania.com/tech/383.htm http://www.2quicknovas.com/happystrokers.html http://www.carcraft.com/projectbuild/84998/ http://www.sa-motorsports.com/blockdiy/blkdiy.htm http://www.carcraft.com/howto/869/index15.html http://www.bracketmasters.com/small_block_stroker_383_cu.htm http://www.victorylibrary.com/mopar/rod-tech-c.htm http://www.stahlheaders.com/Lit_Rod%20Length.htm http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/2929/ http://www.iskycams.com/ART/techinfo/ncrank1.pdf http://www.wallaceracing.com/enginetheory.htm

ok advantages for the larger bore include several factors first as mentioned it tends to unshoud the valves but it also tends to allow the engine to use larger valves, now the differance does not need to be very much to be meaningful, while the change from a 1.94 valve comon to many heads to a large race type 2.05 valve is only an increase of 2.6%or 0.110 or just over one tenth inch the flow curtain of the valve at 0.500 lift went from 3.05 sq inches to 3.22 sq inches a improvement of 5.7% then lets look at the piston surface area a 4" bore has a flat top piston of about 12.588 sq inche, a 4.155 bore moves that up to about 13.58 sq inches, thats an increase of almost 8% in surface area, given a peak cylinder pressure of about 700psi, (very easy to get in some combos) you jump from about 367 pounds of force to about 396 pounds of force on the crank every 90 degrees(a increase of about 8%) (remember theres 720 degrees in the cycle but only about 30 of those 720 degrees have effective pressure on the piston)but theres more to it, that 8% increase in bore on a 3.48 stroke gives you not only more effective force on the piston it also increased the displacement from about 350 cid to about 377 cid, so not only have you increased the force on the crank by 8% your increasing the displacement by about an additional 8% or now in theory your working at about a 16% advantage. while its true the bores friction area on the rings increased also the loss to that is minimal due to the limited contact area of the rings. yeah but were not thru! dont forget we increased the the weight of the piston slightly, but decreased the flow angles from port to cylinder slightly (both factors are minor) are we overlooking something, why yeas, we could have kept that same 350 displacement by decreasing the stroke and increasing the connecting rod giving us a more effective mechanical advantage if we choose to, lets see what that gives us??? figure a normal limit on reasonable aftermarket piston speed at 4500 fpm for a 3.48 stroke 350 thats about 7758 rpm max for a built race 350 or 8307 rpm for a 352 built on a 3.25 stroke, now that 550rpm advantage does not gain you much without some very expensive parts but the lower stress on the engine at 7000rpm works wonders on a sreet engine long life and bearing wear if you limit the engine to that. but lets say you want to use those parts and both engines make peak power at 1000rpm below redline and both make 400 ft lbs of tq there, well the standard 350 makes 400ft lbs at 6758rpm or 514 hp but the short stroke large bore 352 makes its power at 7307rpm or 556 hp lets go the other way! a 3.875" stroke is about max in a sbc without major machine work , that builds a 396 on a 350s .030 bored block, or a 421 with a 400s larger 4.155 .030 bored block. (there usually a 4% increase in hp for each additional point in cpr up to detonation range I.E. a 9:1 engine that makes 400hp should make about 408hp at 9.5:1 cpr) with no increase in displacement, add the two factors and getting an extra 10% from the larger bore and higher cpr is not that hard to do! now lets look at compression, if you have domed pistons youll hurt the flame speeds accross the cylinders so youll need more ignition advance, a flat top 350 piston with a 76cc smog head has about 9:1 cpr, jump to a 400s 4.155 .030 over bore and the same stroke now gives about 9.5:1 cpr the advantage allows you to use lighter non-dome pistons with faster flame front travel for less ignition advance, that potentially could give you a few extra hp! ok what did you learn? short version, larger bores have few disadvantages and several measurable advantages,and LARGE BORES PLUS LONG STROKES can significantly add effective displacement! if both make 1.25 hp per cubic inch we get 495 hp from a 396 but 526hp from a 421 sbc combo given equal efficiency, yet the larger displacement will almost always have a torque advantage over most of the lower and mid rpm ranges!! or there are few 350 engines that can compete with a similarly built 421 ! btw if your trying to get the most hp per cubic inch of displacement a 4.155 bore 3.48 stroke (377 combo comes close) but the increased displacement of a 406 while less efficient has the displacment to produce a better total torque curve and similar peak power

