H-I-J '76 Nova re-fit.

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Originally Posted by Greg Reimer 7376

Seems to me that aftermarket steel main caps are available someplace for 4 bolt main 350's,must be better than the originals.Just trying to remember where I saw them.

They're everywhere, lots of aftermarket ones for sale.

[Glenn Briglio]

Originally Posted by Nmbr1GMfan

They're everywhere, lots of aftermarket ones for sale.

Why put money into a questionable foundation.Cleaning block, Filling block, installing main caps etc.

[Rich Biebel]

30 years ago we sonic tested and Brinell hardness tested all small blocks.

The range from soft to hard was pretty significant.....and a hard block would easily make more power.

Ideal was hard and decently thick cylinder walls.....

.060 over was a lot.....

Cylinder walls were just about always not consistant

Core shift could be ridiculous

You can usually see the cam being off center by the flat machined surface at the face of the cam hole...not concentric

I had one engine I built at home that was so far off center it was silly

The crank and cam centerline were way off center.

So bad I had to get different rods. It was a 383 and I could not get clearance on one side for the rods to block even after grinding and the other side went right by with plenty of clearance.....

Aftermarket and even Bowtie blocks are far better....

Just sayin!!!

[Hacksaw]

Put the money you will spend on main caps and the labor to fit them towards a Bow-Tie or Dart block.

[Dissident]

Although not a bubble-pack solution, one can enhance the strength of the bottom end of a two-bolt block with a little thought and inexpensive parts.Using 7/8" keystock and milling the caps so they are flat on top......The pic speaks for this simple solution. Stronger than after market 2 bolt caps. Either method requires checking and align honing. Thus far the pic represents approx $30 spent for all the caps 1-4 and keystock. Not align honed yet.



I encourage cost effective and logical alternatives.



Sorry for the hijack.....


Regards,
HB2
Dissident

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw

Put the money you will spend on main caps and the labor to fit them towards a Bow-Tie or Dart block.

I don't really have any money in it, maybe a few hundred dollars. There's no way I'm the only guy that's running a stock block. Especially since I had a two bolt with stock main cap bolts to begin with.

[Hacksaw]

Originally Posted by Nmbr1GMfan

I don't really have any money in it, maybe a few hundred dollars. There's no way I'm the only guy that's running a stock block. Especially since I had a two bolt with stock main cap bolts to begin with.

Using an OEM block is fine, just not optimum. My point was not to waste your money on aftermarket main caps and the labor to install them.

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Originally Posted by Hacksaw

Using an OEM block is fine, just not optimum. My point was not to waste your money on aftermarket main caps and the labor to install them.

Once I get to the point of machining, if the caps are an issue they'll be replaced but I don't expect to.

[james schaechter]

Originally Posted by Nmbr1GMfan

I don't really have any money in it, maybe a few hundred dollars. There's no way I'm the only guy that's running a stock block. Especially since I had a two bolt with stock main cap bolts to begin with.

One of our 275 327 E stick engines is a .040 over stock block. Probably well north of 500 runs on it. ( been freshened several times) it has been 10.70’s in decent air. We call it super street because it will run at least 10.90 in any conditions.

I think the key is that it hasn’t been bored bigger. We even coated the Pistons to help the sizing over time.

We had a 327 once that we filled and ran .060 over. My preference to to not run a filled block if I can avoid it. Either a thick enough stocker or an aftermarket

[Nmbr1GMfan]

Made a new "wavy washer" today and got the Racepak bulkhead in, made some templates for brackets, moved some carpet for cables and made a new hole for the switch panel ribbon cable, looked like crap running across the firewall.