Thread: Hello from an old member

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Waaaay cool!!

Looks like Christmas in April! Now the real fun begins!!

I still cant stop Smiling
The first little niggle is the lifters I bought for the old Stock 350 engine are too short. They are new in box so i can move them on quite quickly. Apparently if I want to use link bars on the lifters the lifters need to be .300 taller for the Dart block. And they have to be installed before the heads go on.

Niggle number 2 is the oil / sump pan. I got a Moroso one with wings and a trapdoor inside. The box said "dipstick on Drivers side" Ha Ha!! You can tell where this is leading eh ? I sold that new Moroso pan today and will order another one with the dipstick on the other side

My friend with the Slingshot is ordering some new parts for his SBC and I see he has found a 1 piece rear seal for the 2 piece block. Its a 1 piece seal ring that been cut so it can be threaded into the seal housing leaving the joint at the top !! Sounds good to me so I got him to order two and we can share the single postage.

I nearly bought an expensive crank damper because I was fishing in the dark really. But Slingshot Mike told me I want the same 6" one that he has and that was only about $150 ish + P&P from the states instead of the £290 wanted for one by our UK Race shops ? So he is ordering one for me

My next new purchase is going to be a vacuum pump for the new engine. I've been toying with the idea of exhaust extractors but I think a vac pump will be best in the long run. All I need to do now is go and learn about them so I can select the right one for my build.

Short term plans are:
1. Drop all the new parts at the engine shop tomorrow.
2. Get the new block bored +30 + whatever extra piston to liner clearance is required for the Forged pistons and heavy nitrous use.
3. Have the decks skimmed by 5 thou.
4. Crank Rods and pistons assembly to be properly balanced.
5. All new components to have a spell in the parts washer and then thoroughly rinsed and dried before getting a coating of oil.

This will all be done in the next 2-3 weeks so I can then get all the parts into the workshop and start assembly of the new Killer engine for the MGB

Regards to alll

Pel

You had me with the smile!

Ha Ha!!
Its as good as running a new PB after being off track for so long. Everytime I look at the pics of all the stuff I have collected since mid 2014 culminating with the last lot of boxes I cant help it

Miles of smile to come as well ?

Pel

You can use the exhaust extractors with the vacume pump--------used to run a tap into the intake for the low rpm purge before the exhaust would pick up. A vacume pump solves the low rpm stuff but you will need to mount and align the belt system. If your so excited about the arrival of one Dart box can you even begin to think about me getting a pallet load of eight?? (saves a lot of shipping)

Very good news Pel we are looking for smaller numbers at the strip! and Videos! I'm smiling with you!

Awesome new parts Pel! You're getting closer now!

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

You can use the exhaust extractors with the vacume pump--------used to run a tap into the intake for the low rpm purge before the exhaust would pick up. A vacume pump solves the low rpm stuff but you will need to mount and align the belt system. If your so excited about the arrival of one Dart box can you even begin to think about me getting a pallet load of eight?? (saves a lot of shipping)

Thanks Jerry!
Can you give me some advice on which Vac pump to use please ?

I have just discovered that the Comp Cams Roller lifters I have are too short as I said above. So i asked my UK supplier for a price on the .300 taller lifters. His price was $800.00 for a set of lifters?? Thats over £500 sterling. Can this be true?? I have emailed Comp Cams to explain what I need so they can give me a part number. That was 3 days ago and no reply so far?

My next problem is that I forgot to buy shell bearings for the crank and rods. So I called my UK supplier who sold me the Eagle Forged 383 Stroker Crank and the Eagle Forged Rods. The reply was "we dont know what shells you need mate" When I explained that they sold me the crank + Rods + Pistons + the DART block the reply was "we suggest you measure the crank journals and buy a set of shells to match that. Then trial fit with plastigauge to see if you need to buy more shells that might be + or - 1 thou or so. When i asked for a price of stock SBC 350 shells I was told they are $180 ?

I have now asked my engine guy to measure up the crank journals so i can buy what I need from another supplier as I think my UK supplier is having a laugh with nearly $1000.00 for these lifters and shells??

Regards
Pel

A quick update folks!!
Next Friday 6th May my buddy with the Digger / Slingshot is going to the engine shop to collect my new block + crank rods and pistons etc along with his spare BBC engine which will eventually replace the SBC in the Slingshot. When its all delivered to my place I'm going to start blanking out weekend dates in my work diary. I'm already booked 7 days a week up to the second weekend of June now so i will be looking forward to going bck to working only 5 days a week for a while. The overtime is making me tired but the pay is helping to get more engine stuff and also to assist my oldest Daughter to move out. Sadly this means my Angel Grandaughter Faith will be moving out as well. Luckily the new house is only a 10 min walk away so Gandad will still be seeing her almost daily They wont be moving until July but I'm already feeling a sense of loss for some reason. Why is this? They will only be around the corner! I'm going to set my two girls up with the usual stuff like Cooker, Fridge Freezer, Microwave, sofa, dining set, washing machine and the basic crockery and cooking utensils etc as their moving in present. Thats what most of my overtime will be used for I think On the UP SIDE I get another spare room to convert into a Man Cave for my huge DVD and Record collection I'm thinking a Futon with a small chest of drawers + coffee table + bedside table + move my sound system and movie system into the spare room so it can still be used as a guest room. I have a mate who will build me a shelf unit to house my DVD's. It will be floor to ceiling and 12 feet wide to hold my 2500 (ish) DVD collection. On the opposite wall there will be shelves to hold my 1200 vinyl disks + 500 CD's. /And then another shelf unit to hold my 260 VHS tapes (I still have a VHS player).

I was talking to a computer expert mate of mine last week aobut this and he said "Why on earth are you doing that Pel? I could put all your media on a hard drive and it would only take up as much room as a small box of tissues" I thought long and hard about this and edcided that I still ant my shelves

Back to the new engine now!!
I have bought a plastigauge kit to use so I can be sure this new engine is assembled as best I can. I've never used this stuff before so its going to be another learning thing when I assemble?

Regards to all

Pel

Sounds like a nice and fairly large record and cd collection and I would want to show it off as well. You wouldn't happen to be a Buddy Holly fan would you?

I have a wide taste in Music. Buddy is one of my faves along with a host of other Rock n Rollers to the Beach Boys + Sam Cooke + Jazz + metal + Reggae + Classical music (I have a rare direct cut to disk of the Japan Philharmonic doing the 4 seasons) Thats Vivaldi and Not Frankie I also have a one off acetate of MJ doing Billie Jean in its first cut on the lathe from CBS Studio's where I used to work. This was the pre master before it went to copy. Its much larger than an LP disk but I have a machine I can play it on. However, its soft so i dont really play it often.

I have plenty of rare 12" singles as well.

Fantastic. Man would I love to sit down with you in your den with a couple of cold ones. I can't handle rap and I'm not fond of hip hop or opera, but just about everything else is fair game. I had a music teacher in the 7th grade that introduced us to the Peer Gynt Suites and I've been a fan ever since.
Good luck on your engine build and we'll anxiously await your updates.

Dude!!
Music can really help the state of mind when building engines I think?
If I want to spend time in the garage building something then Peer Gynt 1 and 2 is good background music. When I'm setting up carbs I like to listen to Peter and the Wolf...
And when I'm fitting my nitrous stuff I like to listen to the Darth Vader music by John Williams because it inspires me to be a little Evil

Try it!

Pel

Sure makes sense to me.