Parts for El Superbeasto Starting to Arrive

[Grayeagle]

Fuel delivery - check Incoming Air - check A Big Fat Spark - ohh yaa Enough tire? -ROFL- How much is enough? -grin- .. sounds like yer gonna need some braces so your teeth don't bend backward when you PUNCH IT -Frank

[FNBADAZ06]

Yep, I came across that pissing match on the HPT Forum while I was researching some stuff on that site

[Two Fangs]

Well, the engine block and the crankshaft finally made it. Many moons ago, I asked on this forum who to trust with machine work,and the response was, there were not really any heavy hitters in town. Which is a shame really, because I always try to pump dollars into the local economy when I can.

Regardless, I sent the block and crank to a machine shop in Houston that I have worked with for many crazy projects in the past.

I know many of you don't know me, and even fewer probably care, really; but I have been involved in high performance since I was a kid. This went farther than fetching wrenches or grabbing my dad a beer while he worked on a race car, I was porting heads and undercutting valves before I had a driver's license. I have spoken in industry forums about port flow coefficients and the inertia-supercharge index. I have worked on some very fast cars,and consulted on countless more.

I have not had a race car since my son was born, but I have always longed to get back into racing. For now, I will slake my passion for building all-out race cars through building some street terrors. And after a few years off from building something crazy of my own, about 5 to be exact, it is time to do it again. So here we are on page 5 of this thread, after many false starts and hiatuses, ready to build another absolute tire-shredding mass murder machine.

I think many of you have may followed this thread (and others) and have seen me amass parts like crazy custom pistons, top secret camshafts, and shaft mount rockers. And while that is all fine and dandy, if it never assembles itself into a tangible work of sheer terror, then who cares, really. The internet is full of people who say they are going to do something that they never really do. I mean, if I got exited ever time some knucklehead said they were going to supercharge their car, I'd never leave the hospital. So thanks for following along, I hope reading about this project makes you as happy as I get working on it.

So, without further ado, let's begin today's installment of "Watch Parker Build Frustration by the Cubic Dollar"

I picked up the block yesterday. I brought it home and mounted it to the engine stand. The rest of Friday afternoon, and into Friday evening was spent doing nothing more than scrubbing it down with Tide and an assortment of brushes, trying to remove any last piece of grunge or grit that may spell headaches down the road. No pictures here really, not a lot to see except for some old wet guy scrubbing a piece of cast iron.

Saturday began with trying to remove any water that remained after Friday's scrubbing. Everything was pretty clean, sans the deck holes. These required some extra effort to get clean and dry.

Here is the block with the main caps removed, after cleaning and drying was complete

Next, the main studs were installed, and the main bearings laid into place. When laying bearings, it is of utmost importance to make sure the backs of the bearings and the block surface is clean and dry.

Next, the crank was placed in the block, and the oil main bearing clearances checked using plasti-gage. Plasti-gage is a small piece of plastic that has repeatable and measureable characteristics when it is smashed between the crank and bearing. It is a good quick check to see if the oil clearance is what you expect. The crankshaft had been previously measured, along with the diameter of the main journal with the bearing installed. The difference between these two measurements is the oil clearance. When the math was verified with the Plasti-Gage, it was right where it needed to be.

The main caps were removed, and the Plasti-Gage was cleaned from all crankshaft main journals. The crank was removed and the bearing surfaces given a generous coat of this bad-assed engine assembly lubricant:

The main caps were then reinstalled and torqued to spec as called out in the ARP instructions using the appropriate thread lubricant. Additionally, when using studs and nuts, remember to apply a light coating not only to the threads of the stud, but also the bottom of the stud nuts.:

So now, the crank is in the block, and the new ARP main studs are torqued to specification. The oil clearance is exactly where it is expected to be. Next, El Superbeasto's LSX block will be fitted with a new cam, lifters, and timing chain set.

[Ted Y]

Niiiiiiiiice.

[MOTV8]

"Oh boy, this is GREAT!" - Flounder

[TheCMSH]

This is making me happy in my pants!

[HOXXOH]

I just can't believe you're building this in the garage. I always built mine while naked inside the house in a closed non-carpeted room after washing down the walls and floor to remove any chance of dust or dirt in the engine. All the parts were double plastic bagged and the outer bag discarded prior to entering the assembly room. Until I discovered Spandex speedos, I lived in constant fear that a pubic hair would end up in an oil galley. Nice pics. Keep the thread alive.

