grumpyvette

as some of you know Im building my dream garage 36 w x 74l x 16h and Ill soon need STUCCO or TEX COAT, or some other exterior finish on the block surface, any ideas as to cost and what provides the best value will be appreciated, theres approximately 3300 sq feet or 367 sq yards of wall to be coated before I paint can any one suggest cost/value ideas, things to look for? things to avoid? before I get taken for an expensive ride on this phase???

more slow progress, btw Im loving this as its starting to look like a real garage now! keep in mind those doors are 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide the garage is 74 feet long and about 25 ft tall to the peak of the roof

never ever argue with idiots, bye standers have a difficult time knowing which person is which! YOU DON,T WANT TO BE THERE all you do in cases like that is say "ok do you have an " AFM GASKET" pay for it and leave! think about it! you drove down their to get a part he more than likely had, then you spent time argueing over what that parts called rather than getting the part! then you needed to go some ware else to get the part! WHO WON! YOU CERTAINLY DID NOT! and HE could care less! IVE had similar brief coversations with know it all parts store idiots over the years many times,I try to ignore the lame B.S. get the part and leave quickly, my time is better spend working rather than making duplicate trips just because the jerk behind the counter is lame! just last week I needed oil cover (rocker cover) gaskets for a 392 chrysler HEMI in a friends hot rod, the idiot behind the counter told me HEMIS are eithe 426 cid in old cars or 5.7 or 6.1 liter in new cars. I GOT THE GASKET AFTER ASKING HIM TO LOOK UP THE 1957-58 CHRYSLERS d-500 ENGINE http://www.allpar.com/mopar/hemi/chrysler-hemi.html

well after building a bunch of engines and seeing the results I have a set of ported TRICKFLOW heads on my 383 if thats any help. but I bought them knowing there were better heads available, but also knowing that for the money they are one of the better values in a less expensive aluminum head. and I was looking for a street/strip type combo NOT a all out performance cylinderhead, to maximize the torque in the 3000-5500 rpm range for the street/strip application that corvettes 383 was built for

