USAsOnlyWay

Nice, you are really hogging those runners out too. This should be a great build.

As for clearancing for the rotating assembly, are you taking the parts to the same machinest as the block? ) Checking rod ends, turning down the crank etc? You might just have him take a look at it and he should be able to do the right clearancing before cleaning up the block and also let you know if you need a small base circle camshaft as well.

Keep up with the updates!

bwiencek

You'll want .050-.080 clearance between rod bolts and pan rail and the bottom of the cylinder bore. This doesn't have to be measured exact but is a good minimum when you're going through grinding it. Find a piece of solid copper 14 gauge wire and then use that as a feeler gauge to check your progress (14ga = 0.0641 inch, 12 ga = 0.0808 - both are common household wire) you can bend it to reach and 'feel around' where you can't really see well...

I think the pics of the oil drain-back show it all - just clean them up and smooth them out like you did the porting - all that casting flash needs to go! You're not trying to super hog them out and enlarge them - just open them up to where they looked like they should have been without the casting flash and remove a little material to smooth/radius the flow... No need to clean up the block yet - you're going to make a mess grinding and the oil film is keeping it from flash rusting so leave it on there until the machine shop can clean it thoroughly....

Jimbo 89

From what I've read in the past, a lot of guys tend to go too far, and the car is no longer "streetable". If you are just going to run it at the strip, that's one thing, but if you want to enjoy it joyriding around town or on a trip, keep it a little "milder". Don't go hog wild with the compression. Sometimes, you might have trouble finding high enough octane pump gas and so on. Best of luck, and keep us posted, Jim

Pwnage1337

I am taking the rotating assy to the ame machinist as the block. I asked them if they knew about the clearancing of the block for a stroker crank and he said they knew about it but they don't perform that work because it weakens the blocks strength

I want them to check over everything, because I don't want all of these parts to go to waste. I thought about assembling it myself but then I thought it would be a way better idea to let them do it.

Thanks for the wire tip, that will come in handy!

I was pretty amazed at how crappy the casting was for the oil drain backs too. It was in a truck before and with those swirlports it probably never went over 4000 rpm

Thanks for the advice, I want it to be streetable as it is a street car. I want to take it to the strip every once in a while but this is going to be 90% street driven. I know camshaft plays a big part in this, and i've done a bit of searching and the cam I want to run gives a good idle and makes good power.

cv67

Clearancing doesnt weaken anything do they do strokers on a regular basis?

Pwnage1337

I am assuming that they don't do strokers on a regular basis, because if they did they woud know that it isn't that hard to clearance the block for them. I asked if they had ever built them before and they told me that they have built a few in the past. I don't know if that means twenty years ago, or what. I have a feeling you are going to suggest I find a new place.

More pics!

I went out to the garage on a mission to open up these oil drain backs. It took me 40 minutes to find my carbide burr...anyways I only had time to do one, and I am not totally finished with it yet

Before:

After:


Off to work! I will post more updates tomorrow. I have the whole day off.

bwiencek

RUN from that machine shop - they're not the guys I would want to be doing my machine work - If they tell you they "don't clearance the block" because it would weaken it then they've never put together a stroker whose rod bolts hit the pan rails or the cylinder liner...

*IF* you use cap screws with good rods and get REAL lucky on some blocks just a tiny shave is all that's required but it's needed none the less...

I'd talk with the local circle track and drag racers about the machinists in the area - you'll quickly get an idea of who is good and who just isn't recommended - the guys that can put engines together and make them live on a circle track under sustained high RPM's will certainly be able to put together a good street engine...

1985 Corvette

Yeah, I would stay away from the machine shop also. It may be a toy, but it's still an investment. Take the time and get around and get to know your local engine shops. You'll be glad you did. You can also go to the regional section I suppose and ask the guys that hang out there for good shops in your area.

In the case of putting together your own engines, you can never take too much time, do too much homework, and research.

Pwnage1337

Thanks for the advice guys, I am planning on "running" from this shop. They aren't really interested in what I want from the motor, they just want my money. I know a few people around here that race at the local 1/3 mile oval track, they should know some shops.

The guy i talked on the phone with seemed extremely impatient. I'll take my money elsewhere I suppose.

5abivt

Very cool ! thats mighty impressive for the budget too. those heads look great and the car looks really good too in the pics. Glad you are open to input thoughts/comments. It's what makes it fun on the forums isnt it !!

mnstrlt1

Very exciting project! It's a lot more fun (and rewarding) when you do the research, bargain shop, and find the deals! It sounds like you do a great job of working the interest as a resource (with a relatively diverse range of websites) to find the parts you've collected!

Good luck dude, I'll be following this thread!

Lemme

Interested how you know that this $50 long block is suitable for a 383 TPI build. Please expand as I want one too!

BTW well done for staying away from the drinks and cigarettes. You will get much more of a high from the Vette thats for sure.

Pwnage1337

If it weren't for these forums I would probably be like "I WANNA PUT NOS ON MY CAR!!!!!!!!!!111"

Definitely, its been in the making a long time but now its coming together slowly. Thanks!

I did some reading here and found out that blocks after 87 that were 1 piece rear mains have capability to run a roller cam, even if they weren't equipped with one from the factory. So I went on craigslist, searched "350 block" and found it. Saw pictures, it was a 1 piece RMS so I bought it. The heads are totally garbage and so is pretty much everything else in the motor (minus the crank)

Even though I managed to stay away from drinks (which is pretty damn hard here in WI)/cigarettes I think my hobby is more expensive. At least I have something to show for it besides emphysema or a failing liver

pr0zac

you know you just called and asked me and i told you what to buy. haha. get your butt in gear and get that thing running.

Pwnage1337

Lol yep, that was it. Thanks for the reference to LE though

Pwnage1337

Update...

haven't got as much done as I wanted to. Cleaned out the garage instead of working on engine. Which in turn will make it easier to work on engine.

Just finished cleaning up the other oil drain back



Does this look good? I cleaned up the rough casting.

tehcarguy

Looks good.

bwiencek

Looking lots better - now just smooth the entry into the drain a little bit... but you can already see how it's 100x better than with the factory casting flash

rklessdriver

Your doing good work on the oil drain backs but you can grind a bunch more casting flash out of them (and should).

The rear should look like these when your done. I did these on an LT4 383 I built for a forum member here a few yrs ago. You don't have to do as much polishing/blending as I did up above the oil return but you can see how big and what shape the returns should be when your finished.



The clearancing for the 3.75 stroke crank and rods will look something like this. Bottom of the cyls and the pan rail (on some rod combos) needs to be cut. How much you have to cut all depends on the rods and how the bolts/cap screws are placed on the big end.



One last thing. The rear main cap oil pump feed should be deburred. This is an old oval track engine trick to help reduce strain on the oil pump. It does not take a lot of grinding to accomplish this.... Just blend the entry port. If you look at your stock cap you'll see the big sharp edge you'll need to blend in.



Good to see you taking this on by yourself. Your making a much better investment in that Corvette than your buddies are in smoking and drinking.
Will

Pwnage1337

Thanks! This post is VERY useful. Time to hit the garage!

You do nice work with a grinder btw, holy ****.

Edit: Another thing,

how am I going to be able to tell how much to clearance? If i set the crank in, I can't really mock up the rods because the rods are connected to the pistons and the pistons are .030 over. Would I have to have the pistons removed? A lot of the shops I've called around here don't know about clearancing the oil pan rails or the cylinders so it is something I am going to have to do myself