help with 331 Block

[1952ford]

Good afternoon guys....i purchased a cheap 331 block  100 bucks..i wanted the street master intake that was on it and i need a set of good 390 rods.
it has the large beam rods..casting C6
Got he deep sump baffled pan and pickup
Bore is std 3.875
i though maybe i could use the block for  std 390 also
i cannot get a 1/4" Allen wrench between any cylinder..But i noticed the block was sleeved. They sleeves are approx .125 wall
would this be safe for a over bore to 4.050? or even 4"
how much overbore can i get out of a sleeved block ?
I can use the help
Thank you
1952

[jayb]

Well, if the sleeves are 0.125" wall and the bore is 3.875", then you will only have 0.62" thick sleeves when you are done boring to 4.000".  That's too thin in my opinion anyway, unless the sleeves were put in to an undamaged cylinder just to bring the bore size down.  Any idea why the block was sleeved?  And how many sleeves are in the block, and what cylinders?

Let's assume you can re-sleeve to go with the bigger bore, or you can bore the sleeves that are in there.  On the un-sleeved bores, if you could just barely get the 1/4" allen wrench between the bores, then you would have 4.63" (bore spacing) less 0.25", for the OD of the cylinder jugs, or 4.38".  Leaving a minimum wall of 0.150" to allow for some core shift, you ought to be able to safely go to 4.08" for the bore.  But go to 4.000" or 4.050" to be safe.

Of, find a good 352 or 390 block 

[1952ford]

thank you for replying
The jugs will just tightly fit a 7/32 allen wrench on some not all some a 7/32 will not fit
afterm calling the guy back....They tell me it was sleeved to bring the bore down to the 332
all 8 jugs are sleeved
i was hoping i could bore it to 4" at least..oh well
guess i have really good 8.75 bore block   LOL
can i stroke it and have a stroked 332?

Thank you
1952

[jayb]

Well, I still think you can use that block.  Most of the time when a block is sleeved it is because it has been damaged, and broken through into the water jacket.  It sounds like that is not the case here.  As long as you have the original cast iron bore behind all of the sleeve, and not some spots where the back of the sleeve is open to the water jacket, I think you can bore it to 4.05".  Sure, the sleeve itself will be thin, but you will still have the standard cast iron backing it up. 

Bottom line, if you are sure the bores weren't cracked or broken before they were sleeved, I think you can bore it to 4.05".

[1952ford]

I have been thinking
I have a good 360 crank  some spare 390 rods the old skinny ones  rods....make a spare engine ( grocery getter)   NO Racing maybe try out some 351M pistons and cut my own valve reliefs
a low compression 8:1 352 with a decent quench.
Might be better to just leave it a 332 but use one of my light truck 360 crankshafts and regular timing covers
Junk the steel crankshaft and FT timing cover

we shall see
Thank you for the help
1952