Fordnatics List Archive

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Mail From: (email redacted) (Robert King)

Ok, here's the picture as it stands so far. I think I've got enough
information to make a decision. What I need to decide is whether to
stand pat with the rebuilt block I have, or to improve it before
proceeding.

What I thought was a performance rebuild wasn't quite. The rod bolts
are stock replacements, not ARP. The rods don't look like they've been
beam polished, and I doubt the mess has been balanced.

This motor will be going into my 1988 GT that is and probably will be
for some time a daily driver. I also hope to drag race it on the weekends
occasionally. Also, I'd like to start taking it to driving schools
occasionally.

I can stand pat with this bottom end, or I can have the rod bolts
replaced, the rods beam polished, and the assembly balanced. The
problems are, I need to do as much as possible with my original engine
intact, so I'm hesitant to pull the harmonic balancer and flywheel for
the balancing of the new engine. Also, there's the cost. $175 to put
ARP rod bolts in, and $300 to balance.

Now, is All this headache worth it on a motor that will probably never
see the high side of 6500 RPM? Other modifications include GT-40 heads
(exhaust port matched,) Cobra intake, 70mm throttle body, E303 cam, and
Mac 1-5/8" equal-length headers.

- -- Robert King


+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Robert A. King | |
| Systems Software Engineer | "Dulce et decorum est en |
| Kodak Health Imaging Systems | medio coitu mori" |
| (email redacted) | -- Nelson Rockefeller |
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| The opinions expressed here ain't even mine, much less my employer's! |
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This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Russ Hampsten <(email redacted)>


Text item:


> I can stand pat with this bottom end, or I can have the rod bolts
>replaced, the rods beam polished, and the assembly balanced. The
>problems are, I need to do as much as possible with my original engine
>intact, so I'm hesitant to pull the harmonic balancer and flywheel for
>the balancing of the new engine. Also, there's the cost. $175 to put
>ARP rod bolts in, and $300 to balance.

$175 to press new bolts in and resize the big ends?? That seems a bit
excessive to me, should be about $80-$100. $300 to balance, do they add
gold when extra weight is needed? I don't have that much experience with
machine shops, but this sounds very high. I paid $125 to get my assembly
balanced (static and dynamic) and you _have_ to include the balancer and
the flywheel/flexplate or it is pretty much useless since these are
externally balanced engines.

> Now, is All this headache worth it on a motor that will probably never
>see the high side of 6500 RPM? Other modifications include GT-40 heads
>(exhaust port matched,) Cobra intake, 70mm throttle body, E303 cam, and
>Mac 1-5/8" equal-length headers.

Tough question. I bet you will get a bunch of different answers. If I
were you I would shop around and find a cheaper machine shop (but still
high quality, if one exists in your area). I would pass on the ARPs and
beam polishing, but I would balance the assembly. I think the money spent
here is well worth it and will reward you down the road with a smoother
longer lasting engine. Next bit of advice I can give you is SLOW down and
do the job right. It really sucks to have to do a job twice, not to
mention costly.

Good Luck,

Russ

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In-Reply-To: <(email redacted)> from "Dan Malek" at Apr
11, 95 11:48:49 am
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Date: Tue, 11 Apr 1995 13:05:21 -0500 (CDT)
To: (email redacted) (Dan Malek)
Subject: Engine rebuild...
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