I recently visited a fellow hot rodder, he had several used and new cams stored in plastic trash bags in his attic, he went to get one for a engine build only to find all the cams totally rusted even though the had sprayed each with oil before placing them in the plastic bag before sealing it with a rubber band, Ive got dozens of new and used cams Ive stored over the years, every once inawhile you find a business closing or a big sale so I tend to buy them in groups if I know the grind numbers and can use them and if the price is right! youll be surprized at the prices you sometimes can get! heres how to do it correctly (1)buy a length of 2" PVC PIPE (2) cut it in to 24" lengths (add a GLUE ON CAP TO ONE END) (LABLE CONTENTS ON SIDE WITH MAJIC MARKER)( then TAPE CAM CARD TO TUBE ON OUTSIDE of the PVC pipe but INSIDE a PLASTIC ZIP LOC BAG) (drop cam inside, cover with qt of NEW oil add TIGHTLY SCREWED IN PLACE BLACK RUBBER CAP WITH RADIATOR CLAMP) STAND it vertically ON PVC CAP END, USE SEVERAL BUNGEE CORDs TO FASTEN TO END OF WORK BENCH TOTAL COST LESS THAN $20 FOR 5-10 CAM STORAGE CONTAINERS BTW I just pulled out a bbc #3959180 ZL1 cam I stored in 1973 according to the tag to give to a friend that could no longer find that particular cam for sale, just to let you guys know it looked brand new today, thats 30 plus years in storage!!!!

you might also keep in mind that alot of guys (mostly the older guys that refuse to read labels )use sealants and gasket sealers that are WRONG for the applications they use them for, EXAMPLE that yellow slime (3M Weatherstrip Adhesive(item#51135). Ive also heard it refered to as "gorillia snot". that yellow contact glue like sealant is used by many guys to install valve cover gaskets, and oil pan seals/gaskets, well it was NEVER meant to be in direct constant contact with hot oil and while it will work with most mineral base oil in that application I can tell you from seeing many examples that some synthetic oils slowly desolve it over several months time , since it was never designed for that application ,you can,t blame the product! but Ive seen numerous cases where engines leaked constantly after several months once synthetic oil was used in engines using it as a gasket glue. just for your info 3M makes a better Weatherstrip Adhesive (black) #08011, part no. 051135, "a black-colored, high-strength adhesive for adhering rubber weatherstripping and gaskets to doors, windshields, trunklids, windows, and lights." btw while we are on the subject some sealants leach by-products into the oil that cause the O2 sensors on EFI engines to fail, look for the SENSOR SAFE sealants Excellent resistance to hot oil. Non corrosive to metal. Oxygen sensor safe. or http://www.k2distributing.com/pages/chemicals-seal.html

with a properly set up suspension and the tires and compounds available today if your not limited to the smaller tire widths traction is no longer a big problem. I would almost always sugest starting at the max displacement your wallet can handle as its a pretty good bet that increased displacement WITH MATCHING HEAD FLOW,COMPRESSION , and CAM timing will give good results a few hours thought and planing and carefully matching parts to the intended rpm range and airflow requirements before buying parts makes a huge differance in results btw this crower cam has proven to give exceptional results in an LT1-4 with matching components http://www.crower.com/misc/cam_spec/cam_finder.php?part_num=00471&x=42&y=12 but it requires 11:1 cpr and a 3000rpm stall and about 3.73 rear gears to get its full potential, in a 350 displacement it makes well over 500 ftv lbs of tq with some combos,in a stroker 396 LT1 based engine it would prove outstanding. that cam has proven to make an outstanding combo of hp/tq in several engines its been tested in provided those above requirements have been met and the heads have been ported, it also requires a free flow headers and exhaust you want LT1/LT4 info? we got info http://phil.tobin.net/Hoover/top.html http://www.h-body.org/people/projects/building_lt1/lt1%20info.html http://www.gmmodernmuscle.com/383/383build.html http://www.idavette.net/winback/lt115.htm http://www.afrashteh.com/guide/install.htm http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/36501/ http://www.protechmachine.net/lt4/lt4.html http://www.thunderracing.com/lt1inteng.htm#CNC http://phil.tobin.net/Hoover/index.html http://www.gmmodernmuscle.com/383/383build.html http://www.h-body.org/people/projects/building_lt1/lt1%20info.html http://www.automotiverebuilder.com/ar/ar99928.htm http://www.hashmarks.com/dyno_page.htm http://www.mochevracing.com/Corvette/lt1lt4.html http://www.lt1motorsports.com/396LT1.htm http://www.lt4.com/story.htm http://www.malcams.com/legacy/misc/headflow.htm http://www.kendrick-auto.com/lt_1__gm_head.htm http://www.charm.net/~mchaney/optisprk/optisprk.htm http://www.fierolt1.com/lt1_95_up_OptiReplace.htm http://www.noid.org/~muttvette/opti.html http://www.gulicks.com/vette/projects/opti/index.html http://www.houston-f-body.org/tech/optispark/ http://www.dynotech-eng.com/dynaspark.htm http://www.corvetteclinicinc.com/ http://www.corvettefever.com/howto/16758

