Re-Build Thread, 1989 Saleen Drag Car

Bullitt347

I have been doing it wrong this whole time
15 Year Member
Mar 23, 2007
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Middle of Maine
It's coming home next week!

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I don't know but it sounds like there are multiple people involved.




You know what that means...




It's a conspiracy :hide:




My money is this one will come true too. Even if it takes a while. :jester:
 
The changes are:
From a 4.090 bore X 3.4 stroke to a 4.135 bore X 3.4 stroke. Makes the engine 365 cid
Went from 9.2:1 compression to 11.0:1 compression
Going from a FAST XFI engine management system to a Holley Dominator system
All new intake and exhaust valves
A lot of stuff had to be fixed from the $6,200 F'up from the machine shop that made it a 363. Thus the extra .010 over to 365 cid.
Fixed the heads from the other machine shop that had the valve seats with .006 runout when .0005 to .001 is considered acceptable.
Lots of other things that were not right.
The bill to get it right was just over $6,700. which on face value does not seem bad, but that is on top of the $6,200 that the other machine shop ate up on crap work.

The pistons cost $2K not counting the rings and pins...
 
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Here is a picture of the piston pin. The one on the right is an original from the first build. The one on the left is from the "builder" who allegedly knew what he is doing. This guy knew the engine was going to be over 1,200 hp and he put those limp dick pins in a set of $1,500 pistons...

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For a N/A build they are a good pin, JE specked them for that piston. But if you are building serious HP, you check the option box for the pin on the right...
 
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Here is a picture showing the difference between a 10.4:1 JE Piston (left) and the correct 11.0:1 piston I asked for originally.
The correct piston is from Diamond, not because I did not want a JE piston, but because Diamond was the only one that could provide the proper piston is less than 6 months.

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It is hard to tell from the picture, but the dish in the piston on the left is right about .100 and the dish in the piston on the right is about .030
 
It is a thermal barrier coating on top and it has anti-friction coating on the skirts.
The thermal barrier coating helps protect the piston from the heat spikes from detonation should the tune be off. It gives a bit of a cushion before damage to the piston would occur.
I figured that. Did the pistons come that way, did you have it done locally, or is it DIY?
After seeing Hot Rod test a a diy coated piston with a cutting torch, I had the pistons, valve heads and combustion chambers on my most recent engine build.
 
New solid roller lifters going in. "Old" ones on the right

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When I went to buy the new lifter, the sales/tech guy at Crower told me not to use the ones I had been using (for over 4 years) as I did not spin enough rpm (8,400 max) and did not have enough lift at the valve (just over .720) to make the lifter work the way it was supposed. to. The Enduramax lifters have a bushing for the roller, while the other ones have needle bearings.
The other surprising thing about this is that the lifters I wanted to buy cost over $1,100 for the set and the ones he recommended are just under $700 a set. How often does a sales person talk you out of spending more money???
 
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