while I prefer aluminum heads, just making a head from aluminum does little but lower weight, and allow the head to transfer heat to the coolant faster,its the design of the head that matters more to potential hp. on a MILD PERFORMANCE build the orriginal design VORTECs can be an excellent choice.BE AWARE THERES SEVERAL VORTEC HEADs AND THEY DIFFER A GREAT DEAL, first Ill discuss the original vortecs, but below find the new big port vortecs a TOTALLY differant head design lets look at a few things, heres some old info posts now I need to point out something many guys overlook,... VORTEC HEADS are SMALL PORT TRUCK heads DESIGNED for LOW RPM TQ NOT PEAK POWER each vortec head test in that article showed the tq peak at close too 4000-4100 rpm, after that the heads/cam used were not able to fill the cylinders to full voluumetric efficincy so tq started to fall off , as the rpms increased and by about 5500rpm it became a loosing cause remember the formula for HP=tq X rpm/5252 so if you make 400 ft lbs at 4000rpm thats 304 hp make that same 400 ft lbs at 6000rpm and its now 456 hp if your looking for peak power numbers youll need a cylinder head with a significantly larger cross sectional area to allow good higher RPM power below youll find some things to read/play with http://www.n2performance.com/lectures/airflow.pdf http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/runnertorquecalc.html heres a chart FROM THE BOOK,HOW TO BUILD BIG-INCH CHEVY SMALL BLOCKS with some comon cross sectional port sizes (measured at the smallest part of the ports) ...........................sq inches........port cc edelbrock performer rpm ....1.43.............170 vortec......................1.66.............170 tfs195......................1.93.............195 afr 180.....................1.93.............180 afr 195.....................1.98.............195 afr 210.....................2.05.............210 dart pro 200................2.06.............200 dart pro 215................2.14.............215 brodix track 1 .............2.30.............221 dart pro 1 230..............2.40.............230 edelbrock 23 high port .....2.53.............238 edelbrock 18 deg............2.71.............266 tfs 18 deg..................2.80.............250 Potential HP based on Airflow (Hot Rod, Jun '99, p74): Airflow at 28" of water x 0.257 x number of cylinders = potential HP or required airflow based on HP: HP / 0.257 / cylinders = required airflow NO! ITS NOT FOOLPROOF! BUT ITS A VERY GOOD TOOL! what tends to make me crazy is guys that insist on running vortec or similar small port heads and a dual plane intake for max low rpm torque, when I or someone elsae builds thier engine,who then come back and want thier 383-421 sbc to run the big hp/tq numbers and pull hard at 6000rpm and above where those small ports are far past there effective air flow limits Ive built some KILLER engines useing the 215cc and 230cc IRON EAGLE heads and SIMILAR larger port heads that made great torque in the low and mid ranges, a dual plane intake,with long runners and a 600cfm-750cfm carb helps, as does a cam thats designed for the midrange torque, and full length headers , with 1 5/8" primairies,its NOT the port size in the cylinder heads ALONE that determines the results! its the COMPLETE MATCHED COMBO and the thought that was put into makeing the components match the intended power curve, and matching the cars rear gear and stall speed to that power curve, sure you might be running slightly higher average rpms, to get the best power ,but youll be making a whole lot more power at the rear wheels too! if you want to get good mileage and decent torque and limit yourself to 1500rpm-3500rpm the small port vortec type heads work great on a 350,thats what G.M. spent the money researching the design to do! ,they are after all TRUCK HEADS! but increase the displacement to 383 or more and spin the engine to 6500rpm and they become a huge restriction! while a larger head can give up very little if anything down low in the rpm range but pull far bigger numbers on the hp/tq up higher in the rpm range simply because its still able to flow the necessary voluum of air the engine needs, G.M. knows that! but they also know that 90% plus of the time EMISSIONS and GAS MILEAGE and smooth just off idle low rpm torque is where most engines are used, so they build to fit MOST users expectations http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/runnertorquecalc.html play with the calculator,, notice the vortec heads 1.66 are would peak the torque at about 3100rpm on a 383, while a dart 215 cc with its 2.14 port only moves it up to about 3950 rpm AND THATS ASSUMING the larger port head has a matching larger intake runner the whole way to the carb venturies, if you stuck the same intake and other mathing components on BOTH cylinder heads the differance in rpm ranges would be more likely to be in the 300rpm range http://www.chevytalk.org/threads/showfla...rue#Post1196687 VORTEC HEADS are an excellent value,if I was building a 283-327-even some 350 sbc combos, Id be looking at them seriously I think vortec heads are really a nice cylinderhead, its just that I constantly have guys looking at the $500-$600 price range and forgetting about the other NECESSARY MATCHING COMPONENTS/ ACCESSORIES which raise the price that must be used to get them to work correctly , like rockers,intakes,valve covers) and both expecting them to be EQUAL or better than true high performance aftermarket heads at 1/2 the cost and expecting those vortecs to preform like the better aftermarket performance heads. LOOK http://users.erols.com/srweiss/tablehdc.htm#Chevy the basic conversasion usually includes statements like "why pay $1300 for canfields,AFR,BRODIX,DARTS,ETC when you can buy VORTECS for 1/2 the price and get the same results" thats comparing apples and oranges,vortecs are a good choice on the 350 and smaller sbc engines or when max low and mid range power concerns are much more important (read that daily driver and street performance) than high mid to upper rpm power used in a high performance(read that serious street/strip and track engines) read that GOODWRENCH QUEST ARTICLE carefully http://www.chevyasylum.com/chp/goodwrench4-1.html notice the vortec heads WERE a MAJOR improvement, over the aluminum corvette heads and stock iron heads,but were already having the flow into the cylinders drop off after 3800rpm on that 350 test engine, outstanding performance over stock heads but hardly up to a the flow standards of a good aftermarket heads potential IM NOT AGAINST VORTECS,FAR FROM IT! I JUST NEED TO POINT OUT THEY ARE NOT AN EQUAL TO THE BETTER PERFORMANCE HEADS, ON A SERIOUS COMBO, AND THERE ARE THOSE THAT WOULD HAVE YOU BELEIVE THEY ARE! unless you already have the vortec heads and already have the other necessary parts to make them work ID advise useing the standard 23 deg aftermarket performance heads in MOST applications , simply because the BETTER heads AFTERMARKET HEADS available flow significantly more air,AND COST LESS " TOTAL" IF YOUR LOOKING FOR MAX PERFORMANCE, rather than a mild boost in torque over stock heads and vortec heads will cost more,in many cases, "TOTAL " by the time your thru with the WHOLE installation process IM NOT saying vortec heads don,t work well! in the CORRECT APPLICATION they work EXTREMELY WELL but they do have limited lift and flow potential, unless reworked and that gets expensive fast! but by the time you get the matching ,intake,valve covers,rockers,ETC. the costs add up substantially the SR heads would NOT be my first choice thou!! if you want vortec style small port heads ID get the EDLBROCK Etec simply because they have advantages like they are ALUMINUM BUT ID SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY AND GET THE AFR 180cc or 195cc heads PERSONALLY, sure your looking at a few hundred more in cost(not NEARLY as much as you MIGHT think, once you add in the extras the vortec heads REQUIRE) but your also looking at much better heads chevy has just announced NEW versions of the vortec heads which are designed for increased flow and are similar to the FASTBURN heads but the new vortec 206cc heads are CAST IRON with a 64cc chamber PART # 25534371 bare# 25534431 assembled theres also a slightly improved 175cc version part# 25534351 read this http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/148_0506_thunder/ these new heads are drilled and tapped for both old and new valve cover and both old and vortec style intakes, they have 2.00 intake and 1.55 exhaust valves and 65cc chambers GM has also released a new 383 425hp crate engine part # `12498772 25534431 Vortec Bow-Tie Large Port Cylinder Head, Complete GM Performance Parts' latest and most powerful iron cylinder head with "Large Port" for Street or Racing. This Vortec design Special Performance cast iron cylinder head features revised intake and exhaust ports and includes 2.00" hollow stem intake valve P/N 12555331 and 1.55" sodium filled exhaust valves P/N 12551313. The deck surface is .450" with 65 cc combustion chambers, 206 cc intake and 77 cc exhaust ports. All Vortec intake ports are taller and narrower than early model Chevrolet heads. The valve cover mounting holes are for both early model flange and late model center. This head also includes intake manifold mounting holes for both early model 6 bolt main and late model 4 bolt Vortec design. The head has screw in rocker studs P/N 12552126, large valve spring pocket machining, and will accept up to .530" lift camshafts without modifications. Heads are identified with the Bow-Tie logo on the exterior of the head below exhaust flange and Vortec logo on top of intake port area. They also feature GM logo cast into bottom of intake ports. Includes valve spring P/N 12551483, valve seal P/N 10212810, and spring cap P/N 10212808. Technical Note: You must use a raised runner design intake mainifold P/N 10051103 (6 bolt mounting), or Vortec design 12366573, 12496820, 12496821, 12496822, and 12499371 (4 bolt mounting) with this head. You can use production Vortec intake gaskets P/N 12529094 (torque spec. 11 ft-lb/ 15Nm) for mounting Vortec design heads or use P/N 12497760 (torque spec. 30 ft-lb) with conventional material when using on early model raised runner or Vortec design intake manifolds, this gasket has both 6 bolt and 4 bolt Vortec attaching holes. Head casting P/N 25534371C. look at the flow chart on the link http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/148_0506_thunder/index1.html

