tresi wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:59 am
I think you're wanting our blessing more than our advice. I can not tell you how many times bores that people told me looked great had .005, .006 taper or more. Seeing the cross hatch after you 1 1/2 down the bore means little, what's the wear at TDC? Stock forged cranks and pistons aren't that great. Yes rods and mains need resized when new bolts or studs are installed. Pistons can measure great at the skirt but the ring grooves can be worn out. If you want to clean and reseal a stock motor that's fine if you want to use it for basic transportation. I really don't mean to harsh but that's the way I see it.
Thanks for being willing to say that. That's the OPPOSITE of what I want. I want the advice, but advice that considers the situation and stays somewhat near the universe of on topic.
I started a thread to ask for advice on rebuilding the bottom-end and provided context on what's on the top-end and right away I got feedback that was either completely irrelevant to what to do about the bottom-end or just boilerplate high mileage SBC rebuild advice like
"terrible intake; I wouldn't go with that." "Just get a stroker kit" "Start putting money in your retirement account as early as you can".
Some super random, full-on Asbergers stuff early on (*Sigh* "Yes, I understand that Jeopardy is on at 4:00, but I fail to see what that has to do with the question...")
This is one of the (many, many) things I don't understand; this is sort of the framework my thoughts are coming from:
What's the typical range a from-the-factory SBC usually goes before it needs a rebuild? 40k miles, 50k miles, 60k miles?!? Whatever that number is,
why can't my engine run to somewhere near that range with a stock bottom end before it needs bored and new pistons and a major rebuild?
My understanding is that most OEM SBC blocks will get one, maybe 2 rebuilds and then they're toast and you need a new block. -Why would I dramatically shorten the life of my block with 14k miles and bore it and get new pistons and have it jump straight to "mid-life"? (poor block never got to be a teenager and go to college!)
I hear things like the stock bottom ends are fine until well beyond 450 hp and RPM matters more; I'm building a 6,000 and under (or 5,000 and under by a number of estimates) with some pretty strong agreement of below 450 hp to WAY below 450 hp...
If there's something about the stock bottom ends that are just a ticking time bomb and I'd be stupid to put all these expensive top-end components on a stock block, then PLEASE SAY SO, but some basic insight into "why" would be great. I'm a "why" person; can't live without the "why".
What are the things that should really be examined by the machine shop to determine if the bottom end is good-to-go as a very close to from-the-factory stock bottom-end for a couple of years and miles?
-There have been some great replies on that front and I appreciate it. Obviously, they need to check over the bores super closely including taper; if there's anything wrong with the bores and too far out of spec, then my hopes to use it for a while as a stock bottom-end are over and I'm moving the 383 stroker kit and all the machining goodies route.
There are some "political sensitivities" with my build and my wife at the moment and honestly if I've got a "good enough" bottom end and can get the engine reassembled and back in the car, and get all the old parts outta my house and have a running and working car for a while, it buys me a lot and makes pulling the engine again for a full 383 bottom-end rebuild in late 2020 a MUCH more feasible option. -The "Eye of Sauron" is turning it's gaze on me right now and I'd really like it to turn somewhere else for a while... lol!
Adam