Newbie DIY Engine & Tranny Rebuild

My first question to you is where do you live?

Books are your friends. There are books that cover rebuilding engines that include strokers. Broader Performance has parts to help your C4 live. They have drop in kits to add clutch plate which adds torque capacity. I think they have a video as well. Study , study, study, it is not rocket science, but there are some pitfalls. I like the satisfaction of doing it myself.

My advice is to find someone near you who can mentor you, in addition to reading everything you can find. Books can be wrong and often are, reading more than one on the same subject can often reveal the errors.

If you did decide to let a shop do it, look around at the condition of the shop, is the entrance a real mess or does the owner take a little pride in how his shop is kept up and looking.

Might sound kinda stupid but it gives you an idea of how this shop has their priorities, a messy unkept place will (likely) mean " ahh that's good enough" when they are rebuilding your engine if they do.

A nice well kept place (generally) means they take alittle more pride in what they do and care about their reputation, most likely "that's good enough" doesn't fly in a well run and kept shop. Of course there are some exceptions.

The last shop I used was a mess, really unkept, (my impression was just lazyness), I had them do my work because I have a chronic back injury and needed my Silverado gas tank replaced and lines. To keep it short, he cut all kinds of corners and I made him fix it like I originally told him to do useing ALL new parts as my $3.09 a gallon gas was just dripping away from a NEW full tank.

Seems like there is some pretty knowlegeable people on here so if you do it yourself help should be there now and then if you need it. Like the other posts said, I also prefer to do things myself, that way you know it's done right.

Like the saying goes "If you want it done right, do it yourself".

well for one thing you'll need a ring compressor but other than that pretty much everything else is just standard hand tools but some calibrated measuring devices would be a good idea. you said you already had the torque wrench so you're probably good there.

there are actually a couple different ways you can appraoch this.

1: do everything yourself (except machine work)
2: have a shop do everything for you
3: have the shop build the short block and you assemble the rest.

i build all my own engines and have ever since i was in high school, except for one that i had reputable engine builder (who was also a good friend) do for me because i didn't have time and was about to move across the state so i needed it done before i left. that engine lasted less than 5,000 miles patrly because he didn't torque the rod bolts correctly (not tight enough) and partly because the trans was way screwed up due to a sticking governor, mostly it was the rod bolts though. unfortunately the guy who built the trans for me died in a car wreck within a couple weeks of finishing the trans so i couldn't get it warrantied. those 2 problems are what started the whole 10 year restoration on the car. point is if you want it done right do it yourself or at least have someone you know is a good builder do it or at least help you if you can't do it yourself.

bnickel said:

i build all my own engines and have ever since i was in high school, except for one that i had reputable engine builder (who was also a good friend) do for me because i didn't have time and was about to move across the state so i needed it done before i left. that engine lasted less than 5,000 miles patrly because he didn't torque the rod bolts correctly (not tight enough) and partly because the trans was way screwed up due to a sticking governor, mostly it was the rod bolts though. unfortunately the guy who built the trans for me died in a car wreck within a couple weeks of finishing the trans so i couldn't get it warrantied. those 2 problems are what started the whole 10 year restoration on the car. point is if you want it done right do it yourself or at least have someone you know is a good builder do it or at least help you if you can't do it yourself.

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How did the trans contribute to your engine's short life?????? Rod bolts - fair enough, but trans?

66ccode said:

How did the trans contribute to your engine's short life?????? Rod bolts - fair enough, but trans?

Click to expand...

a screwy governor and FUBAR'd valve body will make a transmission do strange things, like hold shifts back indefinitely, allow (actually make) downshifts at very high rpms and not downshift when stopping. it was a giant mess it was it what it was. but the thing that killed the engine was a combination of the loose rod bolts, and the governor in the trans, i was passing a truck on a highway about 5 miles out of town. i was doing 70-75 mph and kicked down into second gear, no biggie that's normal, then as i'm about to start to pulling in front of the truck it downsifts all the way into first and hit about 6500-7000 rpm, the guy in the truck saw the back of the car kinda fishtail then a big cloud of smoke from the oil and antifreeze going everywhere.

had the rod bolts been torqued to spec it probably would have lived, but when we tore the engine down we figured out he torqued the rod bolts to like 35 ft/lbs. what you would torque a stock 302 rod bolt to, but a 351w uses a larger rod and requires torquing the rod bolts to 45-50 (IIRC) ft/lbs.

the engine was doomed either way, the trans just helped it along, basically.

Unless you want to invest in a dial indicator and base, and cam degree wheel, I would investigate having your machine shop assemble the short block and install and degree the cam. If you do this, specify that you want all clearances, torque specs, etc. used as part of their product. When you receive the short block, verify the torque on rod bolts and mains, at least, by setting your torque wrench to their supplied torque numbers and make sure they are accurate.

If you want to make a relatively small investment, then buy those items and learn how to use them. Then build this sucker yourself. I really like D.Hearne's suggestion of finding some one who can mentor you in regards to performing critical steps. On my last engine I asked my cousin (a pro) to look over my shoulder while I assembled the short block and installed the cam. It was very reassuring.

I highly recommend the this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Ford...1201233?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189708453&sr=1-1
It has a detailed procedure for building a 351W claimer motor. Other than the stroker crank and 302 slugs, everything else is likely to be applicable to your build-up.

I think you will be making a wise decision ifyou have a pro do the shortblock. Just check everything like you mentioned.

Everything seems complicated your first time. This ain't rocket science, though. What I do (for first-time projects) is read and then re-read all my references until I am comfortable with ALL of the info. Then I start. Take your time and document everything in a notebook. Even things that seem trivial may wind up being important later.

If the cam is installed and degreed, the rest is fairly straight-forward. There are always details that won't get mentioned in a book. Maybe we can help with some. For example, I don't recall that the book mentions how to orient a roller lifter when you insert it between the dog bones. However, there is a right and wrong way with respect to oiling. Stuff like that. When you are ready, list every major part that you plan to install and then ask for pointers on things you aren't sure about. We'll be glad to help.