Engine Build Help

So I'm working on the bottom end of my 331....

First question, how much clearance should I have between the rear counter weight and the main girddle?

http://www.mustangmatty.com/331/girdle1.jpg


Second question, why does this ARP Main Stud (154-5410 Ford 302 main stud kit for girdle) kit have 3 studs shorter than the rest? They also do not have a stud provisioned for the oil pump pickup tube nut. The 3 that are shorter have a 12pt nut instead of a 6pt nut. In this pic:

http://www.mustangmatty.com/331/girdle2.jpg

You can see the smaller stud is about 3 threads too short. Should I back the stud out until the nut is flush?

Last question, I have spacers under the girdle and have at least .002in clearance between the cap and the girdle except #5. There is a raised letter in the way. Should I just grind it off and shoot for a couple thou clearance?

TIA,
Matt

Hey Rick,

The girdle is an unknown brand and I bought the studs separately. The odd thing is that there are 3 short studs, not one. I'm going to call ARP tomorrow to see if the stud set I got is messed up.

Thanks,
Matt

Hey All,

Thanks for the help! I'll get a measurement between the counter weight and the girdle when I get home this afternoon and hopefully post the comments from ARP. So to confirm, if the stud is althe way down and the nut is at least flush with the stud we are ok? How about the clearance between top of cap and bottom of girdle? If I have to grind a hair of the cap with that be ok?

Thanks again All.

Matt

Ok I called ARP. They will be sending me 2 4 1/2in studs to replace the shorter ones, and I'll keep the one short one for under the oil pump. They are also going to send me a 4 3/4in stud to try to use it for the oil pump pickup tube. The tech I spoke with has had about 3 calls in the last couple weeks on this same kit/issue. He thinks the kit was made for a girdle that does not connect all caps together. He is going to see if he can look into this and fix the stud kit. So, fingers crossed, the stud issue should be fixed. If you need to deal with ARP, Ron Williams is the man!

As for the clearance issues, I guess I'll be grinding.

Oh, on a side note, the first tech I spoke to was kind of a dork so I asked for someone else but he said this as well as Ron (ARP)..... ***only on a iron block ***
you CAN back out the stud if needed. There is only a certain amount of threads that is needed to be screwed into the block. There is a formula that he said but can't remember, something about the percentage of the diameter yadda yadda. For peace of mind...I'll still sink those suckers.

Matt