This is going to be my test mule build. My plans changed quite a bit once I acquired an aluminum pond block over the summer that needs some repairs. I won't be able to get started on that build till next summer so in the meantime I decided to build a test mule so I can get my car back out by spring and do some testing. Unfortunately I lost some pictures that I had not backed up on Google or photo bucket when I dropped my last phone down into a 13' deep manhole at work back in July :-( . Fortunately most of those pictures were of the block in its condition of being setting in the corner of my shop since 1985. They were pictures mostly of the cleaning process and alot of the prep as far as oil galley mods, tapping and plugging, tapping the freeze out plugs for screw ins, cutting and drilling the block for cross bolt caps, doing the water jacket cleaning and block fill and alot of the pre work before the final machining. I had hoped to share some of these pictures but there lost and gone forever. It's mostly stuff you have all seen and done before though so nothing to extravagant. I'll do my best to explain what I did and be it right or wrong or un ordinary it's the way I have been doing things in my little garage shop for years. I'm sure I'll get some feed back, hopefully some good and I'm sure there will be plenty of negative but this is a low buck build and using alot of existing parts that I have from other builds. I chose to go this route for now and invest my hard earned $ in parts for the pond block build once I start on that. As always I'm open to any "good" advice and hope to be helped to steer away from bad . Thanks guys..
Keith.
CYLINDER BLOCK. All Block prep done in house by KB MAX.
C6MEA Garden 428 A block. Seasoned 30 years in my dry shop. de- burred, cleaned, pressure
tested, cylinders sonic tested, cut and drilled for program engineering cross bolt main caps, caps cut for main stud full girdle, oil galleys enlarged to 1/2" from oil pump mounting surface to oil filter bypass adapter mounting surface, Oil galley from adapter mounting surface to center oil galley also enlarged to 1/2". center oil galley enlarged to 7/16", all oil galley plugs tapped and threaded for screw in plugs. Lifter oil galleys completely blocked for use of a solid roller cam. Lifter valley de-burred and end drain back passages cleaned and smoothed, center drain back ports tapped and threaded for lifter valley vents. lifter bores grooved for drain down lubrication. freeze out plugs tapped and threaded for screw in freeze plugs, block drilled and
tapped at rear main for priority main oiling to rear cap. rear cap drilled and tapped for oil line, caps #2, #3, #4, drilled and tapped for oil line loop fittings, left side cross bolt cap bolts enlarged to 1/2" and drilled and tapped for external oil line fittings. Oil galley passages at main bearing registers chamfered and aligned to match bearings. Center thrust bearing cap chamfered at rear and drilled for rear thrust bearing flange oiling. Block cleaned again and water jackets cleaned and etched with metal rescue rust remover before adding "Hard-block" block filler tall fill to 1-1/2" from deck with mains torqued and a torque plate used on each deck. All gasket surfaces cleaned and surfaced. Block de-burred inside and out. All bolt holes chased and cleaned with bottom tap thread cleaners.
All above work done in house at KB max Racing.
The Following Machine work done by 'Star Machine Works' (Thanks Mark)
Block had one sleeve liner installed in #6 hole then align bored, cylinders finish bored and honed to 4.140" with torque plate and centered off of main's. Block Sq decked to 10.168 .
The following final block prep before short block assembly done in house by KB max
Cylinders clearance chamfered for BIG valves, Block washed with industrial grade cleaner and scrub brushes, all oil galleys cleaned with brushes, block pressure washed and rinsed and washed again then air dried. Block mask off and painted with several thin coats of black industrial epoxy then a silver hammer tone mist applied over last wet coat of epoxy. Block dried under heat lamps for 48 hr then un mask and washed one final time then air dried and lubed with PB Blaster. ARP main studs installed along with pan studs. Pioneer head locating dowels installed along with ARP head studs.
Short block .
