NikwoaC's "Commitment Issues" Engine Build

smokin joe · Mar 26, 2011

FastDriver said:
Hurry up and get this thing on the dyno! Wait... install the engine first, then get it on the dyno. I'm definitely interested to see what it does.

I agree I am really interested to see what it is going to do too!

FastDriver · Mar 26, 2011

Oh yeah, I forgot about the 70mm TB already - I'm losing my short term memory, I guess.

Hey, don't worry about the DBX. If it's an accurate meter it should be fine. Even 400 cube motors don't move a lot of air at idle or slightly above that anyway. They have to account for that, so they should be fine accounting for a 302 at partial throttle too.

Mr. Rustypwnz · Mar 26, 2011

NICK! who is tuning/dynoing the car? a couple places around here (Indy) said they wouldn't tune a 90mm or bigger maf for a 5.0, basically because they are lazy. cincy speed wouldn't, Lonnie at blue oval chips, and Ron at pro-dyno wouldn't. they said some dumb chit, saying that the meter wouldn't read right, however I MYSELF tuned my buddies for a L maf and all the scalars are perfect and it drives like stock.. I think some of these people just want to screw ya..

FastDriver · Mar 26, 2011

Dude! Don't you know that his name is Nik? He even went so far as to make it clear it doesn't have a c as in "NIKWOAC" (nick without a c)

Mr. Rustypwnz · Mar 26, 2011

ah whatever lol

NIKwoaC · Mar 26, 2011

Mr. Rustypwnz said:
this thing is gonna make power from 4800-7400 lol or something like that, good bye torque, hello 4.56 gears!!

The cam is going to be pretty mild, at least on the valve events. Lift is pretty stout, but still, it should keep the power to a more... Uh... Sane RPM, haha.

Mr. Rustypwnz said:
NICK! who is tuning/dynoing the car? a couple places around here (Indy) said they wouldn't tune a 90mm or bigger maf for a 5.0, basically because they are lazy. cincy speed wouldn't, Lonnie at blue oval chips, and Ron at pro-dyno wouldn't. they said some dumb chit, saying that the meter wouldn't read right, however I MYSELF tuned my buddies for a L maf and all the scalars are perfect and it drives like stock.. I think some of these people just want to screw ya..

When the time comes that I see a need for tuning, I'm going to get into that myself. If ya want something done right, do it yourself, right? Plus, as soon as you start getting other people involved, you start hearing what you "can't" do... And I'm more interested in what I "can" do.

FastDriver said:
Dude! Don't you know that his name is Nik? He even went so far as to make it clear it doesn't have a c as in "NIKWOAC" (nick without a c)

This is true, haha. I've been thinking about requesting a change to "NIKwithoutaC". Too obvious? I always thought the "woa" made perfect sense, but then, back in college, a girl I knew started calling me "woah" (I use the same screenname for a lot of things). I guess she didn't catch on to the "without a" thing either, haha.

BTW, tasty little bit of information for you guys: Nikolaus Otto was a German scientist in the 1800s who invented the Otto Cycle, or what we know today as the four stroke piston engine. My full name is Nikolaus, spelled the same way. My parents chose that spelling out of sheer chance, they had no idea who Nik Otto was. Coincidence I turned out to be a car guy? Hmmmmmmm........

Also, knock the last two letters off my name and you get Nikola, as in Nikola Tesla.

Moral of the story is, all the coolest people are named Nik.

Cobra912 · Mar 27, 2011

we are on page 7 and I don't see any new pics.........

FastDriver · Mar 27, 2011

I don't know about that. My best friend's name is Ford I think that is pretty cool, haha.

1bad67sbf · Mar 27, 2011

my little girl's name is Shelby, lol

NIKwoaC · Mar 28, 2011

Couple updates for ya.

First off, I began assembly of the shortblock. Bearings in, crank in, plastigauge to check clearances, blah blah blah. Pickz:

Up next, I needed a novel solution to cleaning the original pistons and rods. Did a lot of research on various degreasers, turns out most of them attack bare aluminum. Oddly enough, the best solution I came up with was a bath of hot... Soapy water. Some people were claiming that Dawn dish soap and hot water degrease well and at the same time it's safe for the metal and the environment. Well, ****. I'll try anything once. Pix:

It actually worked. Took a lot of elbow grease though, I'll tell you that.