look these over, they will kick most 350 engines butt effectively SBC 407 · Block, 509, +30, Zero deck, Blanked water passages, Clearanced oil ways, Lifter valley vents, ARP main & head studs, Durabond cam & Clevite 77 main bearings. · Crank, Scat 4340 forged steel, 3.75â€, internal balance, Pioneer SFI balancer + ARP bolt. · Rods, Comp. Products 6.00†H beam bronze bushed + ARP bolts Clevite 77 bearings. · Pistons, SRP #4032 flat top, 5cc relief, Speed Pro plasma moly file fit rings. · Complete rotating assembly balanced. Including - Flywheel, Clutch, Balancer & Crank pulley. · Heads, AFR 210 Race Ready, 76cc, 2.080/1.600 valves, drilled for steam. FelPro #1014 gasket. · Cam, Comp. Cams ‘Magnum’ #12-450-8 (286HR) Hydraulic roller. 230/230 @ .050, .377 lift 110 LSA 106 ICL. · Pushrods, Howards Cams heavy wall 5/16†7.4†long. · Rockers, Pro Magnum roller, 1.6, 7/16†stud. · Lifters, Pro Magnum hydraulic roller. AFR Hydr-Rev kit. · Comp Cams Springs #950 + #740 retainers installed at 1.875†· AFR rev kit, AFR stud girdle. · Lube, Melling M99HVS pump, Canton 7qt 5 trap pan with inbuilt windage and scraper, Cooler, Accumulator, oil stat, remote filter. · Holley 800cfm #4780C, 1†spacer, Victor Jr single plane. · Static CR 10.32, Dynamic CR 7.9. · Quench 0.0415†(Gasket .039†+ .0025†down hole). · MSD Pro Billet Street Dizzy, MSD 6AL, MSD Blaster 2 coil, MSD 8,5mm leads. After several pulls followed by adjustment and re-jetting we arrived at:- RPM BHP Torque 3800 367.3 507.7 3900 384.0 517.1 4000 395.1 518.8 4100 407.9 522.5 4200 418.9 523.8 4300 429.4 524.5 4400 439.6 524.7 4500 449.6 524.7 4600 462.1 527.6 4700 467.4 522.3 4800 476.6 521.5 4900 485.4 520.3 5000 489.2 513.9 5100 498.5 513.4 5200 496.0 501.0 5300 506.1 501.5 5400 508.4 494.5 5500 508.7 485.8 5600 505.6 474.2 5700 505.8 466.0 5800 505.8 458.0 5900 494.6 440.3 6000 491.9 430.6 heres a 401 example 2 a 392 sbc

http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/usa/index.html or http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/usa/gtrchassis.html notice I never mentioned cheaper just faster!!

dmyntti thanks for catching that, (I left out the NO COMBUSTION)

