SantaClause came early at Clarke Co. Speed, I drug this back to the shop yesterday. Its from an old drag boat. I been helping the guy that owned it, he has a 455 Olds in the boat and I did his carbs, ignition and stuff on and off for a couple years. One day he said he used to have a hemi in the boat, he said it was built by a well known race hemi shop and that materials cost 16K. He made a mistake and let water get into it over a winter, pulled it and set it under a bench. Would I be interested in buying it? We talked about it for another couple years and yesterday we got together and brought it to the shop. What'dya think, do I see a blown gasser in my future?
I haven't pulled the bottom end apart, it won't turn over so I assume its' a mess but the heads are fine, fitted with titanium valves, roller cam etc. He said the block was sleeved and filled with concrete about 1/2 up, its' standard bore, aluminum rod motor. I've got PB Blaster soaking into it and will pull it apart this week.
Half filled with concrete? Even if the water did no damage, how's that going to make it viable? Its not that I have experience in this sort of thing. . . I'm open to information and knowledge.
Tell me there's a Paxton under the hood of that Avanti, and nothing else matters Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Race engines can sometimes get partially filled in the water jackets with a special block filler that is referred to as "concrete". The purpose is to reinforce the bottom of the cylinders to make the block more rigid. This helps prevent engine failure, by preventing the bottom of the block and cylinders from distorting, due to the extra stress of higher horsepower applications. Look up on line for videos of engines being run with X-RAY film. When you see how much metal moves out of shape during high RPM, it will blow you mind. The "concrete" method will then make sense to you. Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Thanks, that's just what I needed to understand. Makes sense. That's why I spend so much time on the H.A.M.B. Learning more every day. Love hemis, especially the old ones. .
No, no supercharger. This is the ladies' Avanti with just 2 pedals. It is a 'barnfind' and has just 100K miles on it. We went thru it to get it roadworthy, be test driving it next week. Its a sweetie for sure.
Plenty of engines have behaved just fine with the lower half of the water jackets filled with Blockcrete. As long as the rest of the passages are clear and clean, and the rest of the cooling system is up-to-the-task, it should be just fine. Get a 6-71 on it, and do us proud.
Those are some high dollar rocker assemblies. The 392 I have came from a race boat as well. Not a drag boat but a 17 foot runabout class racer. Mine has the Chrysler adjustable rockers. A lot of $ were spent on your motor. I would like to see what is inside. Hope it is able to be saved. Those are I believe Donovan valve covers Not cheap either. Nice motor.
See, there IS a hobby that's more expensive than "cars", and that's "boats"; not that I'd EVER want a boat. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Looks like some top-dollar stuff in that engine ---> rockers are super expensive. It has Donovan valve covers - all quality stuff. Hopefully the heads are ported. Will be exciting to see what is in the lower end of it . . . hopefully the crank and the block are rebuildable. Can't wait to see the REST of your XMas present. I'm heading out to my shop as I write - to resurrect the 392 I've had in mothballs for the last 7 years . . . can't wait to get it back together and fire it for the first time!
They aren't 331-354 because they pass the thumb test. On a 392 you can place your thumb between the valve cover and the water crossover outlet on each head. You can't do that on the 331-354. The heads shown are standard 392, which are still good.
Unless you're full out racing - won't make a lot of difference whether you run the 555 331 heads, 354 heads of the 392's. I don't see intake spacers - so there are surely 392s.
You can't beat that timeless weathered look, love it with 2x4's . A question for those in the know. I'm familiar with blocks using grout, how do they perform in a street application since the filler displaces the water in the bottom of the block? I gather that the engine would run hotter as there's not as much water to disipate the heat but how much hotter would a street engine run with that inside the block? Is there any way to remove it wholly or partially or even if it is practical or economically feasible?
Performance is just fine- albeit climate where your at, cruisin' the boulevard for miles, sitting it traffic for hours, etc..... Block filler is insurance. Some won't get it, but if you want to bring your game, and back it up, it's ok. Pondered this years ago... Low and behold= never had a heating issue. Once it's in, it's in. Think about where the most heat in a cylinder is, and how much the 'filler' is coming up to. if the cooling system is up to par, and always should be a lil overkill, there shouldn't be an issue. BUT= results/users may vary...
I'll pull the heads apart this week, I can see that the valves are Del West Titanium, can't say what spring but it has titanium retainers, lash caps and Isky Roller lifters with under cut tipped push rods so I expect a monster cam. I don't see any real port work, the intake runners do look bigger than either of my 354 sets. The heads are just sitting on the block, it has 1/2" studs and we slipped it all together to see what it looked like.
The Jalopy Journal
