BILLET SPEEWORKS MAIN CAPS

[c9zx]

Ross, If you start making them let me know. I've been calling him every few days leaving a message and phone number. No answers.
Thanks, Chuck (S)

[hwoods]

will you be making the rear main cap as well?  I picked up a used block that is missing the rear main cap as well as a couple of the other main bearing caps

[My427stang]

I was only planning to do 2,3 and 4 but we can look into it

[bluef100fe]

So I’ve been watching this thread and wasn’t gonna stick my nose in it but… Ross contacted me about picking this up… I made a batch of billet Steel main caps before about 10 years ago now I guess it was already.. I was still in my old rental shop… time flys. Anyway, I listed them for sale and the only guy who really used them that I know of was Blair Patrick. One pair of my caps were employed on his winning engine masters entry, the last year they had the competition IIRC. So what I’m trying to say is they have been proven to hold up to at least 600 hp in competition. I have blanks to make another run of them and the same CNC milling machine to run them on as last time. I don’t know exactly what the price would be yet, but I can make it a higher priority than it sounds like billet speed is. I’d just like to know how many could be sold as soon as they are completed and how much interest there is in them. So I can gauge how many extra sets to make for the guys that are on the fence. Bigger the run I make the cheaper the price per set gets. I believe last time I made them they were around $100-$120 per cap, mind you this was well before the Covid plandemic drove prices up on everything. I was selling them in pairs for position 2 and 4 as those are the ones that tend to fail in the factory block. I can sell sets of three or 4 if need be but it would be up to the end user/machine shop to fit the thrust bearing cap to the block. If you guys are interested let me know and I can make it happen.

[frnkeore]

I might be interested.

[c9zx]

I DEFINITELY want a pair as soon as you can make them. I've been in a queue at my machine shop since April and my turn is coming up soon. I don't want to lose my spot. I just left a message on your work phone. Chuck (S) 405 five one 9  six 98 zero. I'll pay in advance if you would want me to do so.

[MeanGene]

I have a couple sets of originals if you're in a REAL hurry lol

[blykins]

Cody, if you’re not interested in making them, I was starting to make solid models for them and can make them.  Just let me know.

[bluef100fe]

Brent, I’d love to make another batch… designing/machining stuff is what I do almost everyday… bonus points when it’s for the FE engine platform. My design has already been done, and I’d believe if Blair liked the parts and bought the six or so sets I previously made it’s proven to me to be good parts. No news is usually a good thing in the world of production machining. I also have a few sets a factory 427 caps that don’t have blocks to go on currently so if somebody wants to go that route to get out of a pinch I can sell those as well I guess but if I can have caps done in a few weeks hopefully people would buy them? Just frustrates me the last time I put forth the effort to fill a void for the FE world and then nobody stepped up but Blair to use them. Anyway, yes I’d like to make the next batch, question is how many to make? I’m thinking if I make a dozen or so that should cover the people that have been waiting 6 months for parts? My business would never survive if I treated my customers like that.

[blykins]

10-4

[mbrunson427]

Not to completely derail this thread, but want to know what everyone thinks....

I read a deal today about a company having better luck with billit aluminum main caps than steel. I'm certain the aluminum would be easier to machine. Has anyone done this on an FE?? Looks like 7075 T6 is a typical alloy for this.

[WConley]

Mike -  7075-T6 aluminum can handle the stress, but it will eventually fail in fatigue.  Unless you're going to be diligent about replacing parts on a regular schedule (like Top Fuel teams), I'd go for a good billet alloy steel.  It will last forever.

[427Fastback]

Not saying it's a good Idea or something I would do but the Mopar guys have been using aluminum main bearing caps for a while now...Cory

[AZ428STCKER]

I'd be down for 2 sets. We still haven't received our set of caps from BSW.

[jayb]

I've been wondering about the aluminum main cap issue myself.  In one of the other recent threads there was talk of bed plates, and at least one of those bed plates was made of aluminum, for an aluminum block production engine.  I wouldn't think that a 200K mile intent engine would use an aluminum bed plate unless it was reliable over the long term.  Are aluminum main caps somehow different than a bed plate application?  I'm guessing the aluminum bed plate was used on an aluminum block to eliminate differences in temperature variation; a steel bed plate would grow less with temperature, and could put additional stress on the block.

 All the aluminum FE engines I've used have steel main caps, which would be better in terms of "growing" with heat and maintaining main bearing clearance than an aluminum cap, but I'll bet you could run just a little tighter cold clearance with an aluminum cap and be fine at operating temperature.  Sounds like this must be what the big block Mopar guys are doing...