Hi Guys, I actually have a 396 build going on for Dan Hewitt from California in the C4 General section. I am also doing a 421 for Darren Medeiros, who is from Third Gen .Org. He has a 89 Camaro that the 421 is going in. But I thought I would post this since most guys like seeing big cube engine builds. This is a pretty high end engine I am building. Dart SHP block with a 1 piece rear seal. They finally have that block available. In the past I have had to settle for 2 piece seal blocks, because Dart has dragged their feet releasing the 1 piece seal block. But it's finally here. He also went with a Callies Dragonslayer crank, Crower sportsman stroker rods, and Ross forged pistons. I really prefer the JE pistons, but the Ross are also 2618 alloy and are considerably less money. And they come as a flat top. In the past with JE, I have had to get a solid dome and mill the dome off with adds some cost.The Ross pistons look exactly like the JE. It's also getting Speed Pro file fit rings, and Clevite 77 Hardened bearings. I went with a Crane 242/246 hyd roller with .632/.595 on a 112 lobe sep. It's also getting AFR 235 comp port heads and a miniram. Compression is 11.03. I have it built to a shortblock, but when I was degreeing the cam, the timing chain set has issues. I degreed it straight up and it was 3 degrees retarded. So I advanced it 4 degrees, and it went to 5 degrees advanced. So I put another used Cloyes timing chain set and degreed it straight up and was .5 degree retarded, which is about perfect. If I hadn't degreed the cam, I would have never found it. So he decided to upgrade to a billet timing chain set. Strasberg Machine did the machine work, it's balance to within .5 of a gram, so it will be smooth as glass. We still need lifters, pushrods, and he is going with a Crower shaft system. But it's getting there. I will add more pictures as it progresses.

 

OH MY$$$$$$$$ that is awesome!

 

Hey Jim,

I like watching engine build threads!! Look forward to seeing the results as well.

 

Darren is a nice guy. A real gear head and he makes buying all these shiny new pieces look about as easy as Jim makes it look putting it all together.

 

Cool

 

WOW the pics are great!! Watching these big cube, high end strokers motors is great. I might add it's always nice to have fun on somebody elses dime.LOL Seriously it looks awesome. The Callies Crank looks like a real high end quality part. The Ross Piston's look beautiful too. Very Nice$$$

 

I looked at the pictures again and noticed that 2 of the rods didn't have any shave marks on them at all. That means 2 of the rods wieghed exactly the same.. exactly WOW. That's a quality part. I should mention I noticed the copper on the Cam Shaft. You only see that on the steel core Cam Shafts. Usually very aggressive Cams. Pretty impressive. I love high quality parts.

 

Nothing better then a good build thread by one of the best builders around........WW

 

 

DUDE SWEET!

 

Looks great, Jim.

 

Hey guys, big thanks to Jim for posting this up for me. I had an old account with the user name Super ram 355, but that motor is out and for sale so I decided to change the screen name. With all the combos this car had I have always wanted a 400+ ci motor. The plan at first was a 406 with heavily ported superram. But after getting with Jim we decided on what we are building now. Jims a great guy, and thats the understatement of the year. We bs on the phone alot and go over and over the combo all the time. Basically we came to the that we wanted a max effort hydralic roller. Basically if you wanted a street strip motor with hydralic roller max effort how would you build it. I think we have it down pat. I know Im leaving alot of power on the table not going solid, but a 421 by any stretch of the imagination is no slouch. We actually went with the Afr 235s which require a shaft system. I dont think you can get to big a head on these big cube strokers. This stuff never gets old no matter how many times you see it..

 

Nice build.

 

Piece of art...

 

Just got a price a couple of days ago from Jim for a pair of AFR 1040 195 Eliminators.....Quick response, Best pricing .....makes it a no brainer as far as purchasing when the time comes to order.....Lifelong dream engine for me....please keep this thread alive....

 

Then why did you not go with the AFR 245 heads?

 

Actually I wanted to go 245's and a solid roller, but he didn't want the maintenance of a solid roller. So we compromised on the 235's and a hyd roller cam.

 

Not to second guess a decision, but just for the hell of it, what kind of maintenance were we talking on a solid roller of this build? I also hear solids don't like to idle in traffic.

 

Hey Jamall, are you thinking changing cams..LOL. I haven't even got the shortblock built yet. A solid will make more power, but you have to adjust valves periodically. Usually like every 5000 miles, but maybe a little more often depending on the cam. Solid roller are harder on valve train parts too. Hydraulics are nice for the fact you really don't need to pull the valve covers once the engine is built. If your running under 6500 rpm, a hydraulic will do the job. Solid rollers are more max effort.

 

Well, you know me: "Let do this! No WAIT, let's do this!!! OOH OOH, what if we did THIS?!" Just let me tire myself out.


Although seeing as I wasn't bright enough to go for the extra 13 cubes, solid huh?....hmm. Not gonna lie, Jim, I've been reading up on it.