the red line is normal, N/A engine pressure(no combustion) the blue is useing NITROUS thats where you get the extra torque from, the nitrous increased cylinder pressure! notice thats also why the exhaust timing durration on a nitrous cam must be longer in durration to allow the extra exhaust volume to bleed off or youll have serious pumping losses while the engine fights the extra cylinder pressure that tends to restrict flow into the cylinder if you exhaust does not scavage correctly to allow the fast moving flow out of the cylinder to help drag the incoming charge into the cylinders http://hcs.harvard.edu/~jus/0303/kuo.pdf http://www.gmrc.org/gmrc/pdf/Beshouri5-AETCO.pdf heres a crank angle chart for a 350 chevy http://www.iskycams.com/ART/techinfo/ncrank1.pdf heres a typical cam card http://www.cranecams.com/?show=browseParts&action=partSpec&partNumber=119661&lvl=2&prt=5 notice that the cam exhaust opened on this cam at 83 degrees before bottom dead center, and by bottom dead center the cylinder has lost about 80%-90% of its peak pressure and if the exhaust is correctly designed it could even be negative pressure while exhaust scavaging takes place (look at the crank angle and the same degrees on the pressure curve, but keep in mind its a 720 degree cycle and some of those charts only show 360 of those 720 degrees) but if your running a stock restrictive exhaust , a mild cam and low compression like most stock engines and your spinning the engine at high rpms there still could be that 10%-20% pressure in the cylinder at bdc. look also at the remaining cylinder pressure at each point in the graph, , its faily obvious that the exhaust must be long in durration and that the intake might need to open slightly later in the cycle to allow extra time for the exhaust to bleed off, and open the exhaust earlier in the cycle, thats why nitrous cams tend to have a wider LSA and longer exhaust durration compared to intake durration if YOU look at the cylinder pressure curves youll see that the cylinder bleeds down quite rapidly as the piston moves away from tdc on the power stroke and falls even faster once the exhaust valve opens, if there is significant pressure left at bdc the engine won,t run very well at higher rpms, thats one of the reasons header scavaging and cam overlap and matching the exhaust timing and duration are so important to engine design

heres the software to figure dynamic compression equally http://cochise.uia.net/pkelley2/DynamicCR.html (thanks to pat) lets take these two engine and run them in a software dyno all cam timing figures Ill use are at .020 lift to keep it simple) in very similar 383 engines with the exact same combo EXCEPT FOR ROD LENGTH,AND THE CAMS LSA KEEPING IN MIND THAT the longer rods and wider LSA will permit a very slight increase in STATIC compression to reach the exact same DYNAMIC COMPRESSION RATIO, and a slight change in header tube length to match the cams and dynamic compression change the longer rods allow first combo with first cam 383 8:1 dynamic cpr Requires a 10:1 scr with 5.7 rods and that cam pistons need a 3.3 valve dish afr 210cc heads 74cc chamber .021 thick head gasket 4.06 gasket bore piston .023 down the bore super vic intake 850 holley 1 3/4" tube headers 44" long and 16" long 3"collector int opens 34cls 66 extop 70 cls 38 long rod combo. with wider lsa BUT IDENTICAL DCR 383 with the same cam ground on wider lsa not a 106 like the first engine 8:1 dynamic cpr Requires a 10:5 scr with 6" rods due to the longer LSA spread and rod length and that wider lsa cam to produce the IDENTICAL DYNAMIC COMPRESSION of 8:1 flat top pistons need a 1.7cc dome afr 210cc heads 74cc chamber .021 thick head gasket 4.06 gasket bore piston .023 down the bore super vic intake 850 holley 1 3/4" tube headers 40" long and 14" long 3" collector heres the change in cam timing to compensate (remember to boost the static compression so the dynamic compression stays the same) int opens 30 cls 70 ex op 66 cls 42 below is the standard cam for the first engine http://www.cranecams.com/?show=browseParts&lvl=3&prt=5&Vehicle_Type=Auto&Cylinders=8&Engine_Make=CHEVROLET&Year=1978&Engine_Size=262-400%20C.I.&partNumber=110921&partType=camshaft and yes before you point it out both the cams wider LSA and the longer rod has an effect in droping the dynamic cpr,to identical 8.05 requireing the second engines SCR to be raised but after building several of these in real cars and swapping back and forth between the 114681 and 110921 cams in both 5.7 and 6 inch rod combos I think youll see what I have, that the longer rod engines tend to like the wider lsa and detonate less and accept a smidge more compression like 10:1 vs 10.5:1 notice that the entire torque curve moved slightly higher in the rpm range but the combo of longer rod length and wider LSA allowed the DYNAMIC CPR TO STAY THE SAME heres what my custom software makes its wild guess at first engine rpm hp/tq 2000 142/372 3000 244/427 4000 352/462 5000 450/473 6000 496/434 7000 491/368 second engine rpm hp/tq 2000 141/370 3000 242/424 4000 351/460 5000 453/476 6000 507/443 7000 505/378 now I DON,T TRUST SOFTWARE EXCEPT TO SHOW BASIC TRENDS and I SERIOUSLY DOUBT the results would be that large but I do feel that there is and has been a slight edge in performance available in matching the longer rods to the wider lsa