http://www.dw1977.cz28.com/photo2.html http://boosted.envy.nu/articles/porting1.htm http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/95518/ http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/head_flowdata.html http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/41598/ http://www.kendrick-auto.com/head_flow_figures.htm http://www.malcams.com/legacy/misc/headflow.htm http://www.topher.net/~bearman/gmheadcomp.html http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/techinfo/heads1.html http://www.geocities.com/z28esser/headcomp.html this might help 1) open throat to 85%-90% of valve size (2)cut a 4 angle seat with 45 degree angle .065-.075 wide where the valve seats and about .100 at 60 degrees below and a .030 wide 30 degree cut above and a 20 degree cut above that rolled and blended into the combustion chamber (3)blend the spark plug boss slightly and lay back the combustion chamber walls near the valves (4)narrow but dont shorten the valve guide (5) open and straiten and blend the upper two port corner edges along the port roof (6) gasket match to/with intake and raise the port roof slightly (7) back cut valves at 30 degrees (8) polish valve face and round outer edges slightly (9)polish combustion chamber surface and blend edges slightly (10) remove and smooth away all casting flash , keep the floor of the port slightly rough but the roof and walls smoothed but not polished. (11) use a head gasket to see the max you can open the combustion chamber walls (12) blend but don,t grind away the short side radias http://www.ws6transam.org/ported.html http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.shtm http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~davis/z28/buildup/plenum/ http://www.babcox.com/editorial/us/us110128.htm http://www.diyporting.com/Shrouding.html http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ar/eb120121.htm

DON,T PANIC Ive got the COMPLETE MPFI setup ready to install, the carbs only listed to make it easy to dyno

now I know you did not really ask, but you might want to look at this, its a rough idea still needing careful parts matching checks, before finalizing , its for a serious race only application, and at this point the combo needs tweaking, if anyone can post a picture of the DD DYNO power curve Id appreciate it as I can,t POST that PICTURE Corvette Dream engine, the ideas to get 700hp before the giggle gas injection,AND not to exceed 6000rpm, maximizing power from 3000rpm-6000rpm is the concern, I don,t want to change the bore/stroke or cylinder heads feel free to point out potential problems its still a rought draft idea at this point , its similar to other engines Ive built but with several new part designs and yeah its only going to see 115 octane not pump gas TALL DECK 4.5 bore Block #083111 http://www.worldcastings.com/docs/05_cat_pg7.pdf heads #020750-4 …….345cc http://www.worldcastings.com/docs/05_cat_pg23.pdf intake single plane dominator style http://www.worldcastings.com/docs/05_cat_pg27.pdf crank 4.375 stroke http://www.dougherbert.com/chevy-4340-forged-profiled-cranks-p-12960.html?cPath=1_359 solid roller cam http://www.dougherbert.com/8620-billet-roller-lifter-p-9820.html?cPath=83_84_87 roller lifters http://www.dougherbert.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=83_93&products_id=10117 rockers http://www.dougherbert.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=83_284&products_id=12702 pistons http://www.kb-silvolite.com/forged.php?action=details&P_id=399 RODS/ 6.8†eagle http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=1240&prmenbr=361 dominator carb, 1150cfm http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=401189&prmenbr=361 500hp nitrous direct port injection http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=3771&prmenbr=361 oil pan http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=1756&prmenbr=361 yeah, its a 14:1 cpr 555 bbc, yeah the pistons are .058 out above deck ,unless machined, if the decks at minimum, they will be custom fitted or replaced with custom made