[Two Fangs]

I just can't believe you're building this in the garage. I always built mine while naked inside the house in a closed non-carpeted room after washing down the walls and floor to remove any chance of dust or dirt in the engine. All the parts were double plastic bagged and the outer bag discarded prior to entering the assembly room. Until I discovered Spandex speedos, I lived in constant fear that a pubic hair would end up in an oil galley.

Nice pics. Keep the thread alive.

LOL, yep, I was right there with you until the wife caught me snapping on the speedos. Then she kicked my ass into the garage. I did rinse the garage floor just in case, though. :lol

[Bigfoot]

Very, very, very cool.

[Desertdawg]

Never thought of the contact point between the nut and the surface it torques against, great suggestion about coating that surface too I'll store it in my brain for future use.... Keep the motor porn coming please!

[Dvl4evr]

You're like our own Horsepower TV. Good stuff, and keep it coming.

[Grayeagle]

mmmm.. eye candy! We are kindred souls I spent a few years in a SoCal speedshop bein their 'engine guy' .. funniest day.. had a guy with a '68 Pontiac Firebird come in and ask how to make it fast ..I told him to put a Rat in it. Owner of the joint chewed me out a bit later, but .. Pontiac guy did and it was We built a nice 396 w/tunnel ram, big port heads, fairly mild hydrastic cam, 4-geared it (was an automatic) and stuffed 4:88's in the back. It was a total blast to run up an onramp a bit sideways and have to brake to merge .. LOL. I have prolly put together a hundred or so motors over the years ..very much identify with that whole clean it first thing and have a clean area to build it (never did the Speedo thing . . hmm -grin- .. I got hired by Mr. Schaeffer at Shaeffer Magnetics because he asked me what my mean time between failure was on my race car. Umm .. Shaeffer Magnetics are the people who built the actuators for the Voyager Spacecraft. They are still workin last I heard. I have systems in space that I built.. guess I am a Rocket Scientist Anyway, I had been runnin the 440 duster in brackets off and on for 14 years then .. never broke a motor or had any mechanical failure. Made Bracket Finals at Bakersfield the 4 years I managed to actually campaign a full season with it. It got to the point where people would not stage against me. Useda crack me up. Craziest tire shredder I ever had the fun to build was a 529 Rat w/Mondello NASCAR heads, titanium rods, two 1150 dominators, a nice Crane roller .. we had a chat with the guy runnin IHRA record holder on Nitrous ..no idea how much that direct port setup would have added .. the '69 camaro it was in turned a 9.82 first time out at LACR without usin it. It had license plates an turn signals. Powerglide w/10" converter that would flash to 4000rpm at launch ..whole car was a monster. Guy who owned it was sick an tired of bikes beatin him off stop lights .. LOL. 14x32 Mcreary G2 compound tires really stuck it hard. Wrenched on a B-econo dragster for a year or so ..lil 327 ran 9.30's in the old Tom an Jerry top fuel slingshot dragster. *that* was fun to do Right now I have this raging debate goin on inside ..love the 'cruise' ..but .. the LS motors are so worthy to get crazy on. I hear the 468ci setup is fun with the LSX block -Frank

[Blk n Blu]

Better than Speed TV Keep the pic's comming Parker.

[P51tj]

Very nice Parker!

[FNBADAZ06]

D@mn...it's finally coming together !!!!! bad ass, Parker

[Steve@LPM]

Looking forward to seeing this thing come together. Do you know if your block is an early or later casting? I know there were some issues at one point where people were cracking the blocks.

[Two Fangs]

This is actually an early casting. One of the reasons the block took so long to get to me was ensuring the casting is sound. The cam tunnel was the primary concern with the first run of blocks, as the cam bores were prone to be out of alignment. This block was originally purchased by a now defunct race team that put the block through some ultrasonic testing and heating and cooling cycles to ensure it would not deform. So far, everything is coming up roses. It is set up a bit loose (well, loose for an aluminum LS motor, not so much for a cast iron block). I want to ensure that there is a substantial hydrodynamic wedge between the crank and bearings, since the opportunity exists for short bursts of very high BMEPs that could otherwise hammer the shit out of the bearings and journals. The oil pump is a Katech piece that is up to the task of additional volume and scavenge to ensure the engine can sustain a larger hydrodynamic wedge at high RPM.