"All other things equal (cam, heads, exhaust), would a 383 Chevy motor built with stock 400 rods (5.56"?) versus 6" rods perform poorer? " in that case the shorter rod will tend to build torque earlier and peak earlier in the rpm range, but designing an engine to take advantage of the longer rod ratio will require that cam,headers,compression and parts be changed to match the rod ratio or theres not a great deal to be gained, the longer rod ratio requires the rest of the combo take advantage of the potential the longer rods, lighter piston combos, lower side loads, and better rod angles,and longer effective pressure above the piston per revolution that the longer rods potentially have, combos must be made from parts designed to match the operating perameters if effective results are expected, generally the shorter rods like a tighter LSA and slightly lower scr read below things to look over and read 5.7" vs 6" rod piston possition vs crank degree chart http://www.iskycams.com/ART/techinfo/ncrank1.pdf read the articles http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/82378/ http://www.grapeaperacing.com/GrapeApeRacing/tech/rodslength.cfm http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/1020/rods.html http://www.victorylibrary.com/mopar/rod-tech-c.htm http://www.stahlheaders.com/Lit_Rod%20Length.htm http://www.airflowresearch.com/ (articles) (The 350 Engine, Chevrolet Should Have Built) while the gains youll see are small and mostly noticable above about 5000rpm due to the slight mechanical advantages the longer rods, lighter piston combos, lower side loads, and better rod angles, that the longer rods normally have the ADVANTAGES ARE THERE for the longer rods, and are measurable, look at the piston position vs crank angle chart again, the longer rods move away from TDC slower in relation to the crank angle allowing a longet time spent at the higher pressure part of the cylinder pressure curve, at higher rpms thois results in a very slight advantage in useable torque (useful cylinder pressure) if a matching cam timing and exhaust scavaging header is used to take full advantage of that longer pressure peak as the piston moves away from tdc all the factors must be in place before youll see a noticable advantage to the longer rods, especially the exhaust scavaging and cam timing

pro topline had money problems, they say they expect to be back in service within a few months but that may or may not be true. personally I hope that they are back as they produced a good product (from what I saw from the few examples I used)

just some info ford aftermarket throttle bodys are currently made up to 95 mm. unlike carb sizes being increased, throttle body size increases, increase flow without nearly the loss in intake runner velocity or fuel/air mix problems simply because the injectors and engine EFI controler are not nearly as dependent on flow velocity to meter and control fuel flow into the cylinders. now Im not saying that you need a larger throttle body on all aplications but youll rarely loose hp swapping up in size especially on a turbo application, what you might loose is a little bit of throttle crispness and control as the transition faze is passing a greater amount of air at faster rates on my corvette I went from a 780cfm throttle body (48mm) to a 1000cfm (58mm) and I gained about 7-9 hp in lower flow restriction on a full roller 383, yet in the lower rpm ranges (just above idle) there was a barely noticable differance in the smoothness in which the engine transitioned

you gentelmen need to look over the features carefully before choosing the correct helmet for your application. that harbor freight lens is lens: 3-1/4'' x 1-1/2'' this miller has a (3.85 x 2.38 in.) about 50% larger now that may not be critical to you NOW, but trust me , it does make things easier http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3802490277&category=34098 theres a very old saying " the sweetness of low price lasts a short time compared to the bitter taste of poor quality that lasts almost forever" or put another way,...shop carefully that helmet should last along time and youll need to live with it, remember you tend to get what you pay for, theres a DAMN GOOD REASON THAT ONE HELMETS SELLS FOR 1/5 of what the other helmets sells for

FYI Pro Topline closed it's doors last month . What products that are on the shelf will be sold but production has halted. Apparently this is to be a short term problem and they expect to be back online within a few weeks. .

ideally you should replace the gas and filter with fresh fuel, drain the oil and replace it with fresh oil to remove any potential moisture that collected in the engine, install a new filter,pull the plugs and squirt a little marvel mystery oil into each cylinder and then with the plugs removed hit the starter for about 5-10 seconds to build oil pressure and coat the cylinders with oil(don,t go further if the gauge shows no pressure, if it does show oil pressure you can continue ), then re-install the plugs, squirt a little ether engine starter in the carb to insure a quick start-up, and fire it up! check the coolant levels, belt tension,and ignition timing,trans fluid level,differintial fluid level, battery acid level,tire pressure,and brake fluid, level, bleed the brakes,check that the clutch engages if you have one.check all the lights ans signals, flashers, fuzes,windshield wipers,hoses,tire condition and shocks {yeah I no you won,t but thats the correct way to do it!)

