408 stroker shortblock assembly tools and tips
Saturday, March 17, 2007

Hey everyone, so tonight I finished up with the 408 stroker kit in my block. I took a bunch of pictures for you guys to see also. Let me touch on a few things first. Now this is just the way I do things and some of the tools I use when building my engines. I dont build alot of engines but enough to know what works for me. I use a product from permatex called Ultra Slick, I use it on the main and rod bearings, its like molasses and is great when I am assembling the engine and constantly rotating the crank into position. Here's a picture of it, you can get it at Advance Auto Parts and I am sure many other places.



I also use it to lube the wrist pins on the pistons as shown here. This stuff is great, it has amazing adhesion properties and resists gravity very nicely. Seeing as my 408 stroker wont be ready to run for about 3-4 weeks.



Now before I cant go slamming pistons in the holes, I had to file fit my piston rings accordingly. In the past I have used pre-fit piston rings seeing as I didn't have a ring filer and was not that confident in filing ring gaps. Well as time went on, I felt the need especially on this motor to file my own ring gaps. Jim at FordStrokers gave me the option of either pre-fit rings or file fit rings, same cost, so I chose the file fit. We both agreed it was the best option even if it takes 2-3 hours to file the rings. To me I didn't care about the time needed, I wanted the best option for this motor. So file fit it was.

On my last motor I used file fit rings, so I was forced to buy a ring filer. I got mine from summit and I think it cost like 39.00 bucks. Here is a picture of it.



A few things I learned real fast when filing piston rings. Always rotate the filer towards you and not away from your body. And I dont know if this is right or wrong but I only file one side of the ring end. I believe I read several times to only file one end of the ring, and that has worked for me perfectly everytime.

I have alot more pics I will post of the actual building of the shortblock. I will post these tommorow as it's getting pretty late and I am tired from slaving over this engine all night. Not like that's a bad thing :) Till next time.

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posted by SteveO @ 11:24 PM, , links to this post  




Main Girdle Update
Friday, March 16, 2007

Hey guys, not much happening today other than I got my main girdle and windage tray delivered. A buddy of mine bought this stuff last year then decided to go class racing with small 300 inch motors and no longer needed this stuff. Told me he was going to send it to me, low and behold it showed up. It's a DSS Main Support System aka main girdle, also included is there Pro Tray aka windage tray. Its really nice looking stuff actually. I wouldn't have bought it brand new, but for free I figure you can't go wrong, LOL.

On my last motor which was a 347, I used a CHP/Probe Girdle with the ARP main studs, I would have just went and bought another one of those from Jim at FordStrokers, but can't argue with FREE and it's pretty. Here's some pics, I will be back tommorow I am sure with another update.





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posted by SteveO @ 11:21 PM, , links to this post  




Got me some new 408 stroker parts from the UPS man today
Thursday, March 15, 2007

Heres a few pics of the new stuff I got today. Granted it's for the top half of my stroker but we all like to get and show off new parts. Shit isn't cheap but I learned long ago, cheap is not always the best long term value. I ordered these parts on recommendation from Jim at FordStrokers he told me to get in touch with Jay Allen at CamshaftInnovations, spoke with Jay for awhile and he got me squared away. I sometimes like dealing with people other than summit or jegs, I work for a very small mom and pop business and I know what it's like to have to compete with the large retailers in my industry. Ok enough already, here some parts.



Now those are some serious springs :)



My Titanium Retainers



My spring seats and locks.

Ok that's all for now. I got a bunch more stuff coming and alot more building to do. Till next time.

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posted by SteveO @ 10:03 PM, , links to this post  




408 stroker short block assembly time

Well started checking my main bearing clearances tonight. I use bore gauges and mics to check my clearances but I know 98% of guys dont have these tools or the money to go buy them just to build one engine, so I also did it with plastigage since damn near everyone uses it. I installed my ARP main studs as shown here.



