Guess the horsepower game, Ford 311 SBF

[machoneman]

O.K. Brent but when do we get the big reveal? 

[351crules]

517

[frnkeore]

I see that you used the TK Limited Lift rollers, small carb and lower rpm build. Was this for some kind of class racing?

[blykins]

This engine is for me.  If I don’t try different things, I won’t be able to pass on information and engine combinations to customers.

Since I specialize in custom camshafts for Fords, I spec’d 3 cams to try.  I chose that one at the end, just to show that high lift doesn’t always need to be used to make big power. 

The engine is not low rpm.  You just guessed wrong. 

Also, we tried an 830 Holley and lost power.  Sometimes “small carbs”  are best.

[Gaugster]

499.95hp
 

[shady]

An Olds 442 drove by my shop this morning, so a sign from above?     442

[Stangman]

Brent was cuious about the weight difference between the aluminum rods and the rod that you would normally use.
Ya know you hear alot od conflicting stuff about aluminum rods. How many passes can you get out of them and some people
say you can run them on the street cause they have come a long way from years ago.
Whats your pearls of wisdom say

[blykins]

Brent was cuious about the weight difference between the aluminum rods and the rod that you would normally use.
Ya know you hear alot od conflicting stuff about aluminum rods. How many passes can you get out of them and some people
say you can run them on the street cause they have come a long way from years ago.
Whats your pearls of wisdom say

These 5.700" rods were about 100g lighter than the Molnar 5.400" rods that I normally use.  As another comparison, a steel 5.700" Molnar SBC rod weighs about 137g more. 

Aluminum rods have come a very long way.  BME (Bill Miller Engineering) has a few shop trucks that have 100k miles on the clock with aluminum rods.  R&R is who made these custom rods for me and he said that he has aluminum rods in all kinds of street engines. 

This was one of the lightest bobweights I've seen.  I'm sure some of the Super Stock guys have messed with weights less than this, but my bobweight was only 1423g.  I did have to notch the cylinders on one side for rod bolt clearance.  I used a 3" stroke crankshaft, so that does go to show how much larger the aluminum rods are in the big end.



If you allow for rod stretch under heat, adjust bearing clearances accordingly, and allow time for the engine to warm up properly, I honestly don't see the issue.

[frnkeore]

Was the crank neutral or 28 oz balance?

[Stangman]

In this application what is the benifit besides the obvious weight difference.
Or is that the only reason. I would think maybe the high RPM revving capability is the other reason.
Does R&R think these are stronger than a steel rod?

[Joe-JDC]

Brent, on the Eagle crankshaft, the local shop that I have been doing business with for the past 35 years uses/used the Eagle crankshafts in more engines than I can count.  The only negative I have heard with Eagle is the FE crankshaft.  I use the Eagle rods in my 595 hp Y Block, and in several of my Windsor stroker engines.  On the really serious SBFs I use the Scat, or Callies.  Scat has a very good lightweight forging with extra lightning of the throws.  Scat also will custom build a SBF with Honda journals, or even the VW which is even smaller.  Not cheap, though at $2400.00 up.   My Moldex with Honda journals was $3300.00, so your $200.00 crankshaft was a bargain.  Joe-JDC 

[blykins]

In this application what is the benifit besides the obvious weight difference.
Or is that the only reason. I would think maybe the high RPM revving capability is the other reason.
Does R&R think these are stronger than a steel rod?

They are lighter.  But they are also custom length, so that lets me use a much longer rod than what most guys use in this combination.  More importantly, that let's me use a lot lighter piston than what most guys use.  A typical Ford 302 piston compression height is around 1.600".  Mine are .990".  Yes, under an inch. 

[blykins]

Brent, on the Eagle crankshaft, the local shop that I have been doing business with for the past 35 years uses/used the Eagle crankshafts in more engines than I can count.  The only negative I have heard with Eagle is the FE crankshaft.  I use the Eagle rods in my 595 hp Y Block, and in several of my Windsor stroker engines.  On the really serious SBFs I use the Scat, or Callies.  Scat has a very good lightweight forging with extra lightning of the throws.  Scat also will custom build a SBF with Honda journals, or even the VW which is even smaller.  Not cheap, though at $2400.00 up.   My Moldex with Honda journals was $3300.00, so your $200.00 crankshaft was a bargain.  Joe-JDC

Joe, I know a lot of shops use Eagle, but I just can't make myself do it for customer builds.  I bought 2 BBF Eagle cranks about 15 years ago and they both came in with pitted journals.  A few years later, Keith Craft had a handful of Eagle crank failures in FE's, where they broke at the 1/5 rod journal.   I just couldn't make myself take a chance. 

I'm cheap on my own stuff, and if it broke, I wouldn't have to explain it to a customer.

[Rory428]

I know several guys that have had issues with Eagle crankshafts and connecting rods in FE engines, but I must say, the cast 3.25" crank, and Eagle rods, in my old 331 SB Ford , has hundreds of mid-low 10 second 1/4 mile passes, shifting at 6800 RPM, and hitting over 7000 across the finish line, with zero issues. And according to the guy that bought the engine from my a year and 1/2 ago, it is still running fine. That said, a buddy did have a Scat 3.25" cast SBF crank that ate the thrust surface after a couple of years of racing. I still wouldn`t trust Eagle stuff in a FE,  but for a SB Ford, I would consider them.

[blykins]

I know several guys that have had issues with Eagle crankshafts and connecting rods in FE engines, but I must say, the cast 3.25" crank, and Eagle rods, in my old 331 SB Ford , has hundreds of mid-low 10 second 1/4 mile passes, shifting at 6800 RPM, and hitting over 7000 across the finish line, with zero issues. And according to the guy that bought the engine from my a year and 1/2 ago, it is still running fine. That said, a buddy did have a Scat 3.25" cast SBF crank that ate the thrust surface after a couple of years of racing. I still wouldn`t trust Eagle stuff in a FE,  but for a SB Ford, I would consider them.

That's another reason I decided to use this crank.  I would probably be a little more open to using another one in the future.  This one was actually sold as a "blem" crank and was sold with condition that it needed to be ground .010"/.010".   I walked all over it and couldn't find anything wrong with it, other than sub-perfect surface finish on the journals.  I polished it, mic'd it, and went on.