Ive talked with many older guys that are in the welding trade, theres damn few that will not tell you that their eyesight has been harmed over the years from arc weld flash, if your honest about it you know theres lots of times that you need to possition the tools and start an arc then flip the helmet down when using a standard helmet, now you can use a non-auto darking helmet, I did for years, and yeah they work but since I purchased a auto helmet I can,t tell you what an improvement its been. with todays prices its just not worth the risk, http://www.afscme.org/health/faq-weld.htm "Visible Light, and Ultraviolet and Infrared Radiation The intense light associated with arc welding can cause damage to the retina of the eye, while infrared radiation may damage the cornea and result in the formation of cataracts. Invisible ultraviolet light (UV) from the arc can cause "arc eye" or "welder's flash" after even a brief exposure (less than one minute). The symptoms of arc eye usually occur many hours after exposure to UV light, and include a feeling of sand or grit in the eye, blurred vision, intense pain, tearing, burning, and headache. The arc can reflect off surrounding materials and burn co-workers who work nearby. About half of welder's flash injuries occur in co-workers who are not welding. Welders and cutters who continually work around ultraviolet radiation without proper protection can suffer permanent eye damage. Exposure to ultraviolet light can also cause skin burns similar to sunburn, and increase the welder's risk of skin cancer" Welding Exposure to welding light causes severe burns to the eye and surrounding tissue --“welder’s flash.†Lens for welding light protection must be marked with the “Shade Number†(1.5-14, 14 = darkest). Protect the eyes even when the helmet is lifted up. Protect the welder, welder’s helper, and bystanders. Use the darkest shade possible -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Torch soldering #1.5-3 Torch brazing/cutting #3-6 Gas welding #4-8 Electric arc welding #10-14

mig handles most steel welds just fine, I find TIG is a better quality and better looking and easier to control weld ONCE you get used to the equipment, TIG is easier to adapt to aluminum and stainless welding too!BTW they make TIG welders with torch controls not just foot controls also, but the foot control is far more comon if money was not the big factor TIG is WHAT I would choose,but JOHNC is correct 90% of your steel welding MIG handles just fine! remember need a self darkening helmet YOUR EYESIGHT IS WORTH FAR MORE THAN THE $200 they cost on EBAY http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3802110153&category=34098

First I’d like to say I’m not an EXPERT at welding but have done quite a bit over the years. Now to answer some basic questions. Here is some info from a different site you might want to know! I'll try to explain some of the basics for you as best I can. http://www.alpharubicon.com/elect/tigbasic1.htm TIG - (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding)Basically resembles oxy-acetylene welding (torch) but you use a controlled electric arc as the flame/head source and feed in the weld wire or rod separate from the arc. This process is the toughest to learn. The electrode is composed of Tungsten and current flows through it. The current is controlled by a foot pedal, hand switch or fixed current on the machine itself. I am learning TIG using a foot pedal The more you press down on the pedal, the more amps you get. Once you get enough current flowing to get an appropriate sized weld pool, you start dabbing filler metal into the puddle as you move the electrode further down the work piece. TIG allows you a great amount of control because you regulate how much current the electrode gets and how much filler metal the weld pool gets. This process is very slow compared to the other types welding. MIG - (Metal Inert Gas) MIG is basically a wire that has current running thru it, that is fed constantly into the weld area. It melts both the metal and itself as its consumed/melted by the arc. http://www.autobody101.com/articles/article.php?title=Mig+Welding MIG is the easiest type of welding. A feed gun is used to feed metal wire from a spool into the weld pool. Current and wire feed is usually switched on and off by means of a trigger on the gun. A dial on the MIG machine usually controls the amps and you cannot adjust current while welding. With some machines you are able to use a foot pedal to control Amps while welding. Arc Welding These are the cheap buzz box welders we usually start with. They use an arc thru the weld rod somewhat similar to MIG but without the gas shielding. They have flux on the rods that produce shielding as it burns, to help the weld quality. Arc welding is mostly used in industrial applications. An electrode is used to strike an arc, then the electrode melts away to deposit metal into the weld pool. The electrode is coated with a variety of different materials, which are used to help keep the weld pool from being contaminated. TIG and non-flux-cored MIG both use a variety of different shielding gases to help keep the weld pool from being contaminated depending on what metal is being welding. http://www.stockcarracing.com/techarticles/82101/ http://www.ytmag.com/articles/artint153.htm http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/tools/2001/3/welding_basics/ the most comon mistake I see is guys buying a cheap underpowered welder, the wrong type of welder or not understanding how to use the welder they buy, many colleges and trade schools have classes on welding open cheaply to the public, and are well worth the time and expence to attend them ....and you damn sure need a self darkening helmet YOUR EYESIGHT IS WORTH FAR MORE THAN THE $200 they cost on EBAY