ARP main studs are screwed into the block HAND TIGHT, no need to torque them or anything into the block, HAND TIGHT is all. Mind you this block was line honed with ARP main studs, kep that in mind as the clamping force of a stud is far different than a main bolt and can result in bearing problems if you just switch from a bolt to a stud without checking the main bores. This is something that your machine shop has to do.

Moving on, like I was saying I checked my main bearing clearances with my bore gauge and mics so I knew what the exact clearances were but I also took some pics to show you how the plastigage method worked for me. When using ARP products I always use there Moly lube, in my opinion it's the best for using on these fasteners as compared to an oil based product such as motor oil.

Here is a pic with the studs installed, lubed with arp moly lube and main cap on. For obvious reasons I didnt take a pic of the plastigage on the main journal beforehand. Just make sure the journal is clean of debris and whatever you don't turn the crank when the main cap is torqued down.



OK so now I torqued down the nuts to the specified torque of 90 ft-lbs per ARP's instructions. Now the next step is obvious, take the main cap off and check the plastigage. Easy enough huh? Well my first main studded engine years a few years ago I was stumped for about 15 minutes on how to get the main cap off since the just dont pull off easily and I had studs. Well after kicking my self in the ass I realized, you only put the studs in hand tight, so I loosened the main stud bolts a few turns then proceeded to unscrew the whole stud as shown here.



So after feeling retarded for 15 minutes, I unscrewed the studs completely and took a main bolt put it half way down the main cap and tapped the cap to one side and pulled the cap off. Just a little help if this is your first time doing a main studded engine. Anyways.........

Here is a pic of the plastigage after removing the cap. My measurements using my bore gauge and mic was .0028 clearance, the plastigage is actually pretty darn close. I checked 2 times with plastigage to check the repeatability. It's a bit deceiving since i was trying to hold the camera and the plastigage paper to measure and show you guys. Here what we got.



In the end the plastigage worked pretty damn well. All mains were either .003 or .0031 which is fine for me. You can adjust these sizes according to what your building and the application. Well that's all for now.

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posted by SteveO @ 9:26 PM, , links to this post  




Starting to build the 408 stroker
Tuesday, March 13, 2007

I had to do it, I could no longer live with the block painted black, it had to be painted Ford Blue. I began mock up on 1 piston and rod combination, after checking ring gaps I wanted to check to see where the piston was ending up in relation to the block deck. This is only a mock up, I will go into detail when I start the build full steam ahead which should be a few days now. Heres some pictures to enjoy in the meantime.







Looks pretty don't she? :)

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posted by SteveO @ 9:42 PM, , links to this post  




Got my 351 windsor block today
Monday, March 12, 2007

Hey guys, well I went and picked up my 351 windsor block today for my 408 stroker from the trucking company. After getting it home, unpacked and on the stand I took some pictures for you guys. This is a non factory roller block, didn't matter to me as I am running a solid roller camshaft setup. I got this block from a guy online who stepped up to a dart block. This block is a DSS Level 20 block. I got it for a great price, it has never been run and comes with a bunch of extras. DSS Main Support, Windage Tray, ARP Main Studs, Main Bearings etc.

The block has been bored and honed to 4.030, line honed, the deck has been trued up according to the crankshaft centerline. DSS level 20 blocks have screw in freeze plugs, screw in oil galley plugs, the bottom of the cylinder bores have a 60 degree chamfer on them. All in all I am very please thus far.

Here are some pictures of the bare block then after fitting the main bearings. I then proceeded to check the thrust clearance. Everything seems to be just fine at this stage of the game. Take a peek and over the next few days I will be assembling the shortblock and will be taking pictures along the way as usual. I have not checked main bearing clearances as of yet, I will take pictures of all the building procedures as they happen.















Doesn't that 4340 forged crank look so damn pretty sitting in there? I cant wait to get this pig fired up and running. Till next time guys!

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posted by SteveO @ 9:38 PM, , links to this post