Greetings! My most sincere apologies for not scratching my itchy keyboard for the last 5 weeks! No, I wasn't in jail and my health is just fine. I think my absence is due indirectly to the start of school. My son, Joey, is a high school senior and attends an early morning seminary class before his regular classes begin. We wake him at 5am and make him a hot breakfast. Yes, I know most high school kids enjoy a bowl of cold cereal once in a while, but not him. In fact, my wife makes granola with oats, almonds, honey and other good stuff and it's delicious. I eat it most mornings and it keeps me satisfied until lunchtime. Joey won't get near it. Radiation. More granola for me to enjoy, I guess. But, because I'm up at 5 and don't always get to bed until late, I'm exhausted in the evenings. I'll try to adjust and get my rest so I can keep up with my blog.
Since my last entry I've finished preparing my '79 El Camino for painting and have it in the spray booth tonight for a color coat tomorrow. I had some short periods of time that I devoted to assembling an engine for my '50 Chevy pickup. I've had a 350 block with 4-bolt main bearing caps that is bored .030" overstock. The crankshaft is from a 400ci engine which will make this block a 383. The configuration is known for making torque and I've always wanted to build one for my own use.
This shot shows the four bolts per main cap. This makes for a much stronger engine, since the crankshaft is secured with 4 bolts instead of only two per cap. The first and last main bearing caps only have two bolts still. Since this engine is going to be supercharged I wanted to use the more secure 4-bolt block.
To avoid leaking main bearing seals I insert mine offset about 3/8" in rotation as shown in the picture and put a bit of silicone sealer on either side to keep oil from seeping out. I hate messy, leaky engines.
I spent some extra time and money to have the engine balanced in Yakima at Joe's Grinding on Fruitvale Blvd. You can see the holes drilled in the counter-weight. This is how the weight is balanced. There are holes in the other end of the crankshaft also and some more taken off of the throws in the middle.
More later, it's already late and I'm up early.
Doug
Since my last entry I've finished preparing my '79 El Camino for painting and have it in the spray booth tonight for a color coat tomorrow. I had some short periods of time that I devoted to assembling an engine for my '50 Chevy pickup. I've had a 350 block with 4-bolt main bearing caps that is bored .030" overstock. The crankshaft is from a 400ci engine which will make this block a 383. The configuration is known for making torque and I've always wanted to build one for my own use.
This shot shows the four bolts per main cap. This makes for a much stronger engine, since the crankshaft is secured with 4 bolts instead of only two per cap. The first and last main bearing caps only have two bolts still. Since this engine is going to be supercharged I wanted to use the more secure 4-bolt block.
To avoid leaking main bearing seals I insert mine offset about 3/8" in rotation as shown in the picture and put a bit of silicone sealer on either side to keep oil from seeping out. I hate messy, leaky engines.
More later, it's already late and I'm up early.
Doug
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