Proper cam break in is really all about getting enough constant oil flow between the lifters and lobe surfaces, The cam and lifters should be coated with moly cam lube before being installed and a can of G.M. E.O.S or MOLY ADDITIVE added to the oil, Break-in sould be done by running the engine in the 2000+to 4000rpm range for about 20 min MINIMUM to get the oil to the cam and keep it there, in significant volume. This can be difficult, because you need to set the timming, etc. and keep the engine cool. Dry cranking the engine hurts it because it can wipe off the cam lube. YOU NEED THE MOLY LUBE AND ADDITIVES,YOU NEED TO KEEP THE RPMS ABOVE about 2000rpm for a flat tappet cam to break in correctly you must keep the rpms high enought that both the spinning crank assembly is throwinhg a constant oil spray and the lifters are constantly supported on a film of oil spraying from the area around the lifter bores, plus the cam lobes contact must not drag across the lifter base for a long enought time to squeeze out that oil film between them, untill the lifter base wears to exactly mate with the cam lobe. the contact time and oil volume flowing across the contact area are both dependent on the engines rpm range. it takes a minimum of about 1500rpm before your getting into the safe oil volume and time area with new parts read this http://www.cranecams.com/?show=camLiftWear http://www.cranecams.com/?show=adjustingValveTrain http://www.mrmoly.com/break-in.html http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/TechServ/TechInfo/IECCTech1.html http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/TechServ/TechInfo/IECCTech2.html http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/TechServ/TechInfo/IECCTech3.html http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/TechServ/TechInfo/IECCTech4.html http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/TechServ/TechInfo/IECCTech5.html http://www.engineparts.com/Motorhead/techstuff/caminstall.html http://www.2quicknovas.com/happycams.html http://www.iskycams.com/techinfo_index.html you should use mineral base oil as its cheaper,it allows the parts to mate faster and your going to throw it out in less than 3 hours with the partly clogged filter after cam break-in, you need to change the oil filter and additives to remove them and any metallic dust from the engine break-in to prevent that crud from clogging the filter, after that its your choice as to the oil used ,but I normally use mobile 1 synthetic and add a pint of marvel mystery oil for added corrosion protection AND YES THE FILTER YOU USE MATTERS READ THIS http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oil_filter_study/

ask yourself where your cars performance puts you? I can tell you that running 12.0 or faster 1/4 miles n/a on street tires puts you in a very exclusive group http://www.autofacts.ca/classics/fast.htm http://www.quickcarsrus.com/quickestquartermile.html http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclecars/general/musclecars-50fast.shtml

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grump "would you modify the recommended break-in procedure any based on the parts, procedures and methods used by each engine shop? " well ,I would make sure the oil had both MOLY and E.O.S added and coolant levels were triple checked , the timing and of course al clearances were double checked before attempting to start an engine for the first time, Id prelube untill oil flows from every rocker before starting the engine, I would NEVER think spinning a new engine rebuild to over about 5000rpm or allowing the engine below 1500rpm during that first critical 15-20 minutes with a flat tapper cam, I normally have a water hose running over the radiator and a box fan pushing air thru the radiator and Id sure be glued to the gauges during the first critical minutes and constantly varying the rpm level, checking the timing with a timing light and useing a heat gauge to check exhaust temps,after that Id drive it for a while (2 hours) then change the oil and filter. then swap to synthetic and a new filter and check compression to look for signs of problems the one thing that you want to avoid is endlessly spinning the engine before it starting it the first time on the starter

congrats.................get all the sleep you can NOW! youll need it after junior arrives