Thread: 350 to 383 Clearance and assembly.

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Hey Tech, Im getting the block, one head, and the rotating assembly this evening. I'll be doing a clearance check assembly and do any required grinding then return it for ballance and finale up the work. Im going to take pictures along the way and post it to this forum. Maybe as I go some of the noob guys can learn from my success/mistakes.

Please do not reply to this thread unless your commenting on the assembly.

OK, I have the block/crank/rods/pistons here. I will run to auto zone and get 4 bolts that fit a tiny block Chevy that will allow me attach it to my engine stand. I will report back tonight with preliminary fit up information. I'll provide exact part numbers for crank/rods/pistons/rings/bearings as this closes to an end.

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OK, I have the Eagle crank in, the rods/pistons are in. Everything is prelubed. I have pictures of the assembly step by step, and I show you the area that the oil pan rail hits the crank and I show you what it looks like after I grind it out. I'll work on pictures tomorow, for now my back is hurting and Im a little tired :]

Timing set is also on, and cam is lubed and installed as you probably assumed.

Tomorow I will start rotating the assembly and checking for clearance, then before I tear it all down for decking and ballancing I will PLASTI-GUAGE the rods and mains. So far I can make an assumption that the clearances are good or loose, this thing rotates very smoothly and easily, I just need to take time to rotate slowly and measure clearances and then as I said do the actual bearing checks. Good night guys.

Here is the block machined and ready for test fit. Its mounted on my Engine stand in a relatively clean area. I shop vac'ed the floor, and cleaned the tools in the shop before this step.

Use latex style surgeons gloves to protect your metal parts from the acids in your skin. Lube your bearing surfaces with an assembly lube and carefully slide the cam and crank into place.

Once they are removed you need to install the new bearings. Notice on the bearings there is the words TOP or Upper and aslo on the others there is BOTTOM or LOWER. The top goes in the block side, lower goes in the main cap side. Use your assembly lube here as well as on the journals of the crank.

Once they are removed you need to install the new bearings. Notice on the bearings there is the words TOP or Upper and aslo on the others there is BOTTOM or LOWER. The top goes in the block side, lower goes in the main cap side. Use your assembly lube here as well as on the journals of the crank.

Notice that cast into the caps are arrows that will be facing the front or timing gear side of the block, there are also numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, ect.. xast into the caps. These nubers are in order from the front (timing gear side) to the back.

Now that we have slipped the bearings into the mains, its time to lube the bearings, journals, and finally install the crankshaft. Once the crank is in, you need to look at what areas may need clearanced with a die-grinder or a Dremel and then remove the crank, bag off the block that is not being worked on, use a shop vac to pull the dust and shavings from your work and go to grinding.

Here is a problem, we need to grind the oil pan rail back only on this one spot. No big deal, it will take about 3-5 min with a die grinder and a carbide deburring bit.

Now that that is gone its time to reinstall the crank. Make sure you clean/wipe any dust or grinding junk out of the area. Time to puit on new gloves and re-lunbe the bearings a bit. Reinstall the crank, at this point all items are installed loose-tight, not torqued down, just snugged. Once all clearance work is complete we will Plasti-Guage the bearings on mains and rods and torque it all down, take it apart and and read the Plasti-Guage, then return to the machine shop to deck the block and ballance the rotating assembly based on our grinding.

Once more, take a moment to look at the rods and the rod caps. They shoukld have a mark that tells you the one way they go together. If not, get a scribe, punch, or vibra-etch tool and mark them in some way to keep each set together and the right way each time. Try like numbering them 1 and 1, then next set 2 and 2, and so on.

I noticed the odd V-shape groove between the top and middle rings. I assume its for less drag and frictional losses?

Once you get the crank clearanced to the point that you can turn it 360 degrees with a coat hanger feeling your way around and the coat hanger not getting stuck, your ready to mount the rods and pistons. I installed the pistons one at a time with the bearings coated in assembly lube and the pistons coated with 10-30 engine oil. The pistons are cut for vallve reliefs, so its a simple matter of looking at the heads and determine what orientation the valves are coming in at and put the pistons in this way. Once I get them in I used a vibra-etch tool to mark each rod cap with its cylinder number. This way after the block comes back from the machine shop I can get them back exactly where they go. Go ahead and just hand snug the rods for now, no need to torque them for this clearance issue. We will spend the next few hours grinding, cleaning, re-assembling.