[Steve@LPM]

This is actually an early casting. One of the reasons the block took so long to get to me was ensuring the casting is sound. The cam tunnel was the primary concern with the first run of blocks, as the cam bores were prone to be out of alignment. This block was originally purchased by a now defunct race team that put the block through some ultrasonic testing and heating and cooling cycles to ensure it would not deform.

So far, everything is coming up roses. It is set up a bit loose (well, loose for an aluminum LS motor, not so much for a cast iron block). I want to ensure that there is a substantial hydrodynamic wedge between the crank and bearings, since the opportunity exists for short bursts of very high BMEPs that could otherwise hammer the shit out of the bearings and journals. The oil pump is a Katech piece that is up to the task of additional volume and scavenge to ensure the engine can sustain a larger hydrodynamic wedge at high RPM.

You sticking with a wet sump?

[Two Fangs]

You sticking with a wet sump?

Actually, this is going in an '08 Z06, so it is a factory dry sump. I considered an ARE, but was talked out of it, since the car will not see much in the way of track duty, besides the occasional drag strip visit.

Cheers,

[Steve@LPM]

You sticking with a wet sump?

Actually, this is going in an '08 Z06, so it is a factory dry sump. I considered an ARE, but was talked out of it, since the car will not see much in the way of track duty, besides the occasional drag strip visit.

Cheers,

ahhhhhhh i was under the assumption it wasnt a Z. Yea Ive done a few of the ARE dry sumps. They are nice kits but unless your going to be running high speed bank turns I dont think there are any real benefits to it.

[F22trainer]

...that puts a tingle in my happy sack

[Two Fangs]

Well, over the past few days, more progress has been made on the new engine. One of the first custom pieces of this build, the camshaft, was installed.

The first thing I reached for was a generous helping of CompCams cam lube.

Next, the camshaft was installed using a special mandrel that would allow for plenty of leverage. The lobes on this cam are HUGE, some of the biggest I have ever seen for a turbo application.

Below, you can see how the lobes compare to the actual cam journal, they are very close in height. The appearance of grit on the camshaft is actually tiny air bubbles.

Next, the LSX-specific camshaft retainer plate was installed.

But, not to have the build go smooth, the first real obstacle of the build was encountered. The top two cam retainer bolts hit the new comp cams timing chain. These bolts had to be replaced by button-head allen bolts to clear the timing chain assembly.

Once the timing chain clearance issue was resolved,the ARP cam bolts were torqued to spec and the timing chain dampener was installed.

Next, the new lifters were lubed and installed into the lifter bores. The LSX uses eight lifter retainers versus the four lifter retainers used in other LS engine platforms.This is due to different oil control, and some serious internal webbing to ensue structural rigidity.

Here, you can see through on of the engine valley's "windows", one of the specialized lifter retainers.

Next, the engine bag was placed over the engine and it was relegated to a dark corner of the garage until next time when the second custom piece of this build, the pistons, are installed.

Until next time....

[Dvl4evr]

This question is premature, but since we're looking at the lifter retainers, I have a lifter based question. Why do some people soak their lifters for what I would think is an unnecessary amount of time? Is there any benefit to soaking them for 2 weeks instead of 2 days? How long does it really take for the oil to sufficiently coat the lifter?

[Two Fangs]

Soaking lifters used to be a much more common practice. The idea behind it was to allow oil to soak into the lifter body. This would ensure that the top end would receive lubrication upon start-up. The soaking process was employed to ensure the oil would not encounter air pockets, fail to "pump up" the lifter, or be delayed in sending the vital cooing oil to the valve springs. Have you ever bent a piece of coat hanger wire back and forth really fast? The oil doesn't lubricate the springs, but it does cool them. It also lubricates the rocker arm fulcrum and rocker arm tip where it contacts the valve stem. These days, most folks prime the oiling system and build oil pressure before the engine is ever started. This ensures immediate and proper lubrication when the engine is started for the first time.

[Dvl4evr]

I understand the reasoning for soaking. I just don't understand the reasoning for soaking for an extended period of time (1-2 weeks). Do people actually believe the metal to be porous enough that soaking for extended periods is going to provide a different result then soaking for 1-2 days?