" probably just get a 0.043" Pro Copper Gasket from SCE for that deck, and have a 0.034" piston-to-head clearance." heres an old post that will also be useful below http://www.oliver-rods.com/products/InstallInstruct.html http://www.raceeng.com/Pages/Page_7sc.html http://www.carrilloind.com/install.html rod bolt stretch gauges are the correct way to set the bolt loads, and the only way to get really close to exactly even stress, BUT...theres HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of engines built every year with a correctly used TORQUE WRENCH,setting the bolts to the manufactures specified torque settings, and using the manufactures suggested procedures on those rod bolts,if the bearings are correctly clearanced and rods resized, magnafluxed, and clearanced and are correctly machined and clearanced, Ive seen extremely few failures that were caused by overtorqueing or incorrectly torqueing the bolts so they failed., again, Id say its more usefull if your planing to run on the ragged edge of engine part strength limits (and yes I use it,on race engines(rod bolt stretch gauge) ( but mostly because I spent the money to get one)youll be suprized at how close a correctly cerified torque wrench can get in skilled hands [/b] arp makes 2 different head bolts, one is rated at 170,000 and the other at 190,000 ? the cheaper bolts are still a big increase in strength over the standard production O.E.M. rod bolts, I would only use the better grade bolts in an engine that might see piston speeds EXCEEDING about 4500 FPM keep in mind that rod bolts are critical and highly stressed, but also be aware that the comon AFTERMARKET (H) style rods are available with 7/16" arp rod bolts. [/b] now think about this a comon small block rod has a 3/8" rod bolt with a about .1106 sq inches of cross sectional area or about a 18,800 lb failure limit with those 170,000 lb ARP rod bolts a 7/16" rod useing ARP 170,000 grade bolts has about a .1505 cross sectional area or aproximately a 25,600 lb failure limit with those 170,000 lb ARP rod bolts, increaseing the rod bolt size effectively increases the rod bolt strength approximately 36% now if you figure in the fact that the aftermarket rods are significantly stronger,(ON AVERAGE AT LEAST 30%)and then figure that resizeing your stock rods and adding ARP bolts could easily cost $200 PLUS the cost of AFTERMARKET RODS EQUIPED WITH THOSE ARP ROD BOLTS IS NOT A BAD DEAL personally, I only use STOCK RODS when Im doing NEARLY STOCK ENGINE REBUILDS once Ive decided to exceed about 4200FPM piston speeds or about 475hp in a sbc it just makes economic sence to use better rods.

