ERE-383 for Nitrous Impala SS


ERE-393
4-Bolt Splayed cap 383 for Nitrous Impala SS. 
Callies Crank, Compstar rods, Wiseco flat top pistons
The "Strutted High Strength" #K0001X4



Lateral gas ports, 2618 alloy, .250" top ring land.


Tapping the oil gallies for threaded plugs.

Doing two blocks at one time to economize paint wastage.

Here you can see the block with the core plugs installed.  That means it received a 1/2 fill of epoxy in the water jacket.  This can still be used on the street but the oil cooling system has to be it tip top shaped.

POR-15 engine paint.

Here I'm re-doing the balance weight.  I decided to go with a Wiseco dedicated nitrous flat top piston.  Bob-weight is now 1693 grams

This is the Wiseco #K0001X4
1.125 CH, 388g.  The forging has weight savings built in but it is touted as still being extra strong for nitrous.

The piston also has lateral gas ports.  Also 2618 alloy aluminum, 1st ring is down .250", -5.7cc valve relief's.

The rings are the Wiseco GFX at 1.2/1.2/3.0mm
The 1st ring is alloy steel and gas nitrided, the 2nd ring is cast iron with an under-hook face.

This forged Eagle crankshaft is very good quality for the money.  I have the balance shop polish the main and rod journals.  It was balanced to 1693g bobweight.  #5 main journal being measured here.  It is 2.4485"

Measuring main bearing clearance.  After this I'll set the crankshaft in and install all rods/pistons (without rings).  This is the "mockup".  I will be able to verify clearance.  If more grinding is needed then I'll mark the areas and tear-down and grind and clean.  If no additional clearance is required I'll still tear it down and do a final washing of the block.

This is a 1/2 filled block and the oil will get warmer than usual.  I have bearing clearance a bit more than usual.  #1=.0027 #2=.0027 #3=.0030 #4=.0027 #5=.0040"

Crank in and it spins nicely with 30w oil, (no assembly lube).

Duplicate photo but I'll leave it here.

Callies Compstar rods and Wiseco flat top K0001X4 piston.

Assembly of rods to pistons.  These use a spiro-lock.  They are a pain to install.  Rod bearing clearance not measured yet.  I'll do that after the rotating assembly mock-up.

I checked piston to cylinder wall clearance and it is .004"  Recommended .0035" (at least).  The block is filled and so it should have more clearance and so .004" is good.

All mocked up.  2 spots need a little more clearance, (marked in yellow).  Nothing hits but it's close at the rod bolt shoulder with #4 and #6.

While I'm at it I want to see if the block is decked square.  Very close to perfect.

It is 0.013" in the hole at all corners.

Now it is time to file fit the piston rings.  These are from Wiseco and I do believe they are Hastings brand.  Good quality steel top rings and napier hook style 2nd ring.

Gapping for nitrous race only.  I shot for .028" top and .029" 2nd ring but "over-shot" and so it ended up being .029" top and .030" 2nd ring.  Throw all the nitrous at it that your heads will allow.

Cam bearings installed.

I kept this oil galley plug out until final block washing.  Earlier in the day I did the minor block clearancing that was needed for rod clearance.  Now it's time for final assembly.

Camshaft from Lloyd Elliott.  I like to have the camshaft installed while I insert the rods/pistons in order to make sure the rods do not bump the cam.

Crankshaft back in and thrust checked at .006"

All pistons/rods installed.

Side clearance is .020" with these Callies rods and the Eagle crankshaft.

Windage tray dip stick hole enlarged.  I try to make sure there are no metal burrs after doing this.  From this photo I can see one.  I guess that is one good reason to take high resolution photos.

Camshaft degree check.  The cam card calls for intake centerline at 111 deg.  I have the Cloyes timing gear at zero.

Intake centerline as found---111 deg.  Now I can put blue loctite on the cam bolt threads.  

Lifters and pushrods cleaned and soaking.

Here is a photo of the windage tray bent slightly so that the rods do not bump into it.

21 degree Trick Flow cylinder heads being cleaned up as much as I can with a Safety Kleen parts washer.  The heads were working well on Tucker's old combo.

The heads were ported by Lloyd Elliott and as far as I can tell they are still in great shape.

Since the pistons are .013" in the hole then this thinner MLS head gasket will work well to keep piston to head gap reasonable.  27 + 13 = .040"

This photo shows were Cometic MLS gasket blocks off the oil return at the left front corner of the block.  Not now because I grind on the block right here to make room.

Heads are on with customer supplied ARP head bolts.  All bolts at 70ft-lb

I donated a timing cover and this one has the water pump shaft hole blocked off with a Kennedy .50c piece.  I added more RTV on the back side for good measure.

Oil pump pickup pressed in.  I'm not a fan of tack welding this.  They can move but they don't fall off.

Dip stick test to make sure the stick bends over the wide main cap without taking a path into the rods.

Oil pan on. RTV on the block side of the gasket but not the oil pan side.  That should make for a good seal and also allow me to remove the oil pan after the engine dyno session.  If it ends up leaking then more RTV!!!

The lifters are re-used from the previous engine and all of them are in good shape except one had the beginning of a mushroom.  It would not fit in the bore nicely.  It fit but it was a tad tight in the bore.  I replaced it with a nice stock lifter.

I'm going to learn something here.  The old pushrods are 7.400" long and that is not the ideal length that my lifter length check tool recommends. (7.250)

But the 7.400" seems to fit quite well.

So we shall stay with what was working with the old combo.  I like the Lunati rockers.  The 7.400" pushrods give a very good witness mark.
The opti spark is installed just temporary for the dyno.  The damper is my dyno damper too.  It has timing marks on it which is a big help for the dyno.  Next update will show the engine at the dyno.  (in a week or 2).

Getting ready for the oil system test.  Off camera it did not work out well.  The front oil galley plugs were accidentally left out.  This is the main reason why I do the oil system test...to catch my mistakes.

A few hours later I have the cam timing set removed and now I have installed the oil galley plugs.

All back together and now the oil test is good.

Lots of oil pressure.

Now getting ready for the engine dyno. Single plane carburetor manifold. 

Timing pointer
v
All set and ready for Wednesday
 

 Ellwein Engines 2020