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It's taken too long but I finally finished the re-assembly of my RS600 and bolted it back up to my 406 that now has fresh pistons and rings. I was seriously considering waiting until I had some help but really didn't want to impose on anyone so pushed forward on my own just as I had done a few years ago.
I didn't have the luxury of a lift or even a leveling bar for the engine hoist and doing it by myself meant lots of trips from operating the hoist to crawling under the car. I have to admit it seemed a bit harder this time now that I'm closing in on 70 but the satisfaction is worth a few aches and pains.
Hopefully I won't have to pull it back out for many years, if ever. I'm confident I've fixed the shifting problem with the transmission and the new rings have larger end gaps so hopefully I won't break any more pistons.
It will probably take me most of next week before I can start it but that day feels a lot closer than ever before. I'm excited!
Doing it alone must have been a really difficult job. Congrats to you.
This.
Good on you to go for it. At 62, I generally get help for the biggie evolutions. But I am also trying to plan mine out so that the next time I do the really big jobs will be the last, given the use rate.
Took some time off today but still managed to install the hi-torque starter and its wiring, got the headers on and connected to the exhaust system. New plugs gapped and installed.
Tomorrow I need to either order or drive up to Ecklers and pick up the front exhaust hanger for a '63 as that's what I've been told works with the Keisler tranny since the 64 and later mount will not. I designed and built a couple different versions but never liked what I settled on. Like the original, they mounted to the tranny which was the challenge and I understand the 63 version does not.
After the exhaust is finished, I can put the car back on the ground and finish up the rest of the engine compartment. Maybe I can fire it up by Father's Day!.
Since you mention a ring gap issue I am thinking those were Keith Black Hypereutectic Pistons. That is the only brand I have seen with the rings butting issue.
Sounds like you have made huge progress congratulations.
I hope it purr's soon.
Mark
Took some time off today but still managed to install the hi-torque starter and its wiring, got the headers on and connected to the exhaust system. New plugs gapped and installed.
Tomorrow I need to either order or drive up to Ecklers and pick up the front exhaust hanger for a '63 as that's what I've been told works with the Keisler tranny since the 64 and later mount will not. I designed and built a couple different versions but never liked what I settled on. Like the original, they mounted to the tranny which was the challenge and I understand the 63 version does not.
After the exhaust is finished, I can put the car back on the ground and finish up the rest of the engine compartment. Maybe I can fire it up by Father's Day!.
Drive up to Eckler's and have some fantastic seafood at Dixie Crossroads. You've earned it!
Here's a few pics as I was lowering it in the engine compartment.
Unfortunately today did not go as planned. I called Ecklers and they did have the mount I needed. They even price matched a cheaper source so I drove up and got it. But my desire to get as much of the car together yesterday meant I had to undo much of what I did.
I thought the mount would simply bolt to the crossmember and I would install the clamps on the pipes. NOT! I had to disconnect the pipes from the headers, jack up the motor and transmission while unbolting and removing part of the Keisler mount.
And when I tried to install the new mount I found it fit poorly and required modification. It also seemed as though it would hold the pipes too high, but I had to fully install it to find out. It was a royal struggle working around the Keisler transmission and its custom mount and when I succeeded I found it was indeed holding the pipes so high that they contacted the crossmember as well as one point on the transmission main case. So I had to undo it and figure out how to mount it lower.
I decided to insert some longer bolts in the crossmember tabs and install the Keisler transmission mount with nuts and lock washers that would end up lowering the exhaust bracket. Then I attached the bracket on the remaining portion of the longer bolts. It seems a little bit bubba but it was a clean solution.
By time I quit for the day, the bracket was in place with one pipe clamped to it and re-attached to the header. Tomorrow I'll get an earlier start and finish up the other side.
Since you mention a ring gap issue I am thinking those were Keith Black Hypereutectic Pistons. That is the only brand I have seen with the rings butting issue.
Sounds like you have made huge progress congratulations.
I hope it purr's soon.
Mark
You are correct and of course I have to ask, why? And is it just their HP pistons or as someone here advised me, it's advisable to open up the gap beyond the manufacturer's guidelines for HP pistons in general?
Keith Black Pistons in Hypereutectic material run the top ring closer to the combustion chamber than other brands. It is fact that minor movement closer to the combustion chamber increases the heat on the top ring. More heat = more gap needed.
Keith Black Hypereutectics are the only brand I know of that did this.
Keith Black did this on purpose stating minor gains in wide open throttle power.
My theory is for the minor gains at wide open throttle you get more blow by at part throttle application. Keith Black/Silvolite Piston Company make good pistons you just need to follow their unique build requirement on ring gaps.
Sealed Power Hypereutectics can run factory stock ring gaps.
If you Turbo, Nitros or Supercharge you would need to open the gaps on a Sealed Power but otherwise stock top ring gaps, .004 per inch of bore or .016 on a 327 work fine.
For racers seeking top power in engines they refresh frequently they will shrink the ring gap a little tighter with each refresh until they can detect the rings are just starting to touch or butt at wide open throttle. Then they open them up .0005 and keep them at that point.
So the top ring is almost completely closed at wide open throttle. That exact gap will vary with every engine build but it was fun to see what they did trying to maximize power. If you go too tight the top ring will expand and drag on the cylinder wall usually causing the top ring land to break off in pieces above the top ring.
A few more pictures from underneath with the new exhaust bracket in place.
I know the sharp eyed among you wil notice the extra pipe clamp, I couldn't get one nut off by hand while I was under there to take the pictures and wasn't getting back out just for that.
Fired it up today after a false start yesterday. Had everything connected and filled the cooling system and before I started it, I noticed a small puddle of coolant under the engine. Jacked it up and found one of the drain petcocks was dribbling and wouldn't shut off! I put a pair of pliers to it knowing I was in danger of stripping the handle but didn't care cause I'd have to replace it anyway if it didn't shut off.
Of course it didn't so I drained the radiator and put a jug under the leak and left it overnight thinking it would at least drain that side of the block by morning. It didn't so I had a mess while replacing the petcock and damn those things have gotten expensive at ten bucks! I almost just put a plug in it as draining the block isn't something I do often.
Anyway, refilled the cooling system and connected the battery and turned the key. As expected it took a bit for the carb to fill which gave the oil time to circulate and build pressure. It fired on about the third try and once warmed up a bit, settled down to a nice idle at 800 rpm.
I revved it slightly a few times then let it idle for about 15 minutes to get everything up to temperature. Shut it down and pulled the plugs and checked compression with all cylinders running about 190 +/- 5 psi. I doubt I'll see 240 again even after it's broken in as I've opened up the end gaps from 0.016 to 0.022".
I did notice I've got a bit of crankcase pressure which I'm assuming is blow-by from unseated rings. I'll get the hood back on it this week and start putting some break-in miles on it.
Tried to post a video but I guess it's too long. I'l made a shorter one later.
EDIT: Anyone know the file size limit for attachments? I've looked but haven't found anything.
Last edited by 65air_coupe; 06-11-2017 at 06:35 PM.
05-28-2017, 09:19 PM
Finally!
and yes we need pics 
of your work in process.
