Technical The voodoo of the unknown

If you want small heads, yeah. But to build a nice period honkin' 427, you want rectangular ports. It's a matter of honor.

 

Matter of money to me lol

 

i have a friend that has many college degrees, full blown aircraft engineer that has nothing but sbc. i asked him why he doesn't build anything else. he said "i don't have to remember anything except sbc" this from a very smart man. go figure.

 

I understand...but sometimes, you just gotta step up!

 

The 781 will support up to 600 hp with a good port and polish. You don’t even have to hog them out and keep it around 6500 and under .700 lift. But as I learned the hard way don’t use a cast crank unless you want a 2 piece one!

 

Aaahhhhh, rats and porcupines. Two of my favorite critters.........

 

We all have our comfort zone. I have a friend that basically just does SBF, and another that's only into AMC V8's. I was a Chevy big block guy, (have had 5), but I always lusted over the 426 Hemi. The Mopar camp is a strange bunch, but I immersed my self over there to learn as much as I needed, and I built my engine. I also built a 440. Then I got a deal on my Willys, which had a good running 289 Ford in it. When I got the thing, I was thinking that if the engine blew, I'd probably go SBC. Well here I am 13 years and 90,000 miles later, and that old Galaxie engine is still going. If I've learned anything, it's that all these engines are more similar than different. It's not like jumping from an old V8 to a rotary, or a bug engine, or a diesel. I like to think I'm pretty open minded about what I'd drive. I guess my comfort zone is more about the era; I like carbureted V8's from about 1971 best. One benefit about fooling with this stuff now is, the information to do something is so much more available. I say if you want to explore something different, give it a go!

 

I was very deep into FE Fords for a long time, 332, 352, 390 and the 406. I had to let a lot of parts go cheap after my 1978 car accident and divorce. I picked up a few 396 Chevy engines, one from a '69 Caprice that needed an overhaul. I had a '66 Impala with a stout 396 in it, eventually went with a 396 in a Nova stock car that hauled ***.

Also in the stock car years, jumped into the 429/460 Fords which was an eye opening experience.

I still have a couple of complete 396 engines, one on a stand with a bad crank journal. The plan is to get one as close to a 427 as possible, I have a spread sheet with a couple of build iterations on it listing bore, stroke sizing and a parts list. So far a 421 is attainable without going too far on the bore.

Did Chevy ever make a front sump BBC oil pan? Asking for a friend...

 

No Chevy never made a front sump oil pan for the BBC that I know of.

 

My Dad was always a Chevy guy and really liked the big blocks especially the 409 and the 454. He did venture out and build some Cadillac, Buick and even some Ford small block and big blocks later in life. Yes I'm a Chevy guy too and mainly stick to the small blocks. I went through a period of daring to be different with Buick Nailheads, Oldsmobiles and early Hemi's but mainly due the cost I ended back up with the small block Chevy's. However I am itching for a cool Olds engine again......Maybe a 425 or 455.

 

Hello,

We got our start on a Model A 4 cylinder motor to make it run, changing various parts, cleaning up others and it finally started in the coupe. we took it for a drive and that is when I thought it was going to be my brother’s next hot rod. So, I would get his 51 Oldsmobile sedan for my car in a couple of years.

Working on the Oldsmobile motor was not that much different as the parts were similar in repair mode. So, when we got to the Chevy v8 motor stage, we never put a whole engine together from scratch. It was the world’s biggest puzzle in real life. We had gathered what we thought was all of the parts necessary to make the long block go together and run. But, the long wooden picnic table we had outside our backyard garage was confi****ed for the parts layout before we did anything else.

The large table had been in the backyard garage when it was a recreational, party gathering, Rumpus Room. But when we converted it to a large garage door opening and modified several walls, it was now a backyard garage.

So we were amazed at how much stuff was laid out for just the complete motor parts in puzzle form. Luckily, my brother had read up on what goes where and it was a large white sheet on top of the long, newly painted redwood table and matching benches. Now, we could go from end to end and add or subtract what was necessary before we started ***embling the motor.

Luckily, the 3 speed LaSalle transmission had just been overhauled at the other small speed shop where we got the 283 SBC block and parts. I have to thank my brother for being so prepared. He was meticulous as to what goes where, even before we thought about our other table to support the block during ***embly. When that smaller table began to get crowded, we finally got an engine cart to bolt the bare block.

Over the 1959-60 season, we built the 283 with speed parts, then we took the whole thing apart and got a larger bore and new supercharger spec speed parts for the next 292 c.i. SBC motor. The block/crank were worked on and suppled by Reath Automotive. We did the ***embly and gathering of the blower spec parts for the SBC motor.

Jnaki

From that point on, we felt we had the background for a future in ***embling any motor of any kind from just a cam insert/ lifters, etc to a full modified build. The motors are different, but the ingredients are the simple set way to put together a puzzle.

When I got a 1965 327 motor in the El Camino, I told myself that I could do any work on it with the experience behind me. Then access to a friend’s 396 motor was different, but similar in the modifying it for more power. Finally, back to another 327 SBC motor for our 40 Ford Sedan Delivery hot rod that was put together from the same guy that had the suspension in a mess, so, we were leery about the built. But, the motor fired up instantly, ran fine, did not smoke or make unusual sounds. the temp stayed cool in all seasons and long road trips. so, my worry about having to re-work the motor was for naught.

The time my wife and I drove the 327 sedan delivery, being older, but wiser, did play a part in maintenance and continued motor/hot rod upkeep, for a smooth running fun way to drive around.

So, after our initial teenage 283 motor build experience of laying out the parts, spending countless hours of ***embling some area of the motor, we were satisfied with small victories. Then as the weeks rolled on, it started to look like an ***embled motor in various stages of build. In looking at several hot rod TV shows, it is amazing that those guys working on a motor do the same things as we used to do… but 60 years later.

The ending philosophy is that the skill one has, can be applied to most anything or any situation if it is planned out and you have the original ability/skills. Could I build a hot rod today. Not a chance… but I could maintain it, as well as possible. YRMV

 

Fords were always a pain getting the right bellhousing, I learned that helping someone install an automatic when I was 16. The big blocks were a lesser mystery. Once I realized the freedom that went with the SBC and BBC, I made the leap to Chevy engines.

 

I "devolved" from SBCs to Ford inline sixes and never looked back.
Spoiler Alert: The newer inlne cars are quicker.

 

The concept of continual learning is something that not everybody embraces. It's an individual choice. However, engine building itself is about clearance checking and torque factors on fasteners mostly. Knowing the "secrets" such as a grooved cam bearing in the 1st big block is where it becomes a little challenging. Those of us that use the internet a lot have sources to find info on most any engine. Doing adequate research keeps mistakes to a minimum. Availability of parts has become a problem on a level that is expected if you work on long out of production engines. Back to the original thought, do you want to grow or not?

 

My right year old says "it ain't money till ya spend it. Before that it's just paper"

He'll grow up to be a good car guy I'm sure....

 

We call 'em "fun tickets".