what your looking for if Im reading the thread correctly is the MINIMUM and MAXimum QUENCH distance that will allow operation with both effective SQUISH and no contact of the rotating assembly to the cylinder heads. Id suggest a mnimum of .035 to allow for rod stretch and piston rock and a maximum of about .044-.046 to retain at least minimum squish to get that jet of super compressed a/f mix thrown into the central combustion chamber to cool and speed combustion, limiting the potential for detonation. but Id also point out that theres very few factory engine running that tight on piston to cylinderhead clearances as the manufacturers are far more concerned with potential contact of rotating parts than getting the squish(quench) effect maximized run less than about .035 thousands and at high rpm levels the pistons might hit the cylinder heads, run more than about .044 thousands the QUENCH effect of forceing the fuel air mix to the center of the cylinder from the cylinders edge area looses both speed and effectiveness, remember the quench area must be so tight that virtually all the fuel/air mix is forced into the center area and none is allowed to burn untill its squirted into the burn area increaseing turbulance and burn efficiency in theory the much better quench, combined with the shorter more compact area the flame front needs to cover and the far higher turbulance combine to allow more of the pressure to build AFTER the crank passes TDC on the end of compression and begining of the power stroke its mostly an advantage in that you get a more even burn in the cylinder and less chance of detonation. look, it takes approximately 40 thousands of a second for the flame from the ignition to cross a 4.25" bore,at low rpms and still takes about 15 milliseconds at high RPM due to the much faster movement of the compressed fuel air mix in the cylinders, lets look at what that means if the chevy plug is located 4/5ths of the way to one side thats a time of about 32 thousands for the pressure to build as the flame travels 3.4" in the chevy but in a compact combustion chamber it could only take the cylinder flame front less than 10-20 thousands of a second to travel acrossed the combustion chamber for a complete burn at low rpms, this of course speeds up as the swirl and turbulance increase with increased engine RPMs but the ratios stay similar. this results in more useable energy WORKING on the piston AFTER IT PASSES TOP DEAD CENTER ON THE POWER STROKE. BUT MODERN WEDGE combustion chambers use increased QUENCH to speed the flame front and lower the burn time combined with a smaller combustion chambers look at this chart http://www.iskycams.com/ART/techinfo/ncrank1.pdf keep in mind that the cylinder pressure starts, builds to a peak and drops off all before the piston moves more than about 1/2 inch away from TDC and that if your wasteing 10-20 degrees of rotation compressing the burning mix in a slow to ignite combustion chamber your wasteing engine power http://naca.larc.nasa.gov/reports/1939/naca-tm-914/ http://www.me.gatech.edu/energy/ICEngines/8_CylinderCombustionProcesses.pdf http://www.nedians.8m.com/Comp_IC.html http://mb-soft.com/public2/engine.html LOOK CLOSELY AT THESE PICTURES you only have QUENCH if theres a flat area on the piston that mates to a matching flat area on the combustion chamber roof, on these pistons dual quench areas throw the compressed fuel/air mix to the center from the twin quench areas notice, if used with this head, that only one side would have a fairly large and EFFECTIVE QUENCH area ,(the side away from the spark plug) things to read http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/94138/ http://www.theoldone.com/archive/quench-area.htm http://racehelp.com/article_racing-10.html Ive generally used KB HYPEREUTECTIC or SEVERAL BRANDS of FORGED pistons (mostly from SUMMIT,JEGS,or J&E and TRW, , getting tighter than about .036 quench has generally led to indications that the pistons have come very close to contact at times, I try to stay in the .037-.045 range simply because I personally feel that getting the max quench is FAR LESS IMPORTANT that avoiding piston to head contact.BTW I generally use AFTERMARKET (H) style rods, with 7/16" rod bolts by ARP and floating pin pistons and SELDOM build engines that exceed 7000rpm , theres not much to be gained in my opinion by spinning over 7000rpm except potentialy increased valve train problems ,if thats any help, and I generally use SOLID LIFTER CAMS in a serious 355 due to thier effective opperating rpm band (4500-7000rpm,Ive noticed that STOCK chevy 3/8" rod bolts on STOCK reworked rods DO TEND to stretch more! I built a 355 with .028 quench and 12.7:1 cpr(ON REQUEST) that had light contact and needed to use thicker gaskets, so thats MUCH TOO CLOSE look at this http://www.vips.co.uk/demos/mech/con_rod/vm_anim.htm BTW YES BEFORE YOU ASK...cylinders to cylinder variations should be minimized but don,t get crazy if some cylinders have a thousanth or so more or less, rods and pistons do vary in dimensions, don,t get crazy over a thousandth or so varriation http://www.scegaskets.com/products/procopphd.html these come in .021-.080 thick head gaskets in about .010 steps(youll need to order them) Ive used them for years with zero problems on dozens of engines WITHOUT (O)RINGS, Im currently useing them on my corvette BENEFITS OF copper HEAD GASKETS 1. Conductivity. copper is the standard by which all other conductors are measured. Therefore, a copper gasket provides superior thermal conductivity and stabilizes head and block temperatures which makes tuning easier. 2. 25% coefficient of elasticity. One of the properties of copper is that it stretches before a catastrophic failure, thereby providing an extra measure of safety in case of severe detonation. 3. Strength. copper (in the form we use) has a tensile strength of approximately 32,000 psi, compare this to the 1,200 to 1800 psi tensile of most facing materials used on conventional performance head gaskets. Yes, they can be reused several times as long as there are no signs of failure, such as carbon tracking or corosion damage if they are carefully cleaned before reuse. I have been useing SOLID COPPER HEAD GASKETS for years with aluminum heads on iron blocks (WITHOUT (O)rings) If your surfaces are strait and true and you correctly install them they work fine, now keep in mind that you MUST run high concentrations of anti-freeze and an anode in the radiator sure does not hurt to prevent electrolosis from causeing problems but I have never yet lost a head gasket and that includes nitrous use on several engines. now they sure are not your only option but they are a good one. btw I totally clean and degrease the block deck and head surfaces then spray the head gasket wet with COPPER COAT GASKET SPRAY then install them tacky wet and torque them down in 5LB stages to factory spec http://www.jcwhitney.com/productnoitem.jhtml?CATID=5131&BQ=jcw2 RADIATOR CORROSION INHIBITOR Prevents overheated radiators caused by rust, scale and corrosion. Save money on needless flushing, repairs, anti-freeze changes, special additives! Zinc anode slips in radiator filler neck and neutralizes rust/corrosion-causing chemicals. Lasts for years. NOTE: Not for radiators with plastic tanks. SUMMIT RACING CAN ORDER YOU A SET many, perhaps most copper head gaskets Ive seen and used are NOT embossed they are simply dead soft copper sheets with holes in the correct locations...unlike the comon stamped steel gaskets nost guys are familiar with, and again, let me point out I spray them down on both sides fairly heavily with copper coat spray then install them between a CLEAN and degreased block and heads and torque them down in stages http://members.tripod.com/torquespecs/gmfs70-88chv8.htm FELPRO engineers are no-doubt totally flipping and banging their heads on their desks, but I have used nothing but copperhead gaskets (with no (O) rings) on my engines for years, if you read the above links you get more info, the reason I used copperhead gaskets(installed that both sides heavily coated ,wet with copper coat spray by the way) is that I have never seen one leak or blow from cylinder pressure even when using nitrous. Now you must clean the block and totally degrease it, before you install those copperhead gaskets, he must coat both sides of the head gasket with copper coat spray, and you must torgue the cylinder head to the correct specification in stages, on my engines I usually use 35 lbs. 45 lbs. 55 lbs. 65 lbs as the stages and then go back a second time at the 65 lbs. level, each time I follow the correct torque sequence.( use the specifications that the cylinder head manufacturer suggests, if you're using studs instead of cylinder head bolts, they will be different, on aluminum heads you will need to use washers under the cylinder head bolts head, using studs you'll need washers under the nuts) http://members.tripod.com/torquespecs/gmfs70-88chv8.htm For those of you don't know the torque sequence starts in the center and spirals outward on the cylinder heads so that you're always working in a spiral pattern from the center of the head towards the outside end of the cylinder head now I am in no way saying that copperhead gaskets are the best or only solution but there are few parts that I have ever used that have worked as flawlessly with as few problems as copperhead gaskets have worked when applied soaking wet covered with copper coat spray on a properly degreased and cleaned block have worked for me over the years, especially with a heavy dose of nitrous. And yes it goes without saying that you will have to make sure that both the cylinder heads and block or correctly machined serfaces flat, clean, degreased, and would no crud/dirt/small-objects stuck to the head gasket cylinder head or block

