Balancing
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 315
Likes: 0
From: Washington
Balancing
OK, I know about balancing an engine. The engine out of my '69 (350) is still at the machine shop and should be back to the shop that is doing the rest of the work on the car this week. Part of the machine work and rebuild is balancing. What is blueprinting an engine entail?
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,360
Likes: 3
From: NORTHEAST
OK, I know about balancing an engine. The engine out of my '69 (350) is still at the machine shop and should be back to the shop that is doing the rest of the work on the car this week. Part of the machine work and rebuild is balancing. What is blueprinting an engine entail?
We would line hone the block to make sure the mains are in alignment with each other.
Bore and plate hone the cylinders for good ring seal.
Regrind the crank if needed but to blue print one from GM it may end up .020 under as GM is not very fussy about their stroke or phasing.
Size rods to spec and check for bend and twist.
Here is a link on blue printing
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93124
Pro
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 593
Likes: 0
From: London England
Interesting, in the UK Blueprinting is similar but different.
Here Blueprinting is the process of taking every manufacturing tolerance to it's maximum.
It really grew out of one make racing, notably Formula Ford single seater racing where engines had to be 'standard' Ford engines.
As all the parts had to be stock and the engine built to stock specifications builders would take everything to extremes, such as:-
Taking head and block heights to factory minimums.
Machining crank pins to minimum specs.
Buying boxes of engine bearings to achieve to the maximum allowable bearing clearance.
Buying boxes of valve springs to get both the stiffest and best matched set.
The list could go on and on.
All of this would mean a 'standard' engine could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
To fully Blueprinted engine takes big bucks and hundreds of man hours and is a term some engine builders throw around really inaccurately.
Interestingly, here one of the things that definitely isn't Blueprinting is balancing, since it means machining away or adding weight.
Here Blueprinting is the process of taking every manufacturing tolerance to it's maximum.
It really grew out of one make racing, notably Formula Ford single seater racing where engines had to be 'standard' Ford engines.
As all the parts had to be stock and the engine built to stock specifications builders would take everything to extremes, such as:-
Taking head and block heights to factory minimums.
Machining crank pins to minimum specs.
Buying boxes of engine bearings to achieve to the maximum allowable bearing clearance.
Buying boxes of valve springs to get both the stiffest and best matched set.
The list could go on and on.
All of this would mean a 'standard' engine could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
To fully Blueprinted engine takes big bucks and hundreds of man hours and is a term some engine builders throw around really inaccurately.
Interestingly, here one of the things that definitely isn't Blueprinting is balancing, since it means machining away or adding weight.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 315
Likes: 0
From: Washington
balancing
Should have titled this post "blueprinting" instead of balancing. At any rate, thanks for the info on blueprinting. This is a matching numbers motor in my '69 and the numbers will NOT be removed in the decking process. It is also being line honed, or line bored, in the process. I am keeping this pretty close to specs and it is only bored .30 over and a mild cam installed.
BTW, were all small block motors in Corvettes four bolt main engines? The 350 in my car is a four bolt main motor.
This has been a slow process but I obtained very good recomendations on this machine shop from a number of my Corvette/high performance buddies. I would rather the guy be slow and do excellent work than have it back fast.
Now for one more question. Define the term "survivor" in the context we are speaking.
Thanks guys. I am pretty new at this game.
BTW, were all small block motors in Corvettes four bolt main engines? The 350 in my car is a four bolt main motor.
This has been a slow process but I obtained very good recomendations on this machine shop from a number of my Corvette/high performance buddies. I would rather the guy be slow and do excellent work than have it back fast.
Now for one more question. Define the term "survivor" in the context we are speaking.
Thanks guys. I am pretty new at this game.
Last edited by 1955pirate; Apr 5, 2010 at 12:18 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 315
Likes: 0
From: Washington
Balancing
Well, again I may not have worded that question correctly. I have heard the term "survivor" with respect to the car itself, not in relation to the engine rebuild. My guess it refers to an unrestored original car still on the road.
Pro
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 593
Likes: 0
From: London England
I'd guess you're correct though, that it refers to an original surviving car that hasn't had a motor change etc
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,674
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From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
"Survivor" Is actually an award given and judged at Bloomington Gold. I believe they have a trademark on this as an award description. I remember some discussion on the and litigation a while back. Here is a short description and copy of the judging sheet.
http://www.bloomingtongold.com/docum...lines.indd.pdf
http://www.bloomingtongold.com/docum...lines.indd.pdf
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Racer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 294
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From: Racine Wisconsin
There may be multiple definitions of survivor. A barn find or a collector car may be considered a "survivor." The annual Corvette show called Bloomington Gold has trademarked the Bloomington Gold Survivor as a certification given to a Corvette that is at least 20 years old, able to be driven, less than 50% restored, never refinished (except for repairing vandalism) and passing a judging. A survivor certificate is deemed to increase the value of the old Corvette.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
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From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
As far as I am concerned "Blueprinting" a motor would be taking exact measurements of everything, and I mean everything, bearing clearances, measuring lifter bores, finding exact deck height, there are so many measurements it would take a page just to list them.
So with all these measurements you could build another motor exactly the same as the one you are "blueprinting" This is my interpretation
So with all these measurements you could build another motor exactly the same as the one you are "blueprinting" This is my interpretation