Wish I had a pic of the aftermath, that pic of the bath was right after I put the pistons in. After I was done scrubbing all of them, it was BLACK.

NIKwoaC · Mar 28, 2011

Now for the sucky part. Had my first mishap.

I picked up a cheap-o parts store piston ring compressor, and it's been nothing but trouble. The damn thing can't trap a ring to save its life, half the time I'm coaxing rings into the bore with my fingernails.

Well, of course on piston #1, I didn't yet realize how ****ty the compressor was. So I'm going along, sliding the piston into the bore, ASSUMING the compressor is doing it's job. I'm tapping the piston lightly with the butt of a dead-blow hammer, and the piston is sinking in a little with every tap. But then it stops. And I'm like, "WTF?" SO I go to slide off the compressor- but it's stuck. The ******* mother****ing piece of **** was trying to go into the bore with the piston. Of course, the piston-to-cylinder clearance doesn't quite allow that, so the thing was just wedging against the piston and scuffing the hell out of it.

AFTERMATH.

I'm irritated to say the least, but, live and learn. Thank God this wasn't a piston from a $2000 stroker kit. The damage is cosmetic at best, but I went over it carefully with some scotch-brite so make sure there were no burrs or sharp edges. Then I dropped that bitch in there along with all its brothers and sisters. If it blows up, it blows up. Fuggit. I'm ready to drive this thing.

Peeeektuuuuurs:

Bad Sheep · Mar 28, 2011

You're using stock piston?? Is that a good idea with those heads??

NIKwoaC · Mar 28, 2011

Bad Sheep said:
You're using stock piston?? Is that a good idea with those heads??

Yep. I believe that was already addressed a page or two ago. In short, the Twisted Wedge heads allow for a little more piston to valve clearance, and with the fact that I'm running a cam with mild valve events, I shouldn't have any troubles.

Bad Sheep · Mar 28, 2011

Sorry I must of miss that. Cant wait to see it done and what it make's. Big stuff on small cube's.

Bad Sheep · Mar 28, 2011

Are you using stock rod and main bolts?? I was debating using stock or going to ARP for my engine.

NIKwoaC · Mar 29, 2011

Bad Sheep said:
Are you using stock rod and main bolts?? I was debating using stock or going to ARP for my engine.

Yep. There is a lot of cost involved in putting new bolts in the stock rods, so at that point you're almost better off just buying new rods altogether. Then at that point, you might as well just buy a stroker kit. It's a slippery slope.

5.0Droptop · Mar 29, 2011

oming along nice NiK

Mr. Rustypwnz · Mar 29, 2011

NikwoaC said:
Yep. There is a lot of cost involved in putting new bolts in the stock rods, so at that point you're almost better off just buying new rods altogether. Then at that point, you might as well just buy a stroker kit. It's a slippery slope.

that or buy an ls1, i hear thats the cool thing to do neow.

NIKwoaC · Mar 30, 2011

Well, another speed bump. Went to install the oil pump/pickup, and the LAST bolt I put in cracked the mounting ear on the oil pump in half.

Going to call Summit today and see if they'll exchange it for me. Kind of frustrating. It was a just a basic standard volume/pressure Sealed Power unit. I took pics, I'll upload them later today.

Once the oil pump and pickup are in, there isn't much I can do with the engine until I have the cam. I'm also going to be out of the country next week, so there will be a bit of a delay in the 'ol progress thread. But, the toys should be in by the time I'm back, so expect lots of pictures of open brown boxes.
rubhands

NIKwoaC · Mar 30, 2011

Hey guys, I was just checking out Summit's website, and noticed the pictures for the Sealed Power and the Melling pumps have the exact same casting identification on the side. This is also the same as the one I have. I have to assume that the same manufacturer makes both...? Anybody know anything about this? I'm looking at the Ford one, too, and I don't see the same casting ID on it, so I'm assuming Ford makes their own or at least uses a different manufacturer...?

Sealed Power:

Melling:

NikwoaC's "Commitment Issues" Engine Build

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

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I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

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I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

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...all those nights we shared, and you're a dude??

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