http://www.auto-ware.com/software/eap/eap.htm theres software like I use in the engine shop but its reasonably expensive.............and I still check MANUALLY because I don,t trust software, yeah its usually close, but not exactly correct

this is an old post I got asked to repost I still use the strips of modeling clay about 1" square and .2" (two tenths thick) but one thing everyone forgot to mention so far is that you need to spray the piston and valve and clay strips with WD-40 to ensure the clay does not stick to any parts, otherwise the clay will tend to stick to the valve and piston allowing them to push the clay between them durring the compression of its surface by the valve (exactly what its there for) and PULL ON THE SURFACE of the clay as the valve moves away durring seperation (because the clay tends to stick ever so slightly as the parts pull away from each other if you don,t)which tends to give a false slightly greater than correct clearance measurement most people tend to tell me Im wrong about that untill they try it both ways yeah the differance is usually minor but five to 10 thousands differance is not rare if the parts are clean and dry versus sprayed with an oil mist One of the easiest and quickest methods thats a bunch more accurate than the clay-method , would be to use Acid-core solder (usually .120" thick ) or Resin-core solder (usually .090" thick ) READ THIS LINK http://www.fordmuscle.com/fundamentals/pistontovalve/index.shtml With the solder-method , you don't actually need a degree wheel ..just the harmonic balancer timing marks and a 6" dial caliper Turn the engine over till you are coming up to TDC-Overlap with both the exhaust valve on its way to closing, and the intake valve beginning to open Turn the engine till you are about 1/2 inch from TDC , then rollout and straighten a piece of acid-core solder about 6 to 8 inches long ....then with headers off , look thru #1 Cylinder's exhaust port with a penlite...take the solder and place it thru the spark plug hole , placing solder across the Exhaust valve piston notch...then hold solder at that angle while someone slowly turns engine over to TDC-Overlap and then past TDC until you "feel" you can pull out solder . as you turn the engine over at TDC the exhaust valve will touch or squeeze the solder to the valve-to-piston clearance ...as you keep turning engine past TDC-Overlap, the solder will be released remove the solder and look for indentation ...measure with dial-caliper ..and this is the valve-to-piston clearance ! No clay mess , no clay spring-back , very much accurate than clay-method Cut a new piece of solder ...and just repeat for intake side ! Note=>can use solder method to check total deck heights accurately ! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- the best method would be to use a 1.000" dial indicator and magnetic stand ....bolt a 1/8 thick small plate to valve cover bolt hole then stick the indicator in place on the steel plate . (sometimes a SBC fuel-pump cover works great) attach a degree wheel and pointer and find true TDC , then turn engine over till 10 degrees BEFORE TDC-Overlap to measure Exhaust clearance . (8 -to- 12 deg closest points) at 10 deg BTDC ...place the 1.000" dial indicator's point on the flat part of the spring retainer , zero the indicator, and with the set-screw backed out of the adjuster nut, take a wrench and turn the adjuster nut till you force the valve to bottom out against the piston's exhaust notch ....read how much the dial indicator traveled ...thats your Exhaust clearance back-off Exhaust adjuster nut back to ZERO point on dial indicator now, repeat the same proceedure on the Intake side ...but this time turn engine past TDC-Overlap to 10 degrees AFTER TDC then check Intake clearance . -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note : You should always check valve-to-piston clearance with a fully assembled valvetrain with the real springs in place and every rocker lashed ...and ONLY turning the engine over in the direction of rotation (ClockWise). using light checker type springs will make you flycut pistons approx. .030" more than necessary ...in other words, what ever valve-to-piston clearance you check with lite-springs, when the engine is fully assembled with the real springs, it will have approx. .030" more clearance ! using lite-checker springs will be a "SAFER" way to check and will be a good method to use for a beginner engine builder !!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- A professional engine builder would use the real springs and watch this effect upon the cam-twist, Jesel belt distortion, pushrod flex , ETC. A professional engine builder would check each and every Cylinder's clearance..and have detailed computer records of things like 1- Piston Intake and Exhaust flycut valve notch depth 2- Piston Valve notch flycut radius , angle + tilt, center-to-bore location 3- Intake and Exhaust valve seat depths on heads, valve margins, etc. and other things like 4- Total Valve-Notch-Depths to check the Total Notch Depths ...just place each piston at TDC , then place dial indicator zeroed on the top of the valve stem , push the valve down till it rests ontop of the piston notch , then record this distance ! (need to have springs off , and 2 rubber O-Rings holding up valve in guides ...when you go to check distance) As you gain experience and information, you can easily know in advance what the ballpark valve-to-piston clearance will be with known cam lobes and rocker ratios , along with cylinder head's valve depth readings , and piston flycut data . I try for 0.080 on the intake and 0.100 on the exhaust as absolute minimums but am far happier with 0.120 thousands (just under 1/8") or greater on both! Ill always trade increased clearance to gain reliablity for a slight loss in compression,keep in mind that if you get to tight on those clearances you will be locked into that cam timing and dropping it back (RETARDING the cam) for greater high rpm power or (advancing the cam) for more low rpm torque becomes next to impossiable in some cases while you tune the engine combo!

