augiedoggy

https://www.ebay.com/itm/35302320409...mis&media=COPY So something like these would be a better choice? They are forged. And if I don't deck the block they would work with my heads.

augiedoggy

From what I've read my head gasket options are fairly limited on a 400.. do they even make shim gaskets for them?

augiedoggy

Aren't you running hyper pistons in your 406?

augiedoggy

Some pics of the main bearings.. thought I read once as long as your fingernail doesn't catch on the grooves they are not a concern? Is this something I should try to polish out of the crank with the leather belt trick I read about?
Anyone know off had the ballpark for having a crank polished if it needs to be done?
Sorry for the noob question. I put a new scat crank in my last build.
Pistons are all .025 in the hole but one that's. 027..

427Hotrod

Yes...I'd use those in a heartbeat. DSS makes good stuff. I have a set of them in my 8-71 blown 408" Clevor engine (Ford). If you ck their website they often run specials and include rings for a good price.

I actually paid a little extra and had them make my pistons .020" taller so I would end up with a "zero" deck and not have to cut the deck. I wanted to keep all the thickness I could for the boost. My pistons also had lateral gas ports to help ring sealing.

Your bearings look like things are generally happy. I'd polish the crank...it's very cheap to have machine shop do it. Pop one out and see what size is stamped on the back to see if it's still STD or if it's been turned down. Also post a pic of the MFG and part number on the bearings.

I normally don't run the harder "H" series race bearings on a cast crank. A good P series will do well. (Talking Clevite names).

JIM

Jebbysan

Yes.....as I had them on the shelf.....they are fine if you pay attention to things but if you are starting from scratch.....get a premium piston with the LS ring pack.....1.5/1.5/3.0mm.....frees up a lot of parasitic loss.......

The 385ci I built last year had Mahle pistons with this ring pack.......when the short block was assembled I invited the owner down to spin the assembly by hand with a bar......he about ****......it is easily half of the resistance......but the rings sealed up nice and tight.....

Jebby

LT1M21Vette

In for more info as I scored a similar deal for a 400 block last month.

augiedoggy

I spoke with a local machine shop today... $1205.00 to linebore clean magnaflux and bore the block, replace freeze plugs and cam bearings and polish the crank.... Does that sound right?
Kinda makes that $1600 mabbco shortblock seem like a real value.
It is what it is I guess just seems kinda high based on what ive read in the past.

427Hotrod

I dunno...sounds pricey to me......that's a heck of a dent towards an aftermarket block.

For an engine like this...and if bearings all look decent, I'd forego line boring...bore it and put in new pistons and probably have them install cam bearings and test fit cam to make sure they are in correct. I'd polish the crank and you can install freeze plugs.

Don't forget whatever you plan to do with rods. They will charge you to press pistons on/off and if you rebuild them with good bolts it keeps adding up. Personally, I'd take all that cost and put it towards a basic set of aftermarket rods that are floating so you can install the pistons on them yourself. And also add in balancing cost for the whole shebang.

JIM

pspicci

Put the crank in it with the bearings oiled and if the crank spins freely by hand I would not worry about getting it line honed.
Pat

augiedoggy

So I pulled all the pistons. Rod bearing are stamped 20 and the mains stamped 10 so I assume the cranks been turned before. The pic of the crank is the worse of it there's two grooves I can sort of catch my nail with.
Strange that there is no ridges in the piston botes either at the top or bottom theres discoloration and the surface is not polished below the bottom of where the skirt rod but zero ridge . I don't have a dial bore gauge but the cylinder actually look good from what I can tell. I'll definitely try for 020. I'm kinda tempted to get a borscope and check the cylinders. If I can save some money on uneeded machine work that would be good... I mean I could even install my own cam bearings I think.. tools only like 40 bucks.. but again if Could get it bored for like $600 that would work with my budget fine.
They only want 130 to polish the crank which isn't bad but does it need it?

augiedoggy

It Does.. very freely

augiedoggy

I do have a press. And yes this is all adding up quick!

augiedoggy

I don't know if it's normal but the oil rings seemed to be almost gummed up and stuck in a much more compressed form that the upper rings.

augiedoggy

im picking up a dial bore gauge... might come in handy for other things anyway.

427Hotrod

Yep..crank has been turned. Not a problem at all. It needs polished.....their price still seems high to me. It takes very little time to polish one.

$75 per hole boring ain't cheap either. That had better be with TQ plates and a hug afterwards. And a big discussion about how they hone different for particular ring sets and talk about RPK and RVK measurements.

A basic dial bore gauge set is great...but you need mic's to go along with it. It will enable you to set clearances for bearings properly. I'm not a plastigauge fan...I like real numbers.

Pressing pistons is best done with a fixture to hold them. And most shops have a rod heater to make it easier to reinstall them. So that's a tough one to spend $$$ on when you won't likely use it again whereas the mics and dial bore stuff will come in handy in the future.

Cam bearings are easy to install with correct tools.

JIM

augiedoggy

This doesn't look good.. crack or just rust damage? (I think cracked) Guess I'll have to have it checked this was after hitting this cylinder with my honing stone to try to get a clearer picture of what was going on.. I guess I could ask about a sleeve if its cracked?

427Hotrod

Yep...might need to ck that one....

Sleeve is an option......but we're investing a lot in a stock block....

JIM

djquik1

Have it checked. But should clean up with a bore. I agree with the others and go with Forged pistons. Rods. Aftermarket 6" will give you the better Rod/stroke ratio but a good alternative would be Vortec 5.7 rods with upgraded rod bolts. With your heads should be a fun street engine and might as well get a fun cam. You are going to have torque across the powerband

augiedoggy

it cracked.. I can feel it with my fingernail I may give up on this as the local machine work fees are more than the block is worth... Sign of the times I guess.

Turns out a friend of my late uncle has a fresh 406 he had built for his 1 ton truck and never installed. I remember chatting with him about it after the funeral last year and I reached out... it has small 5.7 rods with 170/64cc edelbrock Etec heads on it now So I know it will work with my larger port 64cc heads. It also has a roller cam setup and roller rockers currently (cam is setup for torque so ill be swapping that.) Never been run intake to pan $3 grand... He said he paid about 6k but that was like 15-20 years ago when it was built. He has moved on to a newer truck and says he will end up never needing it.
I bought a cheap borescope to check it out because its been sitting in his garage wrapped all this time. The local shop that built it is still in business and they do a lot of high performance builds.
If all goes well ill be putting the etec heads and rv type cam in the 355 and ill have a great spare engine so ill have to find a project for it