I can,t even count the times I see guys having problems with fuel flow that are at least partly the result of guys adding one of these cheap filters to the fuel line, sintered bronze filters are JUNK, that clog easily, won,t flow high voluums of fuel, and can break and leak and require constant checking,the small plastic inline filters are little if any better, filter medium surface area is a total joke, if you got two months before flow was restricted its a $%$%^ miracle YES you need a A FUEL FILTER, a reasonably cheap QUALITY FILTER with an easy to replace element,that you can replace every year or so mounted near the tank http://www.hotrodparts.com/rollsbentleyparts/fuel_filter.htm http://www.maesco.com/products/racor/r_spn_intro/r_spn_intro.html http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Produ...2+10201/c-10101 now if you look around, especially in marine supply stores they are available for under $50 US

if you have a CAST IRON CAM GEAR whether its machined on a CAST IRON CAM or PRESSED onto a STEEL billet core a CAST IRON stock style DISTRIBUTOR GEAR IS WHAT YOU NEED, BUT..if you have a STEEL BILLET CAM CORE (NORMALL ONLY FOUND ON SOME ROLLER CAMS) with A STEEL GEAR MACHINED ON THE CORE a bronze/ALUMINUM STYLE GEAR IS WHATS NECESSARY HERE READ The bottom of a Chevrolet distributor housing can be modified to spray pressurized oil onto the distributor drive gear. The extra lubrication will reduce distributor gear and camshaft gear wear. This is especially important when the gear is used to drive non-standard accessories, such as a high volume oil pump, or a magneto that puts additional loads on it and the cam as was previously pointed out,you must use the correct gear for the cam used, Mark a straight-ahead position on the outside of the distributor body to use as a reference mark for the distributor’s placement in the engine. Use this orientation to position the oil groove. Remember that the cam is on the driver’s side of the distributor. Crane suggests cutting a .030-inch-wide by .030-inch-deep slot in the lower band of the distributor housing to direct a spray of oil onto the camshaft and distributor gears. YOU can Use a Dremel tool to cut the slot into this distributor. Thought I'd best add that you would be ahead by disassembling the distriburor first & clean the debris out before you re-assemble ,but you already know that ITS just a tip for improving the oil flow to the distributor, GEARS TO PROMOTE LONGER LIFE,BUT it HELPS a good deal with cam/distributor gear life so its a STANDARD MOD I always do! (keep in mind youll want the grouve location to spray oil into the gear teeth contact area and that requires YOU to carefully match the notch location to the contact area WHEN the distributor is fully seated and timed correctly, moving the distributor timing moves the oil spray pattern area so the time taken too CAREFULLY CUT a second shallow grouve in the block , on the lower band where the distributor seats and seal the oil passage as a secondary extra presureized oil spray source spraying oil onto the gear contact area,that can,t move seems like an even better IDEA . having twin high pressure oil jets spraying oil into the gears helps slow potential wear

" I have heard that the flat block style are prone to problems because the shaft that the gear is on is not supported at both ends. Is there any truth in this? Should i let that influence my decision in which one to buy? Also, should i be looking at a mini starter for clearence?" While OBVIOUSLY Ive not used every brand or model avaiable, Ive used several of each type over the years, Id also recommend the supported style as I have seen more problems with the UN-supported starters , and you can use the mini-high torque starters on a street car, Ive had one on BOTH my 1985 and 1996 corvettes for years.... that being said, Id look into the garauntee of each brand and keep the shipping box ETC. as I know of several cases where mini-starters, and for that matter full size starters lasted under a week!, BTW your local area may have a shop that can build/sell you a quality mini starter for even less, and its always nice to have a local guy handy if you do have problems

I really hope its a sprain not something more serious, I slipped on a greasy floor at work, and my ankle bent 90 degrees, stuff popped,pain was off the scales, and its required two $40,000 surgerys lots of steel pins and screws, rebuilding the joinnt, bone splicing,ETC. and therapy plus constant medication just to walk, and even then 15 mins is about max time I can stand without serious pain. and its been 5 years now get a good specialist to look at it carefully,fast!, and if theres ANY question as to the extent of the damage, get an MRI not just an Xray even if YOU need to cought up the $1000 to get it done, trust me its worth it in the long run to get quick, knowledgable, skilled,experianced, medical , help PERCOCET/CORTOZONE,ASPRIN , ICE PACK,WARM BATHS tend to lower the pain levels, and DON,T WALK on it UNTILL its COMPLETELY HEALED its very easy to increase damage to the area if you get STUPID and walk on a damaged joint

we have all heard it, " you need massive low rpm tq" "you need a screaming high rpm hp peak" well heres some info, More in-depth description: http://www.revsearch.com/dynamometer/torque_vs_horsepower.html http://www.dynacam.com/Product/Torque_vs__Horsepower/torque_vs__horsepower.html http://vettenet.org/torquehp.html http://auto.howstuffworks.com/horsepower4.htm http://homepage.mac.com/dgiessel/engine/hpvstq.html first thing to keep in mind is that theres no such "thing" as horsepower, horsepower is a mathmatical formula explaining the RATE at which TORQUE (rational force ) can be applied increasing the torque at a given RPM or increasing the RPMS with a given torque increases THE RATE(HORSEPOWER AVAILABLE TO DO WORK)GEARING ALLOWS YOU TO APPLIE THAT FORCE at a given force level but not at a RATE APPLICATION LEVEL that exceeds the engines peak power. put a differant way, if we ignore drive line friction loss,if an engine puts out 400 ft lbs at 6000rpm (400 x 6000/5252equals (457 hp)we can gear it to apply 1600 ft lbs at the wheels by running the gearing at 4:1 but that also cuts the application rate by 4:1 so the HP applied stays constant at the 1500rpm at the rear wheels 1600 x 1500/5252 equals (457 hp) the formula for hp is (tq x rpm/5252=hp example 450 ft lbs of torque at 3000rpm=257hp 450 ft lbs of torque at 6000rpm=514hp because the torque is available at that higher RPM RATE and at the higher rpm useing gearing the rotational force the engine supplied can be applied faster or slower to the rear tires here read these ALL CAREFULLY http://www.69mustang.com/hp_torque.htm http://www.ubermensch.org/Cars/Technical/hp-tq/ http://vette.ohioracing.com/hp.html http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm http://auto.howstuffworks.com/horsepower.htm http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question622.htm where most guys go wrong is in not correctly matching the cars stall speed and gearing to the cars tq curve, if you mod the engine for increased high rpm performance but fail to also match the stall speed and gearing to that higher rpm tq curve much of the potential improvement is wasted. example in the close to stock engine above, the engine should be geared to stay in the 3500rpm-5000rpm range for max acceleration (lower in the rpm range if mileage is a big factor) in the moded engine above the rpm range moved to 4000rpm-6500rpm requireing differant rear gears and slightly higher stall speeds to gain max acceleration in the same car, you should readily see that a trans that shifts at 5000rpm will work in the first example but would waste most of the power curve in the second example,where shifting at 6500rpm under full power acelleration would make more sence. a 3.08 rear gear and 700r4 trans matches the first example well but it would take a swap to a 3.73-4.11 gear to allow the engine in the second example to keep its most effective power band matching that second power curve well. links youll need to figure out correct rear gear ratios http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html http://www.wallaceracing.com/reargear.htm http://users.erols.com/srweiss/calcmph.htm http://users.erols.com/srweiss/calcrpm.htm http://users.erols.com/srweiss/calcrgr.htm http://www.prestage.com/Car+Math/Ge...io/default.aspx http://www.geocities.com/z28esser/speed.html http://server3003.freeyellow.com/gparts/speedo.htm http://www.pontiacracing.net/trannyratios.htm http://www.tciauto.com/tech_info/gear_ratios.htm

What causes bent pushrods? 99% of the time its CLEARANCE ISSUES,spring bind, rocker to rocker stud, retainer to valve guide, piston to valve,retainer to rocker arm,pushrod to guide slot, ETC. or a cam thats been indexed to the rotation of the cam vs piston badly,or non correct valve train geometry

http://www.miata.net/sport/Physics/ read this and take notes

look back at post #12 rule #4 "(4)I will be very glad to assist you in any projects as long as you realize a few basic concepts,while I don,t normally charge for work ,unless prior agreements on cost is involved, and then it is usually only to cover costs, I don,t expect to be working on your car by myself with you not here, or paying for expenses generated by the car I don,t own Id bet SERIOUS money you can,t find a SINGLE person Ive charged even a $1 for building thier engine! durring the last 7-8 years, while youll find many dozens of engines build under my close supervision, using my tools and knowledge/instruction, all were built strictly for enjoyment durring the last 7-8 years and all were assembled with the owner doing most of the work, under extremely close instructional supervision. In fact Ive refused offers to build engines from this and many other sites if the owners were not available locally or were not interested in participating in all phases of the engine build. while I do build engines at a steady rate ,I usually don,t charge anything, on the rare ocasions that I do charge is only enought to cover expenses/supplies used , and the guys getting the engines pay for all thier own,parts and machine work, I usually do the strictly for grins since I retired and no longer build engines for a living. this is strictly a mildly obsesive but enjoyable HOBBY since I retired I enjoy TEACHING guys to BUILD ENGINES CORRECTLY "why did you buid a CBS VS a STEEL PREFAB building?" I could have built a concrete slab/steel building of similar size for about $70,000 all parts/labor included my current garage (CONCRETE BRICK) will cost me about $100,000 when Im done, I chose (CONCRETE BRICK)due to its increased hurricane resistant strength and the fact that it would raise property values significantly which a steel building does NOT! even the best steel buildings are NOT PERMENENT compared to a POURED CONCRETE BLOCK STEEL RE-ENFORCED BUILDING

got the walls up now, 74 feet long, 36 feet deep.16 feet tall, 2664 sq feet of floor space and I got the roof trusses delivered today

"Most guys in their mid twenties would dream about having sex with some hot babe or maybe even two or three at the same time. " it gets worse as you get older! you are just as horny, but by age 57 your smart enought to realize theres potential LONG TERM responsibilities that you assume when your having SEX, yet you look at the playmates and notice the were BORN AFTER you graduated COLLEGE............and AFTER YOU GRADUATED ENGINEERING, and you know that theres not a shot in hell that they would want an old geezer,like you! but...you are just as horny as ever.......IT gets depressing!............this looks even better at 57 than it did when I was 18, and I sure as hell know how to enjoy that resource better with 40 more years of practice

yes, it getting a 4 post lift, 100 gallon air compressor with a 7 hp motor, several welders,etc.and as soon as funds allow a full concrete drive way ,is on the plans